I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. One of the best books I have read this summer. I highly recommend it. I am afraid to give any details because I don’t want to give any spoilers.

I will say, “If you liked Gone Girl you will like Lies She Told.”

Lies she told by Cate Holohan
This book is set in the present time and mostly in New York.
Liza is an author. Her editor is not happy with her latest book and wants her to write about mind games and psychological manipulation.
Liza has a difficult relationship with her husband and struggles with the side effects from taking fertility treatment. The fertility treatment causes forgetfulness, headaches and nausea. Liza’s husband David struggles with extra work load in his law firm since the disappearance of his co-worker and best friend Nick.
The book swings between Liza’s life and the life of Beth the protagonist of her latest novel. Liza’s latest novel is a romantic suspense. Beth has secrets and tells lies to her husband and Liza has a secret life that has been buried and forgotten. Only her best friend Chris knows about Liza’s childhood.
This story will keep you guessing to the very end. I loved every bit and couldn’t wait to turn another page. The pace was fast and the transitions between Beth’s story and Liza’s story worked well.

I found this a solid read that kept me entertained and wanting to read the next chapter. Even though I figured out the main secrets there were enough twists that kept things not entirely predictable. I'll keep Cate Holahan in mind for future reads.

Although I guessed what was going on pretty early on, this is one of those books where you just don't care because it's so wonderfully written. All the clues are there if you want to see them, as the story switches between fiction and reality, and I read this in one sitting just because I wanted to see if I was right. When I was, it wasn't a disappointment so much as a "yes, that all makes sense" kind of way.

Definitely recommended to thriller and suspense lovers.

Lies She Told by Cate Holahan is a psychological thriller. I believe it will be published in September of this year.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of Lies She Told in exchange for an honest review.

Liza Jones sees herself as a romance/suspense author, but struggling. Her first book was a best-seller, but she isn’t sure how that happened, and she can’t seem to get back on track. Given 30 days to get it together, Liza tries to devote most of her time to her new book. However, other things interfere. She and her husband David are trying to have a baby, and the experimental fertility drugs seem to be messing with her memory. As well, David’s best friend and law partner Nick has disappeared, so David is either off trying to find him, or taking over Nick’s cases. Liza and David don’t seem to have time for each other. Stress is taking over their lives.

Meanwhile, Liza’s new book tells the story of Beth and her husband Jake who have a 6-month old little girl. Beth suspects that Jake is cheating on her. He is spending more time at the office, and less time with her and the baby. She is going to put a stop to this, anyway she can.

Liza’s mind is truly starting to blur the lines between fact and fiction. She just had her heroine Beth shoot Jake’s mistress in the book, so why does Liza remember burying her own gun in her mom’s flower bed? When Nick’s body is found in the East River with a bullet wound, Liza starts to doubt everything. She will have to delve deep into herself to find the real truth.

Cate Holahan tells a story within a story, and to be honest it was hard to keep things straight at times. The chapters alternated between Liza’s life and the actual chapters of the book she was writing. So it was very important to keep the characters straight in your mind as you read along. Often I found myself in the midst of a paragraph and trying to remember whether this person was supposed to be real, or a figment of the author’s (Liza’s) imagination.

On the other hand, it was well written, and had enough twists (in both stories) to keep you interested. I found it to be a relatively fast read. I liked both Liza and Beth, and didn’t have much use for either husband. This is usually a sign that the characters have been written with some depth, because you have really gotten involved with them. I enjoyed both stories.

I have not read anything else by Holahan, but will keep her on my radar.

I read this book in one day on my beach vacation. When 3:00 came I was still sitting in my chair. My daughter asked if I was OK as I usually leave then to go up to the house and cook. I had to finish the book and literally sat there until I did. Liza was quite the interesting character and the story was quite unique. Told in alternating chapters, not unusual, but this one was one fictitious story and one the main story. As the plot progresses, they stories begin to blur and merge. There was a nice twist at the end as well to keep it interesting. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a book you can't put down until you finish.

Really interesting. A story within a story. At times I has to mentally review which part of the story I was reading - story or writer. The storyline(s) developed at pace and were revealing in the way post natal depression and childhood trauma affects mental health and well-being. Would recommend.

Just finished this at 2:30 am. Reading this book was more important than sleep. Will be back for a full-review.

A woman's publisher gives her 30 days to write a thriller that she's had an idea for. It mixes the "fictional " character with her own after a chapter or two. The writer is married to a man who is very focused on his partner and best friend who is missing. She's also undergoing serious hormone treatments to help her get pregnant. The "fictional " chara A bit complicated to keep the characters straight, but certainly held my interest. An exciting and well written book.

Lies She Told is a page turning suspense at it's best!
Liza Jones is a writer and a wife who is trying to conceive her first child. She is under a lot of pressure with the deadline of her book approaching. Along with this stress her husband's best friend and business partner is missing and presumed dead. Liza knows all about mysteries. In fact she is writing a mystery that seems to coincide with her life in many ways.
As the story alternates between Liza and Beth, the main character in her latest novel, we careen back and forth between what is real and what is imagined and we have to ask ourselves who is Beth really? And what is Liza hiding? Does she even know?
A thriller full of murder, lies and buried secrets. I will be watching for Holahan's next read!

I found 'Lies She Told' to be just ok. I found the second half of the book to be much more interesting than the first half, as the plot picked up and things started to happen.

Reading a work of fiction requires the reader to suspend disbelief, to forget, momentarily, that the author created this story. However, there was something about the way Liza spoke and thought about her writing that constantly reminded me that I was reading a work of fiction. I could never quite imagine that Liza was a real person; she was a character, just like the character she created in Beth. This made it difficult to really get into the story or care much about what happened to Liza or David or Nick. Beth's story was a distraction, although I understood how her life was meant to parallel Liza's own.

