A year ago a explosion topples a Chicago high rise and the lives of Cecily, Kate and Franny change in more ways than the obvious. Cecily lost her husband and best friend. Kate takes the opportunity to run away. Franny loses her chance to get to know her birth mother better. As the year anniversary takes over all forms of media, the secrets each woman has kept starts unraveling. Can they successfully keep their own secrets or will the secrets prove too much for each?

My initial reaction to this book when I finished was WHOA! what just happened? I could not put this book down. The dates show two days to finish but I read this book in under 24 hours. I was reading it every second I had free and even the ones I really did not have free. The twists and turns the book took at every chapter had me thinking I knew what was going on and then BAM! another twist would occur. If you are a fan of suspense and thrillers you have to run and get this book from your favorite bookseller or library. Just beware that once you open and read the first page you are not going to want to put it down.

Catherine McKenzie has blown my socks off once again. I would love to see this made into a movie as it has the greatest potential to be a hit.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Review to come. I've now read several books by this author and her work is consistently engaging. I'll return to post a review link!

First, I want to thank Catherine McKenzie, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie is a powerfully written book!! If you ever wanted to know the human-interest side of the terrorist attack this is the book you must read! Catherine in the prologue had me scared right along the main character Celily as she navigated the 15th floor and the streets of pure terror as the Triple Ten attack was happening.

Catherine did an amazing job with the descriptions, details, the characters thoughts, feelings of the what actually happened that day and the aftermath. She showed compassion, empathy towards her characters. This subject matter and her characters seemed close to her heart.

However, this book was not just about the devastating attack and everyone trying to heal from it. There were other storylines involved too. Like the Celily’s husband wasn’t the perfect husband everyone thought he was, the interview Fanny May did with Teo regarding her finding her Birth Mom prior to the attacks, etc. So many lives changed due to this terrible tragedy.

My heart melted for the young nephews in this book of Aunt Kate! They were so adorable!

I would definitely read anything Catherine McKenzie writes again!

Where to start with this review. It’s been over a week since I finished The Good Liar and I am still thinking about it and still feeling in awe of Catherine McKenzie and her ability to take me outside of myself when I’m reading her books.
This is now the fifth book of hers I’ve read and the fifth one I’ve fallen in love with. Why? Her characters mainly. They are so well written – so messily real – that I can’t help getting completely caught up in their lives.
Here, there is Cecily, a grieving widow the world has fallen in love with; Kate, a wife and a mother who is trying to outrun her past; and Franny, Kate’s given-up-for-adoption daughter, who has found her mother only to lose her again.
Their stories play out over the course of several weeks, but all were shaped by a tragic accident a year previously. Through alternating chapters, you read about their past and present lives and how they have ended up where they are. Along the way, secrets are revealed (because what’s a book without secrets), and there are some surprising twists that meant I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Another thing I like about Catherine McKenzie’s work is that there is a moral ambiguity. Things happen, but judgements aren’t made. Not everyone who you think should get their comeuppance does and you are left – sometimes – keeping your fingers crossed for the “bad guy”. I like being able to make my own decisions about how I feel about things. And it always make me ask myself how I would have behaved in a given situation.
The last thing I love about Catherine McKenzie’s books (or the last one I’ll mention today) is how different they all are from each other. While the core of characters having to make difficult decisions in difficult circumstances is there in each one, the settings, the people, the stories are each so different, I don’t ever get a sense of deja vu, something I have experienced with other authors. Each book feels fresh and new and is exciting to read – and we all need a little excitement in our lives.
I really can’t say enough about his book – there is nothing I would change – and I recommend it to anyone out there who is in need of a good read.

Three women in this novel and a web of lies and deceits.

In my opinion as I read :

One woman is a bit of a mystery
One woman is socially disturbed and I can't agree with her actions
One woman seems ordinary and caught in the cross fires of other people's mistakes, poor choices and the victim of disloyalty.
I know this story is going to have lots of revelations along the way, and one comes for sure mid-read. Now my mind is beginning to see many possibilities and schemes. I just need to read on and see where this goes.

There is Cecelia - mother of two, who is on her way to the building where her husband works and is just in time to see that building explode. Why was she going to meet her husband Tom? Well eventually that is revealed.

