This is a story of children who have gone missing. Many of them are kidnapped by custodial parents who don't want to share custody. This doesn't mean the child or children are safe. Sometimes revenge comes into the equation and death can occur.
This particular story is about a family. Mom, dad, girl, little boy. Mom is concerned only with appearances. How she looks to others, beautiful woman, loving mother, perfect wife. The husband is so in love with this woman that he let's her get away with everything. He even supports her when she "accidentally " leaves her small sin sleeping in the back seat of her car while she was working. Then, mom disappears. Did she go on another of her silly adventures. The kind dad has to ride to rescue her from? No one really knows. As for they children they are left for hours a day by themselves. Sometimes the six year old boy is by himself while his sister goes with her friends. Not a great environment.
This is an intriguing story. Definitely keeps you guessing and wondering what the characters will choose to do and why.
Great read!

Secrets, secrets - every character in this story seems to have a secret! The main characters are Whit, his wife Diane and their children Cassie and Boon. Sara moves in next door and she too is not who she seems to be.
Diane did something awful and now seems to ignore her children. Sara has a past and we do know some of it. Cassie is a 12-year old precocious child and young 5 year old Boon is definitely terrified of something.
During a hurricane near the Outer Banks, Sara realizes that the 2 children next door are alone and decides to take them with her at most people are trying to evacuate.
The story was rather choppy and I had quite a few unanswered questions at the end. I do thank the publishers for giving me an ARC for my honest review.

I received a free ARC of #TheLiar'sChild from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Liar's Child manages to fit several issues into one novel. Focused on two lonely and neglected children, a father who tries but never quite succeeds, a woman with a secret past, and a former policeman with his own nightmares, Buckley sets them in a tourist area under the threat of a severe hurricane. These characters have a few too many problems to be realistic. The policeman, for example, could have just been retired and observant without the personal horror story. Sara, the "liar's child" with the secret past is in the witness protection program but really has no intent to remain. Her past obviously dictates her present actions but readers know too little about why she is a federal witness. Readers see glimpses of her childhood which is a murky reflection of the children's.

On a very positive note, the two children are very well drawn. Cassie at twelve is angry and unpredictable. Most of her anger is directed at herself but she takes no prisoners with her verbal cruelty. Boon at six is charming and helpless who oozes a need for attention and love. For these two, the ramshackle family apartment is not a shelter from any storm, literal or figurative.

The Liar's Child is an enjoyable read.

This is a powerful story of how mental illness effects families, how sometimes it may look like someone is not doing their job, but they are doing the best with what they have, the best they can in their situation. It's about a father's love, that doesn't necessarily look the way we think it should. And, ultimately, it's about how far we will go to protect the people we love.

The Liar's Child is about a family where the mother is mentally ill and in addition to her mental illness, she has a shopping addiction which leaves the family with little money. They live in a crappy apartment building and the kids are often left to their own devices. The 12 year old daughter, Cassie, gets into a lot of trouble and the 6 year old son, Boon, is emotionally distraught. The father does the best he can, but must work long hours to pay the families' bills, much of which the mother spends on online shopping.

Sara Lennox is in the witness protection program and the government puts her in the apartment next door to Cassie and Boon. She observes their family and how the kids are left to their own devices. When a hurricane is heading toward the Outer Banks and the kids are left alone, Sara takes her with her as she tries to escape the island and more.

I am generally a fan of Carla Buckley's books but I have to say that I did not enjoy this one very much. The first half was so depressing, with the mom who left her son Boon in the car and was arrested for it, and for the general neglect that was shown to Cassie and Boon. I had to take a lot of breaks reading it to keep from getting too down. The second half was not nearly as depressing and was a lot more fast-paced, but it seemed all over the place. The ending left me puzzled and dissatisfied. It didn't really give you any closure, or let you know what happened to the kids or to Sara. I can't personally recommend this book for those reasons

Huh?? This book is one big question mark. Half of the story is just missing as far as I am concerned. The part that’s there is good, really good. Tense dialogue, sparse prose, engaging personalities. But so much of the story is offered up in innuendo. What exactly did Sara do to get herself in trouble with the law? Who was she supposed to testify against? And the biggest question, where the heck did she go after she went back to the hospital? And the mother’s death. So much to ponder with that part of the story. Overall an interesting book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

The book had a lot of promise but it jumped all over the place. It was a bit slow to me. Sara was an interesting character and Boon was a very likable character. The ending just jumped way to the future but didn’t really explain much.

I enjoyed this story. The plot is well written, the characters are complex, and the book is fast paced and a quick read.

Good but depressing story with a few unexpected twists & turns and a satisfying ending populated by some interesting characters. Okay but not a book I will read again.

This one was really interesting. Whit is a father that is struggling to keep his family from going completely off the rails. Sara is in witness protection, waiting to testify in a trial in exchange for not going to prison herself. Cassie is twelve and acts like a teen, a very defiant teen. Hank is a retired policeman. All of their lives intersect and the end result is not what you would expect. I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. And it's really short, which also gets bonus points imho.

The Liar's Child was a fast-paced suspenseful read. Sara is moving into The Paradise apartment complex in South Carolina. She's being relocated as part of the witness protection program. Sara was forced to leave her glamorous life as a money manager behind to clean houses and keep her head down until she can testify against the criminals she was working for. Next door live Whit and his wife, Diane, and two children, angry pre-teen Cassie and six year old Boon. The family is in the public eye because Diane left Boon in a boiling hot car when she went to work and he almost died. The family is extremely dysfunctional - Sara can hear angry voices through the thin walls at all hours. In spite of trying to remain anonymous, Sara becomes involved when she meets Boon and Cassie and rescues them during a severe hurricane. Sara grabs the kids and evacuates the area.

