Lies is a novel about 2 adult couples, their interactions, and the impact of these interactions. What sets the novel apart is the role technology plays in the plot development. Without iPads and cellphones and their various apps, this would just be a novel like others we have read before.
The novel opens very benignly and quickly devolves to threats, physical confrontation, lies and importantly loss of a cell phone. Next are the unanswered questions: Why was main character Joe's wife, Mel, secretly meeting friend/neighbor Ben? Was was Ben hostile and cryptic? Did Ben have something to hide? Was Ben's wife Alice afraid of Ben? Why did Mel have so many cell phones? Why did Ben vanish? Was Ben dead? These are pretty basic questions but in this novel issues are advanced through facebook postings, tweets, cellphone messaging and syncing.
Joe's life devolves from respected teacher, loving husband and father, to murder suspect on the run. The novel ends with a twist that ties up the issues in a neat package. Most satisfactory is the role of cellphones in the conclusion for the technology that was being used to ruin his life, saves him.
This is a novel of well defined characters involved in an intricate plot that keeps our interest. Who could ask for anything more?
I received an advance copy from Netgalley. #Netgalley #Lies

Joe was relatable as a person and as a dad who wants the best for his son. I wanted to keep reading to find out how Joe was going to get his life back on track as he started unravelling.
The huge twist makes you stop and take stock of what has happened so far, and just when you think you know what is happening, it hits you again as the story turns in another direction keeping the pace the whole way through to the last page. The title kept me wondering even at the end, what was a lie and what wasn't.

Loved this book. Kept you guessing the whole way. Loved how you only knew what the protagonist knew and learned everything at the same time as him. The whole thing was believable.

Interesting from the very beginning. A person's worst nightmare....following your spouse to somewhere where perhaps they should not be. Do you really want to know?
Well, this is the story of one man traveling with his son who happens to see Mommy's car. He wants to surprise Mommy. What can it hurt, right? So they follow her to surprise her. If he only knew what that action would cause and cost him. If he only knew that the surprise would be on him.

This story has an ending that is not predictable. I loved it. I kept talking to the book to hurry up and get to the end so that I could find out what really happened.

You will love this story. It keeps the reader on his/her toes! You can't put this one down. After you finish, ask yourself...Did you think the story would end this way? I'd love to know.

When Joe Lynch unsuspectingly follows his wife’s car one day at the bequest of his small son who wants to “surprise” mommy, he sets off a series of terrible events. He’s now being framed for a murder that he believes never even happened. Just when you think things can’t get worse, they do and the noose keeps getting tighter and tighter around Joe’s neck.

This is quite an addictive book and I really cared for Joe and his plight. He’s such a good guy, good father and good husband that the course of events seemed so very unfair. Social media and technology play a heavy hand in this suspenseful thriller. It was quite scary to see how easier this app or that app can be downloaded onto your phone and your privacy is completely gone. How realistic the tale was, I’m not sure but it was certainly a fun ride. And I never saw the end coming. Not only was this a fast thriller but it also touched on the fragility of our relationships with others and how destructive lies can be.

Recommended.

This new thriller by debut British writer is fine, but nothing memorable for me. When driving his young son home one night, Joe, a public school teacher who lacks ambition and passion, hears his son say that he's seen Mum's car, forcing Joe into a hotel parking garage where the trouble begins as he confronts a husband of a friend. When said husband then pulls a runner and cannot be found, Joe finds himself the main suspect. It is a page-turner, I will give it that. The problem for me was that Joe is just so stupid; he chases every wrong clue, won't listen to legal advice, and has unaltered trust in people whom he shouldn't. Yet, at least this time around it is the guy being dumb and not the stereotypical woman so that's a plus! Regardless, I would say it's a good vacation read, but a bit forgettable for me. Thanks to Net Galley for a free book in exchange for an honest review.

Lies, is a good and quick read. You really start feeling for the main character, Joe Lynch who slowly sees his whole life unraveling. Set in London, Joe happens to notice his wife pull into a hotel car park. His young son insists they follow her into the car park to see her. From that moment everything in his life changes. There are plenty of twists and turns.

