I figured most of this one out, but Mackintosh still had some surprises up her sleeve, and even when I knew which "twist" was coming, it was thoroughly enjoyable to read and I was racing through the pages. That's the sign of a good thriller to me! :)

I have a very short list of must-read mystery/thriller-suspense authors, but I would say Mackintosh is at the top. She made me a fan with I Let You Go, and her two follow ups have solidified my fangirl status.

As with Mackintosh's previous works, I found myself fully engrossed in the story, and was pleasantly surprised by some really great twists. However, this one was a little different in that it elicited tears from me. These were not tears due to fear, but honest to goodness sad tears. I think it had a lot to due with the author delving into a lot of relationship issues, as well as mental health issues.

Mackintosh also made me fall in love with one of the characters - Murray. Murray was just the sweetest, most big-hearted guy. I am getting tears in my eyes just thinking about what a beautiful person he was. The way he loved his wife was very special. I sort of wish Mackintosh would have given him a little better ending, because I just adored him.

I am a fan of Mackintosh's writing and her storytelling. This book had a bunch of really great plot twists, and the ending!!! I just love it when something comes out of nowhere like that. Another thing I really thought was well done, was the use of a third POV. I wasn't sure who it belonged to. I thought I knew, but I wasn't sure. What I will say is that it added some extra tension and mystery to the story, and kept me wondering, which is alway fun when it comes to this type of story. This story starts really strong, but then builds slowly from there. My patience had a big payoff though, and some of those reveals were well worth the wait.

Overall: Another solid suspense-thriller from Mackintosh, which was packed with some gasp-worthy twists, some heart pounding events, and heart-tugging moments.

I read Ms. Mackintosh’s book “I Let You Go” and enjoyed it. I was looking forward to another great read in “Let Me Lie”. Although some reviewers seem to be disappointed in this book I liked it. Here’s why:

The story is told from multiple points of view which is always interesting and since one of the narrators is not identified I found it that much more enticing.

The writing is very good. It flowed well and kept me reading. It had plenty of twists and lots of lies, lots and lots of lies! The main character, Anna Johnson, is well described. She is a young woman dealing with the deaths of both of her parents, a new baby and a still developing relationship with the baby’s father. I may have wanted her to handle some of the situations differently but, hey, this is a story. She is just beginning to heal when she receives an anonymous note which suggests that perhaps her parents deaths were not by suicide, as they had been ruled by the police investigation but something else.

When Anna calls the police it is an answered by a retired police detective, Murray, who still works at the station at the desk for incoming calls, etc. Though he is no longer licensed to take on a case he has a suspicion about this one and decides that he can at least get some information to pass along to the detectives. He gets more and more involved and we learn a lot about his character and his own family life. His wife has been battling mental illness all of her life and has been in and out of hospital and psych wards throughout their marriage, he never gives up on her. I couldn’t help but love this character who, in spite of his own pressing problems, continues to try to help Anna.

There are other characters as well who could possibly be involved in a cover up, or a part of a crime committed. There is her partner, Mark, a psychologist, who appears loving and cares about Anna and baby Ella and wants to marry her but how much does she really know about him? There is her uncle Billy who, along with Anna, inherited the auto business that her parents started. She has a very good friend named Laura who also lost her mother a few years back. Dr. Drake is a next door neighbor who always seems to be a bit too interested in what is going on at the Johnson house.

I liked the book and the notes from the author afterward. She wanted not only to write a thriller but to also convey a message about suicides. She states “According to the charity MIND, 1 in 4 of us will experience mental health problems this year and more than 25% of us admit to having had suicidal thoughts at some point in our lives”. I don’t know how much more research backs up these numbers but I know that there are lots of suicides committed every year and perhaps some may have been prevented if someone noticed the signs of depression or mental illness in their loved ones, friends or family and reached out a helping hand. I applaud her in trying to bring awareness to this subject.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley, thank you.

Will also post to Amazon upon publication on March 13, 2018

Posted review to Amazon on 3/13/18

Oh my, so many lies. So many. A whole story full of lies. I was never sure what to believe. But Clare's books are like that, full of twists and turns and truths and lies. And once again, I was totally taken in by this story, continuously trying to figure it all out.

Let Me Lie will keep you guessing and it will keep you turning the pages, as you work to find out what are the real lies and what is the truth. It is definitely a page-turner and a wonderful read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sphere for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.


Anna is still reeling from the grief, her father committed suicide and then seven months later her mother did as well. Anna met Mark, her husband at a grief counseling session. Now they are together and living in her parents old house. She has a baby and all is well except she just can't understand why her parents killed themselves.


