My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A completely addictive double thriller filled with twists and turns that will leave you wanting more.

Holy Crap! LIES SHE TOLD is quite possibly the most engrossing psychological thriller that I have read this year. I loved how the author gave her reader essentially two mysteries in one by utilizing Liza’s book to enhance the tension. Then she started to blur the lines between the stories making me question everything and doubt everyone.

Through what I can only express as expert storytelling, Cate Holahan wrote a smart, dark, and tense thriller. Her characters, both in Liza’s life and the one’s that Liza creates, come across as genuine complete with flaws, lies, and secrets. The author pushed the boundaries of what is real and what isn’t in such a way that the reader can’t help but think that they are loosing a grasp on the reality of the story right along with Liza. I can tell you that at one point, I thought I new exactly how it was all going to play out, but then I was hit with a twist and then another. I never truly recovered and that not knowing what was going to happen next made me love the story even more. Brilliant, fast-paced, dark and twisty.

If you want to experience one of the best thrillers of the year (in my humble opinion), then dive into LIES SHE TOLD. However, I will warn you. Carve out some time in your schedule, because once you start, you will not want to stop until the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this very engaging psychological thriller where the line between fiction and reality are causing havoc in the life of Liza Jones. Liza's family becomes embroiled in a murder mystery as Liza, a, romantic suspense author is penning a similar murder mystery in her current novel. A quick, suspenseful read.

So don't hate me...this book wasn't for me. I think I had overdone my quota of psychological thrillers for a month (ok, pretty much just my whole life) and needed a break. I'm in the minority here so don't judge this book based on my review, many others absolutely adored this book.

Here's why I think it didn't work for me: The alternate stories- Beth and Liza. I have realized when the lines blur between characters (book within a book) I usually don't care for the book. So this type of style is just typically not my favorite in general (See review of Two Days Gone). I had also pinned the plot and ending pretty quickly. While this doesn't always ruin my experience, I think tied together with the style it made it less appealing for me. I didn't care for any of the characters either, which made it hard to enjoy. I found Liza/Beth annoying and her husband David to be unappealing as well.

The writing was good, and the characters had enough depth. The good thing to take away is that they did make me feel something (even if it wasn't positive). A really terrible book would've made me feel nothing at all. While this one was not my cup of tea, I would read Holahan again. I find the cover attractive, which can either make or break me picking it up if it's an author I had never heard of. (yes, I do sometimes judge by the cover...don't hate me).

Thank you to NetGalley, Cate Holahan and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

** 2.5/5-- it was ok.

Lies She Told is a quick, easy, and enjoyable read.I really liked the premise of reality starting to mirror a work of fiction and vice versa. However, I was hoping that it would take things to the next level and play around with the blurred lines between fact and fantasy even more.

The first line of the description of this book is what drew me in: Sometimes the truth is darker than fiction.

Liza is an author who has thirty days to write her next thriller, not to mention keep up with the rest of her life, as she's struggling to get pregnant and her husband is struggling to keep his head above water after his business partner disappeared.

And then we have Beth, who is a new mother, home alone for the most part, trying to provide for her newborn. As if that wasn't enough stress, she catches her husband cheating on her, and next thing she knows she's tossing the body of his mistress into the river.

The thing I love more than a good thriller, is a story about an author who is writing the next thriller. As much as I love the whole story, the story of a story always gets me. When you write, you always put a little of yourself into your characters, so when I read books about authors, I always wonder how much of the author is in that fictional author.

At first with this book, it's a bit confusing, trying to figure out who is who, what is real and what is fiction. However, after a couple of chapters, the story starts to unfold and it's hard to put the book down. This is an incredible read and I will definitely look for more of her books in the future.

After a poor reception for her last book, former bestselling author Liza is given her one month to complete a draft of her new book. As if that isn't stressful enough, she is also on hormone therapy and trying to conceive a baby with her husband David. But he's pre-occupied with the disappearance of his law partner Nick, who has been missing for one month. Liza's story is interspersed with scenes from her romantic suspense novel, featuring new mother Beth, who suspects her husband Jake is cheating on her. It's not long before we can see the parallels in both stories and it's not long before the truth becomes the fiction and vice versa. Liza has hit upon the way the secret formula for writing a bestseller. Unfortunately, someone has to die in the process.

It's hard to keep track of the two separate stories, as they are so similar. Beth's hot therapist Tyler is a dead ringer for Liza's hot editor Trevor. Both of their husbands are suspected of having affairs. Even the names Liza and Beth are both nicknames for Elizabeth.

