Some characters carry darkness with them wherever they go. Charlotte is one of them. When we meet her, the first thing that came to my mind was that she was out of sync with the world. As if she were one second behind us all. The reasons were unknown to me but it did look like Charlotte herself couldn’t totally comprehend the gap between her and the rest of the world.

Amy Lloyd brilliantly made me care for a character I’d just met within a few pages, with careful details, remarks from a mind sounding as though it has already seen too much yet feels so young, too young to grasp human subtleties. I was unsettled, but highly interested. Who was Charlotte? Why is there a tag on her ankle? Of course, a crime reader always jumps to the worst conclusions, don’t we? I couldn’t help myself and I took great pleasure in trying to figure out how clever hints thrown here and there, from the mention of a doctor to what could be seen as weird habits, could lead me to the truth.

The truth, isn’t this what we all want? Well, Charlotte wants it but her brain refuses to open the door to her memories.

Through Now and Then chapters, we get to know more. And with each chapter, I wanted more than more! Charlotte from the present is supposed to try and get a normal life after years in prison. Except something is holding her back. The more days passed, the less free she seemed to be. I had the feeling an evil hand was dragging her back into the past.

What happens when this hand is yours? How do you build your new self if you don’t make peace with who you used to be and what you did?

One More Lie tackles the subject of child crimes. Charlotte was sent into the system at an early age. I was gobsmacked to find out about her sentence and her growing up. Flashbacks had me tutting and wondering as I tried to reconnect the Charlotte from nowadays to the child she used to be and her younger self. Child killers? Are they born this way? Can we blame a domino effect, a million factors reunited to enable the evil to inhabit those tiny bodies and force them to do the unspeakable? My mind was running wild!!

Sean. A taboo name. A shadow Charlotte craves as much as she fears. The author captures the intensity of their relationship in such a way that I felt my heart break. What is only a newspaper headline for us is life for the two of them. We don’t get the keys to the past until the very end of the book, so the reader gets plenty of time to ponder about the information they get, and form an opinion… Until Amy Lloyd deals the final cards and blurs a world of innocence gone wrong.

One More Lie also takes you on the bumpy and muddy road of the aftermath. What happens when you’ve served your time? Can you come back to normal life? What is normal life for kids who have been judged so early in their life? Is there a way for them to adapt to society? One More Lie is engrossing and raises so many questions. More than a psychological thriller, it is a study in the effects of lives destroyed too soon. We can sense Charlotte’s fears and shame at what happens. She hides and is so insecure, I couldn’t help but want to help her. But is redemption even on the table? With such a weigh on her shoulders, Charlotte makes for a wonderfully tragic heroine. I devoured every word of One More Lie!
If you are looking for a dark read without blood on your hands, look no more, and grab One More Lie, which is devastatingly intense and criminally disturbing!

# Onne More Lie #Netgalley #
I teall enjoyed this book, I wanted to continue once I had started it. As I only received it on the actual release date, it was very late at night I noticed it, I knew deeep down I should not Eve look at the fisrt few pages. Because I know that if I do and the first couple if pages grip me then I am doomed to another sleepless night. With genuine telling myself I definitely will only read the first few pages, I was full of flu, suffering badley, and I was absolutely shattered and in desperate need of sleep. I promised myself a couple of pages only. Oh no it really doesn’t work that way with me, once I read the first couple of pages and I am hooked then despite my own promise, and needing sleep full of flu. I am not and never have been disciplined enough to stick to my promises I make myself, so there I was staying wake fight sleep not wanting to put the book down at all, I genuinely can’t remember how much I read that night and into the early hours of the morning. I felt my dozing once or twice so I sat up shook my head and went to make coffee to keep me awake, at some point however, I woke with my glasses still on and kindle in my hand. I had done it again, fell asleep reading. In reality anyone that knotne to fall asleep reading is a true sign how extremely ill I am. Normally sleep helps people sleep in my case it’s always been the opposite if I have a good book reading wakes me up. Unless like this one I am not well, I had noticed for saying I was only going to read a couple of pages I had just got over half way when my illness got the better of me and ended up eventually having had fallen asleep reading, I do remember going to make a coffee at 6.. 20 am to try to stay awake longer but alas not. Now I have told you that for a reason, my reason is plain and simply the book had gripped me and I was hooked I just had to keep turning the pages for a wanting to do desperately to find out what had actually happened. So it’s a must read from me, it’s got a really unexpected twist I never saw coming at all, once or twice I did wonder but then dismissed it no not possible I thought. Although this books not gory or anything like that I surprised myself how quickly I was well and truly hooked. Read read read