The plot twists and turns and its surprising where it ends up. The characters weren't really likable but you couldn't help caring for the kids. The whole story was well-developed and well written, making for an enjoyable read. There was some adult content but not explicit so this would be a fine book for young adults as well as adults.

A woman in the WITSEC program who is plotting to slip her bonds, two kids whose AWOL mother holds more sway over them than she should, a father who is trying to keep it all together, a haunted ex-police sheriff with a ton of baggage -- lives blown apart and then together by a hurricane threatening the Outer Banks. I chose this as a potential sorbet after reading some heavily engaging works, and was pleasantly surprised at the depth and scope of the writing and characterizations. The redemption and self discovery between these pages lift it above the ordinary, and I'll look for more of Buckley's books.

A story that reads like a thriller. There were times I wasn't entirely sure I was enjoying this book, but in the end I have to say I loved it. Exactly the kind of ending I love...not perfect, but perfectly satisfying.

The Liar’s Child was a fabulous read that kept me turning the pages. Many twists and turns with good character development. I definitely will recommend this read to my family and friends. I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion. No compensation was received. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

The Liar's Child by Carla Buckley focuses on Boon and Cassie, the two children of parents who are very neglectful of their children. Mom disappears on them, after a previous experience of leaving Boon alone in a car all day, saying she forgot about him. Dad leaves them alone in a hurricane when he has to go help his parents out...but what could be so important that he leaves them alone? Parenting at its best? They are taken to safety by their neighbor, who just happens to be in the Witness Protection Program and is not a very nice person herself.

Although the story kept my attention, I found it difficult to like any of these characters. They were all self centered, none had the best interests of these children at heart and certain events were just glossed over, then everything was tied up in to neat a bow at the end. I felt there was a great deal of promise in the story, but it all just petered out. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this novel.

A woman disappears then ends up dead in a septic tank. A man leaves his kids alone although a hurricane approaches. A woman hiding from the authorities dumps two kids off at the hospital and then decides to go back. The epilogue follows, leaving huge gaps in the ending. I didn't care for this story nor most of characters, besides Boone, who is just a little kid.

The Liar’s Child by Carla Buckley

This book intertwines the stories of six characters, all who have suffered tragedies. It shows us how each of them copes and rather than gloss over their individual faults, the book seems to focus on them. It makes it hard to like any of the characters, and I was never sure who I should be rooting for, other than Boon, who is almost always the victim, intended or not.

The book does explore the details of complex lives, illustrating that the circumstances in which a person is born present challenges for improving their life. Hank, a sheriff whose life revolves around service fails his own family and himself. Whit, a handsome man who just want to keep his family happy and safe, whose wife creates havoc that makes it impossible. Cassie, the troubled preteen who can’t find herself, and whose actions ultimately will trap her in the cycle that has caused the family to fall apart. Little Boon, who can’t seem to catch a break anywhere, but who doesn’t seem to ever give up hope.

And then there is Sara, who’s grifter father has died in prison, who is supposed to be an informant who will help the FBI put the bad guys away, but who can’t seem to figure out who the bad guys really are. She comes across, intentionally I think, as self-absorbed and selfish, though her humanity breaks through often enough to make us know that the only hope these characters have rests with her.

The writing is the saving grace for the book, as the author convincingly depicts the tension of the coming storm, the FBI always just off screen and the emotions of each of the characters. It is harder to write complex characters, especially if the reader isn’t convinced they are good at heart. Buckley skillfully creates humans… nothing cardboard at all about her characters.

The book also provides an interesting picture of the-- often idealized-- Outer Banks, and what happens to regular people when disaster and tragedy hit home. I didn’t find the ending particularly satisfying, because it didn’t seem to fit the trajectory of the balance of the book.

I received this book from NetGalley.

Sara Lennox is in Witness Protection. She is placed in North Carolina on the Outer Banks. There she meets her neighbors. Whit and Diane and their 2 children Cassie and Boon. When a hurricane hits, Sara is running away from the Witness Protection. She realizes Cassie and Boon are left alone and takes them with her. There the story gets interesting. Lies and secrets come out as they are trying to find someplace safe to wait out the storm. This book is told in multiple points of view and it weaves together perfectly. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Ballantine Books. All opinions are my own.

Yay! I've discovered another North Carolina writer I like. This book is chock-full of liars because not only is the "liar's child" a liar, so is everyone else in this book it seems. They are all lying to each other. Makes it difficult to find the truth.

There are two storylines here. One is Sara who is placed in an apartment at the Outer Banks of North Carolina by the witness protection program. She is supposed to testify against a criminal to keep from going to prison herself. The other story involves Sara's neighbors - a mother, father, and two children. The wife disappears shortly after leaving her son in a hot car while she went to work. The father is struggling to take care of the kids and work to make a living. The two stories really come together during a hurricane.

The story kept my attention and I enjoyed it. There were a few surprises. I felt sorry for the two children, Boon and Cassie who were caught up in a horrible situation. I liked the writing style and the pace of the plot.

Thanks to Carla Buckly and Ballantine Books through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A little hard to get into at first but overall I liked it! I have to say that I did NOT see that ending coming and was pleasantly surprised, it’s been a while since I was surprised by a book.