This wasn't a bad book - but still I felt disappointed. There was a lot of build up about the "lies she told" but it was really obvious to me. I kept waiting for the "AHA" moment and it didn't really come. However, it also wasn't a bad ending; I think it was built up wrong. Still, I enjoyed reading the story (and the story within a story).

The truth can be darker than fiction.

Liza Cole, a once-successful novelist whose career has seen better days, has one month to write the thriller that could land her back on the bestseller list. Meanwhile, she’s struggling to start a family, but her husband is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. As stresses weigh her down in her professional and personal lives, Liza escapes into writing the chilling exploits of her latest heroine, Beth.

Beth, a new mother, suspects her husband is cheating on her while she’s home caring for their newborn. Angry and betrayed, she aims to catch him in the act and make him pay for shattering the illusion of their perfect life. But before she realizes what she’s doing, she’s tossing the body of her husband’s mistress into the East River.

Then, the lines between Liza’s fiction and her reality eerily blur. Nick’s body is dragged from the East River, and Liza’s husband is arrested for his murder. Before her deadline is up, Liza will have to face up to the truths about the people around her, including her own. If she doesn’t, the end of her heroine’s story could be the end of her own.

My Thoughts: In alternating narratives, we enter the worlds of Liza and Beth, and, at first, it seems as though Liza is simply creating a romantic suspense novel, even though she readily admits that her fiction is often based on composites of people and events in her own life. She says “to be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day, I rob myself blind.”

Sometimes events in her fictionalized world definitely mimic her life. She is worried about her marriage and she is on fertility drugs that render her emotional. And sometimes she has memory issues. Could she be mixing up events? Does her real life look too much like the fictional one? Could she have done something dreadful, and then forgotten about it?

It doesn’t help that both Liza’s husband David and fictional Beth’s husband Jake are liars…and probably cheaters. Or is everything skewed by Liza’s version of the truth?

I couldn’t stop reading Lies She Told. I loved going back and forth between the worlds of Liza and Beth, and trying to decide the truth of what had actually happened. Did David kill Nick, or has Liza done it and forgotten? Have all the actions she has attributed to Beth been her own? Is she even writing a book? Then we discover a buried secret from Liza’s childhood, one that definitely changes everything we thought we knew. An unputdownable book that earned 5 stars.
***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

5/5 - check out my review here: nikkisnovelniche.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/review-lies-she-told-cate-holahan-2017/

I literally devoured this book in a day. I skipped over my quotes section in my review because I wanted to know what happened so badly that I didn’t even stop to highlight anything lol! This book may have claimed the top spot for me for best book of 2017…. This story has everything you would want in a mystery – plot twists, suspense, red herrings, and complex characters. Lies She Told is also unique as it is basically a story within a story. Cate Holahan does a fantastic job of sucking her readers into both stories while keeping the story-lines distinct so we don’t get lost along the way. I think that is what made this book so engrossing, you become involved in both Liza and Beth’s lives and want to know their outcomes. You become doubly invested in the book because there are double the characters and situations you would normally encounter in your typical mystery.

Overall, I found this book to be well-written and well-paced and incredibly hard to put down. I guarantee readers will have some sleepless nights as they’ll want to devour this book in one sitting as I did!

Recommended to all fans of mystery/suspense novels, this is an addictive, plot twisting, binge-worthy read that will have you at the edge of seat the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley for an uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

**Review will be posted on Amazon on September 12th***

This is a strange book but I have to say, I enjoyed it.
Liza is an author and is trying for a baby with her husband David. The book she is writing is about a couple who have a young baby and are having marriage difficulties.
The chapters flit between Lisa's story and the character in the novel she's writing, who is Beth.
It got quite confusing at times but I think I understood everything!
This is a really different book and I've never read about an author and her partner, and then her characters as part of one story.
I think it worked as I did enjoy reading it, and it will definitely be one I remember.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane publishers for sending me an advance copy.

