'The Day The Lies Began' by Kylie Kaden is an absorbing contemporary story of secrets, lies, love, and loyalty. Set in the coastal town of Lago Point, it revolves around two couples whose tangled webs of deceit unravel when a truth surfaces.

"The Day the Lies Began" unveils a gripping narrative with subtle but poignant twists, skillfully crafted by the author. The storyline delves into intricate human emotions and relationships, revealing the complexities of deception. The characters are well-developed, drawing readers into their lives. Though slightly predictable at times, the book leaves a lasting impression, prompting reflection on the nature of truth and its consequences.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book even though I did not finish this book.

Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this novel. I didn't find it particularly engaging and was therefore unable to finish it.

This is one intense, twisted, dark and addictive novel! Not only is this a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. Compulsive, gripping and horrifying! Will keep you on the edge of your seat!

I must admit I did struggle through this book and enjoyed parts but not all of it.

It was a hit slow for me; if you like a slow burner with twists this may just be the one for you!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book it was too slow for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. This was enjoyable but extremely predictable and not unique.

The Day the Lies Began by Kylie Kaden

I found this book very long, boring and slow.

At first, I wanted to know what the lie was so I persisted reading. I had to read just over half the book to find out what the big secret was. Then I only kept on reading the book to be able to write an honest review on the whole book and not just on half of it

I normally am a fast reader, especially when I enjoy the story but this book took me over 1 month to finish.

I did not like any of the main characters and could not relate to any of them

Sorry to say I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I would like to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m so disappointed - I loved the style of this one. I just couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t gripping enough. Sorry.

I’m so sad. I truly wanted to like this book. I felt like something was missing. It really pulled me in with the title, cover art and the synopsis but I have to be blunt... I wasn’t able to finish it.

Im going to get right to the point...I did not finish this book. It is rare that I don't finish reading what I started. I read the first 5 chapters months ago and I just could not get into it. There was nothing flattering about the story line or the characters. In all honestly, the book was flat. I wanted to complete the book so I was able to give a better review but that did not happen..


I was given an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

The plot of this book was a promising one but I felt like the pace was too slow and the characters weren't quite developed enough. It was clear there were some big secrets to be revealed and when that did happen, it felt a little messy. The book was easy to read and the writing style was good but unofrtunately didn't find it gripping enough.

Book blurb...
‘It seemed simple at first – folding one lie over the next. She had become expert at feathering over the cracks to ensure her life appeared the same. But inside, it didn’t feel fixed.’
It happened the day of the Moon Festival. It could have been left behind, they all could have moved on with their lives. But secrets have a habit of rising to the surface, especially in small towns.
Two couples, four ironclad friendships, the perfect coastal holiday town. With salt-stung houses perched like lifeguards overlooking the shore, Lago Point is the scene of postcards, not crime scenes. Wife and mother Abbi, town cop Blake, schoolteacher Hannah and local doctor Will are caught in their own tangled webs of deceit.
When the truth washes into their beachside community, so do the judgements: victim, or vigilante, who will forgive, who will betray? Not all relationships survive. Nor do all residents.

My thoughts…
PLOT: Absorbing and intriguing — the blurb and the book. Some readers have discussed the slowish start, but for me the author purposely played each character with skill, allowing each lie and shortcoming to be realised. Timing is everything and Kaden manages the many reveals to gain maximum impact.
PACE: My interest was maintained throughout, despite lots going on in my life. I had to put the book down, but always looked forward to getting back to it.
LIKEABLE CHARACTERS: This is not your run-of-the-mill mystery. All the characters are admirable for one reason or another, until they begin to lie. It’s why they lie that will determine if they are admirable or not and that’s left up to the reader. I do enjoy this plot devise when done well. And this is.
UNLIKABLE CHARACTERS: (You can make up your own minds!)
OVERALL FEELINGS ABOUT THE STORY: I was intrigued with the story and certainly taken in by Blake. The local small-town Police officer has so much conflict that I wondered if and when he would hit his next roadblock and how he would deal with his sister and his girlfriend. I loved this story. I’ve read all Kaden’s work and look forward to more.

