4/5

I couldn't put this book down. Expect twists and turns (Okay, I figured one major twist early on, but what can you do?). The ending's good and left me a bit shocked (Guess what? This know-it-all shocked herself.). With good writing, fast pacing, and character development, this sleeper story earned a recommendation from me.

My only caveat is that some instances felt too convenient. But, you can't have it all.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was okay for me. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters, but I feel the pacing was just a smidge off. It felt almost rushed at times. Overall a great read! I love a good mystery thriller!

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and netgalley for this review copy.

This book was not for me. Uneven writing, super slow in bits and I didn't connect with the characters. I gave it the old college try (read 100 pages) but did not finish.

I have not posted anywhere, just providing my feedback here.

Sibling rivalry is taken to a new low in Tanen Jones's debut novel, The Better Liar. And it's hard to judge this competition...both Leslie and her sister Robin are masters at the art of deception-they just go about it in different ways. Leslie is "the golden child," Robin the rebel. Leslie and Robin's mother died when they were young, leaving them with a dad who meant well, but was unprepared for life as a single father. Robin abandons the family as a teen, while Leslie stays in her hometown of Albuquerque, juggling a high pressure job, caring for her dying father, and the needs of her husband and young son. After her father dies Leslie learns his estate is to be split equally with Robin, who Leslie has not seen or spoken to in a decade-and according to the will the sisters must claim their inheritance together. Leslie tracks down Robin in Las Vegas, only to find Robin died of a drug overdose mere moments before Leslie arrived. But Leslie is desperate for the money, so when she stumbles upon Mary-who has an uncanny resemblance to Robin-Leslie bribes her into pretending she is Robin so they can collect the money. The Better Liar is a seesaw of deceit and duplicity-your head will hurt from the "she said, she did" dual narrative. It's clever and cunning, much like Leslie and Robin, as each tries to stay one step ahead of the other. But The Better Liar is not just a twisty thriller, it has a sobering message about the long term consequences of grief and loss, and how nothing in life is guaranteed-even when you have it in writing.

If you're looking for your next page-turning thriller, look no further than Tanen Jones' superb debut. The Better Liar is a gripping mystery centered on the complicated relationship between two sisters and the complex, shifting dynamics between families. Filled with surprising twists and multiple narrators, this one will keep you hooked until the very last page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

For a long time while reading The Better Liar by Tanen Jones I wasn't sure what to think. Once I hit the last few chapters though I was all in and they raised me to a solid 4-star rating.

Reading The Better Liar was like peeling an onion, the more you read the more layers that are pulled away until everything is revealed. It was predictable in some ways for me, and not in others but overall it's a slow burn that ends with quite the reveal. The last few chapters really got me and there is definitely a strong message at the end of this book.

I really liked the author's note at the end and apparently I have some things in common with Jones and her feelings on pregnancy and motherhood. The Better Liar is a great debut that hits on mental illness and I'm looking forward to seeing what she writes next.

Song/s the book brought to mind: Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Final Thought: I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, although I did end up feeling bad for Leslie. I really enjoyed the multiple viewpoints and the cat and mouse game, while not always believable, was interesting and I was really wondering where it would end. Not a whole lot happens until the end but as long as you are ok with that and prepared for it I would definitely pick up The Better Liar and give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Tanen Jones opens with one sister looking for another when she finds a substitute. Thrown together, secrets and lies slowly surface until the reader doesn’t know if the truth exists in anything that is said.

Leslie is a buttoned up, wealthy woman in Las Vegas searching for her sister. Mary is tired of the disappointments people around her have become. When Leslie learns of her sister’s death, she is certain that her father’s inheritance will never be hers. After a drunken night, Leslie things Mary could pose as Robin. With reservations on both parts, the pair set off to Albuquerque.

Will Leslie’s hard, often strange exterior ever show a crack or glimpse of a feeling? Can Mary’s carefree nature be reigned in long enough to convince the lawyer she is Robin?

To say there are many twists and turns in this book would do a disservice to the author. As the story progresses (I cannot be more specific without spoilers), the reader finds secrets to be revealed little by little. However, the reader begins to wonder if the revelation is true or just another lie. Not many "Ahab" moments show up in this book but there are many “Oh, my gosh!” opportunities to be found. With a last “Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!” as you close the back cover, you will know that this is one of the best mystery novels ever.