Then we have Kate, who is taking care of two delightful twin boys in Canada. But she has only been there a year and why did she flee the disaster - when she has a family of her own. Not cool.

Finally Frannie who maintains she is adopted and that one of the women killed in the explosion was her birth mother.

All through the story people lie in one way or the other. There was really only one woman I liked, the other two - not so much, although I might have felt sorry, no really I didn't feel sorry or sympathetic towards them.

This was a story that had some good twists and turns and revelations, the kind of book that kept me reading until I had finished it up in a day!

Life for Cecily stopped that day one year ago. The day the building came down. She should have been there, but she wasn't. Her life has been put on hold this past year—the book her husband was reading is still laying on his nightstand, just waiting for him to come home and pick it up. For a year, she has been lying to everyone, and to herself.

The three women, connected by that one day, connected by that tragedy, connected by their lies. So many lies! Twists and turns as the reader tries to figure out the truth behind all the lies. Who even knows the truth anymore?

The Good Liar is a spellbinding thriller that will keep you guessing to the end. I devoured it and loved it! I've read all of Catherine's books and her stories just keep getting better and better.

Catherine McKenzie can always be counted on to spin a great tale, and The Good Liar is no exception. We meet three women who were present when a large explosion rocked Chicago killing more than 500 people on October 10th at 10:00 a.m. Theirs are stories of secrets, deceptions, and guilt. In this character-driven story, Cecily, Kaitlyn (Kate), and Franny find themselves confronting their sins of the past year as memorials for “Triple Ten” approach. I found them each to be believable and profoundly changed by the events of the previous year. Were they likable characters? Cecily was the true victim of the story and I liked her a lot, though I found myself getting frustrated with her from time to time. Kate was so twisted that I couldn’t understand how she could leave her family thinking she had died in the explosion. I disliked Franny from the start. She was too conniving, and I wanted to have nothing to do with her. The story is told in the first person by Cecily and Kate giving us a deep insight into their characters, while Fanny’s story was told in interviews and thus was impersonal.
Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the author throws another twist at you keeping you engaged in reading. Full of the unexpected, The Good Liar is a book you should watch for. It will be published in April 2018.
I am giving The Good Liar 4 stars because I felt it was confusing going back and forth among the three women. While I could grasp Cecily’s and Kate’s comments, I had a hard time connecting to Franny’s interview format at first.
Would I recommend The Good Liar? Unquestionably!
I received an ARC from the author and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A great quality gripping read. I found it hard to get into in some parts, but the majority of the book had me captivated.

As twisty as it is addicting, The Good Liar is another great offering from author Catherine McKenzie. The story is compelling, and the characters are well-developed even if they're not always likable. I read this as part of a group, and we had a lot of fun discussing the characters and plot online as we read. I think it would make an amazing read for a book club. If you read it alone, you'll probably be looking for someone to discuss it with once you've finished! Just when you think you know where it's going, it spins in a new direction. It definitely makes for an intriguing reading experience.

An explosion in Chicago has killed over 500 people and altered many lives. Cecily was late for work, which saved her life. If she'd been on time, she would have perished. She's still alive, but she lost her husband and her best friend in the tragedy. She's now trying to navigate life as a widow and a single parent. She's become the face of the event, the grieving wife and mother who had been captured on camera at just the right moment. Mysterious Kate fled from the explosion, all the way to Canada. She clearly has a lot to hide, but what? Franny has been left behind as well. She found her long-lost mother just before that day, only to lose her again. As the year anniversary approaches and we slowly get to know these three very complicated women, it's clear that each one has her secrets.

Read with a friend or several! You'll find lots to talk about.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

More twists and turns than a daytime Soap Opera!

Cecily has seen her life torn apart twice in the space of less than a year. On the outside she exhibits a strong personality, but inside she is quaking as she hides the secrets of the past couple of years. Fanny is just wanting to help families of the victims, but she seems to be driven by something that no one can really understand, and Kaitlyn just wants to run away from her life and start over somewhere... These three women, their lives pulled together by tragedy. Kaitlyn can't take much more of her "perfect life" and the explosion in her office building gives her the perfect chance to run. Franny seems to have a heart of gold, but under that exterior the cracks are beginning to show and the madness that is trapped within is about to spill over. Cecily just wants to move on, but she is stuck in the persona as the face of the Triple Ten.

