Lies, Lies, Lies is a great domestic thriller! The story is based on family drama that causes unexpected consequences. The book is from the point of views of the husband (Simon) and the wife (Daisy).

I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away.

When Daisy and Simon's daughter Millie is six, Simon discovers that Millie might not be his daughter. Then there is a big event that causes their lives to change even more. Simon is trying to figure out what happened and sort through the lies. Daisy is trying to cover up what actually happened. No marriage is perfect but how many lies can a marriage handle?

I highly recommend Lies, Lies, Lies to anyone that likes thrillers with drama between the characters. This is not a creepy thriller, but I could not put it down. I thought I figured out what was going on, and I was wrong. Lies, Lies, Lies was the perfect mix of character development and suspense.

Thank you NetGalley and MIRA/HARLEQUIN for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a twisty read that has so many twists and turns that you will not be able to put it down. When Daisy and Simon finally have their long-awaited for daughter, it appears as if everything is perfect in their lives. But, that is before a party where things get out of control and puts a test to their marriage. I need to read more by this author, as this was such a great read!

Adele Parks is no amateur and has 20 books available according to her website. I was surprised I had never heard of her, me being an avid mystery and thriller reader. Lies Lies Lies sounded like a great way to start on her novels. Domestic thrillers really interest me and adding a psychological twist always makes them more interesting. I really expected to love this book.

I want to start by saying the story is interesting. I think the plot line could have been great, but the way the story was plotted out made it more frustrating than intriguing. The characters were all well plotted out and developed, even the best friends of the main characters all had their quirks or flaws to their characters that made me think of people in my own life; the friend that is always planning gatherings, the one who tries to be nice to everyone, but you can see her annoyance in her eyes. I loved their quirks.

My biggest issue was the layout of the story. The first half of the book read just like an average life for a family with some pretty deep problems. Interesting enough, but for a novel? Not really. I felt like the story was written up to a point and then the author figured out that the story was lagging and added a huge twist that really didn’t jive with the rest of the story. It didn’t feel as though it was plotted out and instead just wrote and realized it wasn’t as exciting so added some almost unbelievable twists and turns. Every single major point in this book was later on told to be a lie to the reader and not what it seems. Which sounds like it COULD be good… but it came across as trying to hard to make the story more interesting.

I wished some of the bigger twists were written in to a really thought through story with these characters. It would have been far more interesting to me and not felt forced.

I do love the characters and their developments so I will definitely be trying out another Adele Parks book to see if I love one of her other ones. I definitely see why she has done so well as an author. Lies Lies Lies just didn’t speak to me. I always encourage readers to try for themselves though, because you may love it! Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks 4.5 I loved it!!!
It is safe to say don’t judge a book by the reviews! I almost did not read it because sometimes I make a judgement on someone else’s review. Thank goodness we all have different genres to enjoy!!
If you like a twisted thriller, pushing you to finish This book is for you!! It is a lot of lies so the title delivered.
The book unfolds with 2 perspectives from a husband and wife whose once upon a time fairy tale marriage begins to crumble. In the beginning, extra stress was added to their lives with so many failed pregnancy attempts. After having a beautiful daughter, Millie, Simon insist they attempt to have another one. Without encouragement from Daisy, Simon visits the fertility doctor to see if he checks out, the doctor delivers devastating news which unravels a lot of suspicion that succumbs to more drinking.
Simon begins to drink catastrophically causing senseless chaos among friends, co-workers, and his wife and child. When he suspects his wife has had an affair, his drinking is kicked up a notch leaving loose ends everywhere. When talk is cheap and rumors fly, I’m embarrassed for his behavior.
Without giving away highlights of the book, read it yourself because the lies become more frequently and dirty little secrets are revealed leaving someone paying a huge repentance for an irreparable incident.
What happens in the first half, doesn’t shock you like the second half!
Thank you NetGalley for my copy in exchange for a review! Well-written, Adele Parks

Adele Parks author of "Lies Lies Lies" has written a captivating, thrilling, intense and suspenseful story. The Genres for this novel are Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, and Fiction. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The author describes her characters as complicated, complex, and dysfunctional. There are secrets, betrayals, and lies in this novel, that it is hard to believe the truth. There are twists and turns, and ups and downs, and some really chilling moments.

Daisy and Simon seem to have a good marriage, and even have a beautiful young daughter. Everything seems perfect until a tragedy occurs. What starts off as a few omissions of the truth, and denials of inappropriate behavior, tend to build a mountain of deception that is ready to explode.

