Member Reviews
I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. There was not a definite plot and the characters were not interesting to me. I read most of this book but gave up at about 60% in.
I really didn’t like this book
I felt the pace was too fast. This could have been such an exciting book but it wasn’t
The story lacked depth and was very confusing
It was a hard read
I wanted to love this book as it's my favorite genre. Unfortunately I felt the characters were somewhat flat and the plot could have been better developed overall.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
The Truth in Our Lies
By Eliza Graham
About a third of the way through this book I gave up. I felt it difficult to dig into the story as the characters were lacking. I couldn’t make any connection with the characters and lost interest. They might have gained more depth and personality as the book went on but I didn’t care to find out. It was hard to follow the language a bit at times too. It fell flat for me.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. For more book reviews visit my blog at, https://simplyannehere.wordpress.com
Fascinating story of the clandestine radio broadcasts aimed at Germany during WWII. The story is told through the eyes of one of the writers of the scripts and we see just how much effort goes into making the broadcasts appear real while at the same time hiding sensitive information. There if romance but it's not overdone. This reads more like a psychological thriller the deeper into the novel you get. As the team gets to know each other doubts gradually arise about the actions of a few. I thought the characters were a bit stilted nut I really enjoyed the actual story and it's bonus of genuine intrigue.
4*
2.75 stars
I really liked the premise of "The Truth in Our Lies", but the novel didn't quite manage to meet my expectations.
The characters aren't all that well-developed and the main character's obsession with her face got rather annoying because it wasn't really portrayed in a relatable way. The interpersonal relationships are underdeveloped and the romantic couplings especially felt unearned and out of place.
The parts of the novel focusing on the protagonist's work are a little more interesting but are only dealt with in a superficial manner. Instead, the novel chooses to focus on the personal relationships of the characters but without really doing anything with them.
Overall, this novel was a disappointment and I definitely expected more.
The author draws you into the lives and the interaction between the character of a gripping story. The struggles to escape persecution. It is a story of espionage and what people did to survive at a time of fear.
The Truth in Our Lies by Eliza Graham is a gripping, suspenseful historical novel set in WWII.
Anna is the main character and has a complexity that is fascinating. The trauma that she has experienced has shaped her into who she is, and her motivations from here on forth.
Anna is flawed, yet has an innocence and a sliver of her being deep down that hopes for something better to come- hence becoming engulfed into covert groups/operations to help Britain overcome the enemy. I enjoyed reading her journey through this book.
This is more then just HF, it is about overcoming barriers, pushing on when all you want to do is succumb to your adversaries. It is a thriller and a puzzle slowly unraveling for the reader as a reward for reading onward. The ending was satisfying as well.
A good book.
Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
The Truth in Our Lies is good historical fiction novel with great characters and storyline. Well written and well developed characters.
This is an interesting book set in a little known department working secretly during WW2. The setting is interesting and the characters are a varied bunch from different backgrounds. In addition to the intrigues of the war there are the personal ones which impact on the group. The different types of damage caused by warfare to both civilians and military personnel are also included. An intriguing story with a nice twist at the end.
This is a really interesting read. Eliza Graham has mastered her subject but can also write elegant prose. Hopefully this novel will do well it deserves to.
This is a great story with great characters and plot. Will read more from this author in the future. Highly recommend.
Anna Hall suffers a major setback in her much loved career as a highly respected Second World War RAF Sergeant, guiding pilots through the Battle of Britain. The disaster occurs when she is at home with her father, a parish vicar and her handicapped sister. It happens when a bomb is dropped on his church whilst she and her sister are trying to rescue artefacts and religious valuables from St Paul’s Church. It kills her sister outright and severely burns her. Once extremely attractive and with a new boyfriend, she is left with grotesque facial burns and feeling guilty that she was the cause of her sister’s death.
Upon her recovery, Anna meets a male acquaintance from University and he recruits her to work in a secret radio broadcasting facility in a small rural village. Here they are posing as a German broadcasting unit and her job is to write scripts broadcast for Germans, and mix in with certain truths, pieces of propaganda (outright lies) to destabilise the Nazi German audience. Gradually other workers join the covert group, some POW’s and other disenchanted German personnel, and also a young female gymnast. She loves her new job where the truth is blurred with lies. Their work is good and authentic too, but very tenuous and dangerous. Soon an easy camaraderie builds up in the team and they all hope they can keep up their important war effort and succeed without being detected and exposed
This is a top-notch novel, intelligent, meticulously researched and totally involving. The characters are an eclectic mix but relatable and built with considerable skill. I felt their tension and worry and at times my heart pounded at an alarming rate. The author has an outstanding talent for this genre, veiled news and yet clearly credible. I loved the emerging relationships built up within the team and was totally shocked by a few amazing plot twists that left me in awe of the flair and imagination used within the storyboard. I cannot find my words to commend this novel highly enough. It’s exceptional, interesting and taught me about events in the history of my country that I knew nothing about and found extremely interesting. It was an act of genius to include a highly trained character (their chief in command) that was actually there in truth but also in the story. I loved Anna and admired her courage and tenacity when events challenged her to the extreme and she had to sift through the truths and lies that were a trademark of this story. She was a true red-blooded heroine.
I received a complimentary copy of this outstanding novel from publisher Lake Union Publishing through my membership of NetGalley. I was very pleased to receive my copy and feel honoured to submit my considered review. These are my own honest opinions without any outside influences. It’s an all-round 5* review from me and it’s my pleasure to award this novel a very highly recommended status.
I truly don’t know how I feel about this book or how to review it. It was a very informative story of historical fiction during WW2 that some might enjoy. For me it just didn’t seem like a book on characters that I was reading and seemed more like an a very long article. It felt flat to me. It would be a good read for a school study or an essay. Don’t think I would recommend. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.
The Truth in Our Lies, by British author Eliza Graham, is a phenomenal book about the clandestine radio broadcasts aimed at Germany during WWII. Told through the eyes of Anna, one of the writers, the author reveals the struggles of the group to make the broadcasts sound like a legitimate German station while surreptitiously inserting tiny untruths aimed at causing doubt and unrest within the audience. The book is so much more than a war story, however. Readers will quickly become aware that each character has their own deceptions going on...half truths that define what each presents to the others. What is true and what is false kept this reader totally engaged to the very last line. This is more of a psychological thriller, a character study to be savored and contemplated and should appeal to a wider audience than just readers who enjoy war stories. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.