I found this a compelling read although an uncomfortable one. Alex the main character is at times infuriating and at others I found myself deeply sorry for the mess she find's herself in. The author creates many other believable characters who I at times rooted for and at others despaired off. The use of two different but similar geographical locations was interesting. The only downside for me was at times those terrible and fraught events seemed skimmed over.
That said I enjoyed it and whilst the ending wasn't a total surprise it was riveting enough for me to finish.

I enjoyed this book, our main character Alex is an alcoholic and a news journalist, after a ropey live on air screening her career has been teetering on the edge. Young females have been getting murdered..... very close to where Alex lives, reporting on these murders could be Alex's last chance to continue her career... However, her drinking is getting more excessive and could the answer to the murders lie closer to home than she realises.

This book was well written and soon picked up pace. I liked the fact that it alternated between Alex and our other main character who's story was told via 'dear diary' extracts. The storyline was well thought out and I loved seeing how it built up towards the end.

2.5 stars

This novel took me longer to read because I’ve had a busy week, also because it was hard to get into.

I don’t know what I can say about this novel except that it doesn’t really serve as a mystery or a thriller. It’s a novel more about alcoholism and I found that the author focused so much on that, that it stole what could’ve been a very well written thriller. I’m not an expert on writing, but I’ve read my fair share of thrillers. This book had lots of potential because I did enjoy the story, it just focused so much on drinking, that I didn’t get the goosebumps I usually do when reading a mystery or thriller.

The main character, Alex, kind of bugged me. She drank so much throughout the novel and that’s all that really happened with her. And the ending to the novel and what happened to Alex was just so out of the blue, that I was shocked at what was going on in the novel.

One think I liked about the novel was the very small about of suspense that was in it with figuring out who they killed was. Although it became obvious near the end of the novel, that was the only thing pushing me to finish it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel.

A brilliant and well written book that will keep you hooked from page one. A gripping psychological thriller

I received a complementary copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In I Never Lie we meet Alex South, a journalist who left her hometown of Manchester (and her fiancé) after her miscarriage, aspiring to start her life anew in London and focus on taking her career forward.
When women are found dead in a park in Alex’s neighbourhood, she jumps at the opportunity to cover the story, as this could really launch her career as a crime reporter. But Alex has her own struggles, she is an alcoholic and even though high-functioning, she soon finds herself blacking out and missing work and not being able to remember where she was or what she did the night before. And on top of that, all of the murders seem connected to Alex, in different ways. She has to juggle her drinking habits, her work and trying to discover what really happened to these women, and this is no easy task.
Every few chapters is a diary entry, from someone whose identity is never revealed, but it sheds an interesting light on Alex’s life and the murders.
I did like this book and if I had to rate it, I would give it a 3 stars out of 5. It is easy to read, it is contemporary and it is really close to reality.
The way Alex struggles with her alcohol addiction is very realistically depicted. She is in complete denial of her problem and thinks that she is in control of it. She keeps promising herself that “today is the day that I detox!” until something happens that throws her off the rails and she is back to square one. I feel like anyone who has some kind of addiction, whether it be drinking, smoking, gambling etc, can relate to Alex in that way. She is a humane and flawed character trying to do her best with the cards that life has dealt her, and in this way she is very relatable and likeable.
Now, I chose to only give this book 3 stars because, while it’s entertaining, it’s not riveting. There have been a couple of cliffhangers that have left me wanting to know more, but not enough for a thriller. The plot resolves itself very simply at the end and you can see it coming from a mile away. I was expecting more of a plot twist at the end, and it never came, so that left me slightly disappointed.
All in all, it is still a good read and perfect for the beach, since it is so easy to read. And if you are a fan of crime novels and thrillers, you might enjoy it!

I wanted to love this book but in reality, it fell short of my expectations. I didn't connect with the characters and just found it a stumbling, fumbly read. There were some chapters I flew through but others seemed to drag. Unfortunately not one of my favourite reads this year.