The fonts for the two stories are different in the Amazon version but not in the version I read. Suggestions to improve the readability: use page headers with the narrator's names, label Beth's story with her name instead of numbers, or tell Beth's story in the third person.

While there are some great lines throughout the book (see below) and an interesting insight into the world of writing, the prose is dry and choppy, while the plot is pedestrian and predictable. The book literally put me to sleep on several occasions. The clues the author drops are none too subtle, and I had both stories figured out early on. It doesn't help that the book description mentions the major plot developments, even though those events don't occur until halfway through the book. Why is it all revealed there? On top of that, the characters are all unlikable, Liza is obviously an unreliable narrator, and Beth is a manipulative bitch, not a sympathetic victim. The stories themselves are a never-ending litany of too many showers, so much vomiting, and failed marriages everywhere.

Disappointing.

Warnings: coarse language, sexual references, violence.

I enjoyed this page turner! Second book I've read by Cate Holahan and I look forward to reading more!

Lies She Told

Liza Jones has 30 days to write a thriller that will put her back on the best seller list.
Added to this pressure, she is struggling to start a family and trying to cope with so many things in her life that she finds herself escaping into the world of her heroine, Beth, and the lines between fact and fiction become more and more blurred.

I really enjoyed this book although found myself majorly confused at the beginning as I couldn't work out what was Liza and fact or Beth and fiction. I'd definitely recommend giving this book a whirl! Four stars from purplebookstand.

I was lucky to be provided with an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.

This was an edge-of-your-seat thriller that kept me guessing. Liza is an author, and her agent gives her 30 days to come up with a novel that will wow him and keep her writing career alive. She’s also trying to conceive the child she thinks will make her husband happy again. The story moves between Liza’s world and her protagonist Beth’s world, and the suspense builds as the line between fantasy and reality start to blur. I highly recommend this one to thriller fans!

“I’d been waiting tonight. But the evening was so warm and the sunset, poisoned with air pollution, such pretty shade of salmon. Why not go for a walk? And then, as my child continued to sleep against my chest, why not head uptown twelve more blocks to Jake’s office? Why not pass the restaurant where we went last Thursday with the delicious grilled octopus and see about grabbing a table in the backyard garden? Ignorance is bliss. If only I’d stayed home.”

–Lies She Told, Cate Holahan

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I love a good mystery, and I am always intrigued by stories that have multiple perspectives. Lies She Told has a bit of everything and is intriguing, but ends up being utterly predictable and highly unbelievable.

When I saw the title, I thought that I would give it a try. Titles with lie in them are all the rage right now, so I figured that it wouldn’t hurt. The story focuses on Liza, a suspense writer who is a bit of a one-hit wonder. She is struggling to complete her latest work about Beth, a new mom who finds that her husband is having an affair. Half the chapters are from Liza’s perspective, we learn that her husband is struggling after the disappearance of his law partner and the couple’s struggle to conceive a child. The other half of the chapters are the manuscript of Liza’s book. This mystery within a mystery starts off with lots of suspense and engaging characters, but there are some twists and turns that are wholly unbelievable.

While I wanted to like this book, I found that it was a bit too much – the characters were a bit over the top in their actions and situations were always a bit too convenient. I really appreciated the concept, but if you are one who can guess the ending only a few chapters in, be warned that this might not be the book for you.

The book was an easy read. It was a bit hard to figure out. Finally around half way through the book, I realized that the book was told by two people, then it got easier. A deep psychological thriller done in an original way.

I really enjoyed this book. It is clever, complex and compelling and really well-written. It took me a few chapters to get into it but then I was hooked. The scenes and characters and their feelings were all clearly drawn in my mind and the plot and structure are both very effective. I'd be very interested to read more from Cate Holahan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of Lies She Told.

Took me a while to get into, and the changing characters between chapters threw me at first but eventually thought it was an interesting concept. I was gripped and loved how the two parallel stories merged towards the end. Looking forward to reading more this author.

A very interesting premise that I was looking forward to.

Sadly, the book fell short in several areas. The suspense was lacking for one. And secondly, it got a bit convoluted to read a story within a story and try to keep track.

This book had great promise but ultimately it fell a bit short.
I think it could have benefitted from being a lot longer and more detailed, it wrapped up pretty quickly when it could have unfolded at a slower pace.

Thanks to NetGalley, Cate Holahan for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE books within books! Lisa's publisher is demanding she write the next great thriller so she begins writing a book about Beth, a new mom who suspects her husband is cheating on her. Beth seeks to catch her husband in the act. This turns into a sort of parallel between the writer and her character. This was so good!

