In 2005 something happened that tore apart the lives of several people and severed friendships forever. Then it takes us to present day when the one they sent to prison is out, someone is missing and nerves are on edge for all involved. The story is told back and forth between then and now, and told in the view of various characters.

I love that it gave such a thorough view by hearing it in the voices of the main characters. The story was exciting and kept you guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think you will too.

I read FREIND REQUEST by Laura Marshall last year and it was a smashing thriller. Would Marshall be able to repeat this achievement? Is THREE LITTLE LIES just as good? To be frank, not quite. It's still a good book. However, storywise didn't it capture my interest in the same way and the ending felt a bit too expected.

Still, the writing is good, there is a flow to the story that I love and the story never bores me. The change between different characters was a great move especially since I found Ellen to be a bit too naive for my taste. The story is set both in 2005 (and forward) and 2017 (the blurb says 2018, but the book says 2017). However, Ellen never felt like a grown-up to me in 2017. Like she never truly grew up. Also, that she was so blind when it came to Sasha made me a bit annoyed. They even lived together and still, she seemed so clueless.

What I found most interesting with the story was just the mystery of what really happened in 2006. I wanted to know the truth. And, even though I never truly felt connected to Ellen and the rest of the characters so did I feel that my curiosity kept me going. I just wished the ending had been a bit more of a surprise. It felt a bit flat, to be honest. Too predictable.

THREE LITTLE LIES is a book that just didn't rock my socks. It fails to be truly thrilling, however, the writing is good. It's the story that just fails to grab me, which is a bummer because I really liked FRIEND REQUEST. I hope the next Laura Marshall book will appeal more to me.

This was a fast paced thriller that kept me reading until the end. The author's suspenseful writing kept me turning the pages as I wondered if my suspicions would be correct. Some of them were, some were a surprise. It was an enjoyable read,.

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall

Ellen Mackinnon is a journalist who tells the police her friend Sasha is missing. Ellen is worried because the man with whom she had claimed raped her had served his time and was released several years earlier. Could he want to hurt them now? In 2005 Ellen and her friend Karina were best of friends. Then a new family moved in and things started to change. The new family consisted of parents Tony and Olivia Monkton and their two sons, Daniel and Nicholas and a goddaughter Sasha. Ellen took to the family as her own and learned a lot about music from them as Olivia was an opera singer who was not always in tune to her family and and Tony was a musician who drank too much. Ellen started hanging out with Sasha and began putting Karina on the back burner but still made sure they spoke often. The story does jump from different timeframes but does so in a way that the reader will see them as flashbacks from Ellen who is the main protagonist in this book. It happened at a New Year’s Eve party. Something that no one was expecting especially not Ellen. Her story was that Daniel raped her. The start of the book has us at his trial. Were there lies? If so, why? It seems as though while reading you get the feeling Sasha is hiding something from Ellen. Ellen is very sympathetic and believable. The writer did a great job with ensuring the characters were descriptive and reliable as well as how you would expect a teenager to act as a teenager and an adult when an adult. The only issue that I had was it seemed Ellen was a little too worried about her friend Sasha and yet did not seem to know much about where she like to hang out or go to when distressed. This was a great psychological thriller that Kept me enthralled and entertained the whole way through. I certainly recommend this book.

Only three little lies? Seems there were waaaay more than that! But no matter - the lies were cleverly concealed though hinted at by the author and suspenseful writing kept me turning the pages as I wondered if my suspicions would be correct. Some of them were, some were a surprise. It was an enjoyable read, full of mystery and red herrings.

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall is a highly recommended mystery told over two time periods.

In 2017 30-year-old journalist Ellen Mackinnon reports to police that her friend and roommate, Sasha North, is missing. Both of the young women had received threatening letters from a man in their past, Daniel Monkton, who was released from prison five years ago. Is he in London? If he is, then both women might have a reason to fear for their safety based on the events that happened twelve years ago on New Year's Eve. Ellen must dig into Sasha's friends and the past to try and uncover what happened to her.

In 2005 the glamorous Monkton's moved into Ellen's neighborhood. Ellen and Karina, her best friend at that time, were both 17 and obsessed with them. The family had two handsome teenage sons, Daniel and Nicholas. The mother, Olivia, was a famous opera singer, while their father, Tony, was a musician, and their goddaughter, Sasha, is a beautiful teen the same age as Ellen and Karina. Ellen and Sasha soon become fast friends, with Karina on the periphery. Ellen loves the family, and especially Olivia who provides her with a life-long love of music. But then the events of New Year's Eve happen when Karina claims Daniel raped her.

