This book turned out to be a gang buster read for me, after a very slow start. Cassie and Boon are two children living in the same apartment complex as Sara. Sara notices that they are left alone a lot once their mother disappears one night, so she takes an interest in the welfare of the children. Cassie is sullen and withdrawn while Boon is innocent and needy. The first half of the book was very slow, as the author laid the groundwork for the spine-tingling conclusion. Whit, the father, is doing the best he can to raise his children alone, but he has to go to work and leaves a reluctant Cassie in charge of Boon. Sara enters the picture at just the opportune time because she also has secrets, so she certainly understands this secretive family. There are a lot of very important characters who seem to be minor until I got to the end of the book. I think that my favorite character was Sara because she was not beyond redemption. I also liked Hank who needed a happy ending to his sad story. Readers of suspense will enjoy the story provided they stick with it until the exciting parts start.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. A women running from her past, a child in a tough situation, now they are neighbors who end up together during a storm. Story ended like there was going to be another book, since it felt like a lot of background was still untold, but otherwise an entertaining read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
There is child neglect which I know exists, but I don't like to read about it.
The 2 children, boy age 6 and girl age 12, live in a run down apartment with their dad and mom. Their dad seems to try to do what's right for the family, but the mother is all wrapped up in herself.
Then enters the neighbor Sarah who is under witness protection with minimal interaction with the family until the hurricane. Sarah did the right thing for the children, the dad tried to do what he thought was good for them, the mother was "useless," and the dad's parents aren't much help since his dad appears to have mentally and maybe physically abused his son.
The first half of the book was not interesting. But the last half when the hurricane threatened the area, the book was realistic.. Then the ending was just o.k. I would have liked to have known more details about both children.

Interesting book. Several different story lines. I thought the ending was kind of abrupt, and the epilogue was too many years out from the end of the story. The characters were all hiding something but some of their stories weren't very clear. I kept reading through to the end to see how it all wrapped up. Not as good as other books by this author .

Sara Lennox has moved to the Outerbanks for a fresh start. Her new home is a nondescript apartment complex where neighbors keep to themselves and nobody considers it "home." Sara's next door neighbors include five-year-old Boon and his sister, twelve-year-old Cassie. They have had a rough go of it recently, their mother went missing and hasn't been seen for weeks. Without her paycheck to help, their father, Whit, is trying to find ways to make money in any way possible. Leaving Cassie in charge of her little brother. But she is dealing with the family drama in her own destructive way. Sara Lennox sees what is happening. She sees the neglect that the kids are experiencing. With a hurricane bearing down on the Outerbanks Sara decides to rescue the kids, from the hurricane and their life. Meanwhile, there are some truths being revealed that will prove that there was more to the disappearance of their mother. What will happen when they discover that Boon and Cassie are missing, too?

The Liar's Child was kind of a really depressing novel. Sara is a character that is hard to get to know. I didn't ever really "connect" with her. I did like the way she did the right thing in the end, but it felt like a little too late to redeem her relationship with the reader. I felt bad for the kids. Their story was also quite depressing. You know that there is some "history" there, but you don't know exactly what happened until later in the book. I *did* have empathy for Whit. He knew his wife was not a good person to have around his children, he also knew that his kids were being neglected. I think he loved them but struggled with meeting all of their needs. This is one of those books that had an epilogue and I was glad for that. I wanted to know how their lives looked in the future.

Bottom Line - There are times when adults have to do tough things for the kids in their lives. The Liar's Child is a book about such a time. Thankfully, there was a happy ending, but I was fearful that there was going to be a different outcome.

Details:
The Liar's Child by Carla Buckley
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Pages: 288
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Publication Date: 3/12/19
Buy it Here!

I picked this book because I have loved every single book that Carla Buckley has written. Even though the premise didn't do a whole lot for my I wanted to read this book based on the author alone.Unfortunately every author stumbles now and again and unfortunately this was a stumble for Ms. Buckley, at least in my eyes.I'm not sure exactly what it is about this book that didn't do it for me. I didn't really like any of the characters except for maybe Boon. Sara is all over the place, Whit's kind of dumb, and Cassie is a complete brat. It was hard to read a novel in which none of the main characters have redeeming qualities.But the worst thing is that there should have been this sense of urgency in this novel and there just wasn't. Normally I would be zipping through the pages but instead I just didn't feel the pressure building.This novel was just okay. Nothing great. Hopefully Carla's next novel will be better.