Liza is an author who had a break through debut novel and is trying to get back to her previous glory. At the same time, she and her husband are dealing with infertility issues and the disappearance of his best friend and business partner. The book bounces back and forth between Liza's life and the story she is writing about Beth, a new mother who is dealing with an unfaithful husband. Both stories felt too similar, emotionally, in pace, and emphasis resulting in a somewhat monotone read. I would have preferred if the book had focused more on Liza's story with less emphasis on the book she was writing. I think that would have helped accentuate what was a good concept instead of distract from it.

*3.5 stars

Liza Cole is a romantic suspense writer facing a deadline for her latest book but unfortunately she is distracted by her struggles with an experimental hormone therapy for infertility that seems to be giving her intense migraines and episodes of forgetfulness. Her husband David is less than sympathetic because he is distraught over the disappearance of his best friend and law firm partner, Nick.

Chapters of Liza's new book about a young mother with a cheating husband alternate with what is going on in Liza's own life. This is confusing at first and it takes until the last half of the book for the story to really take off. Up until that point, the book was going to get a 3 star rating from me but the last half redeemed the story in my eyes. Some nice unique plot twists there. I did still feel that the dual story lines were confusing but there was a purpose behind that.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller.

I loved this book! It was such a well done psychological suspense and I did not want to put it down.

Lies She Told is about Liza, a once best selling author who has struggled with her last few books. Her editor doesn’t seem to be very impressed with her newest idea, but she gets him to agree to give her 30 days to submit a first draft. As she writes, she is distracted by her relationship with her increasingly distant husband, David, who’s best friend and business partner, Nick, has gone missing. She is also on an experimental fertility hormone that has some difficult side effects. She starts to write her new book about Beth, a new mother who suspects her husband is cheating on her and goes to drastic measure to keep him.

“To be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day, I rob myself blind.”

The story is told in alternating chapters of Liza’s life and her book. I really loved this! There are definitely parallels between Liza’s book and her life. However, I also thought that Beth’s story, while inspired by Liza, still felt like it’s own plot. It was almost like reading two different books that gave clues to each other. Including a story within a story is not a new narrative device, but I thought it was done really excellently here.

While I don’t think the conclusion to the mystery of what happened to Nick is really that surprising, there were still enough little twists to keep me guessing. We don’t know if Liza’s hormones are making her forgetful or if there are other things going on. On the other hand, we see exactly how crazy and manipulative Beth can be. While neither of these two characters were particularly likable, I thought both of them to be sympathetic and compelling.

Overall, I really enjoyed Lies She Told. I loved the writing style and the alternating chapters made me never want to stop reading. I definitely recommend this one to fans of psychological suspense. This is my first book by Cate Holahan and I am now anxious to try out what else she’s done.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

An interesting premise. The story goes back and forth between the narrator's perspective who is a romantic suspense author and her main character's narrative. The author's herself becomes involved in something out of her own books. Very far fetched but held my interest. 3.5 stars

Prior to part 1 of the book there is a quote, which I believe is a true description of this book, "The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.". I really enjoyed this book, as it was an interesting twist on the idea of telling a story from multiple points of view. It alternates by chapter between the point of view of Liza, an author struggling to write another bestselling book after a flop and Beth, the protagonist from Liza's latest novel, who is a new mom who suspects her husband of cheating on her

At first I found Beth's story must more interesting, but as the book progressed, I became just as invested in Liza's story as well. In addition to writing another novel, Liza is struggling to get pregnant, as her husband is trying to find his missing law partner/best friend who has disappeared without a trace. While Liza's life seems straight forward, there is more to her story than what she is showing the reader on the surface. Her character Beth begins to suspect her husband is cheating on her, but her actions to prove this is true are unsettling at best. Reading Beth's story, you definitely question her reliability as a narrator, but you don't have anyone to refute her claims (with the exception of possibly Liza).

Overall this was a great book, I liked both characters, and continue to find myself thinking about both them and their loved ones, days after I finished reading the story.

