I want to welcome Jack Luellen to Books R Us. Jack is the author of the the novel "Someone Had To Lie." He has provided us with a guest post just for my readers. Do not forget to enter the giveaway below. You could win an Amazon gift card. Thanks for stopping by.
SOMEONE HAD TO LIE
by Jack Luellen
March 31 - April 25, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
Synopsis:
THE JAMES BUTLER MYSTERIES
Some cases never let you go.
Reeling from the sudden death of a close friend, James Butler and Erica Walsh are pulled back into the shadow world of Mexican cartels and the CIA. Seeking to avenge the murder of their friend with only his haphazard notes to guide them, they puzzle through the possible connections searching for anything concrete. As they investigate his murder, and his notes, they find unsettling links between drug trafficking, American gangs, the CIA, and the opioid epidemic.
Determined to find the truth hidden among cases they thought were long closed, Butler and Walsh call on friends and colleagues to help them survive the crosshairs that got their friend killed. With the threat spreading across more of their contacts, they must uncover the truth before they are buried in lies.
The James Butler mysteries from Jack Luellen seamlessly weave fact with fiction, introducing nonfiction material in the midst of fast-paced murder mysteries.
Praise for Someone Had to Lie:
"Jack Luellen crafts an intriguing tale, interwoven with proven facts about the deadliest drug in our society, Fentanyl. Someone Had to Lie takes the reader on an educational journey into the biggest cartels and Narcos in the world and provides a behind the scenes glimpse of cartel operations through his lead character James Butler. Gripping storytelling! A must read!"
~ Leo Silva, Author of Reign of Terror, Former DEA Supervisory Special Agent
Book Details:
Genre: Crime; Mystery
Published by: Torchflame Books
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Number of Pages: 294
ISBN: 9781611533705 (ISBN10: 1611533708)
Series: The James Butler Mysteries, Book 2
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Torchflame Books
GUEST POST:
I have spent most of my legal career writing nearly every day and I believe I’ve become a skilled and effective legal writer. I also am an excellent editor, and thoroughly enjoy editing the writing of other lawyers, with an eye to maintaining their style while improving the final product.
It was only about 5 years ago that I gave any serious thought to creative writing, and I was clueless when I started the process. I found, as a felt my way through the process, that my legal training and legal writing had both positive and negative impacts on my creative writing.
On the negative side of the ledger, legal writing preaches brevity and a dearth of description. Most often, legal writing follows the Joe Friday mantra of “Just the facts ma’am.”
In my legal career, I generally am writing to a narrow audience, and I usually know what the audience knows about my case or situation. I rarely need to “overexplain.” In creative writing, however, I have to be certain to explain enough so all of the audience understands, without being either boring or insulting.
In legal writing, I am much more of a slave to an outline and a process. There is a process to writing a motion or a brief, and there is a point to be made. In creative writing, I have learned to relish the moments when the characters or the scenes surprise me. Ideas or connections often come unexpectedly without apparent forethought or analysis. Often these are the portions of the novels I like the best.
The legal mind and legal process has provided positive influences in my creative writing as well. Organization is key to most, if not all, good legal writing, and, I’ve learned, organization is key to telling a good story, especially a mystery.
Legal writing often is persuasive. The writer is trying to bring the reader along to a conclusion. When I’m writing my novels, I’m not trying to be persuasive but I want the reader to follow the characters as they unravel the conundrum facing them. Attracting the reader’s attention and keeping it throughout is key in both writing styles.
Finally, ruthless editing is a hallmark of a good legal writing process. An argument or phrase that does not advance the theme should be deleted no matter how articulate. The same is true in writing novels. A great scene that does not advance
the plot or the characters should be deleted just like the misplaced but well-written argument.
Overall, what I’ve learned, or at least experienced, is that both types of writing can be exhilarating and rewarding, and each helps the other. But after 35 years of legal writing, I’m finding the freedom that comes with creative writing to be extremely gratifying, and I hope I have as much time with that art as I have had with the law.
Read an excerpt:
“Is that music playing in your office? You never listen to music at work?”
“I do on rare occasions.”
“That’s Alice Merton. How are you even aware of her music?” Erica asks, gobsmacked.
“I’m not, but I met Detective Torres at a Starbucks this morning and it was playing, and I liked it. I asked a Gen Z barista who the artist was and played it when I got in,” James says.
“I’m in shock.”
“I’m evolving,” James says, his words interrupted by the playing of the Johnny Rivers hit “Secret Agent Man” from his cell phone. “Alexa, off. Tim, hi, thanks for calling back. Erica is here with some information to share.”
“Hi, Erica. What’s going on?” Tim says.
“After we left the jail today, I went back to the office to work, and a few minutes ago, Belmonte called me to tell me that the DEA had been quote, ‘Requested,’ end quote to refrain from investigating or prosecuting Javier and that Javier was being moved to a different facility. Belmonte said the directive apparently came from the DNI. He called me from a burner phone and suggested we keep the circle of information as small as possible,” Erica explains.
“Holy crap,” Tim says.
“Any idea who could have that kind of juice?” James asks.
“None in particular,” Tim says.
“You didn’t tell anyone about meeting Javier?” Erica asks.
“Of course not,” Tim replies.
“Then how did anyone—” Erica begins.
“I have no idea,” Tim interrupts.
“One thing seems certain,” James says. “Aguilar was spot on. It is bigger than we knew.”
***
Excerpt from Chapter 24 of Someone Had to Lie by Jack Luellen. Copyright 2025 by Jack Luellen. Reproduced with permission from Jack Luellen. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Jack Luellen is a Denver, Colorado, attorney with more than 30 years of experience. In practice, Jack has tried cases to courts and juries, and has written hundreds of briefs, motions, and memoranda, to state and federal courts, including federal courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court.
In 1990, Jack first started working on cases related to the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena and has investigated the case in the years since that time. Jack's investigations have taken him to foreign countries and included interviews with witnesses both notorious and infamous. This work has been the background to Jack's upcoming novel Someone Had to Die.
Jack is the proud parent of an amazing daughter and is a weekend warrior on the tennis courts.
Catch Up With Jack Luellen:
LuellenWriting.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram - @luellen_writing
Threads - @luellen_writing
X - @jack_luellen
Facebook - @Luellen Writing
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