I think I probably wanted to read this as it compared the author to other writers I've enjoyed. Sadly it didn't really come up to expectations.

Alex came to London after a miscarriage & splitting up with her long term boyfriend. She is beginning to make headway as a crime reporter and when a second woman is found dead close to where she lives, she manages to be right there on TV telling the nation. She is a success- if she was really an alcoholic she wouldn't be doing so well. OK so she did have a bit of a problem with alcohol but a day or two's de-toxing & she'd be fine- wouldn't she?

The book tells Alex's reporting of the murders & also diary entries from Sarah, who is obsessed with Alex.

I thought the story would be on solving the murders. Instead its main focus is on alcoholism. It deals well with the subject and shows the daily battles of addicts in detail. However, it wasn't really what I wanted to read about & I found the first half pretty slow going. I disliked the main characters & found it hard to empathise with them. It picked up towards the end, but I can't score it higher than a three stars.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for letting me read & review this book.

This really is a compelling psychological thriller.and an insight into how a functioning alcoholic gets through her life. It's hard to know if Alex is endangering herself, or others. Is she a victim? Or the perpetrator? Or an interested bystander? So many questions. What is her relationship with Sarah? Why did she befriend her in the first place, and then ignore her. I found it fascinating to see how Alex could convince herself that today she wouldn't drink, she could be sober. And then her magic water bottle would appear, or she'd reach for the wine. And Sarah's dysfunctional relationship with her mother - I hadn't expected a well to do family. Many questions are thrown up as you go through the book. And while I didn't warm to any of the characters, I had a real interest in what was going to happen. Highly recommended. #netgalley #IneverLie

I have not actually finished reading this book yet (work gets in the way!), however, based on what I have read so far, I just wanted to say I am hooked (so much so, that I was reading at 5.45am this morning before the kids got up, to find out what is happening!) Without giving anything away...
Is Alex involved more than it seems? What about Greg, or Charlie, or Nigel? Why was Sarah so attached to Alex? Whose dating profiles are real, whose are fake... who is the killer?!!!!
Can't wait to finish the book, and hope the ending lives up to the suspense it has created so far!

Alex South is an alcoholic and was a good TV news reporter until she does a live report whilst drunk. When a woman is found murdered not far from where she lives, the disgraced reporter offers her services to report on the story and assures them that she is no longer drinking. Her reports are well received and she soon becomes a household name again but little do they realise that she is barely getting through the days and relies on sipping vodka through the day from a water bottle. As more women's bodies are found, Alex's past starts to resurface and becomes entwined in the case. Can she keep on top of the reporting whilst keeping her past - and those connections from her bosses.

The story itself is great and tells of the daily struggles people face when living with an addiction - it demonstrates that getting the next fix is uppermost in their minds regardless of whatever else is happening in their lives and it really does consume - and control a persons thoughts and life. Sometimes it takes something drastic until the realisation of the damage addictions can do is seen.

I understand that the constant references to alcohol and how the character is feeling and thinking are a big part of the story but, honestly it got rather annoying very early into the book.

I requested this book as the description really got me, I love a book that gets me gripped early on and one I struggle to put down!
I found this one a little slow to begin with, although I liked the story line I didn't find that it had me hooked, certain parts of it made me want to keep reading but then I started to lose interest again so it took me a while to get to the end.
I understand with alcoholism that every day may seem the same to an extent but I found it a bit repetitive, overall I think it was a good read but not really for me as I like something a bit more gripping.

I enjoyed reading this book and was interested that the main character was an alcoholic. Our society today seems to accept drinking and it is good for an author to explore when things might just have gone too far. It was a well written story and I really didn't see the ending coming at all. Plus I did read the book in the space of a couple of days so I was quite addicted to the story!