The novel opens in July 2007 with Olivia at Daniel's trial for rape, so you know that this is going to transpire. Ellen is the main narrator of the novel, past and present, with additional chapters from the perspective of Olivia and Karina. The story is told through current events and those that started back in 2005. The flashbacks through Ellen's point-of-view help flesh out the characters and make Ellen a sympathetic character. It is a bit difficult to comprehend Ellen's frantic search for Sasha, when it becomes clear that Sasha is not the most reliable character. Ellen is almost too desperate in her search for Sasha. It seems that after years of being her friend she should already have a few clues and more insight into Sasha's personality. You can like a person and still acknowledge that they have flaws and shortcomings.

In the end, Three Little Lies is an immensely readable, well-written novel and you will find yourself desperate to discover what happened years ago and if it has some impact on Sasha's disappearance. Marshall does an excellent job increasing the tension incrementally to keep you on the edge of your seat while reading. Likely you will also be looking for the three lies, although at the final tally, there are more than three.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/09/three-little-lies.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2532245847
https://www.librarything.com/work/21953446/book/160472993
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1041401206046973955

This is a fast paced mystery that will keep you guessing and keep you reading. I honestly couldn’t put it down. I had ideas about what was really going on and one of them ended up being right but I really wasn’t sure until the very end. I loved Ellen as a character and related to her. I couldn’t stand Sasha, though I’m pretty sure that was intentional on the authors part. This story is less a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and more an unraveling of a mystery that has affected several lives. The story is told in alternating time periods and point of views, which got a little bit confusing at times. I had to stop a few times to figure when we were and who was talking. Overall this was really fast, easy read that I really enjoyed. If you like domestic thrillers and mystery definitely give it a try! Trigger warning – There is rape in this story so if that bothers you I would avoid it.

Sasha is the type of friend every girl wants. Or at least thinks she wants. She’s beautiful, confident and cool, mature, almost above it all. Ellen and Karina are just two average high school girls. Not necessarily nerdy, and pretty enough to coast through high school, but not popular enough to be invited to parties or be part of the in-crowd.

So when Sasha and the Monktons move into the corner house, Ellen and Karina, find themselves entering into a world they never knew existed. Life at the Monktons house is pretty much a non-stop, boozy, teenager’s dream. Mom, Olivia, is a successful opera singer and not the most engaged mother. Dad, Tony, likes the bottle a bit too much and encourages his sons’ teen friends to join in.

Karina has a huge crush on Daniel and thanks to Ellen and Sasha’s friendship, she now has access to him. With any teen group, there is a tangled web of adolescent emotions and love triangles and lots of secrets being kept from one another. The party is over on New Years Eve, when an alcohol-filled night ends with a rape allegation.

Fast forward to present day. Daniel has served 5 years in prison and 5 years of probation. He’s vowed revenge on Karina, Sasha and Ellen, those he insists told the three little lies–and just like that, Sasha has gone missing without a trace. As the story unfolds, we discover there are a lot more than three lies between old friends. And through twists and turns, those lies are revealed for what they truly are.

The main characters are Ellen and Olivia, and the story is told through their perspectives, but there are more characters with the brothers, the dad, the three girls and other friends. I enjoyed this book, but felt that with so many characters, they weren’t all developed as much as I would have liked.

As with Friend Request, Marshall hinges her story on a girl who is untouchable–cool, collected, always knows what to say, what ever teen girl aspires to. It’s a good mechanism, but the second time around now, not as alluring. And the thriller aspect of the story also isn’t very strong. It feels more like a law-and-order type of story. But I do also love those when done right. They remind me of early Jodi Picoult.

Still, fans of Marshall and domestic thrillers will enjoy this one. Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.This review is also published on my blog, WomeninTroubleBookBlog.

I am a big fan of thrillers and have to admit that I did not see the twist in this one coming at me. Marshall is great at hints and deflection, and I was going looking in an entirely different direction with this one. Very enjoyable and thrilling read.

I really don't know what to say about book. I just found it lacking and it really could not keep me interested. This book was just not my thing!

My first Laura Marshall novel but definitely not my last! Lucky for me I have her debut already downloaded on my Kindle. Unlucky for me is that I've had it since March and still haven't managed to squeeze it in. The woes of a book lover if ever there was one!