As we see the story unfold, each of these women are trying to overcome the hardships of their past lives. They want something better, and they want to just live their lives. But each of them carry a secret so large that one secret alone could sink the Titanic. Kaitlyn has run away to start a new life in Canada, leaving her family to believe that she died in the explosion. She missed her daughters, but she has convinced herself that they were more her husbands daughters anyway.
Cecily knew her husband was cheating, he sent her the texts by mistake. She never knew who he was cheating with, but to find out while shopping for their anniversary trip - it put a damper on the entire weekend. He confessed to the affair, and then asked if their family was ruined. She was so devastated by his betrayal, she never thought about the affect it would have on their children. She keeps the secret, leading their children to believe that everything is fine and normal. But on the day set to make some huge changes - their lives are literally blown to pieces. She has to act as though everything was fine and pick up the bits and pieces the best she can. Her children deserve to have their father remembered in a good way.
Franny wants to help, but her claims of who she really is stumps Cecily. She never knew that her best friend carried a secret with her, she never confided in her about it. But as the pieces of Franny's life begin to unfold in the documentary that is being filmed about the event, questions arise as to her real identity, and what she is truly after.
As the story unfolds, so do the real motives, and the secrets are laid bare for all to see....


Oh my goodness! Get this book and prepare for book hangover central! There are so many twists, plot developments and more! This book kept me engaged from page one, and I had a really hard time putting it down (why does real life have to get in the way??). Catherine McKenzie weaves a masterful story, and keeps you guessing most of the way through! Don't start this book before bed!

Later, the incident would be called “Triple Ten” – on 10th October at 10 o’clock a Chicago office building is ripped apart by an explosion killing more than 500 people. Cecily becomes the picture of the tragedy because a photograph of her staring at the building in disbelieve was taken as the most striking image to visualize the people’s feeling. She lost her husband in the tragedy, and now she and her two kids are alone. But why was she there, at all, at her husband’s work place, at that time of the day? Another woman’s life is also altered by the event, but Kate has seen it as a chance – and seized it to escape her old life and to leave the country. Now, she is in Canada, observing from across the border what happens at her former home, the place where her husband and her children mourn her death. But a couple of months after the events, things take a different turn and this brings both of them back to the day of the tragedy – and back to the lies they told.

“The Good Liar” is a cleverly constructed mystery novel centred around three women. At the first glance, they seem to be the average wife with an ordinary life. But as soon as you get to look under the surface, you stare into an abyss of lies, of fraud and betrayal. None of them is the pitiable victim, they all contributed to their fate – but who of them is really evil and who just acted out of desperation?

The many twists and turns make you assess the situation anew over and over again. It takes some time to understand the links between the three and then you eagerly start to develop your theories about what had happened before. For some of the characters, this is a bit foreseeable, for others it isn’t and that’s what I liked best.

Catherine McKenzie is a brilliant writer who knows exactly how to pace her story which keeps you read on and on and on to find out what happened actually. And at the same time, you are always asking yourself: what would I have done in her place? A perfect psychological thriller which does not offer any easy black-and-white explanations but points out the different shades of grey.

The Good Liar was my first Catherine McKenzie book, though I can assure you it will NOT be my last. This deliciously crafted tale of betrayal and self-discovery had me sucked in on page one, weaving a spell of mystery and misdirection that kept me hungry for more. (and cost me more than a few hours of sleep!) Just when I thought I knew where we were going, I'd find myself jerked in a whole new direction, and loving every minute of it. Gripping and gritty, The Good Liar is one of those books you simply can't put down, because you just KNOW sooner or later you'll get it figured out. Hint: You won't! And it is SO worth the ride!

Catherine McKenzie has done it again.

From the first page of this book, I knew this book would be hard to put down.

"I was late. That's why I wasn't there when it happened."

How many times have we been late (or maybe early) for work or an appointment, and we realize we missed what could have been a life-changing moment? But is that life changing moment for the good or the bad?

Catherine masterfully entwined the lives of three women and how one event changed each of their lives forever. The pacing was excellent. She keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting to press forward. She did so well that I lost track of time while reading and was late clocking back in for lunch one day.

