Susanna is a therapist and she has a new client Adam. Susanna has been in hiding for a number of years and the drama begins when we discover that Adam knows her true identity and is there to wreak revenge on her by threatening to harm her daughter Emily. The story is set in Susanna's office where a game of cat and mouse ensues with the backstory of the two characters being slowly revealed and the tension mounting.
A very enjoyable psychological thriller where some shocking secrets and lies are revealed and you can cut the tension with a knife. I would certainly recommend this.

From the minute this book starts it is an absorbing read. I like the setting the author has used and the small cast of characters. There is so much more to than what is happening now or even then, underneath there are themes about morality, family, grief and despair. I really think this would make a great film There is little suspense in the sense of who did what or who they are but there is a definite but wavering tension which certainly kept my attention throughout. The characterisation is excellent and the narrative pacy. I haven't read anything else bby this author but certainly would look for more now

A gripping psychological thriller that keeps you engaged to the end. This is the first book i have read by this author and will be looking for more. This book has 4 main characters perspectives which you gradually learn the connection between them all. The story line is believable as they all do things that you can understand given the circumstances. Even when you think you have worked out the connections and the past that led to this point it’s not always that straight forward. Brilliant read.

Fist of all: TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY!!
***There's a very long, graphic, excruciatingly described scene of animal cruelty that shook me to the core. In my opinion I can see how the author thought it was necessary to make us understand parts of a character's personality but it could --and should-- be better handled. It could have been just mentioned, without so much detail. I skipped pages and still it was going on so I couldn't avoid it completely and, as an animal lover, it almost made me stop reading the book then and there.***

Okay, that aside...

I like Simon Lelic's work. He's on my to-go list of authors so I automatically requested this from NetGalley without even reading the description; I went into the novel with no idea what it was about.

I must say that this was a difficult book to rate. In the end I'm going with 3 stars because I feel like it's the adequate rating even though Goodreads puts it as "I liked it" and honestly, in words it'd have to be closer to "It's OK." So I suppose 2 1/2 stars must be a more realistic rating for me.

My problem here was, I believe, plausibility. I suppose it could have happened but it failed to made me completely believe it. Perhaps because the characters didn't convince me and it is a totally character-centered story. It's hard to express exactly why or where they lost me (or if they had me at some point to begin with...) but it was a bit like watching a good movie with terrible actors. I wanted to be immerse in the plot, to delve into what was unfolding but all the terrible acting made me feel distant. Susanna specially, never made me feel a thing about her. She never convinced me <spoiler> of her despair, of her desperation for her daughter, of her regret, of her sorrow. She felt hollow and forced, all along.

Adam, also, was incredibly cliche; a typical villain. He even loses all this time describing his evil plan...it wasn't convincing and never made me fear.

I think the only one who made me care a tad more and felt an ounce more credible as a person was Emily. Not by much, I must say, but her diary entries were somehow more real (although weirdly and way too conveniently specific and detailed).

Finally, the ending was saccharine and left a lifetime movie taste in my mouth.

</spoiler> All in all, now that I am writing this review I am almost convinced that 2 stars would be a more accurate rating but I'll give Lelic the benefit of the doubt. However, if you had never read this author, I beg of you not to start with this one. A Thousand Cuts or The House are much better starting points and show how good of a writer he is. This one is just...not his best.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant book with an exciting plot with many twists and turns to keep the reader hooked. A real page turner. Loved it. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon Lelic for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

This is an 'OK' read that has a counsellor meeting with a new client who she feels she knows. Adam (the new client) turns out to be a link to Susanna's past that she thought she had left behind.
The story plays out in the main within the counselling suite and this makes for an uncomfortable, claustrophobic read that is quite well written as Adam effectively holds Susanna hostage in order to establish the truth about his and her past.
Overall though, it just didn't grip me and I found it an uncomfortable, rather than an engrossing read.

Thanks to Penguin books and Netgalley for an ARC via Netgalley.

A really clever book, I enjoyed the story and the way it was told to us.. Felt sorry for Adam, the 'villain' in the end. A sorry tale of how easily things can go wrong.

The story of two liars in a room. One a counsellor who has a hidden past, the other a client who wants to hurt someone. This absorbing book reels in the reader as you attempt to discover the truth of this gripping encounter that takes place in just one meeting. Susanna is made to confront her buried and deeply disturbing past as she tries to make sense of the troubled young man in her office. This book will have you page turning long into the night before it reveals its full tormented layers.