This was an interesting book with diverse characters and some intriguing scenarios.

Sara is in the witness protection program and is supposed to testify against someone. While there are hints at what happened it is never fully explained, but my guess is it is something financial - either a Ponzi scheme or embezzlement or some combination. While the story hints that she was caught up in whatever her bosses were doing, the drops of information about her father lead me to believe that she may not be as innocent as she seems. WitSec hides her on this small island in North Carolina in a run-down apartment building, an old car that has its issues, and a job cleaning homes and rentals. While she avoids getting to know most people, a little boy from the apartment next door seems to gravitate towards Sarah and a small bond is formed.

Whit, Dee, Cassie, and Boon are the family next door to Sara. They have their own issues and demons to deal with and tend to stay to themselves. Dee appears to have mental issues based on her history and finds herself separated from her children thanks to an incident involving leaving Boon in the car on a warm day.

The story is told from multiple POV and starts with Hank - which threw me off because he doesn't appear again until later in the book. Each chapter rotates between the characters and the story progresses nicely. Dee goes missing and no one seems to know where she might be and why she would have left without the children as that was her MO previously. I had my suspicions that were confirmed later in the book but not exactly what I had imagined. The author does weave the tale and characters together and everyone has a purpose to the story although for some it takes a while to understand why they are part of the story and what role they play in progressing the storyline.

The last chapter was a bit odd. It takes place approximately 10 years later. There are tidbits of information as to what happened to Whit, Cassie, and Boon during that time. I would have liked to have had a more fleshed out ending that gave more succinct details as to what exactly happened in those years. Or just left that chapter out.

Sara Lennox has been placed in the Witness Protection Program, and she hates every aspect of her life at The Paradise on the Outer Banks. The fourth-floor walk-up shabby apartment, the house cleaning jobs, the car that barely runs, and mostly, knowing that someone is always keeping tabs on her and her activities. Though she’s seen the family next door, she doesn’t really become involved with them except in passing, but the night Sara needs to leave because the FBI is relocating her, she rescues Boon and Cassie from the onrushing hurricane and heads inland, away from their parents and her FBI handler.

Six-year-old Boon is much friendlier than his older sister Cassie, and after their mother Diane’s disappearance, Whit, their father had to leave Cassie in charge of Boon. The night of the hurricane, Whit had left the children alone to assist his parents with a problem with their septic tank. He has no idea that Sara has taken his children and fled.

I felt the storyline dragged, and it took a while to get into the story. Cassie was a teenaged stereotype, one-dimensional, while Boon was fixated on his Wolf. I realize that both children had undergone a great deal of trauma and upheaval in their lives, it just rang hollow for me. Overall, I wasn’t as impressed as I had hoped I would be.

I couldn’t find anything interesting in this story to keep reading. I DNF it. Thank you for providing me with a copy of this title.

In one of the storylines, we have Carla. She's a young woman who is entering a witness-protection program and in her new life works as a cleaner, something she never envisioned for herself. The other storyline follows her neighbors, a dysfunctional family living next door to Carla that is going through their own problems.

When a hurricane threatens the coast, Carla makes a quick decisions that affects them all. This is the premise, I don't want to go into more details as not to spoil anything.

I enjoyed the novel, the characters are intriguing, the beginning is set at a slower pace that picks up after the halfway point. I recommend the book to those who enjoy reading contemporary fict

Carla Buckley is one of my favorite writers, but this book was a little slow to start. The character of Sara, who is in the witness protection program, wasn't very interesting, along with the character of Hank, who I had a hard time figuring out what he had to do with the story. Eventually it all comes together, but there were some loose ends dangling that I didn't feel were wrapped up too well. All in all a good story, but not my favorite of Buckley's. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well-written psychological drama wrapped around one woman's daring decision to create a family of her own. With vivid heart-felt suspense, The Liar's Child is an unforgettable tale of fate and battling an earthly storm, while surviving a raging war inside.

