I love all of Gudenkauf’s novels and this one did not disappoint! Using multiple timelines and POVs really helped the story line and characters develop. This had me guessing until the end!

Park Row and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of This Is How I Lied. I voluntarily chose to review this novel and my opinion is freely given.

After 25 years, the death of her best friend Eve Knox still haunts Maggie. Now a detective in the same small community, Maggie gets the opportunity to revisit the suspicious death of her friend. Will new evidence help to reveal the truth?

With her personal ties to the case, Maggie should have never been able to investigate her friend's death. The conflict of interest alone would have any meaningful answers produced by the investigation thrown out in a court situation. The author tries to drum up intrigue by giving multiple suspects and a series of side plots to throw off the trail to the killer. I just did not see the point to the extensive back story for Eve, except as a red herring. None of the living characters in the book are likable and the plot itself is thin and transparent.

Overall, This Is How I Lied is a missed opportunity by the author to tell the story of a cold case and the eventual reveal of small town secrets.

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf is a dark tale of friendships, murder, and family. In 1995, 15 year old Eve goes missing in the small town of Grotto. Her best friend, Maggie, and younger sister, Nola, find her murdered in the caves in the woods that the teens hang out in. Maggie's dad is the police chief and he is never able to solve the murder. This changes their lives forever. Resentments grow between the two families. Years later, Maggie is a detective in Grotto, married and expecting her first child. Nola, always weird and somewhat sinister as a child, is now a veterinarian. When a local group of teens are messing around in the caves, they find Eve's boot. This reopens the murder investigation which has grown colder than ice. Maggie is put in charge of the case and this reopens old wounds and suspicions. Nola and Maggie are at odds over the past and what happened. I loved the feeling of dread that came with each chapter. The story alternates between the last few days of Eve's life and present day as Maggie slowly unravels the truth. Don't miss this book. Gudenkauf is a master at small town secrets and murder! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is How I Lied is Heather Gudenkauf's best, but I I throughly enjoyed it! She has a knack for developing fascinating, faceted characters, and I love that, as a lot of suspense/thriller books use the stock characters, good vs. bad, and I adore nuanced characters and (and in!) complex situations. While I wouldn't use this as a starter to introduce her work, it would be excellent for a fan or a thriller reader looking for something different.

This is How I Lied
Mystery/Thriller
Heather Gudenkauf, author

A gripping novel that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end.....

Sisters Eve and Nola Knox, along with Eve's best friend, Maggie Kennedy, as well as two older boys, Nick Brady and Shaun O'Keefe all attended Grotto High School in Grotto, Iowa in 1995. Suddenly, three days before Christmas, Eve is found brutally murdered..... The case was never solved, leaving the murderer to live out their life and a small town torn apart.....

Now, twenty-five years later and a new Police Chief, the case is reopened, as a new piece of evidence has been found..... Maggie is married to Shaun O'Keefe and is a Detective on the Police Force while Shaun runs his family's business. Maggie is assigned the case to solve. Nola is now a doctor of Veterinarian medicine and Nick runs his mother's gift shop, Grotto Gifts.

Ms. Gudenkauf definitely is a master of story telling, in a very dynamic, terrifying and mesmerizing mannerism. A story of love, loss and retribution, her characters come alive, as if they were right in front of you, playing out the scene. I will, without a doubt, be reading more from this author. I was given an advanced reader copy, of this novel, from Netgalley and the publisher. I leave this review voluntarily.

Meh...💁🏻♀️

At seven months pregnant, Maggie knows she can’t continue her role as an active police detective. She’s been assigned desk duty digging into a cold-case from over twenty years ago. The murder of her friend Eve, to be precise! In fact, Maggie was the one that found Eve’s body all those years ago.

Is Maggie capable of maintaining her objectivity? Or is she way too close to this crime to help bring it to a close.

I’ve enjoyed Heather Gundenkauf’s books in the past, but this one failed to grip me. I went along for the ride but never felt vested in the story-line or characters.

Lots of mixed reviews for this book, so fingers crossed you will love it when you dive in!

A buddy read with Susanne

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin-Park Row for an ARC to read and review

“Two can keep a secret if one of them
Is dead...”.

QOTD: Did you watch Pretty Little Liars?
That’s my current quarantine binge!

Ugly truths, secrets, lies and deceit - all play apart in this suspense thriller.

I have five words for Gudenkauf’s This Is How I Lied:  Intense ⋅  Shocking ⋅  Maddening ⋅ Creepy ⋅ Disturbing.  

Told in multiple POV including the victim- Eve. The timeline jumps to the days leading up to the murder and twenty years later with the small town dealing with an unsolved murder.