I appreciate that the author vividly describes the characters and plot, and slowly builds up to an unpredictable climax. I would recommend this psychological thriller for those readers that appreciate a chilling read.

Unlikeable/flawed characters? Lies, Lies, Lies is packed with them!

The first 40% of this book is really slow, not much happening ... I considered a DNF but pushed through - it definitely picks up after that point and throws in a couple curve balls, unexpected twists. Unfortunately it still wasn't enough to blow me away ...

The ending is a little too neat, far fetched and definitely convenient ...

Thank you to NetGalley and Mira books for my review copy!

This was kind of a mess for me. I couldn't even finish it.
I don't think the author is a bad writer, I just think the story wasn't for me.
I didn't much like the characters or what was done with them. Also, it was a bit bland.

I do still appreciate the chance to read and review.

Millie, Simon and their daughter Daisy are the perfect family until life doesn’t seem so perfect anymore. Let’s go back to the beginning of their story.

When Millie and Simon were first married they had a hard time conceiving. When Daisy was born life seemed ideal. Then Simon decided he wanted another baby. Millie wasn’t keen on the idea, but eventually went along to meet the specialist. When Simon hears the fertility test results he starts to spiral downward. His drinking becomes a huge problem in their lives and their marriage. After an accident, Simon ends up incarcerated and life must go on for Millie and Daisy.

The lies start piling up right from the beginning of the story and only get deeper and more intense as the story progresses. With a twist that you couldn’t even guess at, the book ends and leaves you wanting more of Adele Parks brilliant writing.

Thank you so much to the author Adele Parks, Harlequin and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was fabulous! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were moments where I was completely engrossed, moments when I was bored and close to giving up on it, and moments when I was sickened by it. And then the ending – completely implausible.

The story is, indeed, loaded with lies – lies to others and lies to one’s self. With the alternating perspectives, I did like that I was able to see from both Simon’s and Daisy’s points of view as the story unfolded. But the book is dark and graphic – the scenes when Simon is drunk and some domestic abuse scenes. The only character in the entire book that I liked was Leon.

This does turn out to be a story of how far someone will go when the loved ones are threatened.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy to read and review.

Blog Tour
LIES LIES LIES (MIRA Trade Paperback; August 4, 2020; $17.99) centers on the story of Simon and Daisy Barnes. To the outside world, Simon and Daisy look like they have a perfect life. They have jobs they love, an angelic, talented daughter, a tight group of friends... and they have secrets too. Secrets that will find their way to the light, one way or the other.
Daisy and Simon spent almost a decade hoping for the child that fate cruelly seemed to keep from them. It wasn’t until, with their marriage nearly in shambles and Daisy driven to desperation, little Millie was born. Perfect in every way, healing the Barnes family into a happy unit of three. Ever indulgent Simon hopes for one more miracle, one more baby. But his doctor’s visit shatters the illusion of the family he holds so dear.
Now, Simon has turned to the bottle to deal with his revelation and Daisy is trying to keep both of their secrets from spilling outside of their home. But Daisy’s silence and Simon’s habit begin to build until they set off a catastrophic chain of events that will destroy life as they know it.

https://wendyreadsandwrites.blogspot.com/2020/08/blog-tour-lies-lies-lies-novel-by-adele.html

Simon and Daisy are in their mid-40s. They had tried for many years to have a child. Then, Daisy got pregnant and they now have a 6-year-old daughter named Millie. She is the light of their life. But, Simon is not satisfied with just one child and now he wants them to try for another.

Simon enjoys his alcohol. His father let him have a taste of beer here and there as a child and that seems to have started his attraction to it. There are times that he has stayed away from it but now, he seems to be drinking often and a lot. This causes family problems and leads to embarrassment for Daisy. After a party one night where Simon got totally drunk, an accident occurred that has devastated their family.

I enjoyed another of this author’s books but this one left me angry. Simon is an idiot and Daisy is weak. For Daisy to accept what was done to her and let it continue makes me want to kick her in the butt. She comes across as cold and snide expect when it comes to Millie. Some of the scenes in the book are downright disgusting and as a cat lover, I thought the kitten scene was absolutely unnecessary and made me furious. It’s not always necessary to throw everything into a book to make it gritty. This book has a huge amount of grit and it needed a good edit. I do hope that her next book will be better.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

On the surface, Simon and Daisy's marriage looks perfect. He's an architect, she's a teacher, and they are parents to their beloved daughter, Millie, brought into the world after many years of trying to have a child. But looking beyond the perfection, you see the strain. Simon drinks too much, embarrassing Daisy and even Millie, though she may be too young to truly realize it. Their friends typically look the other way, expressing sympathy but not offering much help. Until the night of a friend's party, where things get out of control, and their lives change forever.