Suzanna is a counsellor helping people with their problems, but little does anybody know that she is hiding her own secrets, a past that she has been running away from for years. Then a new patient, Adam arrives for his first session and he seems so familiar. Suzanna soon realises that he knows more about her than she does of him and she has to figure out who he is - and what he wants to save her daughter Emily from whatever fate he has set for her.
This book tells a story without actually telling the story - it suggests and hints at Suzanna's secret right to the end and flips between the present and flashbacks of the past which makes the book quite confusing at times. Its a slow paced book but an okay read.

The Liar's Room was a very well written story told from many differing points of view.The main characters were interesting and the story line very slowly revealed long held secrets with plenty of twists along the way that built tension throughout the story.. Definitely worth a read.

A very difficult and different story. Troubled teens and peer group pressure lead to a horrible accident which changes many lifes. An uplifting end after a difficult read.

I really enjoyed this. I thought I'd figured the twists, then realised I was wrong. Would read more by this author.

Having read The House by Simon Lelic I was really excited to receive a copy of The Liar's Room and I was not disappointed. The different characters were well portrayed with their different voices and the plot moved well and the suspense was well paced. Definitely needs to be read in one go! Add in family relationships and feelings of guilt and you have the perfect read. Can't wait to read more by this author.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Simon Lelic/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Liar's Room, more like a dentist's waiting room, where you know there's a period of tedium before there's an extraction. Well, it was for me anyway. How an individual could so fixate on a father they never knew, wishing to harm family members they'd never met before, all for some dreamt up notion of retribution astounds me. At least the tedium lifted towards the end and I didn't need any anaesthetic.

Everything you want from a thriller –shocking and claustrophobic. This book kept my gripped the whole way through, with plenty of twists and revelations.

Adam and Susannah meet for a counselling session and both are keeping secrets. As the story unfolds, we learn more about both of them and the unlikely relationship between them. Lelic's novel reveals snippets of information gradually, so that we think we understand until a new development makes us question what we think. There are no big shocks or dramatic twists and the story is given the delicate touch it deserves rather than veering towards sensationalism. This was a great read and I'm already looking forward to his next book.

I have just read The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic. Courtesy of NetGalley. Here is my review.

Susanna is a counsellor when she welcomes her latest and new client into her office. Enter Adam a young man. Their session gets underway with Adam telling her what his problem is. His problem has Susanna rocked to her core as he reveals that he knows her, her daughter and he wants to kill her daughter. He holds Susanna at knifepoint in the office and is demanding answers connected to her dead son Jake. I must admit I had trouble getting into this but then it got gripping. A real cliffhanger as Susanna fights for her life and her daughters.
#TheLiar'sRoom #NetGalley

The blurb on this book had me very interested with the main part being just 2 people in a room unravelling their history which were obviously connected in some way. I thought it was a well-written story with the odd little twist that kept it interesting and helped me keep turning the pages to find out who, what, where etc to an ending that was pretty gripping. Finding out their connection gave me a genuine eye-brow raising moment in a good way and as the tension grew between them I found myself reading that little bit faster to find out what happens, which I think can only be a good thing.
It’s the first Simon Lelic book that I have read and won’t be the last because I found the writing style good and the story compelling and interesting. Definitely recommended and I thank NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

Gripping suspense as dark secrets from a past forgotten come to the surface bringing danger to a young girl. Brilliantly written.

Plot: Susanna is having a normal day working her job as a counsellor, when Adam walks in. He starts to tell her about his problem: he wants to hurt someone, someone specific. It becomes quickly clear to Susanna that the girl he wants to hurt is her daughter and he has a reason behind it, one to do with the identity that Susanna left behind a long time ago. The present all takes place in one room, while his story and hers come together.

My thoughts: This was really strange as parts of this book really strongly mirrored the one I’ve just reviewed, Cross Her Heart, meaning that the two books have become strangely entwined in my head! This was another which similarly had a pretty good storyline, some good characters and twists that I liked uncovering, but sadly didn’t quite have the spark I was looking for. Again, it was good but not amazing.
I really enjoyed the setting all in one room while the story came together, and parts being revealed by each of the main characters to one another and to the reader slowly. It was definitely gripping and kept me intrigued and reading to get right to the very end, so I would recommend it as a good read, but not one I’d hurry to share with others.