This was a great book. Joe Lynch thought he had the perfect family and life until one night when stopped in traffic his son spots his wife's car. They decide to follow her and surprise her.

He sees Mel go into a hotel parking lot and then sees her in the hotel restaurant with the husband (Ben Delaney of one of her closest friends.: Beth Delaney.

They appear to have an argument and she storms out of the restaurant and storms out of the parking garage..

Joe confronts Ben who denies seeing Mel, he gets angry and shoves Ben up against his car. Ben loses his balance and hits his head on the garage floor, leaving him unconscious.

His son has an asthma attack and Joe discovers his inhaler isn't in his school bag so he leaves the garage to rush his son home for a treatment.


When they return Joe discovers that Ben isn't there nor is his car. He discovers he lost his cell phone and a leather bracelet in the "scuffle".

When Mel gets home he tells her he saw her at the hotel with Ben. She denies it, and says she was playing tennis.

Joe knows she is lying.

When he checks her I Pad he finds a Facebook notification with a cryptic message and a photo of the garage area where the "scuffle" took place which shows his leather bracelet next to a pool of blood. The post goes out everywhere because Joe didn't set up any privacy settings.. He realizes Ben is behind this.

When he confronts Mel about it she says Ben wanted he help with a work related situation : a spy in his office. He wanted her to investigate and she was supposed to keep it confidential.

Joe believes her, he tells her about the "scuffle" and she suggests calling him, ben of course doesn't answer. Joe wonders why Ben "hijacked" his Facebook account.

They go to see Beth and she tells them Ben came home around midnight, packed a bag and left the next morning and that he has hit her in the past.. Mel tells Beth a lie about the incident between Joe and Ben in the hotel garage-that Ben accidentally backed into Ben's car and that's why Ben is so angry.

Mel finally tells Joe that 2 years before when they were at a wedding Ben came onto her and then told her he wanted more.

Beth shows up at a restaurant where they're eating and shows them a naked picture of Mel on Ben's phone. There are 139naked pictures from the previous 4 months, 282 text message from the previous month from Ben to Mel and 195 message form Mel to Ben. Joe gets a message from Ben indicating he will ruin his life.
Joe discovers Mel's secret cell phone and when he confronts her about the situation she tells him she has broken it off with Ben and he doesn't want to accept that.

The incidents of Ben "messing" with Joe's life continue until the police arrest his for "ben's murder". he gets out on bail and tries to hunt Ben down unsuccessfully.

Joe investigates Mel's past as well to try and determine if there were other incidences of cheating.
He learns a secret about her college days.

A huge OMG surprise of an ending that I did not see coming.

I recieved an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. First off, I am a big fan of british mystery/thriller authors. I don't know why but I like how they handle the genre. Secondly, This is one of those books that has tension and suspense right from the beginning. And like that. The pace was good and it is kept me the turning the pages. I couldn't help wanting to find out how did this guy's life get so sideways appearingly out of nowhere. If you like plot twists this one has them, right up to the very end.

I feel like this was the perfect mix of "just enough".

Just enough of that little something that makes it different than other similar stories.

Just enough of the "out there" add ons to still make it believable - even though it is not a story that I would like to live through.

I really enjoyed this story, and I can't wait to read more from this author!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever done anything on impulse? Ever thought what if...? LIES opens with "I often wonder what would have happened if....if ........" Joe and his son see his wife's car downtown. Joe says, "Let's go and surprise Mummy." Uh oh, it turns out Joe is the one most surprised. Joe runs into a friend, Ben, in a hotel parking lot. Ben disappears. So does Joe's cell phone.
Cell phones play a important role in this thriller. Lots of texts. Facebook posts and pictures, including one photo of Joe being escorted by police. Gasp! Someone photoshopped handcuffs in that picture.
Where's Ben? More irritating texts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because of all the social media in it. The ending was a surprise twist. Highly recommended.
One of the best thrillers I've read all year because of the social media. I confess, I'm a Facebook addict.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

What a crazy suspenseful book! Wow! I never would have guessed the ending. That’s actually a rare thing for me to not figure out. That being said it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t believable... I just didn’t figure it out.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review."