I initially started this book back in August, found it hard to get into and put it aside for a while. I've since picked it back up again a few times but I am now admitting defeat - we just aren't a good match. I'm finding the story very disjointed, to a point where I was flipping the pages back and forth to see if I had missed something, or my ARC was jumbled. There are some characters who really don't contribute much to the story. And the going is so slow! Sadly not the right book for me at this time, even though I can see that other readers who enjoy lies and deceit will probably like it much more than I did.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Felt it was hard to get into and I struggled with finishing it. The book isn’t as interesting as one would hope. There was basically nothing happening until midway, and then it wasn’t a believable book

This was an enjoyable read for me. It took me a while to get used to the perspective changes, I found myself having to go back a few times to get my head around which character I was reading about. Overall I found it an enjoyable slow burn, with a twist I wasn’t expecting, which is always a plus. I enjoyed the setting, and the well developed, flawed characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.

No gonna lie, this was a bit of a drainer.

I feel like the story was maybe there but it just went wrong in so many places.

Things that frustrated me:

-Pacing
-Characters
-Lies and secrets
-Explanations
-Lack of action
-Random vulgarity

The story took a long time to gain momentum and then when the big plot point came to light it was handled really badly. Instead of a nice reasonably structured amble towards the conclusion it was just a mess of characters lying and moaning about their lies and then allusions to more lies that were top secret ... I get that it's all about lying but this was really too much, and not nearly clever enough to make all the lying and secrets actually shocking or even interesting.

Also, THESE CHARACTERS ARE SO MESSED UP.
Abbi: The feisty mum who would do anything to protect her family, including manipulate her adopted brother
Blake: The cop with no spine who has an unhealthy affection towards his adopted sister despite being madly in love with his ex, Hannah, who has always treated him like trash
Hannah: The ex of Blake and ex-best-friend of Abbi who constantly sticks her nose and stuck up opinions into everyone else's business. I FKN HATED HANNAH
Will: Abbi's perfect husband who is morally above everyone else and is so perfect and also did I happen to mention that he's perfect? Like, the perfect husband, and father, and friend and, oh yeah, he's just perfect basically.
Molly: Hannah's younger sister who is actually pretty cool but why would we bother learning any of her story when everyone else is doing that exciting lying thing and Molly's arc is seemingly completely unrelated?

So it's like ... Abbi and Blake have secret conversations about 'the forbidden thing' that they did together which basically has you wondering how well you're gonna cope if that turns out to be incest (coz that's definitely what it's trying to hint at). Then the *plot reveal* and everyone is all, 'ooooh who did this thing?' and of course then Abbi and Blake's conversations have more context and there's a slow release of what we're actually trying to solve here and then ... lies. This person was lying about this to this person while that person lied to this person about that ... it becomes less about the actual plot point and more about how everyone has a secret. And, for the most part, these are terrible secrets. It's basically a soap opera. But without the fun drama element and zero tension or build up. There's no atmosphere, no setting the scene, no emotions built. I just did not give a crap. All in all, these are pretty trash secrets and some seemed really pointless?

Also the resolutions were weak and terrible. (view spoiler)

NO WORRIES MATE.

I liked the Aussie-relevant references and slang but also felt like it was trying too hard. Also some parts were really crass and vulgar which just felt awkward instead of believable. (view spoiler) I just feel like there was so much in this story that didn't need to be there.

It rambled on about secrets and lies far too much and overall felt incredibly messy. I felt nothing for the characters (aside from a strong loathing for Hannah) and the story was so all over the place it made keeping track of things a little difficult. It took me a long time to read it because I honestly just didn't care about what was happening at all.

Also FKN EADIE'S KIDDIE ACCENT WAS THE WORST. She's supposed to have a lisp but she talks like the worst stereotype of a kid EVER. Lots of 'pwease' and 'winbisible' and 'outgrowded' and SWEET CHEESES who taught this kid English? Coz she is absolutely TERRIBLE. Also how the EFF do you turn 'invisible' into 'winbisible' with a friggin LISP? GET OUT.

So yeah I guess the writing kind of annoyed me. It was really terrible.

All in all, a pretty disappointing read. Felt very amateur, so even though I think the idea was there it absolutely tanked on delivery. Hopefully others will appreciate it a little more than me.

With thanks to Netgalley for an uncorrected proof e-copy to read and review.

