The Two Lila Bennetts
By Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke
4 / 5 ⭐

Wow, I feel like I just read something straight out of the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. This book has a very unique storyline for a thriller. There are two possible ways this could go for Lila - but how will her life truly play out? It also depicts how the consequences of one’s actions, especially lies and manipulation, can come to haunt your life.

Lila Bennett is a cut-throat criminal defense lawyer at one of L.A.’s top firms. In the courtroom, she will do just about anything to get her clients a ‘not guilty’ verdict, regardless of their true guilt. It seems she doesn’t care who she hurts as long as it benefits Lila. So it goes in her personal life as well. With a file of all the people she has used, cheated, and lied to over the years that’s thicker than a legal dictionary, Lila’s life suddenly rips in two.

In one life Lila is captured and held captive by someone who appears to have a vendetta to destroy Lila by revealing all her lies and secrets. This person is out to ruin her career, her marriage, and her reputation bit by bit. They seem to know everything about her. But what will their final play be?

In her parallel life, she is attacked, but escapes. Lila begins to realize she is being targeted. But can she narrow down who would want to scare her like this? She realizes she’s made far too many enemies, in and out of the courtroom. Lila tries to salvage her life, to make things right from all the damage she has done. Is it even possible to make amends after all her secrets and lies, or will it truly be the death of her?

Thank you @netgalley and @lakeunionauthors for the ARC for review.

Interesting set up, but Lila was a frustrating character to follow. It was pretty predictable, so the twist didn’t really hit hard, and “freed” Lila’s ending (figuring out who was stalking her) was SO abrupt and didn’t make any sense. I thought in general “free” Lila had the stronger chapters, but the ending felt rushed, and didn't really hit.

I believe that we are the results of the many choices that had been offered to us. Good or bad choices, we are who are are because of it. So, can someone change enough to break his path?

I really loved the two Lilas. It demonstrates my thinking, that depending on your choices, your path can be different. But at what cost?

The ending sounded a little bit rushed to me, but overall, I did like the book. Did not see coming any of the twists and turns, so that's that!

I recommend this book if you like to be blindsided, and recommend not reading too much about it before starting it.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the complimentary e-copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The writing combination of Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have done it again ! This is a exciting fast paced page turned that kept me writing into the night. This is a combination thriller and mystery. The thrills never end in this book. I highly recommend you read it without interruption so each delicious page can be savored. I love it and highly recommend this book.

Thank you for the ARC. My opinion is my own. This is a great team of author's that are creating exciting thrillers with fantastic charcters and plots that jump off the page!

Hello readers! I recently finished The Two Lila Bennetts and simply adored it. This was just the thriller I needed and the suspense kept me turning pages as fast as I could. The book follows two story lines- each an alternate to the other. It will really make you realize how drastically your choices can affect your life and the lives of those around you. The Two Lila Bennetts was fantastic!

This book is a "Sliding Doors" version of a suspense novel, showing us two different paths the narrator's life could have gone down depending on whether she went home after work one night. In both, she is a criminal defense attorney feeling nagging guilt about some of the things she has done for her job, and about the affair she has just ended with her boss/best friend's husband. But in one, she is kidnapped and held captive by a mysterious man bent on making her reckon with those and all the other bad things she has done in her life, while in the other she starts grappling with some of those things mostly on her own. Interesting general premise, but the characters and plot were just too over the top and not believable for me. I did find it a suspenseful and somewhat enjoyable read though.

The Two Lila Bennetts is the latest domestic thriller by this amazing writing duo Liz Fenton and Lisa Steimle. A powerhouse, no holds barred, no regrets defense attorney in Los Angeles, Lila comes to realize through a dual timeline narrative just how far-reaching the consequences of one choice can extend. I really enjoyed this book, and all of the twists and turns - just when I thought I had it figured out, I would be wrong. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

I was a bit disappointed with this one despite the blurb being very enticing to me!
The flashbacks felt a bit messy with conflicting storylines, the good/bad Lila didn't have any impact and the drama seemed to outplay the thriller aspect overall. Maybe I was missing something with my own interpretation of it as I was reading, but overall I wasn't thrilled with this thriller!

