Our Little Lies by Sue Watson is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis:
Marianne should be happy, or so she thinks. Her husband is the man that every woman wants. Simon is a handsome man, a talented surgeon, a good provider who gave her the house of her dreams, and a wonderful father to their three children. He is perfect. So why is she jealous of this new woman he works with? Why is she always jealous for no real reason? Why does she always make him so angry? Why is she such a terrible mother? Why can’t she just keep her mouth shut, her house clean, her children healthy and happy, and be a good cook, with dinner ready whenever he wants it? Why is she such a screw-up?

Marianne didn’t used to be so bad. When she was single, she had a great life, a lot of friends, a promising career, and she was happy. But when she met and married Simon, she became someone else, and every time she tries to get back to the carefree wonderful woman she was, Simon reminds her that she is mentally ill, just like her mother, and it isn’t really her fault that she’s hopeless. He is so understanding.

Marianne struggles to make the perfect life for herself and her children, and the husband who she truly loves. She is sure that if this new colleague of Simon’s would just go away, she would have her life back. She has a plan. How far will she go to protect her family?




My Opinions:
This was a really emotional read about domestic abuse. Simon is a nightmare. Marianne is a victim, but one that I wanted to shake until she came to her senses. I really disliked Marianne the first half of the book, to the point where I just wanted to give up. Glad I didn’t. Marianne found her strength to fight for her children.

This was an interesting read. Part of it I disliked immensely, but it was mainly because it was uncomfortable reading about someone who allowed herself to be abused physically and emotionally, and always blamed herself. Even when she finally starts standing up, she doubts herself. It is only when she realizes that she has to protect her children, that she becomes the person she was always meant to be.

I found the writing to be a little heavy in details, particularly the first half, where Marianne berated herself again, and again, and again…but you just have to hang on. It gets better.

The author took us on a journey through one woman’s hell, and brought us out the other side with a wonderful twist at the end. I honestly did not see that coming. Overall, it was a dark subject, but worth the read.

This is the first psychological thriller by the author, and she did well. Sue Watson generally writes romantic humor, which does not appeal to me. However, if she continues to write thrillers, I will continue to read her books.

I had mixed feelings about this book. Generally, it was a good read and mostly held my attention, however the beginning was slow and drawn out and I didn’t particularly like the characters.

On the face of it Marianne has a great life, not wanting for anything with her gorgeous, highly successful surgeon husband, Simon, and her beautiful home. However, things are not quite as they seem and while to his work colleagues and Marianne’s friends Simon is charming and caring behind closed doors he is very different. When Marianne suspects Simon of cheating on her with Caroline, a work colleague, the reader is left unsure who to believe. Is Simon really having an affair or is Marianne just paranoid, mentally unstable and obsessed with this woman?

Although similarly themed to one or two other books around at the moment Our Little Lies is worth a read for those who love a domestic thriller, especially one with an unreliable narrator.

This is the first book I have read by this author and what a great read it was too. Marrianne and Simon appear to have a perfect life, but behind closed doors things are very different. This book drew me in from the start and didn't let go. . A gripping domestic thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. Great characters , maybe not likeable but that was part of the enjoyment of the book for me. Several unexpected events occurred which had me reeling.

If you enjoy a book which demands and deserves your complete and undivided attention - look no further!

Marianne was brought up in foster care after the suicide of her mother and although the memories and the pain still linger, nowadays she has a smart, handsome, surgeon husband and three beautiful children. Marianne devotes herself to family life and with the holidays, regular flower deliveries and the most beautiful house in town she is the envy of the neighbourhood. That is, until Simon's voice lingers on another woman's name, stirring up suspicion and muddled thoughts in his wife's mind . . .