I received an ARC from Random House: Ballantine Books through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under

This book was a little bit of a mind twist. It started off and I didn’t know exactly where it was headed. So many lies and craziness to get the father’s inheritance. You don’t even know how she pulls it all off and what her motives are...till the end. Oh the end. Just wait. Completely catches you by surprise. I loved the book itself but I didn’t LOVE the ending. I wanted it to have a little different of an outcome. But you can understand it. Give it a try....trust me:)

This book fell a little flat for me. It had a great build up to some sinister reveals but somehow to ending was kind of lackluster. Maybe the big reveals came to early so that the final 15% of the book felt rushed and anticlimactic. I guessed what was going on with Mary but dismissed it as too implausible on Leslie’s part, but I stood corrected (and a little let down). Also nearly every character - certainly the narrators - were so incredibly unlikable and just gross overall I found it hard to care about their why’s.

The Better Liar by Tanen Jones came to my attention because it was listed as one of the most anticipated books of 2020 on a list I was reading. As a lover of mystery and thriller novels, this one definitely peaked my interest. I had to check it out. A debut novel by Jones, The Better Liar did not disappointed.

The story follows Leslie and Mary as they work together to deceive those around them in more ways than you are originally aware. From the start there was a ton of suspense and mystery. I knew there was something off with Leslie but I couldn’t figure out what it was throughout the entire book. Mary also had me questioning her true intentions throughout and again, Jones kept me in suspense with me unable to figure out what was going on. I loved the characters and how different they all were. Jones wrote each one with a clearly distinct personality and quirks that made each character interesting and pertinent to the story.

Jones writing style was smooth. I wasn’t completely loving the back and forth from character to character. I more prefer books from one person’s point of view, but I have found a few books lately where I think the back and forth brought a lot to the story. In this instance, while it wasn’t my favorite aspect, I think it kept the mystery alive through because I found myself dissecting their behavior and actions to see what I thought they were hiding.

With that said, The Better Liar is jam packed full of mystery and suspense. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for that other shoe to drop. The ending was absolutely not what I was expecting and made it all the more enjoyable for me. I am adding Tanen Jones to my list of favorite mystery/thriller writers and I cannot wait to see what she has up her sleeve next. A must read for the lovers of good, intense mystery/thrillers with a touch of a psychological twist.

Leslie has a problem. Her sister, Robin, has overdosed on heroin at just the wrong time. Leslie needs Robin to claim her inheritance. But Robin is dead...under an assumed name. Could her new acquaintance, an aspiring actress and currently unemployed waitress, Mary, play her sister just long enough for them both to get $50,000? Are would it devolve into proving which one was The Better Liar?

The Better Liar is a twisty-turny thrill ride of a book. To say anymore will ruin the surprises that await you in this engrossing read. It’s great fun trying to decipher what is really going on in the heads of the characters. I missed hours of sleep and a dentist appointment because I literally could not stop reading this compelling story. Don’t start it right before bed! 4 stars!

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Scrappymags 4-word review: Sisterly love? It’s complicated.

4/5 Stars



Genre: Mystery/Contemporary Fiction

The Short of It: Leslie needs the inheritance left by her father, but that requires the presence of her sister, Robin, who hasn’t been seen in over 10 years since she ran away from home. What’s a sister to do? Find a stand-in. Enter Mary, a down-on-her-luck waitress who is in the right place at the right time. From this point, everything is a spoiler so get ready to find out just who is who, what is what, and the answer to WHY?



My thoughts: I initially had a tough time getting into this book for one simple fact. There was no one to cheer for. Nope. No one. Maybe the dog. 2/3 of the book I’m thinking how much I really don’t want anyone to get any money and quite frankly I don’t care who dies, is dead, or might plan to be dead. That quandary made it difficult, but something told me to stick and I’m glad that I did. The last 1/3 of the book SHINED and made up for my ambivalence to the characters up to this point. Ms. Jones has weaves a web with this novel and what I like best is that there’s grit – some teeth that sink deeply into the story.

Recommend to readers who like: Mystery and not the cozy type

Not recommended to: Those who need action action action to keep their attention. This one is a thinker.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine and the author for an advanced copy (and for making me exceedingly happy I have a brother).

Twisty and full of total surprises! Told in alternating view points, this is the story of Leslie, Mary and Robin. Leslie is on a search for her estranged sister, Robin, in order to receive the money left to them by their deceased father. When Leslie discovers that Robin has passed away, she is upset and finds her life intersecting with a young waitress named Mary who resembles her sister. Leslie convinces Mary to come with her and pretend to be her sister to help them both get the money that has been left to them. There are many twists in this story and many surprises. I didn't really predict the ending of this story and it really kept my interest until the very end while Jones revealed more interesting details about her main characters. The alternating view points made this story strong and it help add to the complications of the story. Well done and I look forward to reading more by Tanen Jones!

