I struggled a bit with this book because I found both of the main characters unlikable . Some good twists and turns. The book deals with some very serious issues.

The Better Liar by Tanen Jones is going to be one of the best thrillers of 2020. I could not put this book down!

Leslie's father has died and left her and her sister, Robin, some inheritance money. The sisters have gone their separate ways, and their dying father's last wish was for the girls to rekindle their relationship before collecting the inheritance. But there is a problem. Robin is dead. And Leslie can't collect her half of the inheritance unless Robin shows up and signs the papers for her half.

In comes Mary, a girl who's looks are strikingly similar to Robin's. So Leslie devises a plan to use Mary to collect her inheritance, and give Mary Robin's share. As Leslie and Mary go about trying to convince everyone that Mary is actually Robin, things start to become tense. Mary is trying too hard to be Robin, and Leslie is too strict on Mary's acting, telling her she will blow her cover. The girls just have to pull off this ruse for a few more days, and then they will both be better off...

The twists and turns in this book were not anything I saw coming. While I did guess one detail, I was completely shocked by the rest. The ending especially had me picking my jaw up off the floor.

The writing style was fantastic, the story was original, the characters were likable yet untrustworthy, and the ending was superb. I thought this book really tied together well and left me satisfied at the end. 5 stars, highly recommend!

This is a fascinating look at several relevant issues with a crazy plot-line as well! When Leslie arrives at her estranged sister Robin's Las Vegas apartment, she finds her dead from an overdose. This is bad news (not just because her sister is dead) but also her father's will stipulates that both sisters must be present to cash in their inheritance. But when she randomly meets Mary, a young woman who looks surprisingly like Robin, she hatches a plan to have Mary impersonate Robin in exchange for part of the money. Almost sounds like a reasonable plan until things begin to unravel, slowly at first and then as secrets emerge, at a breakneck pace! Jones addresses so many themes: drug addiction, sibling rivalry, postpartum depression, familial obligation, and mental health. It had my head spinning until the shocking conclusion.

If you like thrillers related to family with altering viewpoints, The Better Liar is definitely something to pick up. There are a LOT of twists and turns and I didn't see the end coming. Overall, a good thriller.

It's pretty well documented that thrillers are not my go-to genre. Alas, I do cave to them every so often, especially ones that get ALL THE BUZZ. The Better Liar is one of those that broke through on my radar, and had great early feedback. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read an early copy!
The multiple narrators grabbed my attention from the beginning, with Robin's account delivered from the afterlife, Leslie's as the living sister, and Mary's as the stand-in. As the story unfolds, my allegiance and empathy bounced between Leslie and Mary, both seeming to be in a bad situation. Trying to figure out the lies and the truths being concealed was an ominous slow build. Just as I thought I had a inkling of what secrets they were keeping, the plot would thicken further. I definitely had that 'I HAVE to know how this is going to end' feeling. Jones' writing was propulsive and astute.
"They think the closer you are to someone, the more they narrow; that love shears you down to the slimmest core, as if people contained seeds you could fish out and keep, saying, That's the real you; all the rest is just flesh. But it's the other way around. The more you know someone, the more someones you know. They kaleidoscope outward before your eyes. If you feel you're finally getting a handle on someone's true self, you haven't got at clue. Once you've met forty versions of them, then you can comfort yourself you're getting closer."
As is the case with thrillers, I spent a lot of time guessing the various twists. Mary's secrets were a bit easier to fetter out, and she breathed the most life into the story. Leslie's was a harder nut to crack, and harder to empathize with until the very end. I thought the direction the author took with her character was rather thought provoking, and that ending gave her, and the novel, some gravitas. I don't think I can speak to it further without spoilers, so I'll just recommend that you read it!
Many thanks to Taylor Noel and the folks at Random House for a complimentary advance copy!

I loved this! I was hooked from the very beginning. Two women receive a sizable inheritance after their father dies- but there’s a catch. The sisters haven’t seen each other in 10 years, and in order to claim it they need to show up together. When Leslie finally tracks down Robin, she finds her dead. As she's reeling she meets a young waitress with an uncanny resemblance to her late sister, and together they decide to pretend Mary is Robin so the women can claim the money. This was very well written and a fantastic debut. It's the kind of book where you don't trust any of the characters and know things are going to poorly, but cant help but watch the train wreck. I'll definitely be reading this author again in the future!

The Better Liar is a story of a woman who conceals her sister's death in order to claim an inheritance that requires the two to spend time together. Another woman she meets on her road trip looks similar to her dead sister, so she plays the role of sister for her share of the money. I wanted to like this story. However, it is the typical domestic suspense story that is just completely unrealistic. I enjoyed reading the beginning, but it all unfurled wildly at the end.

