Book: The Lie
Author: Kathryn Croft
Pub Day: April 20th 2023
Book Description
My son said he walked his girlfriend home. But now she is missing…
Our new home was meant to be a chance for us to start again, to make new friends and forget the past. And as I look around the barbeque we’ve thrown for our neighbours, I dare to dream that things will be all right. I watch my husband joking as he flips burgers and my daughter turning cartwheels on our sun-bleached lawn. And then my gaze falls on my son Jacob, and his new girlfriend Rose, in her light blue jeans and her green crop top. There is a worried expression clouding her beautiful eyes…
The next day I get a call from Rose’s mother that chills me to the bone. Rose never returned after our party.
I wake my still-sleeping son, who walked Rose home the night before, and beg him for answers. Jacob promises he saw Rose to her front door, and I know he would never lie.
But when the police find Rose’s house keys hidden in our garden and a witness claims to have seen them arguing in the street, everyone insists I can’t believe what Jacob is telling me.
I will do anything to protect my boy. But I need to find a way to make the questions stop. Because there’s something about our family that nobody can ever know. And as the search for Rose closes in, how can I keep him safe and keep our secrets hidden?
A gripping and jaw-dropping page-turner with twists to die for. If you love Lisa Jewell, K.L. Slater and Jackie Kabler, you’ll love The Lie.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Lie' by Kathryn Croft.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Kathryn Croft, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 17th April 2023.
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'The Suspect' which I would also recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A gripping and jaw-dropping page-turner with twists to die for. If you love Lisa Jewell, K.L. Slater and Jackie Kabler, you’ll love The Lie.' I am a MASSIVE fan of both Lisa Jewell and K.L Slater so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a fan of Kathryn and if this books is as good as 'The Suspect' then it is guaranteed to be a page turner. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 50 chapters set over 3 parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Surrey, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have actually visited London recently so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise any areas mentioned.
This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Lucy Adams, Carrie, Rose. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.
This book is fantastically written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all feeling the hair raise on your arms and feeling the sweat run down your back.
Lucy and Jack move from London to Surrey to try and make a fresh start for themselves and their children Jack and Ava after Ava had suffered from bullying. They decide to host a welcome party which turns into a BBQ. It goes well although Jack and his girlfriend Rose don't seem to spend much time together. The next morning Rose's mother Carrie phones Lucy to ask if she has seen Rose as she didn't seem to have come home after the party. Jack insists he dropped her off home. However is he telling the truth? This book is an intriguing psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages from the start. I ended up reading it in one sitting of several hours. Kathryn does a fantastic job of weaving the chapters from the three main characters perspectives perfectly so we start slowly getting a picture of what is going on and what happened but she doesn't give too much away to spoil it for readers. The character perspectives we are told the story from are Lucy who is Jack's mother, Carrie who is Rose's mother and Rose herself. Not only do we get to see the storyline from multiple perspectives but also from both past and present timelines which Kathryn also does a fantastic job weaving together to create tension and suspense as we turn the pages. This is one of those books that will continuously keep you guessing throughout while suspecting each and every character. I didn't work out who was doing what so a HUGE well done to Kathryn as after reading hundreds of crime books it is getting harder and harder to surprise me but you managed to do it especially when it came to the mega twist at the end!! You absolutely blew my mind with that one!! This book is definitely a rollercoaster ride of suspense, shock, twists, turns, family, secrets, mystery , crime and so, so much more that it will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout! It is very fast paced and every time I said I would just read one more chapter that chapter ended in a way that there was no chance I could put it down so I read one more and then another and another until before I knew it I had come to the explosive ending!! It really is an intriguing, chilling, suspenseful and action packed psychological thriller that will keep you guessing throughout!!
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
The characters are realistic, strong and each have their own unique personalities. However, I must admit that I actually wasn't a huge fan of them which sadly turned this book from a 5 star to a 4 star. On the other hand, I normally wouldn't be able to finish a book if I didn't like the characters but due to me loving the actual storyline so much I still managed to read it and still enjoy it regardless of the character dislike which is very rare for me!! Just because I wasn't a fan of the characters it does not mean that other readers wont click with them but for me I just couldn't, unfortunately. The main characters we are told the story by are Lucy, Rose and Carrie. I must admit that as a parent myself I did see from both the mother's points of view in regards to some of the actions, conversations and accusations that went on. I have to be careful that I don't give anything away so I will keep this short and sweet in regards to the characters. I did think that Lucy was naïve when it came to her son Jacob and seemed to just take everything he said as the truth without questioning him as much as I would have as a parent. We all would love to think our children are innocent angels but the majority of parents have the sense to realise that most children will get up to at least something they are not meant to at certain points in their lives!! Carrie is also naïve when it came to her daughter Rose as when Rose tells us her story she most definitely isn't the girl that everyone thinks she is, including Carrie. Carrie is also determined that the guilty party must be Jacob and doesn't even consider anyone else. Out of the three main characters I found Rose to be the most mysterious and intriguing as we get to know a completely different person to the picture the other characters seem to paint of her. Each of the characters are complex as are their family dynamics and I did enjoy the character development throughout the book. Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all jump out of the pages and play their parts perfectly. I am looking forward to reading more books by Kathryn and seeing what she comes up with next!
Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and first chapter of Kathryn's 'The Girl With No Past' which are promising to be just as good as this book and I look forward to reading it!
Overall an intriguing chilling and complex psychological thriller that will keep you hooked and guessing throughout.
Genres covered in this novel include Domestic Fiction, Suspense Thriller, Women's Psychological Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Thriller, and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'The Girl on the Train', Lisa Jewell, K.L. Slater, Jackie Kabler Shari Lapena, Catherine Cooper, Lucy Foxley, Ruth Ware, Clare Mackintosh and Alice Feeney.
363 pages
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Kathryn is the bestselling author of ten psychological thrillers and to date she has sold over one million copies of her books. Her third book, The Girl With No Past spent over four weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart, and she has also appeared on the Wall Street Journal's bestsellers list. Kathryn writes full time and is now hard at work on her next book. After twelve years living in London, she now lives in Guildford, Surrey, the place she grew up, with her husband, two children and two crazy cats.
Social Media Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katcroft
Website: https://www.kathryncroft.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatcroft/
Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/kathryn-croft
Purchase Link
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BT25BP9Psocial
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