What a ride! This fast-paced book had me guessing, second guessing and third guessing....who was the better liar???? I still don't know- the sisters were both pretty convincing. There were twists and turns at every chapter, something that wasn't revealed earlier, something that happened earlier, something suspicious going on now. The book was full of unreliable, unlikable narrators with secrets.

The author did a great job of showing how a dysfunctional family affects each member differently, and how it interferes with coping skills and future relationships. Her character development was thorough and very different from other characters. I thought the plot to recover the father's estate was ingenious and seemed straightforward. Was I wrong!

The book is filled with red herrings and misdirections, and I never saw the ending coming. In spite of this, I really had to suspend my belief a little at the end to make the plot work.
Thank NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one a lot. Tanen Jones did a great job of setting down the plot and developing the characters. While a bit of a slow start, the pacing was steady throughout. It took me a bit to become invested in the characters and what was happening. Then about halfway through, it became hard to put down, I started to care about Leslie AND Mary. I did feel like I knew much of what was to come, but there were a few surprise twists for me. And even though I guessed a major plot twist, it was still satisfyingly revealed,

The family relationships were very rich and I appreciated the backstory as much as the current story. The characters took on a particular depth that surprised me. I loved them by the end and the writing became more and more lyrical.

Well done debut novel. I would definitely read another by this author.

Leslie goes to find her sister in order to get their Father's inheritance, but instead finds her sister dead. When she meets a waitress that resembles her sister, they make a plan to get the money. There are many twists to this story to keep it interesting. A good read!

I enjoyed portions of this book more than others. I found the Mary character interesting and although I figured out what was going on with her early on, her character was intriguing. The multiple POV between chapters helped the story to unfold so that you had a perspective of what occurred early in Leslie and Robin's lives to create the women they grew up to be. There was a bit of dissonance in Leslie's character, however. It appeared at one moment she was tense, defensive and goal driven, but in the next she was uncertain, fuzzy, and loving. Since the book centered on mental illness (and wasn't so much suspenseful as a psychological study), that may have been the reason the characters felt misaligned. The ending made sense, if you followed the storyline all the way. I also appreciated the author's note on mental illness and postpartum depression and the way she showed the subtlety of both.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RVJA4Y7GN65NI/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was an interesting read and completely different from what I expected. There are three POV's in this book. There is Leslie, the married woman who is trying to get the inheritance her father left her for reasons that are very mysterious. There is Mary, the woman pretending to be Leslie's dead sister, Robin, so that Leslie can get her inheritance. Then there is Robin, Leslie's sister. This book was just crazy. That is the only word I have for it. Leslie and Mary are so completely different. The author reveals just enough of their secrets as the book goes along to keep the reader interested. Both women are so different from each other and both women have their secrets. Robin's chapters helped shed some light on her childhood with Leslie. I have to say that the author did an outstanding job of slowly building the tension and I just could not put this book down. And that ending . . . wow! It was a complete surprise. Awesome read. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast paced thriller and I loved every minute of it! I thought the plot was very interesting and fun. I liked that they kind of delve deep into the two main characters and gave them a back story. I can’t believe this is the author’s debut. I highly recommend this to everyone.

Honestly, I am not quite sure how I first stumbled across this title, but I definitely enjoyed it! It hooks the reader in from the very beginning! I do love a good sister story and though Leslie and Robin are not my favorite type of sisters (identical twins!) their relationship is certainly a complicated one.

The book alternates perspectives and opens up with Leslie tracking down her estranged sister after a decade apart - spurred into contact by their father's will which mandates that they are both present, together in order to get their inheritance. The brief chapters and tantalizing hints about past secrets and current troubles make it easy to keep turning the pages! I can easily see this being a one-sitting read!

The plot makes some unexpected turns, but Jones lays the groundwork so that all of the pieces fit well together. Some parts of the story are easier to see coming than others. Unfortunately, I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but I did find them fascinating. It's a satisfying debut novel. And I imagine that this would make for a good discussion starter of a book. I would be curious to check out more from this author in the future. I really appreciated the way the main plot twist was handled and I liked the fitting end - I really enjoyed this one!