This is a fine piece of domestic suspense. I've mentioned before my love for dysfunctional relationships in my books and this one does not disappoint.

Ellen and Karina have been best friends since childhood. At 17 while wasting away their summer they notice a new family moving in across the street, The Monktons. Here they meet the alluring yet mercurial Sasha. She is unlike anyone they have ever met before and they quickly fall under her spell. Olivia and Tony, the musical parents, want to be friends with their children and not disciplinarians. Often drunk they allow the teenagers to do what they like, drink what they like, behave how they like until a horrible accusation is cast on their son, Daniel.

I don't want to give up any more information on the plot. While this may not have been a wildly original premise it is a book that I hung on every word to. I needed to know the who the how the why. After turning the final page I felt satisfied with how it all concluded.

"It's so easy to lie to yourself, because you're never going to get called out on it. No one's ever going to say: hang on, that's not right. There might be a small voice in the corner of your mind that speaks in the dark of the night, when all the other noise has died down, but it's easy to ignore, especially when the sun comes up and the world starts again."

So freaking true!

Thank you so much to Brittany @ Grand Central Publishing who was kind enough to send me a NetGalley widget in exchange for my honest review.

3 1/2 Stars
Once again, I really like Marshall’s writing style, but once again I feel that her thriller lacked the suspense necessary to make it a really great read. This was a fast paced story with a large cast of characters. While those characters were written spot on, this book just lacked the multi layered, blow me away psychological suspense that I crave in a great book. However, I was entertained and isn’t that what a book should do?

Three Little Lies is more domestic suspense than edge of your seat thriller. It's also got a decent amount of courtroom drama and loads of secrets. Seems everybody has a secret, some big, some small, but all of them lead to the missing Sasha in one way or another.
In all honesty, I tend to prefer the edge of your seat stories, but there was something about this one. Whether it's the writing style, the characters, the storyline, or a mix of all three, there's just something compelling about the story with its ever present tension and suspense just under the surface of it all. So, while it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, and some things were rather predictable, the story still kept me turning pages to see how it would all play out. It's a tale of love, friendship, obsession, betrayal, broken trust, redemption, and a bit of justice. The story is very well written and this may be my first read by Marshall, but it won't be my last.

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall is a thriller that as soon as I saw it I knew I had to read after loving Friend Request. The story is one that alternates timelines and points of view between the characters but is still easy to follow along with.

In the present Ellen and Sasha have been sharing an apartment together for quite awhile and have continued their friendship since they were teens. The pair have a system of letting one another know where they will be so when Sasha doesn’t come home Ellen immediately worries. It doesn’t help that the man the two had helped send to prison years ago has been spotted in the area.

Back in 2005 Ellen and Sasha had become friends when Sasha had moved into the neighborhood. Sasha had moved in with her godparents and their two sons and the family had welcomed Ellen into their home with open arms. Things ended up going a bit too far at a party that year leaving Ellen and Sasha to testify in a court case.

The story is mostly told from Ellen’s point of view but does have a couple of others, one being the godmother of Sasha back in the past. It was one that was immediately engaging after learning of the missing Sasha and kept a steady pace as the secrets and lies of the past were uncovered. Definitely one I’d recommend checking out for the thriller fans if you get the chance.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

If you go into this one expecting more of a domestic suspense than thriller, you’ll be immediately drawn in to the lurid details surrounding Ellen and Sasha’s friendship.

My Thoughts:

Back in 2005, Ellen is seventeen, and desperately in need of a friend. Sasha is the new kid, and Ellen is charmed by Sasha’s beauty and larger-than-life personality. Ellen is welcomed into Sasha’s family home and their rather unconventional lifestyle, as the two become fast friends, and not long after, something dark happens at a party there that results in a court case where Ellen has to testify.

In 2018, Ellen and Sasha are still best friends and live together in London. Sasha disappears one day, which is really nothing new for her, but this time, Ellen is anxious. Somehow what happened at the party is tied to Sasha’s disappearance, and Ellen may be in danger, too.

Three Littles Lies is more of a domestic psychological suspense story than thriller with a side of legal drama from the court case, and focusing on the push and pull of friendships and other relationships.