I appreciate what the author was trying to do, and it certainly is an interesting idea. I just didn't quite work for me.

*I was provided a free copy of this book in return of my honest review.

Well as you can see, I did finish this book in a day so it did at least keep my attention. The beginning does drag a little and there are times when you have to pay attention to keep up with which of the women the book is referring to at the moment.

The book gives you insight into two women dealing with the chaos and fallout of outside forces on their marriages. For the first time in a long time, I did not figure out the ending halfway through the book which is a very good thing. The ending may surprise you in some aspects, but everything is explained and tired up for by the final page.

A good book, well written and in a novel way of twisted two parallel story lines together until they merge into reality. Well worth a good read - settle down for a night in, because this one is difficult to put down.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This story has alternating chapters narrated by two women. The first is Liza, who promises her publisher that she will have written her second bestseller in 30 days. he second is Beth, the main character in Liza’s book. But where does the line between fact and fiction begin and end?

At first, the two stories didn’t seem to correlate, but as you read further you start to see similarities. Liza is married to David, whose business partner is missing. Was he murdered? Beth is married to Jake, whose lover is missing. Was she murdered? I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll stop there.

The book is well-written, engaging and, though slow at first, picks up about halfway through. here are some plot twists, most of which are not all that surprising, but still the story is suspenseful enough to hold your interest. Great character development, which made it easier to switch from one narrator to the other. The ending was a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping for a much stronger finish.

I recieved a copy of Lies from Netgalley in Exchange for an honest review


Lies She Told is the kind of book you start reading, but can't put down. The story is told from two perspectives, and I know it sounds confusing, but Cate does a great job at keeping things simple. You have the perspective of a character in a new novel, and the author herself who is going through her own personal crisis. As the novel progresses, things begin to spiral out of control, and fact blurs into fiction. Cate unravels the suspense slowly, just enough to tease you and then you're hit with an ending that I never saw coming. Liza is a character you can get behind, her story is interesting but not as interesting as the character she's creating. The action moves slolwy, but not too slow to bore you. It's a pace that adds depth to the story. You become interested in the characters, and want to know what the link is. A great suspense novel is a combination of great writing, and great characters, and Lies has that in spades.

At its core, Lies is a story about escape, and how things always aren't what they appear. Liza is an interesting character with secrets of her own. When the novel begins to mirror her own life, you see the cracks begin to form and this is where the novel becomes interesting. The subject of Nick's murder becomes the driving force of the last half of the book and this is when Cate really begins to shine. In a novel like this, it's easy to get plots entangles, or confuse your audience. That never happens. Instead, it becomes a perfect suspense thriller. You're engaged in the story, you can't put it down until it's all over. When it comes to great suspense thrillers this is one that deserves to be mentioned. It takes a few risks and succeedes. It's not your normal run of the mill story, nor does it follow the formula of most cookie cutter fiction novels. It's the kind of novel that gets an author noticed and I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more from Cate Holahan

This was a pretty good book but a little tricky to follow. The author keeps you guessing right to the end. As soon as you think you've figured it out there is a twist. A good psychological read.

An excellent novel. A struggling novelist, her mind lives between her real-life issues and the fictional character she is creating. Both have serious issues with eventual devastating events, life changing events. Of course, the fictional Beth is only in her mind but sometimes the fictional Beth advises the real-life Liza. Since Beth is a creation in Liza’s mind it seems only reasonable that Liza would heed Beth’s advice. With me so far? Both characters live out this great creation by the author as separate but joined stories. I have often wondered if fiction authors write under the influence of realistic occurrences in their lives. How could they not? This book is a masterpiece of creativity, a truly engaging story not to be overlooked no matter the readers gender. Centered on the two female characters, and other women, but also inclusive of their male partners and other men. Awesome reading.

This book bounces back and forth between the story of two different women. One woman is telling her story and then we learn about the character she writes about. We find out during the course of the story that the woman she writes about is not that different from herself and that she is likely dealing with some sort of mental health issues, following her own personal trauma. The story is engaging and the writing is intelligent and interesting. It kept me guessing and hypothesizing throughout and makes me want to read more by this author.

Wow. Gripping and kept me guessing throughout. You find yourself pulled into the insanity, asking what is real and what isn't. The weaving between stories built the tension and left you reading long past how long you intended. Entertaining through until the smashing end. Highly recommend

Lies She Told, a thriller by celebrated author, Cate Holahan, is two fascinating stories in one novel. Liza Cole is the author of one bestselling novel, and is struggling to write another. Her agent has given her 30 days to finish, and she is not only dealing with the stress of her writing deadline, but also is trying to get pregnant and is visiting a fertility doctor. She has some serious side effects from her fertility drugs, and is trying to help her husband through the grieving process due to the recent disappearance of his law partner and best friend Nick, whose body hasn’t yet been found.

In Liza’s novel, her protagonist, Beth, is a new mother suffering from post-partum depression, is seeing a psychiatrist, and suspects that her husband is cheating on her with a police woman he has met with on one of his cases. She travels to the mistress’s house to catch them in the act, and ends up murdering her and throwing her body in the river.

The book goes back and forth in chapters where Liza narrates what is happening in her life, and others that cover her novel starring Beth. The style is interesting, and makes it easy to follow both stories. Holahan is a good storyteller and writer, and while the novel isn’t particularly a fast read, the flow is steady and includes enough interesting scenarios and characters, that most readers won’t be able to put the book down. The building suspense is ongoing in both stories.

This thriller is quite unique, and readers will definitely not expect what happens at the end. It is recommended for those who want to stay on the edge of their seats.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.