Foster siblings Abbi and Blake are very close - they have a seemingly unbreakable bond. But now they share a secret. A secret so terrible that it threatens to tear apart not only their relationship, but the lives of those dearest to them.
Something happens on the day of the Moon Festival - a special event in the seaside community of Lagos Point - something unthinkable and unspeakable. Abbi begs Blake to help her protect her family - husband Will, a doctor, and their five-year-old daughter, Eadie. She knows Blake, a local police officer, would do anything for her. Meanwhile, Blake's girlfriend Hannah, a schoolteacher, becomes suspicious about the amount of time Abbi and Blake are spending together - whispering and exchanging secretive glances - and she determines to find out what they're up to.
The Day The Lies Began is Kylie Kaden's third novel and her first foray into domestic noir. The story has all the elements that fans of the genre have come to expect - dirty secrets galore, complicated relationships, an innocuous setting turned dangerous, and as Kylie states herself, 'good people doing bad things'. There's also plenty of original ideas to keep things fresh and exciting, including one unexpected plot twist which leads the story down quite a dark path.
Kylie is a gifted storyteller, cleverly complicating the plot just when the reader thinks they've worked out what's going on. The four main characters make questionable decisions, with the two female characters being particularly deceitful, and the interplay between them is often tense and volatile. The story hinges on this mix of relationships, the one between Abbi and Blake being the most complicated - they have a long history and a bond that wobbles on the line of platonic. The author also cleverly weaves in the storyline of seventeen-year-old Molly - while you suspect she's somehow embroiled in the secrets being kept by the adult characters, it remains a mystery until the dramatic reveal at the end. There's also a connection that develops between Molly and an older, female character which offers some softer moments to balance the grittier themes. The very final scene makes for a slick twist.
The Day The Lies Began is a highly suspenseful, twisty and unsettling read that will leave you questioning your own morals and ethics, and wondering whether or not justice has been correctly served. If this book is a sign of things to come, then I look forward to Kylie's next domestic noir thriller.

Although “The Day the Lies Began” presents as a thriller, significant amounts of the plot are quite predictable. I would say that its’ strengths lie more in the examination of character and relationships. It is an enjoyable novel, with notable strengths, but would need a more original plot to be truly compelling.

Lago Point is a small Australian coastal town, relatively sleepy and with idyllic surrounds. Like most small towns, however, everyone knows everyone. It’s hard to avoid connections, hard to avoid people you don’t want to see, and most of all, hard to keep secrets. Despite this, there are an astonishing number of secrets in Lago Point. It seems everyone has one (or two). Some are important only to the secret keeper, and others are important to a lot of other people.

Abbi and Blake are keeping a secret of vital importance to each of them, and perhaps to other people as well. They grew up together in Lago Point; Blake was Abbi’s foster brother, but he didn’t always feel strictly brotherly towards her. Abbi is now a wife (to Will) and a mother; her relationship seems rock solid, but there is still that curious link with Blake. And now she shares a secret with him that could destroy her relationship.

Hannah is Abbi’s best friend, and Blake’s sometime girlfriend. She’s been living in America for years but has been forced to return; her father’s health has deteriorated so much that she can no longer ignore it and allow her teenage sister to try to deal with it herself. Her return is disruptive; there’s a new distance between her and Abbi. Her rekindled relationship with Blake doesn’t bring him the unalloyed happiness he’d expected; she doesn’t fit back in with her family easily. And Hannah has her secrets too.

Not only does everyone harbour one or more secrets, many of those secrets overlap or impact on others. As the novel opens, it begins to seem that the secret between Abbi and Blake may inadvertently expose a great many other secrets.

The thriller elements of the plot provide the engine to move the plot forward, but I found a lot of them predictable and easily anticipated. I didn’t find myself particularly engrossed in the central question of the plot: exactly who did what on the night of the Moon festival.

On the other hand, I was deeply invested in how the relationships played out. There were of course the relationships between the four primary adult figures: Will, Abbi, Blake and Hannah. These were complicated, sometimes fractured, and sometimes enviable. It was interesting to see how the relationships influenced each other, even before the various secrets came into play.

Other characters, most notably Hannah’s sister Molly, are drawn with compassion and a strong sense of individuality. These characters are also trapped in the web of relationships generated by a small town, and they too have their secrets.

I found that towards the end, I was more interested in which relationships would survive or founder, than in how the thriller plot would play out. While this was worked out in a satisfying and credible way, it just didn’t hold my interest to the degree it should have.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I’d certainly recommend it. I do feel, however, that it’ll be most appreciated by readers interested in character and relationships.