One of my favorite highlights from the book was when Cecily is thinking back to a time one of her books was on her husband's nightstand and how angry she was because the spine was broken. He'd flipped the book over to the spot where he left off. "Because breaking the spine on a treasured book is a sin, isn't it?"

I received an advance copy of the book as a Ninja Reviewer via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge fan of Catherine McKenzie. This is her best work to date! It's different from her previous works - Arranged, Forgotten, Spin - and you can see how her writing has progressed through the years. This book will hook you from the very first page, and will keep you guessing until the very last page - and you will be on a roller coaster the whole way through. That being said, this book was an amazing read, and I am so happy to have been given the privilege to read an advance copy! THANK YOU Netgalley!

4 suspenseful stars to The Good Liar! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Published today, April 3, 2018!

The Good Liar has a completely original premise that hooked me from the start. Three women’s lives are inextricably linked when there is an explosion in a Chicago building.

Each woman is impacted differently by the fire- one watches the building burn as her husband and best friend are inside, one is searching for her birth mother and knows that the woman she is desperately seeking is inside as the building crumbles, and one is fleeing the disaster and moving over 1,000 miles away.

The women all appear to be safe after the disaster, but what bubbles underneath the surface for all of these women is secrets, lies, and intense betrayal. Who do you trust? What is the truth?

The Good Liar is a character-driven psychological thriller with a satisfying and worth-the-wait ending. The twists and turns took me by surprise and kept me glued to my Kindle. If you are looking for a fascinating, thrill ride of an adventure, The Good Liar is an honest bet!

Thank you to Catherine McKenzie, Carolyn at Lake Union Publishing, and Netgalley for the ARC. The Good Liar is available now!

When a Chicago building blows up in a huge explosion three women are linked with the tragedy - Cecily was supposed to be in the building and her husband was killed in it, Kate has run away to Canada hoping that she will not be linked with it and Franny was hoping to meet her birth mother there but now she is dead - these three women all have secrets that they do not want to be discovered and now that it is the anniversary of the tragedy it is all being raked up again - can they keep their secrets and how many lies will they have to tell

A great psychological thriller - the pace is good and keeps you interest as do the plenty of twists and turns along the way, the characters are well rounded and believable - definitely worth reading

Cecily is on her way to meet her husband when his Chicago office building explodes into an inferno of flames, killing her husband and five hundred others!

The book is centred around three women on the one year anniversary of the tragedy: Cecily, now a widow and single mother, who, when a photograph was taken of her on that tragic day, became the 'face' of the horrific Chicago tragedy; Kaitlyn, who has moved to Canada to escape the aftermath; and Franny, a young woman who had just found her biological mother only to have lost her in the tragedy. On the surface, what you see may appear to be a simplistic scenario, but hold on to your hats, as all three of these women are startlingly connected by this tragedy, each worried that their secrets and lies will be revealed as the media covers the anniversary of the tragedy.

My thoughts:

A fresh, addictive thriller filled with suspense, intriguing characters, playing with my mind with its twists and turns ( though some were unbelievable), I enjoyed turning the pages of this thought provoking read. And that ending...very clever! It had me looking at the entire story with fresh eyes!

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Catherine McKenzie is a talented writer and I have always enjoyed her books.Unfortunately, this was not one of my favourites. As the novel progressed, I found some of the decisions made by the characters difficult to identify with. There were so many deceptions, so many twists and turns that it was difficult to know what was true and what was a lie. I guess that’s what being a ‘good liar’ is all about? Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel was engrossing and surprising! I enjoyed the twists and turns that Catherine created throughout the story. There was an explosion one fall day in a Chicago building and hundreds of people lost their lives. This novel follows the stories of three women in particular who were affected by the explosion, along with their families. Secrets are revealed throughout the story. Lies are told and kept hidden. What is the truth and what is fabricated? This novel is about family, marriage, and love. It is about grief and loss. Be prepared to be swept in to the stories and be shocked by what happens!

An enjoyable novel of psychological suspense that kept me guessing until the end. Bonus: likeable (Cecily) and relatable (Kate) characters. I will be reading more from McKenzie!

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.