Then Anna recieves an odd postcard in the mail, it says Suicide? Think again! She knows something is going on and so she goes into the police station and talks to the desk sgt. Murray listens to what she asks, and decides to look into the case and find evidence of the murders Anna believes happened before he takes it to CID.


Anna is consumed by finding the answers until the day she finds a brick thrown into the window of her daughter's room telling her no police leave it alone. She wonders what is really going on and if the people who killed her parents are after her.


Sadly I must leave it at there because spoilers. Whew what a book, Clare Mackintosh is becoming a go to author for me. I have read all three of her books and I love them. She is so masterful in her twists. This one I thought I was on top of it when I guessed a couple of them before they happened, but the rest of that I did not see coming. Like I want to rave about some things, but I can't because spoilers.


I hate that I want too, no I need to talk about this book and get all of my thoughts and feelings out. Needless to say that Anna wasn't surrounded by the best people. If you are looking for a slow burn thriller guaranteed to throw you for a couple of loops look no further.

A big thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this new book from one of my favorite authors.

Ever since I read "I Let You Go" I have held Clare Mackintosh in high esteem for her skills in putting together the red herrings and plot twists that surprise you time after time. "Let Me Lie" does not disappoint. We see the story from Anna's POV as well as Murray, a retired police officer who is still helping out at the station and is Anna's first contact there. In addition we have unnamed narrators who could be male or female, alive or dead. Add in a neighbor dispute, a new baby, a faithful dog, a car chase and more and you have a riveting novel. Highly recommended!

In seven months, Anna lost both her parents. First her father and then her mother jumped from the same cliff and a year later, Anna is still grieving, despite having her newborn daughter to keep her busy. On the first anniversary of her mother's death, Anna receives a card that questions her parents' suicides. Asking for the help of a retired detective, Anna digs into her parents' past but there is someone who doesn't want her to find out the truth and that person seems to be ready to do anything to stop her.
I love Clare Mackintosh's novels and this is another success story. In this novel, she explores complicated family relationships, dark secrets and the lies we tell to protect them. The truth unravels slowly, one little piece at the time, and there are shocking surprises throughout the whole novel. It's a gripping and suspenseful read that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first to the last page.

Stevie‘s review of Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
Women’s Crime Fiction published by Berkley 13 Mar 18

Unexpected, potentially suspicious, parental suicides seem to be cropping up a lot in my reading list at the moment, especially where UK authors are concerned, and quite possibly due to some well-publicised cases a few years ago. Whatever the reason, there are a variety of plot twists that can be laid over the same starting point, and I know from experience that I can rely on Clare Mackintosh to place a particularly interesting slant onto any topical theme. The first twist in this story is that the two apparent suicides occur some months apart, albeit at the same location, while the second is that the daughter left behind only begins to properly investigate what happened a year after the second death.


Anna Johnson is devastated when her father, an apparently successful second-hand car salesman suddenly commits suicide at the infamous Beachy Head – more so, perhaps, since his body has never been found. When her mother carries out a seemingly copycat suicide some months later, in the run-up to Christmas, Anna seeks counselling and ends up falling for her initial therapist. Now, a year on, Anna and her partner – and their new baby – are living in Anna’s parents’ former home as Anna still tries to make sense of what happened.

On the anniversary of her mother’s death, Anna receives an anonymous card alleging that her parents’ deaths weren’t suicides. Spurred into action, she takes the note first to her father’s brother – still running the family business – then, when he dismisses it as a crank letter, to the police. The retired detective manning the front desk takes Anna’s concerns more seriously than he suspects his younger colleagues might and begins to investigate, even as Anna does the same back at her home.

As Anna pieces together the truth of her parents’ life together – theirs was far from the happy marriage she always envisioned – more messages arrive, now becoming increasingly sinister. Although Anna is at first convinced that her parents were murdered, she soon comes to believe that they faked their deaths and are still alive – and possibly in grave danger.

I was thoroughly gripped by this story, narrated from three points of view: Anna’s, that of the retired detective, Murray Mackenzie, and that of the unnamed person – a murderer? – who is watching Anna’s investigations from afar. It took me a long while to work out who that third person was, due to all the very clever red herrings that were jumbled into the plot, but once I knew, all the clues had been there all along. It took me even longer to work out who else was responsible for the mysterious happenings that occurred once Anna began investigating, but again the answer was obvious once I knew it. Meanwhile, the views we got of Murray’s home life and his loving marriage to a woman with more than enough problems of her own was heart-wrenching, even as his courage at continuing to care for her was heart-warming. Another triumph from an outstanding author.