I wouldn’t want to spoil the whodunnit for you by even hinting at the “who.” Just let me say all the characters are on a sliding scale of crazy.   The character development is well written and explores toxic relationships in a small town.  All the characters portray themselves in a not so innocent light.

I did enjoy this and I wanted to find out who killed Eve, but on the way there, too many events seemed forced, hence the three-star rating.

The book starts with Eve being killed by someone who is clearly angry. Who is it?

Fast forward 25 years and a piece of evidence is found, reopening the case. For some reason, Maggie, Eve's best friend, is the lead on this case and none of the other detectives appear to be helping her even though they are in a tiny, small town in Iowa and there clearly isn't a lot of other crime going on. Maggie had been with Eve on the day she died and as the story goes along, we find out more about that day, as told through Eve's perspective.

Maggie has to deal with Nola, Eve's younger sister, who is made out to be a psychopath from the first time we are introduced to her. Unfortunately there are so many loose ends with Nola, Charlotte (their mother) and others that the end of the book felt kind of like a letdown. Sure, the murder mystery was solved, but there was just too many other loose ends and unlikely events (a 8-month pregnant Maggie should not have been doing all of the things she did, alone... and how many times does she have to leave her gun in the car for the reader to not believe she's an idiot?)

I didn't really like Maggie, but I felt like as a reader, I was supposed to. The story moved quickly and I wanted to get to the end, but I feel a bit let down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Trade Publishing/Park Row for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

25 years ago Maggie found her best friend's dead body....the case was never solved
Maggie is now a police officer, a very pregnant police officer and with new evidence she must track down once and for all the person who murdered her best friend Eve.
Compelling, deeply disturbing.
Trigger warning for sexual assault, mentions of pedophilia and partner abuse.

This book has one of the creepiest characters I have come across in a very long time.
Nola, Eve's sister, is bone chilling and quite scary. I had to stop myself from reading her parts more and more.
Took me longer to read this book because of it.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes dark, twisty, murder mysteries as there were many twists and turns along the way.
There were many instances where I thought I knew what the answer was but Eve's killer turns out to be someone I had not thought of initiall.y Really well done. I will be checking out Heather Gudenkauf's other books.

Heather Gudenkauf is one of those authors whose books generally fall into my “one-night-stand” pile…often with the woman-in-danger component. I have enjoyed some of her earlier books (Before She Was Found, The Weight of Silence) so I was pleased to receive a copy of This Is How I Lied from Harlequin/Park Row and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the small town of Grotto, Iowa, pregnant police detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe is a pregnant police detective who has been haunted for twenty-five years by her discovery of the body of her sixteen-year-old best friend Eve Knox. The case went cold due to a lack of evidence, although there were several suspects. When new evidence is discovered, the cold case is re-opened, and Maggie is on the job, determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Eve.

This book was definitely a one-night stand for me. It is fast paced and I happen to appreciate stories told with alternating points of view or time periods, if they are done well, and the time shifts in this one add to the story. I wasn’t wild about any of the characters, but I’m still a fan of HG. Four stars.

2.5 Stars

Shudder!

When Maggie was a teenager her best friend Eve was murdered.

Twenty-five years later, a new piece of evidence is found. Maggie is now a Detective in the small town of Grotto, Iowa and she is assigned to the cold case.

Every potential suspect is analyzed with fresh eyes: Could it have been Eve’s boyfriend, the Town Creeper, Her Sister?

Two years younger than her sister Eve, Nola has always been the town pariah. Now a Veterinarian, people still shun her. Of course, Nola’s vile habits might have something to do with it. Gag!

Admittedly, I found Nola’s character to be wholly unlikable and was grossed out beyond words. I therefore found myself skimming her chapters. Sorry Nola!

On the whole, this mystery suspense is simply lacking. I wanted for more and had high hopes considering that I have read and liked every Heather Gudenkauf novel to date and felt that this one just did not hold a candle to her prior novels.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin - Park Row and Heather Gudenkauf for the arc.

Published on Goodreads on 6.12.20.

3.5 rounded up!

Content Warnings: I didn't make a full-on list, so a lot has been forgotten -- I recommend reading other reviews for possible trigger warnings. However, some of the big ones that I remember are abusive relationships, animal death & torture, and statutory rape.

Thank you to Park Row for providing me with an e-ARC of This is How I Lied in exchange for an honest review!

I'm kicking myself right now because I took 0 notes on this read, so I can't get too deep for you. This is How I lied is a fine read, there are a lot of twists & turns, and at times, it's very uncomfortable. If you're into books that make your skin crawl, I think you would enjoy this one.