At the center of Three Little Lies were many more than three “little” lies, and the jealousy associated with extreme competitiveness abounded. I found the plot believable and completely absorbing. Three Little Lies is my first book by Laura Marshall, and I’ll be reading my copy of Friend Request asap!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

Three Little Lies is the second offering from author Laura Marshall. It's one of those books with a synopsis that sounds like a thousand others you've read recently, and yet, once you get fully immersed in the lives of the characters, you realize it's far more complex than you first thought.

Sasha and Ellen meet in 2006, when Sasha and the family she lives with move in across the street from Ellen's childhood home. Ellen is almost immediately fascinated by the artsy, bohemian lives the Monktons seem to live. She wants desperately to be thought of as one of them, and it is through her burgeoning friendship with Sasha that she begins to achieve this deeply held desire. Soon, she's spending every spare moment with Sasha and the Monktons, and yet, she can't help but wonder about the secrets Sasha seems to be keeping.

Then, on New Year's Eve, tragedy strikes, and the lives of Ellen, Sasha, and their families are changed in unimaginable ways. Suddenly, everything Ellen thought she knew about this family she practically worships is called into question, and she finds her loyalties put to the ultimate test.

Ten years later, Ellen and Sasha are living together in a London flat. Ellen still considers Sasha to be her closest friend, but it's obvious from the start that Ellen is far more invested in the friendship than Sasha. When Sasha fails to return home from work one evening, Ellen is immediately worried. What if someone has learned the truth about that long ago night and is trying to get even with Sasha? Of course, she calls the police to report her friend missing, but they don't take her seriously, and so Ellen decides to look into Sasha's disappearance on her own. After all, if whatever has happened to Sasha is related to that terrible New Year's Eve, Ellen might be in danger as well.

My description of the plot probably sounds a little vague, but it's important for potential readers to go into this story with as little information as possible. I very much enjoyed trying to fit the various pieces of the puzzle into place, and a more complete summary would spoil that for you. Just be prepared for a very twisty ride, and remember to trust absolutely no one.

The story is told mostly from Ellen's point of view, but we also see things from Olivia Monkton's perspective. We move back and forth between 2006 and present day, but Ms. Marshall makes it very easy to keep up with things. I never struggled to understand where I was in the timeline or through whose lens I was seeing events.

If you're someone who needs to like the characters you're reading about, this particular story might prove difficult for you. Most of the characters are deeply flawed, and while I didn't out-and-out dislike very many of them, neither did I fully embrace them. Ellen, for example,  is incredibly idealistic, and there were several times I found myself frustrated by her seeming inability to see things the way they really were instead of through rose-tinted glasses. The Monktons are quite wealthy, and all of them possess a sense of entitlement I found difficult to deal with. Fortunately, the story was compelling enough to keep me reading despite the tricky nature of the characters.

The novel contains a great deal of discussion of sexual assault. It's not unnecessarily graphic, but neither does Ms. Marshall hold back when she describes the unfolding of certain events. Still, she handles the topic with a great deal of sensitivity. I never felt she was sensationalizing things, or painting survivors in a bad light, but I recognize that the subject matter might be troubling for some readers.

I figured a few things out before the end of the book, but that didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the story. Of course, I would have preferred to be a bit more caught off guard, but that's hard when you read as many thrillers as I do.

This isn't  the best novel of psychological suspense I've read this year, but it's definitely far from the weakest. It takes some familiar subjects and puts a unique spin on them, making this a book I'm pleased to recommend to fans of this particular subgenre. Ms. Marshall has crafted an extremely intense story that is sure to keep readers engaged and make them think at the same time.

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

A missing roommate and a trail of lies...

My first Laura Marshall book and I can say that I am definitely a fan. Her writing drew me in and I really related to the "best friends" scenario of Ellen and Sasha, Karina and their complicated relationship. I could feel Ellen's desperation when Sasha disappears one night and she just knows " something is wrong ". Why won't the police do anything? No one is listening to her.

Sasha is one of those characters that I couldn't quite figure out. We get a peek at how she met Ellen years earlier, when she moved in next door. Sasha is described as " movie star " beautiful and alluring, but she calls herself " the cuckoo in the nest ." Everyone seems to be drawn to her by some force of nature.

The timeline alternates between 2007 and 2017 and the as the story builds we learn more about the family dynamics next door. There is a complicated mixture of themes that are relevant today and felt like it could have come out of the news headlines. Although there are some interesting twists, this one is more of an unraveling of a scandal than a edge of your seat thriller (just know that going in).

The end wrapped it all up nicely, highlighting the consequences of both telling lies and living with the truth.