I really enjoyed this book. I appreciated the two viewpoints of Lila's life and thought it was very unique. I read many thrillers, so when the authors try something different, it makes me take notice. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book.

I truly enjoyed this book, so much so that I finished it within a day! I truly enjoyed Fenton's writing style and premise of the book.

Highly recommend that anyone that loves thrillers read this one!

Very interesting concept, one I think a lot of people think of--what would their life be like if they took a different path? Lila gets to find out in this clever book. I thought it was very well done. It easily could have been cheesy or sloppy but it stayed believable and very readable.

I am determined to one day figure out how Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke craft such habit-forming novels. They really are masters at keeping the reader guessing and I’ve made it a habit to place bets with my spouse to see who can best guess how the plot will unfold.

I am appreciative of netgalley for giving me access to this book even though I had already ordered it and read the hardcopy in one sitting.

My hope is (and I know it’s an irrational hope), that because the are two writers, we will get books from them twice as quickly. I know that’s not how it works, but a girl can dream.

Suspense, mystery, and a parallel universe made this one awesome read! Dual plot lines can get confusing sometimes but it was so very well done in this book that I had no problem. I was left guessing the whole time and when all was revealed in the end, it could not have been better!
Also a good reminder that our choices and actions always have consequences, good or bad.

I love a good mystery and this one did not disappoint! This one was a page turner and kept you guessing. Usually I can figure out many twists but this one wasn’t as easy for me to guess. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a page turning unputdownable book!

This book was so amazing that I didn't want to put it down. I could not wait to see how it ended and it did not disappoint. I thought I had it figured out then there was a twist! This is definitely one of my favorite books of 2019. If you love Suspense then this is the perfect book for you!

What a wild ride! This book is so unique in the way that it was written… two possible storylines of two possible lives of Lila Bennett. It was so interesting to read the novel the way it was written like this and I really enjoyed the dynamics of the books and the duality of Lila’s life. Such an interesting concept of a novel and it was entertaining and full of twists and surprises.

Lila is a complicated character in this novel. She is full of secrets and has let many people down. No one is perfect, of course, but Lila has made her fair share of mistakes and wronged other people. Now it is up to her to right those wrongs, before it is too late. Will Lila succeed?

A novel that will have you immersed so deep into the story that won’t notice the time flying by until you are at the end of the book. Great job on this book. I look forward to the next novel you write together!

I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t read anything like it before! I liked the characters and it had me guessing until the end! Thank you!

In a way, this book reminded me of the choose your own adventure books that I was hooked on as a kid. You would make a choice and from that point on the story would change and go a different way. In this book, Lila has made the mistake of having an affair with her boss and by being conniving in her career. In one choice, she is captured and in the other she is free. As she goes down each path, she is changed. I really liked this book a lot and loved the way it drew out from each point. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

What an interesting psychological thriller... I couldn't put it down and I couldn't keep reading. I wanted to know what happened next and I was scared to know what happened next. Lila has made a lot of mistakes in her life. Have they caught up to her? The story begins with a case that involves a disgruntled sister of the deceased woman whose alleged husband murdered her and whom Lila defended in court. Add a little betrayal and adultery and the story unfolds into two Lila Bennetts. Which of the stories is real? What really happened? How will the stories of the two LIlas connect? Wanting to know the ending, I stayed up way too late. Worth it!
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unpopular opinion here, but I did not like this book. I really dragged out finishing it because I just didn't want to pick it back up.

Lila is supposed to be an unlikable character, but at no point did I ever grow to care about her or root for her. I was just annoyed by her. She comes off as an entitled woman who has never had to face the consequences of her actions before and that definitely did not make me sympathetic to her.

The concept of one decision changing your life is interesting, but in this case it didn't really split Lila's life into two different paths as many of the same events still played out. I also would've appreciated this book more if it wasn't trying to make right and wrong so black and white and instead left room for a moral gray area.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.