Three Perfect Liars by Heidi Perks is a taut psychological thriller and from the very outset the tension is palpable. The action here is not overt, but rather a latent hostility that quietly simmers, while the reader struggles to ascertain what could possibly be afoot. We know only that a steaming pot left unchecked will eventually boil over.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Laura, Mia, and Janie, and interspersed with the transcripts of formal questioning as it is carried out by police, we join the narrative knowing that a fire has ravaged the offices of an advertising company. Laura has just returned to the company following a maternity leave, only to find that Mia, the woman who was standing in as her temporary coverage, is refusing to leave. CEO Harry seems to be in full agreement to this, for whatever reason, and his wife Janie is clearly harbouring some very dark secrets of her own. Three women, three very different agendas, and a fire at the office of the very company that ties them all together.

This is a novel that had me tied up in knots, and desperate to reach a conclusion that, however it played out, would have left me gobsmacked.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.