If you ever wanted a book to bend your mind and twist it until you were so confused you didn’t know where to turn and what to think, Lies She Told will give you all of that and more! I absolutely loved this story! OMG, I was so torn between the parallels of Liza and Beth. My, my, my! What an incredible story.

Liza had long exhausted her excitement of her last best seller, Drowned Secrets. She was looking for that next thriller that was going to catapult her and her publishing house to the next level. She had been dragging her feet to get her latest novel done and for good reason. She was distracted of sorts. Her husband’s law partner was missing and it was wreaking havoc on their marriage. Liza wanted to practice making a baby with her lawyer husband, but all he could think about was his partner, Nick.

It wasn’t that Liza wasn’t sympathetic to her husband’s feelings. She was. It was the fact that he was spending all his time at his law practice and she needed him to be with her. Since her husband had literally given her the boot, Liza took this time to write about her heroine, Beth. Liza and Beth both had a dilemma. Beth’s husband was away from her because he was cheating. And what was worse, she was a new mother caring for their daughter, Victoria. Ok, some new moms struggle with the baby and dealing with life—it’s not easy overseeing another’s life. But to have your husband of twelve years step out on you—well, that was another matter entirely!

As Liza and Beth each struggle with their own problems, the reader will slowly but surely begin to wonder about a great many things. And I bet you’re wondering what exactly could that be? When I tell you these two stories are so similar, it will become clear that what you think you know, you really don’t! Holahan did an exceptional job at keeping the reader guessing. I got to the point where I had to go back and re-read paragraphs because I was soaking up the words too fast because their stories were so damn good! And when you get to the ending—Oh Wow! Like I said, if you’re looking for suspense and intrigue, THIS is the STORY for YOU! The twists in this story had me so wound up that I began dreaming about the characters.

You know a story is good when you can’t wait to get done handling your own life’s problems, so you can get back into theirs. I stayed up late a few nights, sacrificing my work sleep for this book. It was well worth it and more! What an amazing story and the characters are such that you will invest your time in getting to know what is real and what is fiction. I’ve never read Holahan’s work before, but I must say, if she writes every book the way she wrote this one, she has a HUGE fan in me. Wow, outstanding read!

Mello & June gives Lies She Told five truthful stars and counting! This was one explosive read that blew my mind completely. I was so not ready for what I received. Oooh, this was such a great story! Absolutely loved it! Lies She Told goes on sale on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Trust me you will want to grab this book quickly and/or download and start right away. Warning—once you start, you will not stop until you’re done! Clear your calendar and enjoy. I know I certainly did! Until next time, Intellectual Minds, Keep on Reading!

3.5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC

Good cover & interesting blurb on the back cover

Great concept and unique idea

Story was a little confusing to start but picked up pace half way in
The main character is an author and chapters alternate between her point of view and then the main character's point of view from her novel.

Would recommend well written and engaging & I would now want read her other novel

Liza is writing a new murder thriller, but is her story based on real life? What is fact and what is fiction? Good read, hard to put down.

I am afraid I struggled to get into this book, I chose it, so no one forced me to read it but I just didn't connect with it.I wasn't that interested in the main character so wasn't really that interested in her story.I am sorry I hope others enjoy the book more than I did.Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Liza is a romantic suspense author who has thirty days to produce a rough draft for her publisher. Lies She Told alternates between her personal story and the one she is writing.

Maybe because I'm not a fan of the romance kind of suspense novels, I struggled with the story within the story. I mean, I'll give Holahan credit, it read like a romance style novel. Beth is a new mother who has caught her husband having an affair. She's unwilling to confront him about it but of course, feels totally betrayed. Reading about that was akin to a visit to the dentist for me.

Liza’s life isn't any joy either. She's attempting a new fertility treatment trial. She's neglected to tell the doctor about her depression as that would have barred her from the trial. Oh, and she's no longer seeing her psychiatrist. And her husband is no longer really behind her attempts to get pregnant.

