3.00 stars
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TW: Eating disorder, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Incest, Alcohol
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What a disturbing story! Four years ago, Eliza Dacey was murdered in cold blood and the world gets to relive it. Jack Quick is producing a docuseries on the death of Eliza, during his investigation he finds evidence that has him questioning if Curtis Wade who is in prison for the murder committed it. After a retrial, Wade walks free...shortly after that another victim turns up murdered the same way Dacey was. Jack starts to wonder if he's aided in letting a murderer walk free.

The format of this was a little confusing and I found myself struggling to follow along. This debut novel (from a former Australian stand-up comedian) was published previously with the title Greenlight. Although these twists in the book were interesting, it just didn't have enough to captivate my attention.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark, and Benjamin Stevenson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fresh, original, edgy, interesting!
Guilt-ridden main protagonist Jack had made a true crime show - and now, Curtis Wade walks free, cleaned from the murder of Eliza Dacey. And the second murder happened. A copycat one? Who is the killer?

LOVE. Guilt-ridden hero Jack is no saint, but I understand him. There are reasons locked in his soul which has made him who he is and which still influence him. To see him unlocking these secrets, finally facing the music and unveiling the truth under the layers of half-truths was a great reading experience (the final chapter is GREAT). Fantastic mystery read, fantastic slice of life read. I plan to follow this author religiously.

When a podcaster decides to investigate a murder that happened 4 years ago, he unknowingly sets off a chain reaction that will eventually lead to another murder. After helps Curia get out of prison, Jack is starting to think he had it all wrong. For the most part I enjoyed this. There were a few chapters that I wished the story moved forward, but that ending was excellent!

I really enjoyed the setup of the novel: a producer decides to get involved in a legal case with devastating consequences. The book really kept me guessing as we go along with Jack Quick and question whether Curtis could be a murderer or not. I thought this would be a quick, straightforward read but the author added a lot of depth to the story. The setting also lent an unsettled feeling throughout. I would definitely read future novels featuring Jack Quick.

n emotional page-turner, Trust Me When I Lie a well-crafted story that is engrossing!

Eliza Dacey was murdered in cold blood. Four years later, the world watched it unfold again on screen.

Follow Jack as he goes back where it all started to figure out what really happened. A Must-Read!

I finished this book a few days ago, but I'm still not sure how to rate/review it. The premise was extremely interesting to me. Producer Jack Quick achieves fame and fortune with his docuseries about a young woman's murder that ends up being the reason the accused man is released from jail. He then realizes he may have made a huge mistake, and sets out to prove the man is actually guilty.

Sounds like a great plot right? It was, but the characters were blah, and the story itself felt a little slow and disjointed. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I found myself daydreaming during parts of it because I got bored. I would absolutely give this author another shot with a different book. If you're into true crime and need something to read to kill time, this might be just the book for you.

Trust Me When I Lie is about Jack, who makes a documentary about a murder.

Without spoiling, there's some twists and Jack has a personal story he has to come to terms with. I couldn't guess most of everything, but I wasn't super into the story. Parts were really well written but other parts, it's almost what led me to not always know what was going on.

2.5/5

Thanks for the Arc

True crime producer Jack Quick investigates the murder conviction of Curtis Wade for his television documentary. He soon feels that Curtis was wrongly convicted and helps that Curtis is released from prison. Things soon start getting intense after that and the book grips the reader until the very end! Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Trust Me When I lie by Benjamin Stevenson.

A murder, a victim, and possible innocent suspect - Jack is a podcaster and he believes that an innocent man is being charged with the murder. Jack's quest to prove the truth takes him on a slippery journey. Jack may get more than he bargained for seeking the truth.

3 stars.

i love when thriller or mystery novels incorporate an aspect of true crime in their stories. however, with this one i don't have much to say, neither in that aspect nor in any else.

it's a good story, just not truly different from other i've read before. i found the writing style to be a bit annoying, choppy and clipped and it made the convoluted plot be more confusing than it needed.

It wasn't my favorite but a good quick read, there could have definitely been more character development and plot clarification but overall fine.

I liked it, but didn't love it. I couldn't warm to any of the characters and found the time shifts/flashbacks to be awkward and confusing. They interrupted the flow of pivotal moments, while other important parts that I feel should have been included, were glossed over in just sentences.

Jack is a very flawed man. He is trying to right a wrong by trying to solve a crime. The plot of the story takes shape around several individuals who are hiding truths. It is twisted with several layers of deception. The author leads the reader in several directions. You will be surprised at the culmination to see who the real bad guys were.

Curtis Wade was convicted for the murder of Eliza Dacey four years ago. Her body was found at the edge of Wade's vineyard, but the other evidence is lacking. Producer Jack Quick believes Wade is innocent and produces a true crime documentary to try to prove it.

As true crime documentaries and podcasts are gaining popularity, I'm enjoying the books being written with the documentary premise. Trust Me When I Lie is suspenseful and hard to put down. However, I found there to be a few too many twists and turns, which confused me instead of adding interest.

I was really intrigued and the start was very promising. Very thought provoking, so many twists leading you to question who the killer was.
But then, there were too many twists, the story took a slightly over turn and like the main character, I didn't see the truth until he did.
However, I did enjoy it.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Mr. Stevenson's debut novel is timely and relevant in an age where podcasts and true crime are at the height of fascination. This book was a tedious read. Overly descriptive and many twists that test the boundaries of suspension of disbelief.

1 out of 5 stars. Do not recommend.

In what I believe is the author's debut, Trust Me When I Lie is so timely. In a day and age where I spend a lot of time listening to podcast, especially true crime podcasts, or watching true crime documentaries, this feels so real. When Jack Quick gets interested in a crime that eventually overturns the judgement of a man, he uses his documentary skills to find the truth and seek justice. He does not always tell the truth, and at times, to me, is an unreliable narrator. It made me think of all the documentaries I watch now, and what they have withheld from me the viewer to keep pushing their agenda, even though they say they do not have a side. I love this book so much, and will highly recommend it to anyone into true crime. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept of this story. The story was set in Australia and it follows the producer and host of a popular true crime series. The crime series was so popular that it swayed popular opinion and changed course of a murder trial causing an accused murderer to be set free. As soon as he’s freed another very similar murder occurs and the reader follows Jack as he tries to discover whether the accused was really the murderer.

So I have mixed feelings about this one. Like I said, the concept was good, but some things just made this a bit of a draining read. First, the over description of literally everything was distracting. Also, pacing of the book was weird. It wasn’t so much a slow burn but it was fast then slow then fast again etc… I also feel like it was easy to figure out the whodunnit and the one million twists at the end to get back to the obvious culprits was kinda meh for me.

A four-year-old murder, a true-crime docuseries and a retrial that sets the convicted killer free. Wow! This sounded like a premise I wanted to read and I would love. I am a true crime nerd and loved the idea of a neflix esque show setting the wrongfully convicted free.

The story starts with a lot of promise. The writing was a bit difficult at times. It was entertaining, yet sometimes confusing. I felt as though it was 2 different authors I was reading as it was not cohesive and the flow was not great. I started to struggle with this about half way through and really wanted to love it more than I did.

3 stars for me.

I didn't love this book. I liked the idea of it --- a journalist who created a show, the killer get released, etc. etc (reminded me of Serial season 1) but the way it was executed felt like it was done poorly to me, and the fact that it was some sleepy wine town didn't keep me interested. The characters were if-y, too. I did appreciate that the main character had an eating disorder, it was an interesting add-on to the story and the descriptive writing depicting that area was phenomenal. Overall though, meh.