This is a gripping novel. Plenty of suspense and oodles of doubt all add up to an extraordinary read. I kept changing direction with where my sympathy lay due to some very smart writing and more than once I wasn't quite sure who to believe - or discount. I will admit to guessing what was going to happen in the end (possibly because I was so invested in this one), but that in no way took away from the fact that this is a cracking read; I was more astonished to have got it right - not like me at all! I went to sleep last evening with this story rolling around my brain and it was the first thing I thought of when I woke up; at that point I still had an hour's reading and had no idea where it was all heading. A very clever concept, expertly executed with a cast of completely believable characters all add up to one of the best psychological thrillers I've read recently. It seems this is a change of direction for this author, and she has definitely found her niche. Full five glowing stars!

My thanks to Bookouture for providing my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

This book is an ingenious and compelling read. It is a domestic drama which is a slow burner to begin with. However, I would still recommend reading as it is a gripping read once it gets going. 

The characters are well described and very believable.  I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller of the domestic lifestyle.

As Sue Watson's first psychological thriller I was intrigued and look forward to reading more.  

The question I need to ask is ...... Just where do Bookouture get these lovely authors with such dark minds?

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. I am really sorry to be posting a negative review on the day the book will be published, however, this is definitely not for me. Lovers of domestic dramas will love this book, and will probably want to look away now.

Starting with the characters, I hated all of them! The main character Marianne was unbelievably contradictory when it came to her internal dialogue - She talks about how nasty Simon is to her (more on that later) but then fights to save her marriage when threatened by a new girl. She shows violent tendencies and yet claims to be fatigued as a result of her medication. This may have been to make her seem more of an unreliable narrator to the reader, however I only felt annoyed and wished for some consistency. Simon was a suitable bad guy, however that ending that tried to make him a hero only served to show just how awful he is as a character. The children, particularly the twins are horrid , with Sophie being a small consolation although vastly underused throughout. The rest of the cast were just background players (although the revelations about one of them I saw coming a mile off and that just served as a minor distraction).

The pacing of this book is poor, with the first 50% being dedicated to establishing how awful Simon is and how under the thumb Marianne is and why she is like that. This could have been an interesting piece of character development with the reader being drip fed information, and slow reveals about all our characters, however what we get is vast amounts of repeated internal dialogue as well as scenes that, although tense, are also repeated throughout. The second half of the book couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to be, with various reveals being rushed and brushed over. For example, there is a murder at around the 85% mark, with it solved by the 95% mark...it was completely out of place and felt like padding rather than actual plot development.

In terms of writing, parts of this book are engaging and well written, however there are huge chunks that I found myself scanning because I just wasn't engaged with it at all. It was frustrating to be thrown out of the narrative because I was bored with the story telling and just wanted it to get going again. The big reveal at the end was not a twist and fairly predictable.

I really didn't get on with this book, and I am really sorry about it. It isn't a thriller and perhaps should have stayed as a domestic drama rather than trying to create tension that I just didn't feel.

I have loved every single one of this wonderful author's books and when I saw that she had made the switch into psychological thriller genre I was thrilled, to say the least! This author is amazing, she writes with heart and this although a different genre for her, was no different. This was a carefully crafted, exquisite gem of a book. The book unfolds in one way and gradually the story is revealed, the twists taking you by surprise. I loved this amazing book and as always with this author, was left feeling bereft, wanting more. What an amazing story, right up there with the best! I cannot wait for more from this incredible author!

Our Little Lies is Sue Watson's first foray over to the dark side but she is by no means new to the publishing scene. Having written plenty of feel-good women's fiction books, this is her debut psychological thriller. It does play around with tropes but most thrillers do. Here, the story follows Marianne who appears to have everything, including the perfect life and surgeon husband. But appearances can be deceiving! To say she has issues would be an understatement, not totally of her own doing, given her rough upbringing but issues all the same. So, when husband Simon accidentally utters the name "Caroline", Marianne naturally becomes extremely paranoid. She then starts learning more and more about the mysterious Caroline despite trying to distract herself from it playing over and over in her mind... What is happening between my husband and this Caroline? Is she a threat to me and my blessed lifestyle, or was this all just an innocent slip of the tongue?