Grade: A

"Suicide? Think again. Not suicide. Murder. Someone stole the life I had. Someone murdered my mother. And if they murdered Mum, it followed that dad didn't kill himself either. Both my parents were murdered."....

Anna has had a terrible year. The bright spot in it is her new baby girl. Her parents committed suicide during the past year. Now on the anniversary of her mothers death, a strange card is delivered to Anna. Her nightmare begins again.

What really happened to her parents? There are secrets to be uncovered that will alter Anna’s life forever. Anna enlists the aid of a semi retired police officer, Murray. Murray has his own personal tribulations at the moment, but wants to desperately help Anna find the truth.

Will Anna find the truth about their suicides from the cliffs of Beachy Head? How will the past affect Anna’s present? Was Anna’s fiancé involved, does the neighbor know more than he’s telling? Maybe there are things Anna herself does not clearly remember.

This thriller was a page turner. Unexpected twists. Characters that compel you to the end. Unexpected ending!

Thank you Clare Mackintosh, Netgalley, and
Berkley Publishing Group.

What I loved: Oh the twists and turns of these one. I enjoy a good Clare Mackintosh and this one did not disappoint. I loved that she really kept me guessing most of the way through and even after I sat the book aside I kept working through ideas/scenarios of what might have happened.
What I liked: While I didn't like all of the characters, I liked the way the were each written.
What I hated: Without spoilers...I hated the former detectives storyline. Not because it was poorly written....I just hated the situation for him.

An easy book to recommend through RA and book clubs.

I was so looking forward to reading this book! I loved the first two books by this author. I thought they were gripping and pulled me in right away.

This book, not so much. There were too many distractions for me. Pages and pages about Sarah who I really did not care for did not add to my reading enjoyment.

At one point, I did think, and glad to see I was wrong, that one narrator was coming back from the dead as a ghost.

This was just an okay book for me. I just wish there had been more suspense and less of the mundane.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the third book I've read by Clare Mackintosh and I just love her books. She manages to write such emotional, suspenseful books with the best twists - and she gets me every time! Just when I think I have things figured out, when I think I know where she is going to go - BAM, she totally throws such a good twist in the mix that I am gob-smacked and left completely stunned! And I totally love it!!!

I will say, this book starts off a little slower than her previous books, but not in a bad way. It pulls you in, but just takes a little while to really take off. I was still intrigued and never felt like I wanted to abandon the book...I just wondered where it was going to go and never once did I think it would go where it ended up.

Anna is grieving over the loss of her parents. A new mother herself, she is still dealing with all the emotions that come with that, and finding it very hard to believe her parents would willingly end their lives. She believed they had committed suicide until she receives a note that has her thinking maybe that wasn't quite the case. She brings her suspicions to the police, meeting retired Detective Murray Mackenzie. While technically not an active Detective any more, he agrees to help Anna.

I loved that while the majority of this book focused on the mystery surrounding Anna's parents, we do get to know a bit about Detective Murray and his wife, Sarah. I don't think this in any way detracted from the main story, in fact by knowing about Murray's home life, you realize why he is the way he is. And this isn't a bad thing at all. He just might be my favorite character in this whole book...and I would so love to see him again in another story!

This is a hard review to write without giving too much away. It's definitely best to go into this book as blind as possible for you to enjoy it fully without any spoilers. But know this...Clare Mackintosh is certainly no one-trick pony. Each of her books are as different and unique as the titles. This one is driven by character relationships, family dynamics and the emotional state of the characters involved. I loved it and cannot wait to see what comes next from her. She is definitely an auto-read for me as I know that I will be entertained and surprised with her books!

I was a huge fan of I Let You Go and I See You. I couldn't wait to start Let Me Lie. So imagine my disappointment when after finishing this novel, I couldn't give it more than two stars.

Why didn't this book work for me?

One of the reasons is the slow build up. I felt like it dragged way too many times. The writing was good but the action was minimal except when we get to the end of the book. Also, Let Me Lie has plenty of twists including the ending but for this reader, they felt unbelievable. No one is sadder that this didn't work for me, than me.

So what's the book about?

Anna Johnson recently became a mother. She loves her daughter and can't think about anything happening to her or she not being part of her life. Anna can't understand why first her father, Tom and then her mother, Caroline decided to take their own lives. But Anna has doubts, she's not sure they killed themselves. She believes that just maybe, someone is behind their deaths. So when a card gets to her home on the anniversary of her mother's death claiming foul play, Anna immediately believes it and right away, she takes it to the police. This is where she meets, Murray a retired cop who decides to dig into the past.