I couldn’t totally tell where this book was going. It was entertaining from the beginning, but was struggling to see how it would wrap up. But then...THE TWISTS! Not one, but two that caught me totally off guard. I did not see them coming at all, which in my book makes the perfect thriller. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, and haven’t been shocked by a thriller in awhile. Highly recommend!

No Spoilers! This is one twisty read. Leslie has cared for her father while trying to care for her own family. When he dies, she discovers that his estate is left to her and to her sister Robin- but only together- not to one or the other or split in half or any other combination. Problem is, Robin's been gone for a long time and sadly, when Leslie finally finds her, she's dead of an overdose. By chance, or is it?, she finds Mary, who looks enough like Robin that those who don't know her might be fooled so the two of them set out to do just that. What happens next gets a little nuts but it does make for a fast, entertaining read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This goes over the top a bit but I gotta admit it's a page turner.

There were so many lies told in this story, I was having trouble figuring out the truth. This is definitely not a story about two long lost sisters reuniting. These two sisters have not been loving sisters in a very long time. And their lies come back to bite them just when they least expect. Great premise!

Leslie has a problem. Her father died and a stipulation of his will is that Leslie and her sister Robin must both show up together to claim their inheritance. Leslie's sister ran away from home 10 years ago and no one has seen her since. When Leslie travels from New Mexico to Nevada in search of her sister, she meets up with a young lady who could pass as Robin.
This is one captivating story with lots of twists and turns. Finding it hard to put down and needing to know what was going to happen, I read this book in one day and found the story to be clever and realistic.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read the advance copy.

I truly was not prepared for the twists and level of deception that happened in this book! Definitely a psychological thriller that keeps you wondering what will happen next. Leslie goes looking for her sister Robin (who ran away many years ago) so that they can claim the inheritance left by their father. Being just a few hours late in finding her sister alive, she meets another young woman who together they devise a plan for “Mary” to take the place of Robin so that they can get the money. There are times that the back and forth in chapters gets confusing....even though they are headed with titles for “Leslie”, “Robin” and “Mary”. However, by separating out the chapters in this way we truly learn the whole story of the sisters, which is much more complicated than Leslie is portraying to “Robin”. Had a hard time putting this book down as it neared the end because I just had to know what was going to happen!! I received an ARC of this book from NetGAlley in return for an honest review, which this has been. #TheBetterLiar #NetGalley

Mary will impersonate Robin to help Leslie claim her inheritance. Biggest question for me was why Leslie would let Mary have an equal share of the inheritance? And why would she lie about so many things? Some questions are answered. Some are not. But that's the way all the best books are, right? I did find sections of the book incredibly slow. I kept waiting for the betrayal. I, honestly, kept waiting for one of them to kill the other and take off with all the money. Whether that happened, I won't tell. When the big twist occurred, instead of feeling an "aha" moment, I felt an "ah, okay" moment. But never get complacent when reading this book. It may not have big bang moments, but it does have those reveals that make you shake your head because you should have known!

Holy thriller! What a windy, twisty, calculating read this is. I will admit that it did start out kind of slow, but once it took off, I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next. While reading, I kept getting the nagging feeling that I was missing something that would help me to piece together what was really going on and I was so proud of myself for figuring it out before the ending.

The story centers around two women: Leslie and Mary. Leslie's father dies and in order for her to receive the monetary inheritance, she must be find her sister, Robin. Robin ran away eons ago when they were teenagers and she's only heard from her intermittently throughout life. But, she's desperate for the money, so she tracks her down only to realize that she's already dead. Enter Mary, a waitress/wannabe actress she befriends who looks similar to her (dead) sister, Robin. Instead of doing the honest thing (i.e. reporting Robin's death), Leslie convinces Mary to come back home with her and pretend to be Robin so that they both can get the money quickly. Mary agrees. It all sounds so simple and probably would have been except both Leslie and Mary are hiding secrets from each other.

Personally, I love a good thriller and this one did not disappoint. This is definitely one that I plan on re-reading just to make sure that I didn't miss anything!

This review is also live on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3128133595

I will also be posting to my blog (www.theartofbery.com); Litsy (@arterbery); Twitter (@arterbery); & Instagram (@aarterbery, @andreaisalwaysreading).

This was such a darkly suspenseful book. It was hard to put down. It’s hard to say much about this book without giving away some plot twists so I will just say this is a really excellent book!