The author expertly lulls you into a false sense of security, and I felt like I had pinpointed exactly where it was heading, but suddenly, whoosh, the rug was swiftly pulled out from under me! The characters are well drawn, and as often expected in crime fiction, many of them were unlikeable. Watson is adept at ratcheting up the tension and then letting the story unravel with the revealing of secrets, lies. manipulation and jealousy. Sometimes switching to writing in a different genre can be a tricky business, but, here, I detected none of the issues that many authors make with their first thriller. If you like books that feature mentally unstable characters which in turn can often lead to unreliable narration then I'm sure you'll thoroughly enjoy this one just as I did. I look forward to her releasing more crime fiction in the future!

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This is a gripping read and I really enjoyed it.
Marianne seems to have a fabulous life with her handsome surgeon husband Simon, but all is not what it seems.
Simon does as he wants, with who he wants and then accuses Marianne of ‘imagining everything’ and is angry at her for even daring to question him.
He made my blood boil whilst reading the book and his nastiness made me uncomfortable.
I won’t say too much more as I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you, but I can say that the book delivers an ending that will take your breath away.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

WOW! This book was a stunner. I am a huge fan of unreliable narrators, and Marianne was a great one. With her history of mental illnesses, anti-depressant fog, and extreme irrational jealousy, you could never quite tell if her paranoia about her husband was real or compounded by her issues.

When Marianne finds evidence of an affair between her husband Simon and a young colleague, Caroline, she slowly starts to unravel. She obsessively checks Caroline's social media, putting two and two together until she realizes that her husband is unequivocally cheating with this woman. When a sonogram appears on her Instagram, and Caroline reads in their email exchanges (that she's hacked into Simon's computer to see) that they plan on having Marianna committed to a mental hospital so Caroline can move in, she loses it. Marianne plans a surprise party under the ruse of celebrating Simon's promotion, then publicly humiliates the cheating couple by calling them out in front of their colleagues and friends. When Caroline turns up stabbed to death in her home the very next day, following a visit from Marianne, the cops immediately decide that they have their suspect. The story seems wrapped up - but the last few chapters throws a couple curveballs that you will NOT see coming! I was shocked. The story was fast-paced and incredibly enjoyable to read. I loved it!

Well, well, this is certainly a change of direction for Sue Watson. I have loved and read all Sue's other books, and was a little surprised, but also a little excited when I heard she was coming over to the dark side. Our Little Lies is is her first psychological thriller and what a thriller it is.
It seems Marianne has it all, the good looking, successful husband, who just wants the best for his wife and children. Beautiful children. The house everyone dreams of. So just what is wrong with Marianne's life?.
Well I think it's easy to say, when you start the book, it certainly seems she has a hell of a lot of insecurities. Partly down to her upbringing, losing her mother early in life then being brought up in foster care are some of the reasons of her insecurities, but adding to this is the state she has gotten herself in when hearing her husband mention another woman's name.

'What?' He feigns vagueness. 'Oh, Caroline Harker?' There it is again, the roll of the 'r', the sigh of the 'ine'.
​
Is this simple sentence going to tip Marianne over the edge.


This all just makes you think you know just exactly what direction the book is going to take, but let me tell you, you don't. This is brilliantly, expertly written to throw you. To take you on a ride you just wasn't expecting.
As the story unfolds, learning about Marianne's past, and how different it is to her life today. Or how different it looks to her life today, was fascinating.
I think this book will clearly have you either loving or hating characters, It will have you questioning what is going on, and who you actually believe in. Sue has certainly done an amazing job of getting the reader, stirring up feelings for the characters. I certainly wasn't over keen on Simon.
This book is tense, full of manipulation, lies, jealousy. It's full of the things you want from a totally gripping page turner. I think Sue has done a fantastic job here, and I'm looking forward to see what she writes next. Will we have more of this or back to the chic lit, either way I will certainly be reading whatever Sue writes.

4.1/5 stars (Digital arc provided by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange of an honest review)

<i>Our children are shaped by us, by our behaviour towards them, other people and ourselves,...</i>

Short reaction:
Reading this book was like riding a roller coaster. It toyed with my emotions and I regret not finishing it sooner.