Recommend to fans of messy domestic relationships and slippery motives, along with some court room drama.

Oooooh, it's a mystery thriller, people. A thrilling mystery. Not 100% my genre, but I'm willing to branch out once in a while when a cover catches my eye. It's a good ol' who-dun-it mixed with a little where'd-she-go? and it will keep you guessing until the end.

The chapters switch between several characters and several different dates in the past as well as the present. More and more layers are added to each character as the book progresses, leaving the reader with a wide range of suspects with believable motives. I really liked how the author moved the story forward with glimpses of the past thrown in. It's not always a concept that I love, but each look into the past was a worthwhile addition to the overall story and I appreciated how the author built the characters in such a way.

Speaking of characters, there are a lot of them. Besides Ellen, Olivia, Sasha, and Karina, there are many other characters that weave in and out of the story who each seem to make an impact, whether in the past, present, or both. I thought some characters could have used a bit more development and attention, but I wasn't wholly disappointed by anyone.

There was one big issue holding me back from giving Three Little Lies a perfect rating. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. It was lackluster and I thought that all the buildup and suspense deserved a more intriguing conclusion. The whole Sasha storyline kind of fizzled out in the end and left me disappointed.

However, that's not to say that this book doesn't deserve your attention. With all the twists and turns, you'll be dizzy by the time you get to the last chapters. Definitely one of the better suspense novels I've read lately.

Cover love cover love cover love!!! Slam dunk on the cover! :)

I was pretty ectastic to get my hands on Laura Marshall's next book. I haven't had the chance to read her debut Friend Request but I've heard amazing things about this author's talent. So.. of course I jumped on this one.

Ellen and Sasha have been friends since they were teenagers. They are currently living together in a flat... but one night Sasha doesn't come home. Ellen is terrified by her missing friend and contacts the police. Of course, the police aren't doing anything and categorize Sasha as low-risk and assume she took off on her own.

Ellen starts an investigation of her own... diving deep into their past from 12 years ago. Ellen goes head first into remembering the past of living next to the Monktons and her neighbor Karina at the time.

Ellen is living in denial of what her best friend Sasha may truly be hiding all these years... and the web is a deeper black then Ellen could have EVER imagined.

Marshall does an excellent job of keeping you on that tennis match between all of the characters... no one is innocent in this one.

Characterization was strong for the most part but wasn't a fan of Sasha at all. I thought she was a spoiled over the top shady chick.

What I was missing? I want to be blindsided in my novels.. and to me this was a pretty predictable ending. There was some minor twists/turns that I didn't see coming but my jaw needs to be on the floor ladies and gents with my thrillers and this failed to deliver on that part.

I expect to have multiple layers and wanted more of a darker ending that didn't deliver.

I am curious to check out her debut novel to see if I would enjoy that more. I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this one... so come back to chat with me after you'd read it! :)

Thank you so much to Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Overall, 3.25 stars for me on this one.

Publication date: 9/4/18
Published to GR: 8/16/18

Another page turner to add to your list! Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall caught my eye right away. Who is lying and why? What happened? Who is telling the truth? Who can you trust?

Here’s what you need to know:

When Sasha disappears, Ellen fears the worst. Then long-buried secrets resurface, Ellen realizes she may not know Sasha — or what she’s capable of — at all.

2005: 17 year old Ellen falls under the spell of glamorous newcomer, Sasha. As Ellen is welcomed into Sasha’s family, she doesn’t see the darkness that lies beneath their musical, bohemian lifestyle. At a New Year’s Eve party, events come to a dramatic head, resulting in a court case (in which Ellen is a key witness) that means family life at the Corner House will never be the same again.

2018: Now 30, Ellen and Sasha are still entwined in each other’s lives and sharing a flat in London. When Sasha disappears, Ellen fears the worst. She has gone missing like this before and the police won’t take it seriously, but long-buried events in their shared past mean that Ellen has good reason to be frightened – not only for Sasha, but also for herself. Finding out the truth about what really happened on New Year’s Eve twelve years ago puts Ellen in terrible danger, and forces her to confront not only the past, but how well she really knows her best friend.

I like a book with a dual timeline. Sometimes I write this way in my own stories. I’m also drawn to stories about friends…let’s be real, I’m just drawn to really good books! Three Little Lies promises to be an excellent novel. The author wrote a book called Friend Request which also looks compelling. I’m going to have to download that on my kindle next!