Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I LOVE a domestic thriller! However, some fall a little short and become so very predictable. Our Little Lies is not one of those books! I was addicted to reading this. Marianne is a lovely woman with a complicated past that she cannot escape from. On top of that, she has a total jerk husband who makes her demons even harder to manage. Watson did such a wonderful job at making Marianne likable but just a weeeee bit unreliable.

The end will shock you and you really do not see it coming.

This psychological thriller is upsetting to read at times. You start out thinking things seem pretty nice, but quickly you learn the marriage is not so perfect. Of course, you knew that when you read the title, too!

Maryann seems to have the perfect life and perfect husband, but Simon is a manipulator and you soon find out Maryann questions everything about her life. Her past starts to be revealed and the story is so sad, you feel quite sorry for her, even though she is also a frustrating character with flaws of her own.

This is my first Sue Watson book, and apparently not her normal genre, but she is a good writer and I will definitely look into other titles by her.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookcouture and the author for the opportunity to read this arc.
I really enjoyed She Watson's first foray into thriller\suspense genre and hope she continues. A tale of domestic abuse with twist. Simon the abusive husband was detestable and to start with i found Marianne to be very weak and basically a doormat, however as the book progressed she found her fire. I did not see the end coming at all!! Was it right? Who knows.... Was it deserved hell l yes!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book 5 stars.

Marianne has a life that others dream of…she has a beautiful home, three children and is married to a cardio surgeon. But she can’t shake the feeling that her husband, Simon, is having an affair. But this isn’t the first time she has thought that…it has happened over and over and over again. Simon tires of his wife’s irrational thoughts, but uses that to his advantage to physically and psychologically abuse her.

Most of the story was written from Marianne’s thoughts and while I’m usually okay with that in stories, this one seemed to drag on quite a bit. I found her to be a very weak, whiny character, which it’s stereotypical in how society views battered women. She worshipped her husband even though he constantly berated her and beat her down. I wanted to give up on finishing this story at the beginning because I found myself getting annoyed with how much she adored him.

As for Simon…I hated him with all of my soul! The author did a great job depicting his character because I loathed him. For the first half of the story, he was the reason I kept reading. I needed to know what was going to happen to him because I wanted him to feel the pain he had given her.

I did sympathize with Marianne due to her past issues and how it affected her now. I knew I needed to be in her corner and gave her a chance and I was glad I did. More than midway through the book, Marianne finally stands up for herself and discovers she has a little fight inside her as well. It took me a while to figure out her children were a big reason she played into Simon’s games.

This book had a lot for a psychological thriller…manipulation, paranoia, lies, jealousy, and love. Definitely worth the read!

I did figure out the twist towards the end, but it didn’t happen in the way I thought. I enjoyed the fast paced read of this thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Dark, twisty, and riveting. I loved how Watson led me slowly down the dark path, shining a light on the truth for just a second before pulling back, forcing me to read on.

I can see most people love this book. It's a taut psychological thriller that has you guessing from the start.

With the protagonist, Marianne, I didn't know what to think. First I thought her husband was a jerk, then I wondered is she crazy? Then later I wondered if maybe it was a combination of the two. I don't want to give too much away but it does end up weaving together, albeit a tad slowly.

I took two stars because while I thought the plot spectacular, the story dragged and it seemed to take forever to get to the good stuff.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marianne & Simon seem to live a charmed life together...wife to a surgeon they live in the big house in the village with their boys & daughter Sophie from Simons previous marriage you soon pick up the vibe that all is not as it seems!!!!
A great new book & complete new genre from Sue Watson I enjoyed it so much & couodnt wait for a quiet time in the day to pick it back up! Highly recommend!

OUR LITTLE LIES by Sue Watson is a great suspense novel. I had never read any of Watson's novels before but I will be on the hunt to read more from this great author.

I almost gave up on this book a few times because I felt so uncomfortable reading about Marianne’s state of mind. I’m glad I didn’t! The story does linger on her emotional frailty throughout the first half, maybe a bit too much, but once the action starts it doesn’t let up!

The writing in this book is fantastic. You can truly imagine the settings, feelings, and horror of what’s happening behind all of the many closed doors. Simon is truly evil. Marianne’s actions during the second half of the book were fun to read. I was so curious how it would all play out. I can safely say that I didn’t see that coming and then the final reveal - horrific! It was a good story; a very tragic one.