Brilliant, yet an uncomfortable read at times. What a subject to write about, and how well done it was.

Charlotte (main character) and her childhood friend Sean are convicted child killers and Ms Lloyd takes us back to their youth and then, with new i/d's, after they have served their sentence.

Charlotte is struggling with her grown up life, with a tag, living in a a home for single women and finding working a problem. Her outlet seems to involve be some sort of female therapist/psychiatrist, but even with this woman Charlotte lies. In fact, she lies a lot.

When Sean reappears, the ending is surely tragic - but is it? No spoilers from me.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read and review.

This is one of those books which should probably repulse and enrage the reader. It is after all a very familiar scenario, the kind which has been plunged into the spotlight after the very heavily reported upon release of the notorious child killers of James Bulger, which generated such a strong reaction amongst the general public. The same is very much the case here when Charlotte, as she is now known, is released from detention and is about to start her new life. The story introduces us to a young women who is trying to learn how to be someone completely different when she barely had time to learn who she was before. Convicted at ten years of age, Charlotte cannot remember what happened that fateful day, and only knows that the aftermath changed her life forever.

In fact, rather than being a book which merely condemns the protagonist, alienating readers from the start, what we are actually faced with is a very clever and canny character study. We know what Charlotte was convicted of but we are never really sure if she was actually guilty and the author keeps up this suspense and questioning throughout the whole book. Blending Charlotte's present with snatched memories from her past, Amy Lloyd takes us from her first tentative journey to her new job at a supermarket, to the rather dramatic and enlightening ending in which the truth is finally revealed to everyone, Charlotte included.

This is a very skilful novel which played with my emotions as a reader, making me want to learn more about Charlotte's past and how a loving child becomes a killer. It's hard to believe you could feel sympathy for her and yet there are elements of her history which gave me pause for thought. The author has managed to make her very believable if not necessarily likeable, and yet still drew me into her life. Childlike in outlook as though her time in detention prevented her from properly maturing - there is a kind of naivety and almost innocence about Charlotte in spite of her past - and yet there is also an underlying edge to her which makes you think she is perhaps far more calculating than she appears. Yet compare this with her fellow killer, Sean, and you have chalk and cheese. You will feel almost no sympathy when you meet the hard, mercenary man that Sean has become.

Examining themes of love, loss, obsession and friendship, the book had me hooked from the beginning. The more I read, the more I wanted to understand what and why. What did the two children do and why did they do it? The book doesn't necessarily try to answer the nature verses nurture debate, or to try and justify what happened, but it does make clear that there is far more to the story than this simply being an example of latent psychopathy. Life is never quite that simple. And then that ending ... A book that gave me that overwhelming need for 'just one more page'. A sleep stealer for sure. Most definitely recommended.

A fascinating disturbing psychological thriller that had me fully immersed in the mind of an unreliable protagonist crippled by anxiety, fear, isolation, lack of social skills and emotional maturity. Asks the pertinent question of whether or not you believe child murderers are born pre-disposed to kill or are shaped by the environment they grow up in? And also, if those who take a life can ever be redeemed? I won't deny that I found some parts tough to read, but Amy Lloyd handled difficult subject matter with sensitivity and caution.