"Millie was a miracle. Conceived without any medical intervention. A miracle. She saved us."

This was my first book by Adele Parks, and I found she sucked me into the story from the very beginning. For me, the plot was easily the star here. This was a twisty thriller that kept me guessing, often wondering which path it was going to lead us down next. While I had an inkling about one particular plot point, others took me by complete surprise, which was fun. I always love a mystery that keeps me on my toes and goes down completely unexpected paths.

"People with secrets rarely sleep soundly. Fact."

One strength of the book is the fact that it's told from both Daisy and Simon's perspectives. Neither are particularly sympathetic, but it's easy to get caught up in their worlds. Daisy comes across as a doormat, who cannot stand up to her alcoholic husband. And Simon, of course, a drunk who endangers his family on a regular basis. You want to shake some sense into both of them. But there's certainly a twisted web of lies and secrets behind the foundation of this couple. Nothing is as it seems, and as time goes on, you can start to at least understand some of their motivations.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I welcomed a different plot, which had some surprises in store. The ending was a bit ambiguous, but overall still a solid read. 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 here.

I enjoyed reading the alternating perspectives of Daisy and Simon as they told their version of events of what transpired during their marriage and being the parents to young Millie. It was hard to know who to believe or trust in that our characters were constantly withholding the truth from with one another. I kept shifting who I was supporting and rooting for in that both parties had major flaws. There were several twists along the way including a major one that was almost identical to a storyline from a season of The Affair. If you’ve seen the television show, you know exactly what I’m talking about! The negative effects of alcoholism on a family is explored through Simon’s character, as well as his incarceration experience. The book continues to unravel up until the very end and the epilogue was unlike anything I was expecting. I'm wondering if it is realistic or practical that something like that could even occur, but I think the shock value was precisely what the author was going for. Fans of domestic and psychological thrillers will gobble this book up.

Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Gist

I really like mystery and thriller stories. Give me something that gives me the spooks and I’m all yours.

However, recently I have noticed a change, or rather shift, in genre categorizations.

A few times now I started reading a thriller/mystery novel with the appropriate gusto only to find out that the book should have been labelled a psychological or domestic drama.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if those types of stories aren’t good. It’s just that when I’m anticipating one story but I’m getting another, it’s a little confusing or off-putting.

The Details

Let’s start with the characters, shall we?

We have two protagonists, so to speak. Although, the majority of the narration is done from Daisy’s point of view, with a journal-type feel to it.

We hear her thoughts and get an insight into her emotions and struggles as she navigates through a marriage that clearly wasn’t meant to be and is way beyond fixing.

The second protagonist is her husband, Simon. These sections in the story are narrated from the third-person point of view, yet still give an enormous amount of details and insight into what got his knickers twisted into such a knot.

I’m making a little light of this part of the story, but in reality, the struggles he faces, and the repercussions of his addiction are devastating and no laughing matter.

I will comment on this further a little later.

I thought both main characters had the same fundamental issue, story-telling wise, in that both were unable to communicate even in the slightest.

I understand from the comments Daisy made about Simon’s behaviour that his struggles have been ongoing for years and that they had rough patches in their marriage before.

Ok. I get that. But why do they all of a sudden stop talking to each other when the story begins?

It gets tiring to read about each character’s struggles and suspicions of the other person without the slightest possibility of them ever communicating them.

To make matters worse, about halfway through the book, Daisy decides to communicate even less with her friends.

The reader is witness to scenes between Daisy and one friend or another and most of those scenes the reader gets to read about Daisy’s internalized dialogue and comments.

It got boring.

Furthermore, there was no real progression in the story. There was a lot of repetition and rehashing of what we had already read about and chewed through on more than one occasion.

On the other hand, this story contains a handful of trigger points that would have been great building blocks for further commentary and exploration.

Some of these trigger points came a little to close to home and left me feeling blue and depressed.

If the story was meant to do that, then it certainly accomplished it very well. I had only hoped for a little more substance to them.

With the next two comments I will probably sound like I’m contradicting what I just said, but bear with me.

I appreciated the raw and unabashed truth the author gave to Simon’s alcohol problem. The few scenes that showed him at his worst did not hold back. I think that level of honesty is necessary when tackling such an intense subject matter.

I also appreciated reading about a mother’s struggles with having and raising a child.

I don’t have any kids of my own and for years we have been dished this idealistic portrait of the mother raising her children, looking flawless and enjoying every spit-up and playdate.