First book by the author, will be back for more! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

I was hooked from page one. The writing was great. The characters were frustrating and drove me up the wall at times but I needed to know what was going on! What are they hiding? What's the truth and what's a lie? I enjoyed this book from cover to cover but it really picks up at the halfway point. The suspense! I couldn't wait to finish it, it was so good. It had me guessing the whole time. I was not disappointed with this one.

Omg this book !!!!! Never have I felt such powerful emotions as when reading a novel and finding myself wandering round the house muttering to myself when I wasn’t reading mostly about the detestable Simon making me want to drag him out of the book and give him not only slap but a piece of my mind but all of that just goes to show what a wonderful writer Sue Watson really is.
It’s safe to say I also spent a lot of time shouting at my kindle luckily I was alone !!
This really is such a compulsive read building the tension and a brilliant ending making it for me a real unputdownable novel that I just loved so read it you really won’t be disappointed..5 stars and many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read the ARC.

4-5 stars. From the start of this book, I knew there'd be more to it then what met the eye and I was not wrong. I loved how well the author made the reader feel the emotions needed to understand why and how this story took place. Well written, taunt, and very chilling,
Will be recommending, reviewing, and using in my daily challenges in Chapter Chatter Pub. Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

TW: domestic violence, emotional manipulation

Many books now promise “surprise twist” or endings, but I really didn’t see this one coming. Marianne has the perfect husband, but does she? This is one of those, what you see on the outside of a marriage doesn’t mesh...and inside the mind of the wife behind it. Following Marianne’s thought process through this book, wife, mother...made for a one day very enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

“Our Little Lies” by Sue Watson is a psychological thriller that tells the story of Marianne and her marriage to Simon, who appears to be Mr. Perfect, but things aren’t always what they seem. On the surface it appears Marianne has an ideal life - married to a handsome surgeon, three wonderful children, and a beautiful home, but behind closed doors there’s something dark and twisted going on.

Marianne did not have the best childhood being in and out of foster homes and dealing with her mother’s death, but when she meets Simon he seems like he will be the one to make her life right. That is until he makes her give up a career that made her happy, removes her friends from her life, and starts controlling her in more ways than one, and let’s not forget to mention the affairs. Is having the perfect life really worth it especially if you can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t?

Marianne as a character can be a bit annoying and seems whiny, but the further you get into the book you learn more about her and start to feel for her. Simon is a narcissist and honestly there wasn’t much I liked about him, but his character was written well for what he was. There were some interesting characters and a big twist at the end that I totally did not see coming.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely gripping. Could not put this down. I didn’t like anyone in this book and I felt deceived by every single character....which is a good thing! Twisted so twisted! Enjoy the twists and trust no one! Full of lies weaved between some really awesome writing.
5 stars!
Thank you @Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Do you remember the childhood game “Simon Says”?

Marianne appears to be living the perfect life, but you start to get the impression early on, that things are not quite so perfect when you learn that Marianne was up at 3 AM baking bread for breakfast, or when Simon calls her into the family room to show her how to PROPERLY fold the throw that is over the back of sofa...again.

Marianne had better do exactly what Simon Says, or there will be hell to pay.

Then one morning, Simon mentions another woman’s name. The way he lingers on it...Caroline....gives Marianne a shudder of suspicion, but is she just being paranoid..........like the last time?

With no real friends to turn to...Simon doesn’t approve of the neighborhood women....she becomes obsessed with learning all that she can about Caroline.

But should be jealous? Or should she be scared?

The first 40% of the book (perhaps just a tad too long) establishes that Simon is a narcissist but once Marianne decides, though her haze of Mirtazapine, that she wants to keep her home, despite all she must endure, the story picks up in pace.

Privy to her every catty (but oh so honest!) inner thoughts, Marianne devises a plan to make sure that “Caroline” does not take her place.

“There’s not enough room for both of us.”

The plan sets off a chain of events that had me mesmerized like a swinging pendulum....
I think I know where this is going...nope.
Maybe, I do!
Nope!
I am right!
Only partially....

This is the author’s first “psychological thriller”, have previously written a series of romance novels, , but I hope she chooses to stay in this lane, as I would love to read more from her in this genre!

Thank You to Netgalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for providing an ARC in exchange for a candid review!

You can pre-order this and start reading it on Oct. 11th, 2018!