Thank you to NetGalley, T. M. Logan and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just ok for me. The premise is great, the first half of the story is exciting, but the ending just killed it for me. I enjoyed the story, but did not like the ending.

Joe's entire life changes the day that his son notices his Mommy's car.. and they follow it.. to surprise her! They follow her all the way to a hotel where she is having a heated discussion with a friend of theirs, Ben. What follows is a tumultuous series of events... Joe can't quite figure out if he can trust his wife and Ben is setting him up for murder. As he tries to convince the police that he's innocent in this whole mess, he relies on his own haphazard, stressed out ideas to play detective himself.

I read through this in almost one sitting-- I was on a plane for 4+ hours, so that helped. Anyway, this is a run of the mill thriller, almost like a whodunnit. There are some unrealistic things going on (the police investigation), but I found Joe's overall predicament entertaining. The writing was overall humdrum and nothing special. Read this if you're looking for a quick read, something entertaining but not necessarily complex or in depth.

It has been awhile since a thriller/suspense surprised and satisfied me with the ending. So many that I have read lately have gripped me the whole way through only to phone in the ending and leave me feeling cheated. This book renewed my faith in good and surprising endings.

Joe Lynch is a likable guy and a sweet dad to William, which makes it easy to root through him throughout the book. Mel Lynch was not that likable to me but I wanted Joe and William to be happy so I tried to keep an open mind.

The idea of so much social media and digital footprints is really interesting and I liked the use of it in this book...who is really behind the messages?

I would absolutely recommend this book to readers, and I have already purchased a copy for my library.

What an entertaining read. Kept me hooked from the start. Lots of suspense. It finishes up with a super twist at the end. Recommended

A great read! There was a whole lot of background story, plot twists that I suspected but thought nawww, no way.... I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. Both loving and hating some of them. Very well written!

I liked this book enough to buy TM Logan's second book. The plot was intriguing and kept my attention throughout. It did stretch credulity a bit, but only enough to be fun and not annoying to the reader who's job it is to suspend disbelief. A fun summer read!

I am really undecided on this one, I really wanted to like this book, loved the cover and the blurb on what it was about. But I just could not bring myself to care about any of the characters in the book. The twist at the end was the only thing that made it interesting.

Holy Psychological Thriller Batman! Maximum Frustration Level Alert! This book had me on the edge of my seat, screaming out loud while drowning in blindsides! I felt my blood pressure rising with every page and the ending almost made my head explode. Thanks goodness it didn't or I wouldn't be able to rave to you about this one!

Joe Lynch is a good guy. He's the perfect husband, doting father, always seems to do the right thing, and say the right things. He loves his kid so very much, and when they spot her car entering a hotel car park one day, of course Joe will follow her in so his sweet son can say hello to Mummy. But Mummy seems to be having a strangely intense argument, with a family friend. She leaves, but Joe manages to catch up with Ben, and an altercation ensues that leaves Ben unconscious, just as his young son has an asthma attack. Joe must make a decision, and he of course, chooses his son's life and leaves. But when he returns, Ben is gone.

Cue the insanity! Messages start coming in, fingers start pointing at Joe for Ben's disappearance, and his entire life starts crumbling apart. This guy just cannot catch a break! I found myself rooting for Joe the entire time. He's genuinely such a good guy. I was insanely suspicious of every person in this story aside from Joe. You'd never think he'd hurt a fly. Or would he? Let's just say I was wild-goose-chasing all sorts of motives and suspects, up until the very end. This story is crafted so well to really have you guessing different around every corner.

The suspense is intense, the pace is fast and mystery is so compelling that I think many people will have a very hard time putting this book down until the very last page is turned. A stunning debut thriller!