This is How I Lied takes you into two different minds: Maggie, the best friend of the victim, and Nola, the victim's sister. & I can promise you that Nola's head is 100% a place that you don't want to be. However, as uncomfortable as it made me feel, Nola's portions of the novel were my favorite parts to read.

I do feel like the.. I guess.. main twist is obvious, however even though I knew, I did find myself still questioning everything. Literally, everyone kinda sucked -- meaning, they're all suspicious little shits. If thrillers are your thing, I definitely recommend checking this one out.

3.5 stars

I was really struggling with how to rate this book. Although it was a fast paced read and had some decent twists, I lacked a connection to the characters.

This is the story about Eve, who died 25 years ago, her murder still unsolved. Her childhood best friend is now a cop, leading up the reinvestigation of the crime. There are a lot of shady characters who are possible/probable suspects, all unlikable.

The story alternates between the past and present, a big plus for me. The book leads up to a very intense stressful situation that had me on the edge of my seat. Overall it was a good book, but I didn't love it.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Twenty-five years after the death of her best friend Eve, heavily pregnant police detective Maggie investigates Eve's death after a new piece of evidence is found.

This is such an interesting mystery. In the past, we spend time with Eve in the time leading up to her murder. Every new scene from Eve's point of view gives us more information and more suspects. Sometimes I thought too many suspects. With the investigation in the present, it becomes clear that the people of this small town are no angels and even good people do bad things. Nola, Eve's little sister, in particular is a strange one. I never trusted her motives or knew what to make of her.

This book had a bit of a different vibe for me because I never really felt like I could trust anyone, even Maggie. But different here is good. The tension builds really well throughout and there were some scenes when I actually put the book down to take a breath because I was nervous to keep reading. There is some good action among the tension too as Maggie gets herself into several dangerous situations.

As the story moved towards the climax, I had my suspicions about who the killer was and I was actually right, but I think by that point it was more obvious. Now the story is over, I want to talk to others and I'll definitely be checking out other reviews to see other people's thoughts. This would make a great read for book club.

This is How I Lied is a really good mystery, totally engaging, and overall, a great story.

My thoughts

Would I recommend it? Yes, in fact I did this as a buddy read with some of the my friends when I told them I was reading it.

Would I read more by this author? Yes in fact I have have one other of her books of her's to read and that is Before She Was Found.

WOW what a great start to a new to me author, I should have already read her because as I said before I still have her other book Before She Was Found to read, but after reading this one I can't wait to pick that one up and read it. This one had me from the start and it wouldn't let go, it seemed right from the start that everyone had a secret and that it was darker then the last one that was found out, so you couldn't tell who was telling the telling the truth or who to trust, and every time I thought I knew who the murder was something would come alone and there went that idea out the door. Another thing I liked was how it made you see the darkness in some of the characters which in turn made them creepy, with that said I wan to thank NetGalley for letting me read and review it .

I feel like a lot of books lately have “lie” or “lied” in the title which makes the book less enticing to me. However, I enjoyed Gudenkauf’s other novels and decided to check this one out. Even if the title does not stand out on then bookshelf, the novel is an amazing read. I read this book in less than 24 hours! Maggie is a police officer in an small town in Iowa. When she was 15, her best friend Eve was found murdered in a local cave the girls used to explore together. New evidence is found, and the case is reopened with Maggie as the lead detective. The novel jumps between then and now as the reader learns about what Eve’s abusive boyfriend, her mentally unstable younger sister Nola, and the girls’ relationship. I really enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down. I flew through the pages. It was very well written and engaging.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I found this to be a pretty basic thriller, not many surprises or unexpected twists. I kept hoping for more depth, but didn't get it. This would probably make a decent movie though.

Fast read, a bit disturbing...a great summer beach read. Lots of red herrings. Device of using different voices works. Some of the story was just not believable but hey it’s a beach read. If you’re into creepy sisters, small town politics, this is for you.

Another good mystery/thriller by Heather Gudenkauf! I really enjoy her books. ,,

Heather Gudenkauf is an author on the short list of authors that I don’t even hesitate for a second to get their latest book. She never disappoints.

The book begins in 1999 with the murder of Eve Knox.

Then we jump forward to 2020 when new evidence is found in the cave where Eve died. Her best friend, Maggie, now a police officer, is assigned to the investigation when they reopen it.

From there the novel switches back and forth between the events leading up to the murder and what to what Maggie is doing currently to solve the murder.

You’re lead down several paths, with several suspects. From Eve’s extremely creepy sister Nola, to Maggie herself, to Eve’s abusive boyfriend Nick.

I found myself staying up late trying to read just one more chapter to see who did it and isn’t that what we ask of a good murder mystery.

I received an ARC of the book.