Having read several of Sue Watson’s rom com books, it was interesting to see the direction she was about to take into the suspense/thriller genre. With Our Little Lies, she proves herself a versatile writer capable of mastering any genre.

It appears that Marianne has everything: brilliant cardiologist husband Simon and three perfect children. Sometimes, however, what you see is not what you get. Having had to move several times because of Marianne’s paranoid behaviour, things seem to have settled down until Simon mentions a female colleague Caroline. As Marianne becomes suspicious that Caroline is more than just a colleague, she begins to stalk her through social media and what she discovers could blow her world apart.

A well written psychological thriller full of lies, betrayal, and manipulation with a shocking ending.

Marianne is thankful for her life. Her husband Simon is a surgeon and provides a good life for them and their three kids. Nothing is too good for them. But When Simon talks about his new coworker Charlotte, Marianne is immediately suspicious. There something not right about the way he says her name. Its like a caress. Without meaning to, Marianne begins to learn about Charlotte. The more she learns, the more obsessed she becomes.

It was difficult for me to get through some of this book. Marianne is a classic abused wife. Simon abuses her emotionally and is extremely controlling. I wanted to shake Marianne. I didn't understand how someone could put up with that.. However, the book was well written. I enjoyed seeing Marianne become stronger as the book went on.

If I could give this a 4.5 I would. It was a really good read, and I found I struggled to put it down.
It’s not a new story - it’s been told multiple times, by multiple authors some good and some bad. This, fortunately was one of the good ones. Marianne has a perfect husband, a perfect family and a perfect home! Except it is far from perfect. Simon is abusive and controlling, using medication to subdue Marianne and make her question everything. There is some really tragic parts to this story, but watching Marianne get stronger and more determined is the best part. There was a twist at the end, which was surprising. Recommend!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked up this book. Sue Watson is a name that is synonymous with the romantic comedy and to move from that to a psychological thriller seems a strange, but not unwelcome, step. Sue Watson is an excellent writer though so for anyone wondering if she can pull this off, then wonder no more as yes. She can.

With Our Little Lies you can draw parallels to the rom-coms that you may have been expecting. This is very much a story of a family relationship and how the lives of the three central characters intertwine, leading to a tense and ultimately dark ending. It's kind of like what happens after the romance has died or, in this case, if it was never really there to begin with.

The story is told through the eyes of Marianne. She and her husband Simon should have the perfect life. He is a handsome and successful surgeon on the cusp of a truly great career. She is the stay at home mother, three beautiful children and an idyllic home. But like all things, what lies beneath the glossy veneer is not all it appears to be, and the smiles and cheer hide a multitude of tears. Marianne has long suspected Simon of being unfaithful but has always had it dismissed as her paranoia. That is until she meets his colleague Caroline and she just knows there is more between them than the occasional patient.

This is a very slow paced thriller, a long time spent in setting up the background of the central characters and the events in Marianne and Simon's past which has led them to where they are today. Much of it is told through Marianne's memories, something which you grow suspicious of the more you read. Marianne is a difficult character to like initially, very needy and indecisive, and very much an unreliable narrator for reasons that will become appear as you read on. That said, the more you read of her and her past, the more you watch her relationships at home, the more you come to feel empathy for her, if not absolute trust in what she is telling you. No matter how you feel about her is in an impossible position, caught between needing to leave a toxic relationship and wanting to stay to protect her children. 

As for Simon - gah. Vile character. You can tell he is bad news from the off and there was nothing about him which could change your mind in that. Even his approach to parenting and his attitude towards his kids was questionable. It was only at the very end that you perhaps got a glimpse of the person he could have been. Reasons for his behaviour are perhaps slightly explained but it is still questionable as to whether this is nature or nurture at work.

If you are looking for a big action, high tension thriller, this isn't going to be your thing. This is a slow building domestic noir rather and the big surprise element doesn't happen until perhaps seventy or eighty percent of the way through the book. From then, the book quickly draws to a conclusion, perhaps a little quicker than I would have expected given the gravity of the situation. You are given the reasons in the very last chapter, but given the build up this was perhaps the only thing I'd like to have seen taking a little longer. Then again, by this stage you already knew all of Marianne's little quirks and perhaps this part didn't need too much of a recap.

If you are looking for a great domestic noir, riddled with manipulation and mind games, and exploring the darker side of married life, then this will be the book for you.