This portrayal of the perfect mother so prevalent up until very recently has caused a lot of insecurities in women and mothers. It is refreshing to finally see the reality behind this absurd idea of perfection.

I found the writing in general very engaging. I had the feeling the protagonists, especially Daisy, were only addressing me. It was a one-on-one conversation.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the slow plot development and repetitiveness.

The Verdict

Overall, I had high hopes for <i>Lies Lies Lies</i> and the first 25% were promising enough to hold my attention and fuel my motivation. Alas, it couldn’t sustain it and I felt let down.

I still find that it was raw and gritty, yet it could have been so much more. I’m giving it extra points for addressing difficult topics.

I would suggest it to anyone looking for a domestic drama.

Daisy and Simon’s marriage looks perfect from the outside, but just under the surface lurks a hidden darkness - can they keep a handle on it before it all goes wrong?

Lies Lies Lies is a rollercoaster of a book. At first I was a little put off by the constant stream of consciousness narrative but it soon got me hooked and I couldn’t put the book down. We have alternating chapters between parents Daisy and Simon which give us an interesting insight into their personalities. The first half catches you slightly off-guard as this seemingly normal tale starts to spiral out of control and Simon’s alcoholism begins to affect their marriage and their friendships. It’s a bit like reading a slow-motion car crash at times until the sudden crescendo comes to a height at around the 60% mark. Here the pace slows down but still manages to keep you gripped.

The characters certainly hold some cards close to their chest, and there are some really nice twists that I did not see coming revealed later on in the plot. The only bit about the book I didn’t think worked well was the extra small twist right at the very end (no spoilers!) which I thought muddied the waters a little too much and confused a lot of what went before it. I did feel like a lot of the plot could have been fixed if the characters had just talked to each other which felt frustrating at times but I do know that this is also realistic in some relationships as well!

Overall, Lies Lies Lies is a rollercoaster read and I recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin – Mira for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just did not care for this book at all. I thought it was predictable and I didn’t really care about the characters.
Daisy was just too malleable, she didn’t stand up for herself. It’s a domestic type thriller and I’m sure some fans will like it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

Lies, Lies, Lies is the perfect title for this book. This marriage is Filled with a tangled web of lies. A family’s secrets are untangled and thrilling to watch unravel. Adele Parks keeps the reader engaged throughout this story.

Much like the last book I read from this author you have to go into this with the right expectations in order to enjoy it, in my opinion. While it starts out in a fairly average way, after you get to about the halfway point things take a sharp turn and you definitely need to be able to suspend some disbelief in order to not drive yourself crazy trying to decide if things are actually possible or not. What begins as a look inside Daisy and Simon’s troubled marriage soon takes a really dark turn and things get intense and super dramatic.

Per the title the lies pile up throughout the book and as it flips back and forth between Daisy and Simon it was hard to tell who was lying, maybe both of them? Tons of unreliability and while I did see a few of the many twists coming, there were so dang many that I didn’t because they were WILD. Wild can be fun though and I mostly had a fun experience with this one, but seriously, one of the reveals was so bizarre I had to laugh. If you’ve read this DM me so I can see if you had the same reaction to it as I did please! I’ll definitely read more from the author, she writes pretty entertaining and original, of over the top books.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin and Adele Parks for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - 4 stars for a twisty look into a troubled couple's life.

Daisy and Simon are parents to young Millie, their child born after a struggle with infertility. From the outside, they look like the perfect family. Daisy is a school teacher and Simon an interior designer, while Millie has sparkle and the potential to be a dancer. But behind that facade, Simon has a drinking problem, one that is getting out of control and culminates with a terrible accident that changes all for this family.

Enough said about the plot line, this has plenty of twists to keep you glued to the pages. With the alternating views of Simon and Daisy, we see how their relationship starts and progresses as well as lots of hints about all the secrets and lies between them. Friends both old and new play a big part in this book as well, adding layers to the story.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
I must start by saying that I don't usually mention potential triggers, as maybe I think they are of such a nature that it doesn't feel necessary, or they are mentioned enough in the blurb. But this book really does deal with some difficult issues, and there is little/no sugarcoating or off-screen moment. It is a cruel, harsh read, and it is difficult to find any positive points to a number of the significant characters.

Actually, more than anything, I found this a terribly sad and bleak book – and maybe because 2020 has been a bit of a year, I wasn't able to dissociate as well as I normally would, but I do read for pleasure, education, and entertainment, and I found it difficult to apply those here. It is well written, and sadly, I recognised the people in it as being drawn from the world in which we live. I was not convinced by all the twists, but did enjoy Lucy stepping up to be the reliable one.