Our Little Lies opened with the life of Marianne: a mother of three, a wife of a surgeon, and generally the kind of #blessedlife. However, Marriane's marriage to Simon isn't as joyous as their colleagues see. Marriane was diagnosed with a mental illness and Simon has a tendency to go after other women. When Marriane found yet another prove of Simon's infidelity, she is afraid to confront her husband, to lose her children, and to lose her anchor. What would Marianne do?

So.

What I like about this:
- how Marriane was written
She was a mess, all over the place, but I can sympathize. She was paranoid and at times I thought I was at the last straw with her, but that only prove her amazing characterisation.
- overall plot
We've been in this together ever since Gone Girl went viral. Someone might be cheating on their spouse, someone might have an illness, sometimes there was murder, and at least some mystery. I can say Our Little Lies didn't let me down.
- dem hastags
They were quite funny and I found that I like witty Marianne with her hashtags.

What I don't like:
- the dragging beginning
Literally nothing happened until 50% mark. Sure, there were glimpses of Marianne's past lives, but I was so done with her internal monologue I almost quit the book.
- mental illness device
Nuff said.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery tangled with domestic genre.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Marianne is a stay-at-home wife to a brilliant heart surgeon named Simon. They have three children. Inasmuch as Marianne once had a successful career, she relishes her role as a wife and mother. On the surface. Deep down, she is a battered woman who is experiencing problems on many levels. Simon is a controlling husband, and that is putting it mildly. He controls her so much that his thoughts become her thoughts. Almost to the degree that she actually thinks LIKE him, thus doubting and even forgetting her own original thoughts.

Our Little Lies made me think of the movie Gaslight, with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. In the film, the husband systematically tries to drive the wife out of her mind. As a matter of fact, the term “gaslighting” has come to mean to psychologically manipulate someone into believing that they have lost their mind. So intrigued, I stopped reading the book to watch the 1944 classic! Then I stayed up immediately afterward and read the book through.

There are obvious and numerous differences, however. The primary difference is that there is another woman embroiled here. You see, Marianne has spent ten years married to Simon. She has believed herself to be leading the ideal life. Her life is enough. She should be happy in her life. But as the story evolves we see that she is anything but a happy woman. She has spent years devoted to her husband and family. The problem is that he has made her doubt herself time and again. She often wonders whether or not it is illness, herself, medication, or could it be something even worse. What is that worst? There is another woman, Caroline, a fellow surgeon of Simon’s. Marianne just knows that she is not imagining that her husband is having an affair with Caroline.

I want to mention the point in the story where I begin to sense a strong connection to the film. There was the occasion when Simon arrived home from work before Marianne and the children got home from after-school activities. Dinner was not ready and she was quite alarmed that he might be angry. She reminds him that she didn’t expect him that early because he had surgery scheduled for the day. He pretty much says: Really? One word, and he then has her believing that maybe he didn’t tell her that he had surgery. That is just one example of how he has her doubting she heard him correctly, even going so far as to gently driving the doubt home.

Can I stop to say at this point that I really did not like the smug, charming, irresistible Simon? He called her paranoid. He undermined her in front of the children. How did I feel about Marianne? I felt very drawn to her, as she was emotionally broken, living with apparent paranoia that she was unable to control.

At some point Marianne meets Caroline, and when this happens she is absolutely certain that her husband is not being faithful to her. Maybe it is true that her entire life has been a lie. "As Simon often says, ‘I’ve given you everything, but everything isn’t good enough for you, is it Marianne?’"

Well, the tables turn, and I just have to quote from the book again briefly - “Welcome to my world, Simon. #GaslightingForGirls.” She wakes up. But, is it too late? What ensues is a thrilling plan of action that will change the very fabric of Marianne’s life.

I was captivated by this book! Although it was very difficult to witness the awful abuse that Marianne had to endure, I just kept replaying the movie in my mind. I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for the “A Ha” moment. Oh, it had to come? But would come before it was too late?