A fascinating story line with too much "ick" for me. Leslie, Robin, and Mary are all three unreliable narrators and the story they tell becomes more sinister as the plot thickens. The setting in the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas and the dry heat of Albuquerque contributed to the sketchy undertones throughout. Definitely reminded me of reading Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I got lost in the narrative several times due to my confusion navigating between the perspectives of Leslie, Robin, and Mary/Robin. By the time it cropped up that Leslie wasn't perfect, I suspected her of everything. Killing their mother. Killing their father. Killing Robin. An affair with Elaine's ex-husband. Everything!

At the same time, if I were Mary, I think I would have been content to sit quietly and wait for my $50k. Although, I can see her concern that maybe Leslie was going to off her and cash both checks!

First 75% of the book is 4 stars, overall rating ZERO (see spoilers below).

SPOILERS!
The last 25% of the book really pissed me off--not recognizing your own family, a la BA Paris? Demonizing a depressed mother and then having a twisted kid kill her off? Making out that Leslie is practically a criminal for not wanting to be a mother? Get a counselor if you want to explore your baby fears, Tanen Jones, but I'll never read your sh!t again.

First 75% is 4 stars, overall rating ZERO.

The Better Liar is the debut novel of Tanen Jones, a new thriller author throwing her writing into the mix. She’s already proven to be an author worth keeping an eye on. Her first novel touches upon sisterhood, betrayal, obligations, and so much more.
Leslie’s little sister, Robin, is dead. That simple statement should be a devastating one. But in this twisted family, that statement carries with it a whole different sort of weight. Now, Leslie is put into a position where she must consider the unthinkable; asking a stranger to pretend to be her sister.

“But it wouldn’t matter. Either way, I couldn’t get what I needed from her.
She would have loved that.”

Warnings: The Better Liar is not a novel too afraid to touch on some very intense subjects. There are themes involving drug abuse, postpartum depression and other mental health concerns, as well as suicide and suicidal thoughts.

The Better Liar was one of those novels that immediately caught my attention. The core concept was a fascinating one, and Tanen Jones’ writing style was exceptional at times. It was hard to look away from this one.
While I enjoyed The Better Liar on the whole, I will confess that it wasn’t one of my favorites. There’s a boatload of potential here though, so I want to give credit where credit is due. I loved Jones’ writing and character development. And her sense of mystery and intrigue is divine.
There are some problems I had with this book. Mainly with the reliance on specific tropes that I personally couldn’t overlook. Admittedly that may just be a ‘me’ thing, but I think anybody with a stronger background in psychology might find a point or two more than they can easily overlook.
What it comes down to is this; I loved the writing. I was less sold on the plot, towards the end. There were elements that simply made me uncomfortable. Not so much because they existed, but their portrayal of them. Perhaps that is just my bias showing through here.
One thing I would like to point out, however. When some of my now favorite thriller authors released their first book, I found myself underwhelmed by them as well. But I knew right away that the authors were still worth watching – and I ended up being right (as far as I’m concerned, at least). I feel that way here as well. And thus I’m going to be keeping an eye on what else Tanen Jones comes up with, and I very much hope to see her writing and plots improve with time and experience.

Since Leslie arrived in Las Vegas trying to find her long lost sister Robin it was quite a shock to find that she was the first to discover her body. Robin the beautiful sister, only now assumedly after years of drugs and alcohol, she was not what anyone would even call attractive. Running from the sight of the body, Leslie wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Leslie only knew that she had to obtain her inheritance and without Robin coming with her to claim it – it wasn’t going to happen.

As fate would have it Leslie meets a charismatic young woman who could be Robins twin. Not only that, but Mary had a good reason to get out of Vegas for her own health and leave her past behind. They come up with a rash bargain; Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s share of the inheritance. Neither realizes nor trusts the other and Mary soon comes to realize that the whole story Leslie was expounding upon was a total pile of lies, and with nothing to lose Mary decided she would do a little investigating to discover the truth.

This was quite a very suspenseful mystery, along with a very fast pace making it a quick and hard-to-put-down read. Right from the beginning both Mary and Leslie were created with some particular quirks that told this reader that they were not what they seemed. As the story continued many things started to fall into place, or they seemed to and you might think you knew what was really going on! However, with all the red-herrings - I was pretty much floored by a true twist of an ending!

Have to say, I really enjoyed this one - a little weird but the ending …. I rather think it was pretty much providence! Really good one!

