I really LOVED The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald and I was so excited to read Behind Every Lie.

Behind Every Lie Did not disappoint!

Talk about suspense! For fans of thrillers and mysteries, you will want to read this book.

I really enjoyed the dual timelines that alternated 25 years ago in the past and present time.

There are so many twists, there were not predictable moments.

This is a very well written domestic thriller that explores a beyond complicated mother-daughter relationship.

Behind Every Lie is a fast paced, expertly paced story with complex characters.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a suspense, thriller, mystery. The story had dual time lines that shifting 25 years between past and present. It was easy to follow and every chapter created more questions. Eva was a tad whiny but it was tolerable. Sometimes people are just “to” insecure. The first half of the story was a 5 star. It then started to drag and I didn’t really like any of the characters. I wasn’t invested. It was going back and forth to much for me making it a 3
I felt like it could of been shorter. But having said that I would read another book from this author.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own and I’ve given an honest review.

This was my first read from Christina McDonald. I have heard of her previous release but hadn’t read it. The premise of Behind Every Lie caught my attention. This story was wonderfully written. I was not bored for a single moment.

Eva is a woman who struggled to accept herself and trust her instincts. Her relationship with her mother was not the greatest and when her mother is found murdered, Eva has no real memories of the event but she does have flashing images of it. Could she have murdered her own mother?

Although my trust for certain characters was not fully present from the beginning of the story, I was intrigued to see of I was correct in my judgments.

This is a domestic thriller that I recommend.

Just finished Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald. After reading Christina’s first book, The Night Olivia Fell, I was excited to read her new book. I devoured this fast-paced book in a twenty-four hour period.

The main character Eva finds herself in the hospital waking up to find that she was struck by lightning the night before. She has multiple bruises, burns, and cuts on her body. She is told her mother was killed and Detective Jackson wants to question her. Eva does not remember what happened. Her fiancé Liam is there to protect her.

Eva and her mother Kat are the narrators. Kat takes us to England twenty five years ago and We follow Eva as she tries to remember what happened the night her mother dies.

So many twists and turns as the reader immediately becomes engrossed in McDonald’s story. Just when I thought I figured everything out there was a new twist. This is a book I will be thinking about for awhile. I would have liked to have had an epilogue from Eve ten years later. My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do?

One dark and stormy night, Eva Hansen’s world is turned upside-down when not only is Eva struck by lightning (literally), but her mother is also found murdered in her own home. Eva wakes in the hospital to find that she is suddenly a top suspect in the murder. The only problem? Due to the lightning strike, Eva has no memory of what happened. Is Eva guilty? And if not, how will she be able to prove her innocence?

You guys, this was my first book by Christina McDonald and I’m definitely a fan! I was kept in suspense the entire time and didn’t want to put the book down! I felt like the twists were fairly unpredictable and she did a great job of bringing closure to the story in the end. I definitely recommend getting your hands on this one when it comes out Tuesday!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

While I began to have an inkling that someone close to Eva was involved with what was going on in her life, I never realized just how. This book went in such a different direction than I ever imagined. I loved how it kept me on my toes and how I never saw any of it coming.

I loved the little memories she would have while not being able to grasp the full memory of what happened the night her mother died. This was well played out, especially with the guilt and questioning Eva puts herself through.

It's the kind of book that you can't put down once you start it. I loved the weird relationships between Eva and everyone in her life, like her mother and Liam. And the whole Lilly suprise? I did not see that coming. How did I not realize that was her? How did Eva never see it, herself until she was told? Wow. It makes total sense but I honestly never saw that one.

Just as good as The Night Olivia Fell, Christina McDonald knows how to create a good thriller that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat!

Eva Hansen brings new meaning to the term Unreliable Narrator. The book opens up with Eva waking up in the hospital after being been struck by lightening and discovering that her mom has been murdered. She can't remember anything. Her quest to find out the truth definitely put me on a wild ride because this book is twists and turns faster than a tornado in Kansas.

The book explores a very complicated mother-daughter relationship. If you think that your relationship with your mom is complex, just wait until you read about Eva and her mom Kat. They are definitely dysfunctional!

This novel is told from alternating POVs: Eva’s and Kat's, in the past from Kat’s view, and the present in Eva’s view.  It switches around often so I had to pay close attention at the chapter headings. None of the characters are particularly likeable for me, and all are unreliable, so I didn't know who was really credible or what to believe.

This book is about memories, trauma, motherhood, love, abuse, murder, manipulation, and stalking. It does have some trigger themes but nothing particularly graphic. This domestic thriller kept me up late at night reading because it's full of suspense, shocking surprises, and kept me guessing until the very end.

Behind Ever Lie is written by Christina McDonald, the author of last year's popular The Night Olivia Fell (which I still need to read!). Eva Hansen wakes up unconscious in the hospital after being struck by lightning and finds out that her mother has been murdered. The detective on the case considers Eva to be a suspect, but Eva knows that she would never kill her mother. The only problem is Eva can't remember anything that happened that night. As she tries to figure out what happened, she comes face to face with hidden family secrets and learns that everything is not as it seems.

I read this book shortly after reading another thriller, The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler. And the two books were very similar to each other. Both are narrated by young women who have experienced trauma and might be unreliable, both stories include love interests and detectives that seem suspect, and both reveal hidden family secrets. I think it was a disadvantage to me to read both books back to back, as I could not help but compare them. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Behind Every Lie more if I had not read The Look-Alike first?

Regardless, I did mostly enjoy reading Behind Every Lie. There were moments of great suspense and intrigue, and I flew through the whole book in just two days. But I felt like there was a lot going on in this book, perhaps too many things happening at once and a few too many coincidences that were a little hard to believe. I rolled my eyes more than a few times at some of the events in this book. But if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and just go with everything that happens, this is an entertaining thriller and not a bad option for a quick winter read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery books for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is available on February 4!

"We each intend to do the right thing, and yet we are all helpless in the face of fate."

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald was quite the page turner.  It was a quick read, mostly because I couldn't really put it down.  I liked working through the whole story to figure out what really happened at the beginning of the book.  It has all the classic makings of a great psychological thriller from an unreliable narrator to a mysterious backstory.  If this is a genre you enjoy, and have liked The Girl on the Train or other similar books, you're going to absolutely devour Behind Every Lie.  I've had The Night Olivia Fell, by the same author, sitting on my bookshelf for about a year. I think it's time I read it.

If you are looking for a book that is fast-paced with multiple plot lines, wild plot twists, and an unreliable main character look no further. There is a lot going on in this one book that will leave you wanting more. Behind Every Lie was very well written and absolutely gripping. In fact, there were numerous times that my jaw was left hanging open. Not to mention, I could hardly put the book down.

This book is told in two perspectives and multiple time frames. I felt that the author did a great job at this. The time frames were done well and the pacing between each was spot on. Mostly we follow Eva, but we also see Eva's mother's point of view. Now, the main character - Eva - is struggling with very memory loss. Which makes perfect sense, after all she was struck by lightening. Not only that, but Eva has gone through a lot of trauma. As a main character she is very submissive and has very spur of the moment tendencies. Her fiance, Liam, is made out to be her knight in shining armor. There are a few other key characters in this book that were done well and really help move the story along.

I was able to guess that there was something rather off with one of the characters right off the bat, but the story still really held my attention. Admittedly, I read the book a lot while I was at work... when I was supposed to be working. It didn't help that the pacing was spot on and kept you on the edge of your seat.

Lastly, one of my favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of Seattle and Whidbey Island. Especially the gloomy weather bits! Having been born and raised along the Puget Sound, the descriptions were very accurate.

Behind Every Lie is my favorite kind of thriller: unpredictable, quick-paced, and keeps you guessing until the very end. Told in alternating first-person between Eva in the present day, and Kat in the past, Behind Every Lie, mainly follows the two characters before and after Kat’s murder. When twenty-eight-year-old Eva wakes up in the hospital after being struck by lightning, she finds herself the prime suspect in her mother’s murder the night before. But Eva can’t remember anything about the previous night. As she retraces her steps and digs deeper into her mother’s life, she finds more questions than answers. Did Eva kill her mother?

I loved both Kat and Eva’s perspectives, however, I definitely related to Kat more. Eva, I found to be a bit whiny and helpless, though that slowly changes over the course of the novel. I also was not sure if Eva was a reliable narrator, given she’s been struck by lightning and seems to not trust anyone including herself. I was highly suspicious of all the supporting characters in the novel, especially the detective in charge of the case who seems hellbent on Eva being the murderer.

This story pleasantly surprised me. I was not sure what I thought it would be when I first started, but it quickly developed into quite the page-turner.

Thank you to BookishFirst and Gallery Books for the review copy!

Christina McDonald's debut novel The Night Oliva Fell was a real roller coaster ride. Behind Every Lie is a very different type of book but it also is full of twists and turns and kept me rapidly turning pages (and losing sleep) until the end.

Eva and her mom Kat have always had a rocky relationship but not rocky enough that Eva would kill her mother...or would she? Everything points in that direction and the police are very suspicious when Eva says that she can't remember anything. She has an excuse because she woke up in the hospital after being struck by lightning - but why was she in her mother's neighborhood when she lived miles away and why was her car at her mom's and her fingerprints in the house? She has no memory of anything that happened after she got home that day. Eva is determined to clear her name and to try to remember what happened and after finding a letter in her mother's files, she sneaks off to London, where her mom grew up, to try to find some answers. What she finds out is shocking and she has trouble connecting the mom that she learns about in London and the mom that she knew growing up. The more questions she gets answered, the more questions she has plus she has no idea what is true and what's a lie. This book is full of lies and secrets that cause more danger to Eva as they are revealed because someone doesn't want her to find out the truth. She learns that she can trust no one - and as her memory starts to return, she even wonders if she can trust herself.

I loved this book and the way the story is told. It all comes to light gradually as the story is told by Eva in present day and Kat in the past when Eva was born. When these two time lines intersect, the complicated relationship between mother and daughter becomes even more apparent.

If you want a book full of twists and turns, lies and truth that is full of surprises - this is the book for you.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

"They say that behind every lie is a person and a reason."

Eva wakes up in a hospital with only bits and pieces of memory of how she got there (she was struck by lightning), only to find out her mother was brutally murdered. Is Eva the prime suspect in her mom's murder?

In most thrillers, there's a few small twists leading up to the big twist near the end, but Behind Every Lie is filled with lies (of course), secrets and shocking revelations that had me turning the pages as fast as I could and rereading some parts more than once to make sure it said what I thought it did.

If you haven't read the author's debut novel, The Night Olivia Fell, I highly recommend it also. It is a different type of thriller than BEL that evoked more of an emotional response with the heartbreaking yet heartwarming ending.

Darling, I'm not entirely certain one can ever become unbroken, but I do know we can be strong and brave and broken and whole all at the same time. It's called being human."

Behind Every Lie starts of with a bang! Eva Hansen after being struck by lightening is found wandering down a street close to her mothers, covered in blood which leaves so many question. Whose blood is it? How did she end up in the street? She soon learns that her mother was murdered while recovering in the hospital and the Detective on the case seems to believe that Eva in involved. So what does she do? She leave the hospital to try and clear her name but with no memory of that night it is isn’t going to be easy. But with the help of her fiance Liam she might just be able to figure out what happened that night, even if it means she is guilty.

Eva makes for a fantastic unrealiable narrator because she has no memory of the night her mother was murdered or anything she might have seen or heard due to trauma of being struck by lightening but she does know that she was there at some point. She starts having flashback of memories of that night but the question begs, are they true memories of that night or is it a result of her lightening strike. The doctor did warn that the trauma she suffered might cause paranoia and delusions. The memories make her question everything though but she follows the clues anyway because she has to know the truth. She is definitely one determined woman and who could blame her. People believe she killed her mother. I know I would do everything in my power to learn what truly happened that night and clear my name.

The story is given in two points of views. Eva and her mother Kat’s. Eva’s is in the present and Kat’s tells of her life when she had Eva up to the present. You’d think it might get a little confusing going back and forth with Kat and her side of things and with Eva and her distorted memories but it worked rather well. Let me tell, you, it was clear from the start that these two held secrets not only from each other but those they loved too and those secrets start to unravel as Eva searches for answers.

This is a story that is filled with twists and turns and just about the time I thought I had things figured out another clue was revealed making me rethink things. And we meet a lot of people along the way too. Liam, Eva’s fiance, Jacob the childhood best friend. The Detective that isn’t going to give up till he has the truth. We also meet people from Kat’s past as well. And with a story like this it is sometimes hard to figure out the good guys from the bad ones but it certainly pretty great trying to figure it all out right along with Eva. As the clues start to come together, I found myself anxiously waiting the big reveal. And it was a big one too! There were elements that I did not expect either.

Behind Every Lie is a fast paced, suspenseful tale of murder, lies and deceit that kept me on my toes from start to finish. Fans of mystery thrillers will enjoy this one, I certainly did…

Eva wakes up in a hospital after being struck by lightening to find that her mother has been murdered. Evidence suggests she may have murdered her. How could this be? She loves her mother! Eva then begins a quest to find out what happened that night. She uncovers truths about her past, herself and ultimately the truth about the murder.

Eva travels from Seattle to London where her mother, Kat, once lived. Eva makes some important discoveries about her mother’s life and slowly events begin to make sense. The story goes back and forth in time telling Kay’s story, as well as Eva’s.

This book has a bit more substance than some thrillers. The complex mother-daughter relationship between Eva and Kat is explored, revealing truths about the complicated nature of parenting . Eva is forced to mature rather quickly as the events of the story unfold and she learns much about herself.

Although there were parts of this book that were a bit implausible, I found it a compelling read. I liked the descriptions and details of the setting that enabled me to see and feel what was happening. Eva finds she is in danger herself, which led me to read rather quickly to find out the truth. There were lots of secrets, twists and turns in the story. SomeI saw coming, some I didn’t.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review. Publication date February 4.

Would I normally want to read a book that's based on lie after lie after lie? Of course I am when it's a book by Christina McDonald! I read her first novel, "The Night Olivia Fell" and loved it. I was very excited to open the cover of this book and be taken into the pages of this psychological thriller of "who's lying and who's not?". Who do you believe? Is there anyone who tells the truth?

The story began with a nice, light, happy feeling until little pieces of secrets begin to drop at a celebratory lunch with Eva, Kat (her mom) and Lily (her mom's best friend). The story is set up. The next thing, Eva wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what happened and how she got there. She has to start piecing together flickers of memory, huge weights of self doubt and anxiety ridden bouts of paranoia that are not like her at all. She has become a broken vessel and desperately wants to become whole. To remember. How hard it was to remember. This passage is one her mom has tenderly expressed to her: "I'm not entirely certain one can ever become unbroken, but I do know we can be strong and brave and broken and whole all at the same time. It's called being human." Eva has so many unanswered questions and who does she trust?

This story is written in two different POVs. One is Eva's and the other is her mother, Kat's. Eva's is in current time and Kat's is 25 years earlier. Ms. McDonald meticulously and suspensefully drew the story out in perfect timing. The character's stories building and connecting as the pieces started to fit together. I love the way she did this using the art form of "Kintsugi....It's a Japanese art. The artist fixes broken pottery by filling the cracks with gold." This is an interesting concept in that what seems an irreparable, broken piece is remade into an imperfect masterpiece of artwork. Taking something that is in pieces and putting it all back together into a new object. This is how the story played out for me. It was full of thrilling suspense, unexpected twists and turns, and surprises I said, "Wait! What?" Just when I thought a piece was going to fit, it doesn't. Just when I think I have it figured out, I don't. I kept reading to find how it was all going to play out....until the pieces became a whole.

Ms. McDonald writes very descriptive scenes in which I could picture in my mind without any trouble. From the characters to the settings, each is vividly and realistically written as images I could easily see. From the emotions to the impressions of what the characters had of the others, I felt that, too. All from the talented mind of an author whose previous work I have enjoyed.

The epigraph Ms. McDonald has at the beginning of the book is so perfect for the pages that follow. I appreciated that so very much. It fits perfectly with the theme throughout the book. Even the broken can be put back together and made strong.

I want to thank Netgalley and especially Christina McDonald for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of her thrilling and suspenseful novel. All opinions and thoughts are my heartfelt own. It's a five star, unputdownable book for me.

Eva wakes up in the hospital to learn she has been struck by lightning, and her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Most surprising, the detective seems to consider her a suspect. A ludicrous thought, although one of the few memories Eva does have is standing over her mother with a bloody knife in her hand.

As eager to prove to herself as she is to show the detective she didn’t hurt her mother, Eva embarks on her own investigation, which takes her to London where she learns nearly everything she thought she knew about her history was a lie. Thank goodness she has her loyal fiancé, Liam, by her side as her own behavior becomes more erratic.

I’d been in a reading slump and needed a book that would grab me from the very first page, and this one definitely did. Both settings were appealing, and Eva was a relatable protagonist. Some of the plot twists I was able to guess, but some surprised me. All in all, an excellent suspense novel. #BehindEveryLie #NetGalley

Evan Hansen wakes up in a hospital and discovers that she has been struck by lightning, and some of her memories are gone. She also learns that her mother, Kat, has been murdered, and that she is a suspect.. How can she prove she didn't do it if she can't remember? This thriller is told from both Eva's perspective and a younger Kat's perspective. There is drama, mystery, and many secrets to uncover. Will Eva learn the truth of what happened, and will her opinions of her mom change when she learns some of her mom's secrets?

Oh my! Christina McDonald has knocked it out of the park with her new suspense novel Behind Every Lie. If you liked her debut novel The Night Olivia Fell, you will love this one. It is every bit as good. I think it was even better.

The author had a way of steering my thoughts. I was all over the place trying to figure out the murderer. I'm not very good at it, but she took me on an amusement park ride. I kept changing my mind like a loop de loop.

If you like suspense and trying to figure out who done it, you'll love this book. It has everything I love in a book. It thoroughly entertained me and grabbed my interest.

Someone suggested this book be read in one sitting. If I didn't have a husband and furbabies, I would have. It is that good.

Now, I am eagerly waiting for a new Christina McDonald book. Great job Christina!

I absolutely loved Christina McDonald's first novel The Night Olivia Fell and when I saw that she had a second book coming out, I immediately requested an ARC for it. She starts her book with an adrenaline rush and you're hooked. It doesn't stop there. You find yourself reading and pulled into secrets and lies, wondering who do you trust and who's telling the truth. I read the book over the weekend in a day and a half, it was that hard to put down. I find that Christina McDonald is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors in the Thriller genre. I definitely recommend this book.

I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and exchange for a fair and honest review.