The constant back and forth between Liza and Beth took a while to get used to. It didn't help that formal names often don't appear in the first few paragraphs of a section and you have to make sure you know who you're reading about. Once you figure out it's always a back and forth, it gets easier.

I also struggled with this book because I really didn't care for either of the two “main characters”. Now let me explain that I don't have a maternal bone in my body. So, one character doing everything possible to get pregnant and another willing to stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of a child were not characters I could relate to. The average score I've assigned the book is somewhat of a “it's not you, it's me” situation, given that I am definitely in the minority of not being entranced by this book.

As the storylines blur and merge, the action picks up. The last third of the book moves more into being a true psychological thriller and definitely moves quickly and keeps your interest. So, I would rate the first part of the book a 2.5 and the last part a 3.5.

My thanks to netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy of this book.

I really rather enjoyed this one. I started it before bed with the intention of reading for a couples hours and calling it a night. What actually happened was I quickly became so engrossed in the story that I stayed up way past my bedtime and read it straight through.

I found it to be well written and well paced. The plot was interesting and well developed. There were twists and turns. The characters were compelling. There were a lot of breadcrumbs dropped along the way, and by 40% I had an excellent idea where this was heading. That said it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story as I still found myself intrigued on how this author was weaving the two stories together.

What stopped this from being a complete 5-Star read was I did find the back and forth between fact and fiction confusing at times. And I admit I am still a bit confused by the ending. But all in all, this was a fantastic read and gets two thumbs up from yours truly.

Liza is a best selling author, or at least she used to be. Her first book was a hit and the ones that followed haven't been well received. Now she's been given 30 days by her publisher to write another great book. She's got a lot of pressure to write the book, but she's got problems at home. She's also struggling to have a baby with her husband who has been less than attentive. That may be understandable, however, since her husband's best friend has gone missing.

Meanwhile Beth, the protagonist of Liza's latest book, is facing struggles of her own. She's got a newborn baby and has recently discovered her husband has a girlfriend. Liza and Beth's stories are told in alternating chapters.

This book is great for writers (or aspiring writers) to read. Liza's writing process is a big part of this book. Readers will see hints of how Liza's real life influences the story she's trying to complete before her deadline is up. The book was hard to put down and easy to devour in a couple of days. Even though I thought the book was very engaging I found it to be predictable at times. So I was really surprised to find a pretty big twist in the last few chapters. This story kept moving and was a great suspense read to wrap up the summer with.

This was a great story, with chapters alternating between author Liza and Beth, the character she created for a new novel.

Liza’s first book was a hit, but she hasn’t been able to replicate her success. Additions to her stress are that she is trying an experimental hormonal treatment to become pregnant and her husband’s best friend/law partner has gone missing. Beth, the protagonist in the book Lisa is writing has a newborn, but suspects her husband is having an affair. I found both story lines good. In fact, I wound up reading the last half of the book in a way-too-late reading session.

Excellent book that I will recommend to many.

Story of writer who tells her own story as fiction but doesn't realize what happened to her. At times confusing.

Lies She Told is an amazing blend of psychological thriller and twisty whodunnit! While the first third of the novel feels a bit sluggish and the protagonists unsure and whiny, it quickly evolves into a tale that can't be put down.

Lawyers, a journalist & a best selling fiction writer living the good life in New York. I wasn't too fussed about any of the characters really & felt no connection to or sympathy for either of the women. One women 'real', the writer & the other woman, the protagonist in the new fiction book she's writing. The chapters jump between them both, the fiction possibly drawing on her real life, not wanting to give too much away.
I'm not sure why, but it wound me up so much when Liza referred to the 'geek squad' who fixed her laptop! She just annoyed me for being so belittling & rude!
Anyway, it all started getting a bit silly towards the end [Possible spoilers from here] after being slow to begin with. It wasn't the ending I was hoping for/expecting & it definitely wasn't just. Perhaps because I didn't sympathise enough (at all?) with either of the female characters, it just left me thinking - eh, you expect me to be rooting for these two?!
(And come on - NYC police are made out to be just slightly incompetent/naive!)