Marilyn Rondeau

THE BETTER LIAR
BY TANEN JONES

THE BETTER LIAR is a pitch perfect name for this debut novel by Tanen Jones which is very cleverly mapped out and formatted. Some might appreciate this book for its explosive ending but I felt sorry for Leslie who I really didn't find that I understood her motives for the way she acted until the end of this allegorical tale. Leslie goes to Las Vegas to find her sister Robin because their father left them both an inheritance of $50,000.00 dollars each with the stipulation that they both spend some time together first as they have been estranged. Leslie arrives at exactly the right time to find Robin dead who has been on the run for the past ten years and has apparently died of an overdose. Leslie stops in a restaurant/bar and as she is walking out to the parking lot she finds this mysterious stranger named Mary leaning up against her car. The two of them conspire for Mary to go back to New Mexico with Leslie and for Mary to pretend that she is Robin to everyone including Dave and Eli , Leslie's husband and young son. that Mary is Aunt Ribin. But who is scamming who?

Mary actually hooks up with a police officer named Nancy Thayer who is married but they pick up their lesbian relationship that happened in the past. Mary is using Nancy to dig up information on Leslie that she suspects that Leslie is lying to her about her life. Mary is quite the sleuth playing detective learning about secrets that both Leslie and Dave are keeping from everyone including Msry. Both Leslie and Mary spend a week together in a constant state of like/dislike for one another until they can collect their inheritance. Mary Diggs with the help of Nancy and the more she digs the more she finds that both Leslie and Dave are not being honest about several things. Mary's digging has an important outcome in how she proceeds in this novel to do something dangerous to Leslie and also very less than charitable towards the novels end. Meanwhile a third point of view from the ghost of Robin weaves it's way through first person voice in this narrative. Robin weighs in with nuggets of information dropped like bread crumbs leading us to question who is really THE BETTER LIAR.

I think it bears mentioning at this point that the author's intent for crafting this well above average written story that she is trying to raise awareness for post partum depression and the dangerous outcomes for people who experience it to be forced to get treatment without their consent. She is also trying to convey that post partum depression is a real epidemic in the world but she is focused on how it is handled in the United States and she thinks that by studies and statistics that prove that their are clearly a huge divide in mortality rates between black women and white women with black women most likely to die during child birth three times higher than white women no matter if the black women are affluent. She makes it clear that she is not a mother herself but she has pondered over the many issues that arise when one is. She goes on to say that in New York City where she resides that black women are twelve times more likely to die from childbirth no matter their class or eminence from the medical curriculum not giving the same attention and correct health care to this cross section of women of color. This is scary and a problem that needs to be addressed in the United States. By writing this novel she is not trying to scare folks but illuminate this disparaging approach to both child birth and pregnancy and post natal treatment in the health care system. This makes this novel in my humble opinion one that should be recognized by all people who can once they become aware of this disparity maybe things can change and improve in this country regarding how post partum depression is treated and how health care needs to be equal for all women not only do we need to improve how we handle issues in both post and prenatal care and treat all women equally. This is the highest standard of a novel that I take the time to read and review. It shines a light on issues regarding the disparity of how we treat our fellow human beings and now I understand the motives of Mary, Leslie and Robin in this novel after reading this author's note at the end. We as a society need to take these steps to raise awareness and make sure that all women get competent care. What Robin did to Leslie is so dangerous and it makes this novel all the more relevant and I implore all of those readers to take note that we can all learn and try to make a difference so that all women who suffer are not forced to get treatment without their consent. When you are done reading this novel all of the pieces of the puzzle will fall in place for you and you will realize what Robin did to Leslie was not only dangerous and wrong but this can easily happen in our society as well. Also police officers are not trained in health care for women suffering from post partum depression and their systems. This is not their primary training and as first responders it can make things go terribly awry. This author has written a very compelling and timely novel which includes her author's note at the end of her desire to improve the way medical treatment is given. I applaud her for her caring efforts to craft a novel that not only entertains but also informs us. I didn't think what she expresses at the end actually happened until I read her thoughts and I am so glad that I read this book and hope with all of my heart that this novel will get the recognition it deserves. I will certainly be recommending it to everyone I know because I feel it has enlightened me and also encouraged me to be more cognizant of the way that I handle myself regarding showing more empathy to all new mothers and at the same time knowing to gently approach how care is given to people like Leslie. This is easily a favorite read for 2020 and maybe for the rest of my life. I highly applaud Tanen Jones for her humanity's and creative genius for writing a character study that has far reaching messages for her efforts to write a novel that I enjoyed but also educated me. She succeeded in both writing a story that is thrilling but also teaches us. Thank you Ms. Jones for gifting me with a great story that also helps me understand why these characters did what they did. I am forever grateful for your work and for being able to be an early reader of such a wonderful novel. I will be gifting all my reader friends with this novel upon publication. I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and goodreads and to my social media.

Thank you to Net Galley, Tanen Jones and Ballantine books publishing for so generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

#netgalley #tanenjones #ballantinebookspublishing #thebetterliar