AUTHOR: Clare Mackintosh
PUBLISHER: Berkley
PUBLISHING DATE: March 13, 2018
FROM GOODREADS: Two years ago, Tom and Caroline Johnson committed suicide, one seemingly unable to live without the other.
Their adult daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ deaths, unable to comprehend why they chose to end their lives. Now with a young baby herself, she feels her mother’s presence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents.
But as Anna digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her. She soon learns that nothing is as it seemed.
MY THOUGHTS: I've had kind of a hit and miss relationship with thrillers for the past six months or so. I go into them wanting to love them and hearing others rave about them only to be disappointed and feel like maybe the genre is out to get me. Therefore, you can imagine I didn't have high expectations for "Let Me Lie." I also have not read any of Mackintosh's other books so I didn't really know what to expect. Imagine my surprise at ending up really enjoying this book and finding it hard to put down.
The format of the book worked great for me. It's told in three distinct parts and each part has a cliffhanger which changes the direction for the remainder of the books. Also, it's told from three perspectives. Anna, who recently had a baby and lives with her partner Mark, Murray, a retired detective and his mentally ill wife Sarah, and an unknown party. Two years ago Anna's father committed suicide and seven months later, her mother followed the exact same path. However, now that the year anniversary is arriving, something happens which leads to Anna questioning if her parents actually committed suicide or if they were murdered.
While I didn't really like many of the characters in this book, I felt that wasn't even important. Anna was okay but I actually found her kind of annoying. Yet this didn't interfere with my reading enjoyment because man, I needed to know what was going on. I did grow quite fond of Murray and his wife. He was the grounding voice of reason in the book for me and the relationship with is mentally ill wife Sarah was truly beautiful.
It's hard to review this because I don't want to give anything away. I will warn readers, there is an act of animal cruelty against a bunny which I did not appreciate and which I feel was included for shock value. Also, there are a few surprises at the end, one of which is didn't necessarily need or agree with which is why I went with 4/5 rather than 5/5. So if you like thrillers, and even if you've been burned by them in the past like me, this might be one you want to consider reading.
I received my copy from the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.
RATING: 4 PAWS
I read a lot of lacklustre thrillers at one time and it pretty much put me right off the genre. I've picked up a couple recently that sound interesting but they aren't priority reads!
ReplyDeleteI tend to get burned by the ones that have lots of hype and people rave about. That being said, I'd heard nothing about this one and it worked out pretty good!
DeleteOh wow I don't think I have read a book quite like this with more than one cliffhanger that change the direction of the book! I have learned I like multiple POVs when they are well executed :) Glad you enjoyed it even though you didn't like many of the characters Sorry to hear about the bunny! :(
ReplyDeleteWhat's nice about it is the "big reveal/cliffhanger" happens at the end of sections 1 and 2 and then you can go right along and find out what happens next without having to wait for another book.
DeleteHmmm, animal abuse and parental suicide. I think that rules me out. Thank you for the warnings!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I had to throw the bunny in because it completely shocked me and I wanted every one else to be prepared.
DeleteI know exactly what you mean. I've been really wanting a good thriller this year, but I haven't had much luck lately. It's making me hesitant to pick them up.
ReplyDeleteI'm like that too. Luckily, this one and the one I just read were pretty decent reads.
DeleteIt seems like all the hot thrillers this season have "Lie" in the title. At least all the "girl" books get a break!
ReplyDeleteWell the "girl" definitely needed a break so I'm good it it :)
DeleteAh! Sounds intense but also really good!!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd enjoy it.
DeleteThis sounds really good, Barb. I may have to give this one a try. I read one of her earlier books and liked it so I am very tempted by this one.
ReplyDeleteIf you like her, you should give this one a try too.
DeleteThank you for the head sup about the bunny! This is one I've seen about, but didn't know quite what to make of, but your explanation of the parts actually makes the book make a little more sense to me.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty good read and I really loved Murray so it's worth it for his story.
DeleteI am so glad you liked this book. I enjoyed it as well and agree Murray was the best character. There were so many twists and turns that just when I though I knew what was going on it would change.
ReplyDeleteYep, it was a crazy book. I'm glad it ended as it did for the couple....
DeleteI am allergic to Thrillers, but I have seen a couple of people say they liked this book despite not really being that into them, but I am still wary. Ha ha. 📚
ReplyDeleteI love it - allergic to thrillers!
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