Murray was my favorite character. He was smart and methodic. He was a good detective with excellent instincts. He was also a dedicated and loving husband. His side story was so full of anguish and sadness. In this, Mrs. Mackintosh did a great job at describing how mental health issues can affect the dynamic of a marriage.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers but I hope that you enjoy this novel more than I did.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I almost DNF'd this book after the first 25% as it was very slow to start. Fortunately, I decided to give it a few more chapters and am VERY happy that I did! Once the storyline got going, the constant twists and turns made for quite the roller coaster ride! Nothing I love more than a book that keeps me guessing 'til the very end!

In a psychological thriller that you won't be able to predict, Anna Johnson cannot let go of the conviction that her parents recent deaths were not dual suicides, but were a result of murder instead.
Maybe the truth would be better left unknown...

Well, I didn’t see THAT one coming! Dark, emotionally gripping and filled with more twists than a roller coaster, LET ME LIE by Clare Mackintosh is suspense that will keep readers on their toes trying to sift out “the answer.”

Flawed characters and an atmosphere of dark turmoil abound from start to finish as relationships are dissected and rearranged in kaleidoscopic chaos.

Anna’s parents' deaths were suicide, just ask the police, but something just doesn’t feel right. Is it just the pain of a loss she cannot overcome that drive Anna into a depression that has her grasping for a different ending for her parents? Could the parents she thought she knew be hiding dark secrets about their lives together or their marriage?

When Anna is driven to dig up the past, someone is trying to stop her, but who would see her as a threat? Could it be the murderer that she is positive exists? How does she convince the police to re-open the investigation?

Just as Anna appears to be losing her grip on reality, her nightmares are about to get very, very real…

Clare Mackintosh has spared nothing in creating a gritty tale that is continually shrouded in a smoky haze of mystery, Not a rapid-fire read, filled with details upon details, living in Anna’s head is definitely NOT a pleasant place to be, but one must admire her tenacity and that sixth sense she doggedly defends.

I found myself wanting to move things along a little faster at times, but not enough to want to miss a single word!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Berkley!

Publisher: Berkley (March 13, 2018)
Publication Date: March 13, 2018
Genre: Suspense | Thriller
Print Length: 395 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

This has to be one of my favorite thrillers to read this year. My thought process during the entire book was "What?! Oh, my gosh!" This book had me hooked; every plot twist kept me on the edge of my seat. Clare Mackintosh did an amazing job in writing in such a way that I was honestly surprised at every twist. I want more, I need to know more about what Anna is going to do now.

I don't want to give any spoilers away. So, here is a very brief synopsis of the book: Anna begins questioning her life after the deaths of both her parents. She has tried to move on, but the past creeps up on those who deny the truth. Everything you think you may know as you read about Anna's situation, think again.

I fell in love with Clare Mackintosh's writing last year with the release of I See You, which was one of my favorite thrillers of 2017. Ever since then, I've been on tenterhooks waiting for the author's next book, so I jumped at the chance to review Let Me Lie.

Everyone says Anna's parents took their own lives, but she can't bring herself to believe it. Sure, their deaths, just a few months apart, may look to the world like suicides, and Anna's convinced there's more to the story. Unfortunately, she's the only one who thinks so. The police seem uninterested in reopening the case, and even Anna's boyfriend Mark has grown tired of her constant speculations about what really happened to her parents. And so, Anna is doing her best to move on, to focus on her baby daughter, and to put the ghosts of her past to rest.

An unknown individual has other ideas, though. One afternoon, Anna receives a very strange letter, confirming her suspicions that her parents did not in fact commit suicide. Feeling a mix of vindication and fear, Anna rushes off to the police station, sure she's found the one thing that will convince them to reopen their investigation into her parents' deaths, but it's not an actual police officer she ends up talking to. Instead, she tells her story to retired cop Murray, who decides to look into things on his own before turning the investigation over to the appropriate people. At first, this turn of events felt off to me. Murray doesn't come clean to Anna about his status as a retired policeman, instead allowing her to think she's speaking to a fully-fledged officer. Plus, since Murray is retired, how is he able to properly investigate Anna's story without proper police backing? Luckily, Ms. Mackintosh gives Murray a fantastic backstory that answered all of my questions, and in fact, the chapters told from his point of view ended up being some of my favorite parts of the book; but more on that in a bit.