As riveting as Our Little Lies was, the true shocker was the twist at the end. While this psychological thriller is my first read by Sue Watson, it will certainly not be the last. Very well done.

Trigger warnings: mental health, domestic violence.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Our Little Lies by Sue Watson was fantastic! I just loved it!
I found the story riveting. The twists at the end kept coming!
A very satisfying ending. I hope Sue Watson writes more thrillers like this!
A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book!
I wasn’t familiar with Sue Watson before reading Out Little Lies.....but I will be checking out her other work!
I don’t agree with some reviews saying this book started out slow...:I was taken from the first chapter and continued to read the whole book in a day. The ending was.....I didn’t see it coming at all...

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Sue Watson for the opportunity to read and review this book - I really enjoyed this one! I have never read any of Watson's books before, but apparently this is her first venture into the psychological thriller genre and it was quite successful!

Marianne is living her dream - she had a traumatic childhood and was raised in foster homes but now she is married to a handsome, successful surgeon with 3 children. Everything seems perfect but of course it's not. Marianne struggles with some mental health issues and Simon is very controlling. Simon starts talking about a new surgeon, Caroline, and Marianne can tell that this is someone Simon is involved with. Or is it all in her imagination?

There are so many twists and turns in this book that the less said the better. At first, I was so irritated with Marianne but you learn so much about her as the book goes on. And the twist at the end took me completely by surprise!

Comparisons to Girl on the train are correct with this book with a mighty old twist at the end. An enjoyable read but seemed quite long? That said I enjoyed it and would recommend to friends who liked similar genres!

This is a gripping read. Mariannes life is not as it seems. Her life with her husband Simon and 3 children is not as perfect as outward appearances seem to show. This is a book about betrayal. There are memorable characters and an interesting plot. Everything comes together in a really good and shocking ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

An ok thriller that sees Marianne have a seemingly perfect life, gorgeous surgeon husband, 3 fantastic children and a beautiful house and lifestyle. However, behind closed doors Marianne's husband Simon is abusive. He is controlling, and he bullies and humiliates her. He's had her committed for her mental health previously, and loves nothing more than to make life a living hell for Marianne. Then one day Simon mentions a woman he works with, Caroline, and Marianne is suddenly convinced he's having an affair with this woman, after all he's done it before. Hasn't he?
I honestly found it hard to get into this book. The leadup, showing us how Simon was abusive, was too drawn out, ending up taking over half the book, and became rather monotonous and, well, boring. I ended up skimming through a lot of this part as it was just the same repetitive thing over and over. When things did finally get interesting the book improved, however I still found myself predicting the twists before they happened. It's not a bad book by any means, just a little too drawn out and predictable.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marianne wants for nothing – a beautiful home in a good neighbourhood, three children who are her pride and joy and a successful, handsome husband. Yet she suffers from a lot of insecurities, mainly stemming back to her childhood. One morning, her husband mentions another woman’s name in passing and Marianne begins to feel herself becoming jealous about a woman she doesn’t even know. But, should she be jealous or should she be scared?

The only books I’ve read by this author were romantic chick-lit, so I was interested to see how this author fared in the thriller genre. Marianne was a riveting character having come from a background completely different to the life she now lives. As the story moves on you get to find out more about her past and this helps explain why she’s like she is now. Having given up her career to be the ‘trophy’ wife, have the dinner on the table and bring up the children, perhaps you can’t blame Marianne for how she reacts when she hears her husband, Simon say the name Caroline with a little bit too much feeling. I didn’t really like Simon from the very beginning and as the book moved on I began to distrust him more and more. The book was written in such a way though that I doubted myself as to why I didn’t trust him! I just didn’t know who could and couldn’t be trusted and who indeed was or wasn’t telling the truth!

I have to admit, I did find the first part of the story a bit slow as it set the scene, but the suspense and tension certainly stepped up a gear as the book moved on. There were lots of twists and turns and the ending certainly wound everything up nicely!! Full of tension and suspense, would definitely recommend.