Recently paroled, Charlotte, just wants to start over, despite the fact that she lives in a halfway house, and wears an ankle monitor. She has a new name, a new job, is meeting new people, and seeing her psychiatrist on a regular basis. As long as Sean doesn't find her, everything will be okay. When she was 10 years old, she along with her 11 year old best friend Sean, were convicted of killing a classmate. Well so Charlotte's been told – she doesn't remember doing so. Yes, as long as Sean stays away, she has a chance at a new life...

The start was a little slow – well at least the present storyline was, the flashbacks intrigued me right from the get go. The flashbacks are somewhat unusual – unordered, covering after the murder, the lead-up to the killing, Charlotte (I'll stick to using her new name to avoid spoilers) and Sean's meeting and friendship, and even as far back as six year old Charlotte, and her life between six and ten.

As I mentioned there's an initial slow burn, but there’s a lot at stake in the last half, and the tension and suspense definitely escalates. And those last few pages left me feeling chilled to the bone – yikes creepy! It's a really quick read as well – every time I caught sight of the page count another 10% had whizzed by.

This was my first novel by Amy Lloyd, and I can't wait to read her back catalogue, and any future psychological suspense books she writes.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Amy Lloyd, and Random House UK Cornerstone for the e-ARC.

Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram. Will be uploaded to Amazon on release day.

I had high hopes for this book with an intriguing premise I thought it would be a book I would love, but unfortunately it wasn’t. There were parts that were more enjoyable than others and unfortunately the “big” twist never materlised. I also found it difficult to connect to any of the characters, I felt like I the author only scratched the surface of the two main characters. The author has written a tense and suspenseful novel that I’m sure will receive rave reviews unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

I have to say that I was slightly nervous about reading this due to the fact that
I thought the authors debut couldn't get any better with it being one of my top reads last year. Amy Lloyd did just that and has totally blown me away yet again!

Having read this book in two sittings I was very anxious to get back to it….but unfortunately for me I had to go to work. While at work I couldn't stop thinking about this book….talk about getting under your skin.

In this story we meet Charlotte who wants to forget about the crime she did when she was a child. She is now out of prison with a new name and fresh start and trying to rebuild her life. Until her old friend finds her..

The story is told of Charlotte’s POV and alternates between now and then weaving a story that will have you questioning everything. The more I read the more I wanted to know what Charlotte had done. I actually liked Charlotte and felt sorry for her at times but then has the plot thickens I wanted to shake her. The author takes you on a rolle rcoaster ride which will have you guessing until the very end.

The tension build up is out of this world this is definitely what a psychological thriller is all about. Making you feel every emotion possible, the author sure knows how to keep you on your toes.

I cannot recommend it enough giving it all the stars

One More Lie by Amy Lloyd had me staying up way past my bedtime reading. I was sucked into the story from the very beginning and curious to see how it was going to play out. I read and really enjoyed Amy's first book so I was keen to get hold of this one too. The subject isn't an easy one to read about but it was handled really well by the author. With a main character who is suffering memory loss it is hard to know what the truth is.

Charlotte is finally free from prison. As a child she was convicted of murder along with her best friend Sean. Now she has a new name and a fresh start to life. Complete with ankle monitor she really doesn't know what to do with herself apart from go to therapy and her therapist is her only friend. But this time Sean is also out, and he has found her. Will she be able to stay focused and on the right path or will he drag her back down with him.

Charlotte has no memory of the night in question. She lost her parents at a very young age and had a tough start to life. This is her chance to start again but she doesn't know how to. She is very childlike for an adult and does not know if she is guilty or not. Makes for a very interesting read.

Thanks to Random House UK Cornerstone Century and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

One More Lie is a pacy and addictive psychological thriller, with themes of memory and responsibility, following Charlotte and Sean as they attempt to put the past behind them.

There’s a childlike quality to Charlotte and a confrontational layer to Sean and the author keeps you wondering about where the responsibility lies for the horrific events of years ago.

This is a novel of layered personality, nature and nurture and is cleverly plotted to keep things edgy until the truth is revealed.

Great writing and great storytelling- like The Innocent Wife this is a read in one sitting addictive page turner.

Recommended.