After her visit to the station and her discussion with Murray, Anna feels as though she's been given permission to dig into her parents' pasts. Maybe she'll turn something up that will be of help in the investigation, but as is usual in these types of situations, her poking around unearths far more questions than answers. It soon becomes obvious that her parents were not the people she thought they were, and in fact, at least one of them was harboring a terrible, possibly deadly, secret.

Most of the story is told from Anna's point of view, but we do spend quite a bit of time with Murray as well, and as I stated above, his chapters are some of the best parts of the novel. He feels rather aimless after he retires from the police force, so stays on as a sort of office worker in a vain attempt to fill his empty days. His wife Sarah is in and out of a nearby mental hospital, so he really depends on his work to add some structure to his life. Not all of his actions are entirely ethical, but Ms. Mackintosh does a wonderful job helping readers understand why Murray acts as he does, and I found it impossible to dislike him. There's a sense of genuine kindness about him that I found incredibly endearing, and the scenes he shares with Sarah are gut-wrenchingly beautiful.

Anna is also quite relatable. At first, it seemed as if she was going to give in to Mark when it came to his not wanting her to ask questions about her parents’ deaths, and I was prepared to do a lot of sighing and eye-rolling, but she turned out to have a stronger will than I initially thought and I was glad she didn't allow Mark to stand in her way. The love she feels for her parents is quite evident, and I admired her determination to learn the truth, even if it ended up being quite a bit uglier than she expected.

The plot is very complex and twisty, but not all of the twists felt authentic. The build-up is wonderful, but the big reveals didn't end up being quite as surprising as I expected. I think the author was going for something really dark and sinister, but certain aspects put me in mind of a bad TV villain.

Let Me Lie isn't as good as other psychological thrillers I've read, but it's not a total flop either. It's one of those books I couldn't turn away from, no matter how unrealistic certain plot elements seemed. It contains a good amount of action mixed with some fabulous character development, and, on the whole, I'm glad I read it.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

First, let me say that I have very much enjoyed the previous books penned by Claire MacIntosh. Her first book, I Let You Go, was a show-stopper. Without hesitation her name has been added to my “favorites’ list. Her style of writing is very appealing. Her stories are addictive.

The latest book, Let Me Lie, is about a woman who is dealing with her parents’ deaths. Both by suicide. Now a mother herself, Anna misses her own mother even more acutely and isn’t convinced suicide is the explanation. As she begins to question the circumstances, she realizes that there are many unanswered questions and it begins to look more and more like murder.

The author slowly builds her story using her pen like a paintbrush - first telling the story in broad strokes, then adding smaller details as the story progresses. This story is told at a slower pace than her previous books, but it is no less compelling. Her characters are not perfect and they possess many of the self-doubts that we all do. In telling the story, Ms Macintosh draws the reader into Anna’s world. As it builds, the reader begins to realize that not all is as it seems. There is much more to the story that will be reveled in time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the author’s writing style. It’s always hard for me not to peek at the last chapter, but with Ms MacIntosh’s books it’s best to have the final act revealed as the story comes to an end. It’s always unexpected.

Many thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let Me Lie is a cleverly written mystery/suspense that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is Mackintosh’s third book and I am continuously impressed with her writing. Her use of multiple narrators was so well done here. It’s so hard to get into details without spoilers, but I feel like she pulled off her signature twists well. Even though I strongly suspected what was going to happen, I still really enjoyed the moment.

I thought Anna was a pretty likable, though she frustrated me at times. I wish she would’ve communicated a little bit better, but I found her an empathetic character. I also really loved getting Murray’s POV. He’s a retired detective that now works the front desk as a civilian. When Anna comes in and reports that she believes her parents were murdered, he decides to start investigating it himself. I loved all of his chapters. I think it’s a testament to Mackintosh’s writing that she made me care as much about the secondary storyline of what was going on in his life as I did the main mystery.

Sometimes you read a book at the exact right time and I feel that happened for me with Let Me Lie. Anna discovered that she really did not know some of the people closest to her. As someone who has recently discovered this about a parent, I found some of the emotions she went through really relatable. I highlighted a lot of passages that perfectly expressed how I’ve felt as I’ve tried to process everything going on. I found reading this pretty cathartic and it made the book just that much better for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed Let Me Lie. I loved the way the multiple narrators were utilized and thought the twists were very well done. The pacing did feel a little slow in the beginning, but it definitely picked up as the book went on. I also really empathized with some of the emotions Anna tried to work through. I’m really looking forward to whatever Mackintosh does next.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars