Another great psychological thriller from the author of The Night Olivia Fell. This one grabs you from the beginning and hosts a variety of characters which are revealed throughout. Trying to figure out whodunnit is entertaining and surprising. Twists abound and keep you reading all the way to the surprising finish!

“..Behind every lie is a person and a reason..”

What an absolutely amazing, twisty psychological thriller. I gobbled this novel up fast! It was so good I just could NOT put it down!!!

A huge thanks to Christina McDonald, Gallery Books and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this insane thriller! This will be released in February so stay tuned and grab it!

I really loved the alternating character viewpoints, I stayed on the edge of my seat the entire time!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Please, put this on your to be read list! You won’t regret it at all. Memory issues, murder, deceit, and a trip to London all wrapped into one fabulously written novel.

I very much enjoyed her previous book, The Night Olivia Fell, and this one did not disappoint. It is full of twists and turns. The action is non-stop. Eva is struck by lightning and when she leaves the hospital she learns her mother is dead and she is suspected of killing her. Eva remembers nothing about her visit to her mother. The relationship between Eva and her mother Kat, is complicated. This is a dark and compelling story which will keep you from all your chores and from sleep!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Behind Every Lie is strong and twisty psychological thriller from the author of The Night Olivia Fell. McDonald writes a fast-paced story following a woman who wakes up in the hospital only to find out her mother has been murdered. With no memory of what happened, she has to clear her name. Filled with plenty of jaw-dropping moments. Highly recommended to readers looking for a solid mystery to get through winter.

A young woman wakes up in the hospital after an accident and finds out her mother was murdered. Worse, the police are suspicious of her. Without any memories to support or discredit their theory, though, she’s left with no choice but to conduct her own search for the truth. Author Christina McDonald leads readers through a dismal plot and unbelievable characters in her latest novel Behind Every Lie.

Eva Hansen’s world has spun out of control. She wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there, only to find out she was struck by lightning. Then the news gets worse: her mother, Katherine, was murdered the night Eva was struck. A police officer begins to question her, and soon enough Eva realizes that the cop wants to know if Eva could have hurt her mother. She was found not far from her mother’s home around the time the murder occurred, and there’s no other reasonable explanation on hand.

It sounds unreasonable, ridiculous even, but Eva knows she can’t trust her own memories. Years earlier, she was drugged then raped but has no recollection of the incident because of being intoxicated. If she could undergo such a horrific experience, how does she know for sure she had nothing to do with her mother’s death? Especially since she does have a history of assaulting her mother?

Her fiancé, Liam, takes her home and tends to her every need, hovering like a helicopter parent. Eva appreciates the way he takes care of her, but she can’t let go of her own suspicion of herself. After the police clear her mother’s home, she goes back and discovers a letter. In it, Katherine hints that Eva might find answers to her questions in England, Katherine’s home country.

As she travels to London, bits and pieces of the night Katherine died begin to come back to Eva. None of the information in her brain makes sense, however, and the facts she uncovers in London confuse her even more. It becomes clear that someone wants to target Eva, but why? Her search brings back more memories from the past as well as more secrets until Eva knows one thing for sure: her life will never be the same again.

Author Christina McDonald describes her native Seattle in detailed, lush prose. Her personal experience of the city and the climate and mood of the Pacific Northwest form the main highlight of the book. Other plot and characters and choices just don’t measure up.

In an age when the MeToo movement has become a relevant feature of the news cycle, Liam’s dominance over Eva comes across as cliché. He makes decisions for her, doesn’t allow her to speak up for herself, and railroads over her misgivings. Had McDonald given Eva a friend or even acquaintance to point out Liam’s obsessive behavior, readers might have been willing to overlook Eva’s wide-eyed innocent faith in him. Instead, his actions make him suspicious from the beginning.

McDonald misses the mark, too, with her British characters. Their dialogue sounds more like a caricature of how British people might speak as opposed to adopting the natural cadence and rhythm of their conversations. Every “British-ism” from “blimey” to frequently using the word “rather” appears. The dialogue sticks out as unnatural and becomes more distracting than informative.

The plot, too, flounders as if unsure of what it wants to be. Is this a story about hidden identities? About recovery from rape? About an unexplained murder? About gender identity? All of these elements exist in the novel, and all of them clamor for attention. In the end, none of them become the focal point, and Eva is left to deal with all of it.

While the information on Lichtenberg figures and the Japanese art of kintsugi offer mildly interesting distractions, for the most part this book tries to accomplish too much in its allotted space and does none of it well. I recommend readers Bypass Behind Every Lie.

This psychological thriller involves Eva, a young woman who is struck by lightning the night her mother is murdered. She has lost her memory of the event and doesn't know if she is the killer. There are twists and turns galore...right up to the end.

The story is told in Eva's voice and the voice of her mother, Kat. The timeline goes from the present to the past as Kat recounts her story up to the night of her murder. I liked that method since it literally brings the reader up to speed.

I will not be a spoiler, but I knew something was going to twist at the end, which it did. Just not the way I thought (although it was one of my choices).

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eva’s mom has been murdered. Unfortunately, Eva was found down the road after being struck by lightening, but she doesn’t remember anything, let alone going to her moms house, which makes her a prime suspect. Eva is determined to prove her innocence, so even though she is a suspect, she heads to London to try and find out more about the secrets her mom took to her grave.

This book is told in a dual timeline, Eva’s present day, and her mom Kat’s past. For me that really added to the story and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the secrets from the past. While I did figure out some of the twists, I didn’t get them all! This was a quick read that kept me wanting more!

BOOK REVIEW: Behind Every Lie by author, Christina McDonald

Christina McDonald has created an intense story that moves quickly, deliberate and more than holds your attention with its tension-packed narrative.

An addictive ride through the lives of a mother holding secrets beyond the imaginable, a daughter with doubts as to her own sanity, and additional characters that lend to this slippery, suspicious, twisted, and compelling plot.

Murder, mystery and manipulation are paramount as the stage continues to unfold it's layers within this contagious, dramatic composition.

Ms. McDonald's story has a pulse all its own, one in which will have you on the edge of your seat as it grips you into its emotionally suspenseful journey within a dual timeline that flows seamlessly from beginning to end.

Behind Every Lie is written as strong and complex, lends to strength and healing, and stands true to its genre. A story I highly recommend.

I thank NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review...

5 Stars

#BehindEveryLie
#ChristinaMcDonald

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When Seattle artist Eva Hansen wakes up in the hospital, her brain is fuzzy and she has burns from being struck by lightning. She soon learns that her mother Kat has been killed and there is evidence that Eva was on the scene, even though she has no memories of this. As her supportive fiancé Liam helps Eva to recover from her injuries and the now presumed homicide of her mother, she begins having frightening flashbacks that seem to implicate her in her mother’s murder. As Eva struggles to clean the cobwebs in her mind to access the truth, she uncovers some hidden secrets that threaten to topple the foundations of her life and will ultimately lead her to uncover even more skeletons from her own family closet. Will the truth set Eva free or will it endanger her? The novel follows her on her quest for truth, as more is revealed while her memory is slowly regained. This mystery/psychological thriller will intrigue readers from the beginning and keep them wondering what will happen next. Despite a few plot transitions that occur almost too easily, this novel is one that will keep readers captivated until the end.

I'm thankful to the author and publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review. Sadly, this wasn't the book for me and I think this author will just be a miss for me.

Reading this book was almost painful to me & I found myself avoiding the book & reading time because I just did not care for the style, the story or the main character. I finally forced myself to slog through it and saw others reviews & wondered if we really read the same book. A few reviews commented that there "was just too much" and I have to agree with that statement. It's all just over the top & too much. The changing POVs is too common & overdone too.

I'll be generous with a 2star review. It's probably not the book, it's probably me.

I enjoyed this mystery thriller! The creative way this story was revealed added to the suspense. I particularly liked how the story was told from the alternating perspectives of mother, Kat, and daughter, Eva. The story also alternated between timelines, yet was intriguing rather than confusing. This seemed fresh in a sea of recent twisty books with unreliable narrators. It also had a good mix of secondary characters and storylines, with some of them being heartwarming and some heartbreaking. There was a sense of fulfillment at the conclusion. I recommend this!

I was able to read this book through #netgalley and I really enjoyed this book! This was a new author to me, but she told a great story.

I found the way she told the story in series of flashbacks, as well as having different time periods in the novel to be a great way to tell this particular story. In my opinion I started out liking the character of Liam, but he turns out to be more than meets the eye. I loved how as I was reading I was making predictions in my mind only to be right some of the time.

This is a suspense novel and was a pretty quick read for me. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gallery books and Christina McDonald for this ARC. This was one of the best books I’ve read this year. The characters intertwined nicely, the story kept me reading through the nite. I am a big fan of this author and always anticipating a new book. You could read this more then once and still not get bored with it. So many twists and turns you never see coming. A 5 star for sure !

McDonald knows how to write about mother daughter relationships. In her second novel Eva wakes up after being struck by lightening to find out that her mother has been murdered. Did she have something to do with her death? If only she could remember what happened that night! Told in past and present, the lies that have been told are slowly revealed (and there are some doozies) as we find out just what really happened that night.

4-4.25 stars!

Behind Every Lie was VERY different from Christina McDonald’s first book, The Night Olivia Fell.

This book was pure thriller with so many jaw dropping moments. I stayed up late into the night trying to finish just one more chapter and then another. I want to say around 80% it took a bit of a turn and you need to be able to suspend reality in order to enjoy the book. It was then that it went from a five star book to a three star last 20%. I still highly recommend this book and will be mentioning it at my next book club meeting for my thriller fanatics. I will be reading whatever Christina McDonald puts out next, she is incredibly talented.

“Stop being a victim and start being a survivor.”

Thank you NetGalley and First Gallery books for sending me a copy of, Behind Every Lie!

Wow! I almost have no words for how delicious this book is!! This book was absolutely perfect! I loved how the Author made this book flow from past to present! This was an absolute perfect story! I had my suspicions about some characters, but I just wasn't sure where she was going with the story. I'm so thrilled by this book! Behind Every Lie is unputdownable, chilling, pulse pounding, and a fast paced thriller!! I would give this book ten stars if I could!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. JUST WOW.

This is a suspenseful, dark and twisty, complicated story of how one action alters so many lives.

Rose, a frustrated free spirited artist who finds love unexpectedly .

Kat, an afraid, abused wife, living for her child. A staid British ex pat teaching high school, always trying to 'make the right choice' for the children. Even when it means giving up her own heart's needs.

Seb, a small time criminal, with control and anger issues, looking for retribution and revenge.

Eva, a young woman questioning her choices and memories.

I seriously DID NOT see the resolution of this story. I read this book in two days as I had to see where it all led.

The story is told between two perspectives - Kat and Eva. And while you keep thinking how the hell could this happen, the threads of the story seamlessly cross between the two characters.

I highly recommend this taut, fast paced mystery that echos the style of Hitchcock, Gone Girl kind of suspense. I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thanks netgalley for this E-ARC! All it took was a few chapters for me to be hooked and invested in Eva and Katherine. A story full of drama, mystery, obsession, and secrets. It was right up my ally and I throughly enjoyed every moment of it!

Wow, just wow ! I loved this book ! It was AMAZING ! So many secrets and lies. So many twists and turns. You think you know what's going on and who the enemies are but let me assure you, you have it all wrong ! When this book is over you are going to have a WTH moment ! Lies for the right reasons, lies for the wrong reasons. You have a sexual assault and multiple murders along with an accidental death. Seriously how it all unfolds will blow your mind. Excellent from the first word on the first page. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read an ARC of this exceptional novel.

This was so good! I loved The Night Olivia Fell, it was one of my favorite mysteries of last year, so I was soooo excited for this one. I didn’t like it as much, I felt like I figured out a lot of the twists pretty early on, but it was enjoyable and definitely cemented Christina McDonald as an auto-read author.