I completely have mixed feelings about this one. Some of Gilly Macmillan’s books I have loved and others were just so-so. Because of the ending, this falls somewhere in between. I’m torn because this was a definite page turner right up to the ending for me. I found the plot to be fresh, interesting and intriguing. However I felt that the end was a cop out and a letdown. The reason that I relish psychological thrillers is because there is some unknown in the plot that I must keep reading to see it resolved. When the book has no or very little resolution, I find it to be a huge disappointment. I feel like the author could’ve done better.

Many thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Gilly Macmillan for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

To Tell You the Truth reads at a breakneck pace, following a unique unreliable narrator in Lucy - a successful crime author whose younger brother disappeared when she was a child. As an adult, Lucy still has her imaginary friend, Eliza, only now Eliza is also the reason for her success as the title character in her books. When Lucy writes Eliza out of her latest book things start unraveling quickly in her personal life. Is it Lucy? Is it Eliza? Why did her husband Dan move them out to where her brother disappeared? What is he hiding from her, and why is he so upset when she writes a story without Eliza? The questions surrounding Eliza's relationship with her husband and all the secrets their new neighbors seem to have pile up quickly. Even without suspicion being cast her way, Lucy feels a bit like a doormat, unwilling to stick up for herself and what she wants, especially when it comes to her husband. But overall this was a compelling read.

This enjoyable thriller is all about secrets and lies. Lucy lies about what happened the night her brother disappeared. Lucy keeps secrets about the main character of the books she has authored. The people around her, her husband, her neighbors, her online fans, are all keeping secrets. Not knowing who to trust, Lucy needs to unravel her husband’s disappearance while navigating her own fragile world of secrets.

Unreliable narrators, eerie suspense, clever writing - this book captured me right away! I'm not usually a fan of thrillers; I tend to stay fearful long after.I finish them. But after the last chapter of this book, I'll be able to sleep peacefully tonight because it's tense without being horrifying, supernatural without being unrealistic. The story has excellent pacing, and the narrator never quite seems in control, which just adds to the tension. If you want a light suspense story that carries you into the woods with it, definitely don't miss this one!

Lucy is a successful writer of a detective series. Her husband, a less successful writer, is her biggest support but harbors jealousy towards her and her success. When he goes missing, the police begin to suspect her of foul play.

Lucy is a very unreliable narrator. In fact, I am not sure she isn’t crazy considering she talks to her childhood imaginary friend - as an adult. This book did have me guessing until the end. This isn’t my favorite by the author but I did enjoy it.

Preorder your copy now, publish date is set for 9/22/2020. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This was such a great suspense work - is our main character being gaslighted, or are we, the readers being gaslighted? Delve in deep and find out. I read this one in 36 hours - literally could not put it down. This was my first Gilly Macmillan piece, and I'm looking forward to more in the future from her!

Gilly Macmillan has secured herself as a must-read with her previous books and this book does not disappoint. Definitely read this book with the lights on! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers or quick-reads because this book is fast-paced!

To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan, is a psychological thriller. This was a fast read with lots of surprises and twists. I really enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing till the end. To me the ending was a disappointment but others may be fine with it , regardless I would still recommend reading this book. Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and Book Club Girl for the ARC.

To Tell You the Truth was a suspenseful, psychological thriller that had me second-guessing everything until the very end. The back and forth between the present, when Lucy's husband has gone missing, and the past, when Lucy was a nine-year-old and her younger brother went missing, left many cliff-hangers that had me quickening my reading pace to see what lay ahead. Lucy was endearingly flawed and realistic, with her too-real imaginary friend and misplaced trust in those around her. As someone who struggles with mental health, I could relate to her questioning her own sanity and thoughts. I found myself rooting for her even though I had my doubts about her honesty and innocence in the events that seem to keep occurring around her. Lucy is a best-selling author of a crime fiction series and this book gives us a glimpse into what the lifestyle of a best=selling author is really like, and it is not as glamorous or relaxing as I once thought. After reading To Tell You the Truth and seeing how Lucy pours herself into her novels until there is barely anything left for herself, I am forever grateful to the authors I love. This was my first Gilly MacMillan read and she has certainly been added to my list of writers to watch.