Parents can really mess a kid up, even when they have the best intentions. The lives of a family and a woman on the run intersect and intertwine in this plot that is based on manipulation and humanity.
The beginning was slow, but set up the events to come, and there are some twists that I didn’t see coming. The characters are realistic; messed up people trying not to be. In all, a good read.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

In a small town in North Carolina there exists an apartment complex called the Paradise. But its not. It is a cheap complex where people live in danger storms. Inside the Paradise are the two families we will get to know, Sara, a fugitive from danger now living under the Witness Protection Program. And there was Whit, with his daughter, Cassie, 12, and son, Boon, 5. Whit and his children lived under difficult circumstances. Boon’s mother would leave Boon in the car for long periods of time. But she was caught and the kids were taken from her. She could only see them under supervised visits. The family was completely dysfunctional.

Sara became entangled with the family when Cassie would climb onto her balcony, and Boon would talk to her ingratiating himself. While Sara would talk to Boon and could sympathize with him, she was determined to not get involved. After all she had her own agenda. She was to appear in court as a witness against a dangerous criminal. She was just waiting for the right time.

That time arrived when there was a forecast of a hurricane. She set up her plan and waited. When the storm started, it was her time to get out of there and start her own life. But life has a way of pushing itself into your plans and changing them. So Sara’s life changed when she saw that the kids were in danger.

Where is Whit? He’s trying to make the hotel where he works secure from damage. He realizes that his children are in danger and tries to get home to rescue them. But bridges are out and he is unable to get home.

The intense danger is causing fear in all the characters. Will they find each other, will they have a home when the storm is over, will Sara get her freedom? Grab this book to find out. There is much to discover. The writing is excellent, the characters are likeable and the descriptions are clear and exciting. Definitely worth the read!

This is a well-written book that had me totally into the story. The characters are compelling . Not that I liked any of them much except for Boon who was achingly lovable. Sara is tough and mysterious, but she had an upbringing that made her that way. I felt sort of sorry for Whit though he brought most of his problems on himself because of his weakness for his wife. Diane is a real piece of work - I couldn't manage any sympathy for her whatsoever. And poor Cassie is handling things far beyond what any twelve-year-old should have to endure.

The hurricane was an interesting background to the story and the details of the wind and rain were so descriptive I could practically feel the fury of the hurricane. The pacing of the book is good and although I had guessed the big secret long before it was revealed, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.

I was SO glad there was an epilogue!!

The Liar’s Child was just ok for me, though it did have a little mystery and a hurricane that was about to come, and I did like the setting of the book, I didn’t like any of the characters and Cassie was very rude at times. I did however like the cover. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Engrossing story about Sara recently relocated to the Outer Banks under the witness protection program where she encounters a hurricane and families with dark secrets. Giving it 4 stars as I found myself yearning for more background on Sara, Dee and a former sheriff, Hank.

Marvelous thought provoking story of relationships and multi layered relationships in this fast paced
novel taking place in a hurricane.

Couldn't put the book down! Amazing story line!

This was a good book but not as good as I thought it COULD be. Kept me guessing and seemed to lose its flow for a bit but overall a good read.

The Liar’s Child was a slow read for me. I found parts of the book exciting..the hurricane, how Sara became a pseudo mother to Cassie (12j and Boon (5). Our main character, Sara, finds herself staying at “The Paradise,” a rundown temporary housing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She is part of the Witness Protection program and waiting to testify. Sara grew up in a disfunctional household and her neighbor’s children are growing up in a dysfunctional household.

Boon’s mother left Boon in her car on a hot day and he almost died. Mistake or on purpose? His mother is known to disappear at times. It appears she has taken off again leaving her husband Whit to cope with the kids and try to make a living. As a hurricane approaches, Whit leaves to help his parents make sure the septic system does not overflow. He cannot get across the bridge to get to his children, Sara takes the children with her to escape the hurricane.

Then there is Hank and what does he have to do with the story. I found the story to have too many holes. To me, it is a first draft. The ending is abrupt and for me dissatisfying,

My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.