I couldn't get into this story. I thought reading the synopsis that it was a book I would love, sadly, it just wasn't for me.

Liza is an author whose first book was a bestseller. Since then she has tried unsuccessfully to write another one and now has only thirty days to write a new book. In addition, she is desperately trying to have a baby with her husband, David, but he is too worried about the disappearance of his best friend and co-worker Nick, who Liza didn't like very much. If that wasn't enough, the fertility treatments seem to be causing her memory loss. In the meantime, in the pages of Liza's novel, new mother Beth finds out that her husband is cheating on her. This discovery will take Beth on a path of revenge and self-destruction.
The story started a bit slow but the more I read, the more I was addicted as Liza's personal life mirrors her character Beth's. I loved the concept of a "book within a book" and how the narration alternates between Liza's story and her novel. Also, I loved how the author focused on the female characters, leaving the men as figureless characters that I couldn't picture. The plot is very engaging and carefully constructed and the suspense kept me glued to the page.

Very gripping blurb! I can only assume that the “lies she told” are rewritten in the form of the protagonist’s fiction. The cover is of a woman, one side of her face shows sadness or guilt maybe, the other half shows her left eye closed with her hair blowing in front of it. I’m going to interpret this as the woman being outwardly calm in regards to her husband’s friends, playing the role of the worried wife but inwardly racked with guilt or in denial. For what? Who knows but I’m excited to find out!

Thoughts:

This book had me hooked from the very first moment! As a mystery thriller, it had a good douse of suspense and tension. I was constantly anticipating what would happen next and if my suspicions were true. I didn’t trust anyone in the book because from all those episodes of CSI I watched, I know everyone and anyone is a suspect. The mystery factor had me flying through this book, I just needed to know where Nick disappeared to or if he disappeared at all. The chapters alternated back and forth between the protagonist, Liza, and Beth; Liza’s main character in her book she was currently writing. From the blurb I already expected there to be a connection between Liza’s fiction and the events occurring in her life, not just presently but in the past too. The switch between the two perspectives started out in their individual world’s, but as the story went on I found the similarities in Liza’s life and Beth’s and ultimately…the answers to Nick’s disappearance.

Characters:

Liza - A middle aged author both struggling to write her next best seller and hold onto her husband. His best friend’s disappearance has taken his time, attention and even affection away from Liza, their marriage and their goal to start a family. If she is being honest with herself, their marriage wasn’t doing great before Nick disappeared either. Liza uses her writing to escape her life…but when the lines between fiction and reality blur Liza realises she can’t trust anyone. Least of all herself.

“I don’t invent my characters. I steal them from my surroundings. To be writer is to be a life thief. Every day, I rob myself blind.”

David – Liza’s husband, David, is co-owner of an attorney firm alongside his best friend, Nick. With Nick’s disappearance, David is running the company on his own and any spare time he has he dedicates to finding his friend. His wife and her concerns are the least of his concerns. His worry for Nick borders on obsession, rousing the question of why David is so anxious to find him.

“He’s toggled between stages one through three of grief: tearful shock, frantic denial, and raging anger.”

Beth – A fictional character created by Liza. A new mother and heartbroken wife, Beth suspects her husband is cheating on her. When her suspicions are confirmed her hurt and confusion lead to anger, and her anger leads to murder.

Jake – A fictional character created by Liza. An attorney cheating on his wife with the police officer assigned to help him with a case.

Plot:

I have read many books that go back and forth between characters, time and even reality. I find most of these books frustrating and terribly confusing but I always keep going because when everything adds up...mind blown!
This book didn’t frustrate me in the least. I enjoyed the back and forth between Liza and Beth. Two worlds that were parallel in story, one that hid truths within fiction and the other a reality to run from. I would have my suspicions of who knew something or who did something and at times I would be certain, then the author would throw me for a loop and I would be off suspecting someone else. Every character had a motive, from Liza, to her husband, to Liza’s best friend, and even Liza’s boss. I was apprehensive of everyone at all times.
The pace of the story was unrushed and very well done.

Last Note:

The author was able to keep my undivided attention and interest the majority of the read. As mystery thriller books go, this one had great suspense and intensity. Definitely unpredictable.

This is a well-written book with a fascinating story. The characters are well-defined although it's sometimes hard to know whether it's Liza or Beth talking despite the chapter headings. The two are interchangeable in so many ways - as was the author's intention I'm sure.

I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say that this is an engrossing book that I didn't want to put down. It had me guessing right up to the end.