I really REALLY enjoyed “The House” by Simon Lelic last year so was a right eager beaver when I got hold of a copy of “The Liars Room” and if I really enjoyed “The House” it has to be said that I LOVED this.

The Liars Room is a considered, intelligent and claustrophobic thriller set for the most part in a single room where two people face off in a psychological battle of wills heading inexorably towards their own hidden truths…

When Susanna welcomes new client Adam into her office it isn’t long before she has a distinct feeling of disquiet, for good reason as Adam has a very specific purpose for this visit and it doesn’t bode well for Susanna’s daughter…

I’m not going to give any more specifics of the plot away than that – why Adam is there, his connection to Susanna, what happened in her past,, to her family, all of this comes out over the course of the story, it is extraordinarily addictive, more and more emotive as things become clearer and is utterly gripping. Some brilliantly thought provoking themes explored here, from rather different angles than the standard and I was enthralled from first page to last.

I loved that this ultimately was not a novel in which you could “take sides” in the way you might usually, all the players in this drama have their own realities, it is an authentically engaging character study, a story of perspective and personality.

Really really clever. Often unexpected. It will make you think about current issues in a slightly different way, plus it has one of those endings that will linger and play on your mind. I have actually changed my own mind about how I felt about everyone in it several times since I finished it. The Liars Room is that sort of book.

Highly Recommended.

This is a deep, dark, psychological thriller based on two main characters. Susanna and Adam have a battle of wills as they try to outsmart each other trapped in Susanna’s small, claustrophobic consulting room.

There are numerous questions about Susanna’s previous existence, which she left behind to protect her daughter, Emily. Susanna feels as if she knows Adam even though she has never seen him before. She recalls the past revealing why her previous life was torn apart.

Adam seemed to me to be pure evil and the author developed that chilling, sneering psychopathic character so well it sent shivers down my spine.

Usually I do not read such deep, disturbing novels but this did have me gripped from start to finish.

Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Simon Lelic for this ARC in return for my honest review.

This was a very interesting read, although it was a little predictable. I would recommend it to my friends and I did enjoy it!

Dark, this book is dark!!!
The book centres on Susanna, a lady with a terrible set of family secrets who is now a counsellor in her new life and Adam a young man who comes to her for a counselling session....but he knows who she really is and what her family did....Susanna now has a daughter....Adam knows her......to say more would be to ruin the story so I wont! However the blurb that is on the front of the book
ONE ROOM
TWO LIARS
NO WAY OUT
sums it up brilliantly
As I say its dark, very dark, tense, taut and at times haunting
Its probably best to say that very sensitive issues are covered in the book and could be trigger points for people, they are handled well but with no watering down of the subjects ( tbh think of anything that could be a trigger point and it is probably covered!!)
It is a nerve jangling read as you are drawn into Susanna’s past horrific life and then equally drawn into to Adam’s disturbed present life
The narrative is superb and the description of human emotions especially from Susanna are among the best I have read
A book that will stay with you long after you have ( with a bit of relief ) come to the conclusive and shocking end
9/10 5 stars

This book was very different to my usual detective thrillers but oh how it gripped me right from the beginning! So much so, I read it in one session only stopping for some lunch! Set mainly in Susannah's counselling office with flashbacks to what happened in the past with her son Jake and what happened very recently with her daughter Emily. It was a very chilling story but with some heart wrenching moments as well. I loved Susannah's character and felt her despair and pain as the hours ticked by with Adam. Adam who switched between normal (ish) to Psychopath in the blink of an eye. A real page turner with a twist at the end. Fabulous read.

ONE ROOM.

TWO LIARS.

NO WAY OUT

Misconceptions - This is a twisty,gripping story about misconceptions,secrets,lies,redemption and forgiveness.There is a hell of a lot more to this book than the synopsis leads you to believe.Yes,the main story is Susanna and Adam`s intense battle of wits as they try to outsmart each other during the hours that they are trapped together in Susanna`s tiny,claustrophobic consulting room.Who is Adam? why does Susanna feel like she knows him even though she has never set eyes on him before that day and what does he want?. Susanna is also very worried because her teenage daughter Emily is not where she said she would be and isn't answering her mobile. Susanna has always gone to extreme lengths to protect Emily including fourteen years ago, ditching her own identity ,reinventing herself and starting a new life. Why did Susanna run away from her previous life and what was she protecting Emily from?.

Throughout the story Susanna`s thoughts slip back into the past and she gradually reveals the tragic events and misconceptions that tore her life apart and made her run away with baby Emily.My feelings about Susanna changed many times as both stories unfolded but I can honestly say I liked the present day Susanna more than the version of her in the past. I most definitely didn't like Adam,he was a spine chillingly,creepy character who could flip from boyish innocence to sneering psychopath faster than the blink of an eye.As the tension builds and the drama unfolds in the tiny room there is no way of knowing how it's all going to play out,who is going to win the battle of wits and what has happened to Emily.

This is a riveting,thought provoking psychological thriller that would result in some very interesting discussions if it was read by a book group due to some of the issues that are raised throughout the story.I enjoyed The Liar`s Room just as much as I did The House which was one of my favourite books of last year.The Liar`s Room is a very,very good book,highly recommended by little old me.