I really liked the idea of this story. The struggle with alcohol was really well written. The feelings of an alcoholic and the desire for alcohol came across really well. The book was a bit long and dragged out to me and got a bit lost in places. That is the reason I have given it 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I enjoyed the majority of the book. The ending let me down though and I found it quite unbelievable.

3☆ A Good read

I Never Lie is a story about an alcoholic Journalist who is trying to make something of her career again.
When she makes a break through, when a girl is found murdered in her area, she persuaded the tv station to let her work the case.

I didn't particularly like the main character.
I found her slightly annoying. I also didn't like the fact she was using random men for sex so she could get pregnant. I don't really think it added to the story and certainly didn't portray her in the best light.

I was slightly confused at first as it started very randomly.
I really missed the crime involvement with this book. It mainly centered around alcohol which is fine I would of preferred less.
I would of liked more of a story.

I like my crime thrillers to be gritty and the story to be more involved so you feel part of the case.

I didn't dislike I Never Lie, it was a good read. The ending was really good. Just wish there was more detective work involved.
I do however think this book will appeal to other readers.

Summer is here and this is a superb summer read for those of us who like a bit of darkness in the sunshine. Yep, it's surprisingly light for alcoholism and murder, and that makes it ideal for reading on a plane, beach, or park bench with your lunch. But just because it's a book that can be easily read amongst chaos and noise doesn't detract from the plot twisting thrills. Sabral manages a lot in the brief chapters.

Alex is a cleverly crafted character with fathoms of depth that slowly come into focus. In the first few pages, she seems a collection of well-worn tropes. We've seen the character setup numerous times before... but Alex is one of those that develops against the cliche. She is flawed in a human way. She is a character that frequently left me disappointed and annoyed in an ultimately satisfying way. And that is the treasure of this entire book - it frequently swerves the easy, traditional choices that can score easy points. Instead, it delivers a subtle sense of unease. Sabral seems intent on unsettling the reader by carefully playing with expectations. The simplicity of the book lulled me into a false sense of security, it made me expect the predictable, I was ready for every move to be signposted from across the park, but it never really happened. All of which resulted in a conclusion I would typically dislike - it was brief and brutal. In many books, I would call it rushed and unsatisfying, but here it left me pleasantly uncomfortable.

This is a book to breeze through, but one that lingers. I suspect I'll remember the feeling of reading it more than I will the story that I read, and I like that. It bodes well for next summer, I'll be tempted to pick it up again.

a STORY THAT WILL APPEAL TO ALL ADDICTIVE TYPE PERSONS AND IS AN EYE OPENER FOR OTHERS. pLENTY OF CLUES/RED HERRINGS TO KEEP YOU GUESSING UNTIL THE END. QUITE WHY THE TITLE ? NOT SURE IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN CALLED SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT A GOOD READ AND I WOULD RECOMMEND.

What a great book. I couldn’t put it down. The characters are so real yet the outcome is far from obvious. You’re kept guessing to virtually the last page. Brilliant.

Really enjoyed this book! Great writing by Jody Sabral. Story is told from Alex's perspective. We are introduced to her character as a functioning alcoholic (in denial), trying to convince herself and everyone around her that she doesn't have a problem. She is having blackouts, hiding booze that she doesn't even remember buying. Her water-bottles are laced with vodka! Meanwhile she is trying to become pregnant and is looking for a sperm donor through men she meets on a dating app.

She is also trying hold down a job on TV reporting on a murder which happened near her and trying to rebuild her career after a disaster a few years back. Coupled with this we have a murder enquiry and how everything is happening seems to be centring around her life but between the blackouts and her hardly being able to think straight if she knows these people or not as everything starts to unravel around her.

I really like author's portrayal of Alex's realistic character and battle through alcoholism and what she believed and what people around her saw.

Thank you NetGalley, Canelo and Jody Sabral.

I struggled to maintain an interest in the main character as she did not come across as very likeable, which meant I wasn't very interested in what happened to her.