I knew straight away that this book was going to appeal to me and the opening chapters simply confirmed those thoughts! Child killers behind bars, released with new identities are fairly topical in the news and evoke all kinds of heated discussion and debate. “One More Lie” offers a thought-provoking exploration of this subject. It will make you delve deep into yourself as you are firmly placed inside the head of Charlotte via the first person narrative. It is hard not to feel any kind of sympathy for her in the first chapter where the journey to court as a ten-year-old is portrayed.

Is Charlotte a reliable narrator though? Her memory of what actually happened is lost. The crime she committed with her childhood friend was a heinous one. I felt torn between sympathy and disgust, the conflict inside my head had me doing somersaults! Such is the author’s skill in creating tension and teasing out a real feeling of unease in the reader, it is impossible to read this novel without feeling the words on the page. It is impossible not to get caught up in an internal debate over crime and punishment, children who kill, nature versus nurture and a whole raft of social issues.

Never an easy read but definitely a deeply disturbing read. It would have been easy to take this subject matter and sensationalize it but Amy Lloyd tackles it with empathy and sensitivity. She has taken the subject and turned it into something that really makes you think. A real character-driven novel which burrows its way inside of your head. Hard to believe that it is only this author’s second book.

One More Lie was one of those books that makes me glad that I don’t sleep much! More time to read and definitely a “read past your bedtime” book!
Review also on blog Chapterinmylife https://chapterinmylife.wordpress.com/?p=19213

This is the first novel I have read by Amy Lloyd and it was a good read. The author addressed a taboo subject in that the main protagonist was a child killer. It was dealt with carefully and with empathy.

Her new name is Charlotte and this is the second opportunity she has had to make a life for herself after being released. The first time she couldn't deal with the reality and the story is based on her second chance. Her partner in crime, Sean, has been released for some time and we follow his trials and tribulations as he attempts to move forward.

I found Charlotte’s struggle with the reality of life eye-opening and tragic and to understand the two children’s plight which lead to the murder as infants realistic and utterly awful.

A great read. Recommended.

I was really excited to read One More Lie by Amy Lloyd. I’ve heard really great things about her previous book so when I was offered to read an early copy I was all over it! I love my thriller/psychological books so much and have really been irked lately with the output from writers… all of the books say it’s a “shocking” or “fast-paced griping thrillers.” Reviewers or author’s reviewing the work call it “addictive” “compulsive” “twisted” or “un-put-downable” and then I end up bored though half the book. Yes, that last ¼ of the book may be remarkable but would about that other ¾?

So anyway, One More Lie by Amy Lloyd does not go in stating any of those adjectives… but it was just that! It’s was thrilling and so fast-paced. I didn’t know who to trust, past and present? I really enjoyed the way Miss Lloyd wrote the story… jumping between him and her and slow dropping bombs as they went. It started out as a compulsive read and steadily stayed that way, which I appreciate. Generally, there are parts in a thriller where the backstory has to be told and it’s not as riveting as everything coming together but this story didn’t lack in the thrilling aspect.

Miss Lloyd’s writing is really gripping. The book starts with that feeling of slow underlying tension. She slowly builds the tension up. I enjoyed the feel of the confusion and wonder as the storyline progressed. Miss Lloyd tosses in these occasional tense and strong moments. This is one of those books that you want to read from start to finish and I pretty much did. I had my Kindle app read to me while I worked and then I had to finish it up later that evening. It’s a book that you’ll feverishly read wanting to get to that ending.

The cover itself fully encompassed what I felt about this book… a blur of iffy beliefs with stressful sweating. It’s a great cover that easy wraps up the story in a very creative way. Covers are one of the first things that pull me in and this one definitely intrigued me. I will say that I’ve seen several different versions of this cover but the one I have on my ebook is my favorite with the blurred silhouette and the water running down the front.

Unfortunately One More Lie was not for me. I’ve not read this author before so I went in with no expectations, and sadly it just didn’t suit me. Interesting premise, and good writing, but I couldn’t get into the story.