This was definitely a fast read, but I was a bit disappointed in the ending. The characters were unsympathetic and somewhat flat.

A thriller where you’re not sure what is true, or who is telling the truth. This book kept my interest and kept me guessing. I definitely recommend it!

Lucy began telling stories over three decades ago when she was the only witness to the disappearance of her little brother Teddy. Lucy’s fantasy after fantasy, and has a fantasy friend, about Teddy’s disappearance frustrates and anger her parents and police.

Grown-up Lucy is married to Dan, an aspiring writer, and is a best selling author of detective Eliza books. Dan has surprised Lucy with buying house near where Teddy disappeared. Then Dan turns up dead. As the world watches Lucy wonders could she have hurt Teddy; who killed Dan; and can Lucy even face or know the truth?

One of my favorite novels by Gilly Macmillan; I read this one in one day.

Before Lucy became a best selling crime fiction writer, her childhood involved the disappearance of her four year old brother under suspicious circumstances. Lucy's main character in her books, Eliza, is a lot more than just a fictional character - Lucy has spoken with her since she was a child. There are lots of secrets, lies and half-truths in this story, with great characters and settings. The ending was a satisfying, not obvious end to a great mystery/thriller novel. Highly recommended if you enjoy psychological thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! #netgalley

I found it very hard to get into this book, mostly because I could not relate to any of the characters. While the basic premise of the novel is enjoyable and I liked the plot twists, I was annoyed by the main characters. Lucy is very childlike and feeble, like her development was stunted after the disappearance of her brother. As others have mentioned, I found it very odd that an adult woman would have an imaginary friend who controls many of her actions. Her behavior is so bizarre (responding to internal stimuli, auditory and visual hallucinations) that the only logical explanation is that she has a serious mental illness like schizophrenia. However, I don't know how she made it this far in life, as a wildly successful author, without anyone picking up on these concerning symptoms. While Lucy is somewhat bothersome, her husband Dan is despicable. He is self absorbed, controlling, selfish, and insecure about his own failings as an author. I wish that there would have been more dimensions to his character instead of just completely loathsome. I also didn't feel like the end of this book gave any real closure. I appreciate NetGalley giving me the opportunity to review this book.

4.5 stars. Macmillan's best one yet!

"To tell you the truth . . . everybody lies.

Lucy Harper’s talent for writing bestselling novels has given her fame, fortune and millions of fans. It’s also given her Dan, her needy, jealous husband whose own writing career has gone precisely nowhere.

Now Dan has vanished. But this isn’t the first time that someone has disappeared from Lucy’s life. Three decades ago, her little brother Teddy also went missing and was never found. Lucy, the only witness, helplessly spun fantasy after fantasy about Teddy’s disappearance, to the detectives’ fury and her parents’ despair. That was the start of her ability to tell a story—a talent she has profited from greatly.

But now Lucy’s a grown woman who can’t hide behind fiction any longer. The world is watching, and her whole life is under intense scrutiny. A life full of stories, some more believable than others. Could she have hurt Teddy? Did she kill Dan? Finally, now, Lucy Harper’s going to tell the truth."

Where to begin? This book is SO good! The first 60% or so alternates between present day Lucy and what appears to be a novel or diary about her brother's disappearance. Good twist with that plot device that I am not going to ruin. Lucy is also able to talk to the main character of her novels - Eliza Gray. Eliza has been her imaginary friend since childhood. Is she really a friend?

The pacing of the book is excellent. I flew threw it in about a 24 hour period because I just wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. The characters are all quite interesting. Is Lucy going crazy? Is she being gaslighted? Can she trust anyone, including Eliza? The ending was perfect, even though not everything is resolved.

Lucy Harper, famous crime novelist, has a past that haunts her: her little brother Teddy disappeared when she was nine. As the last person to see him alive, she faced questions from both police and parents, and she spun tales about what might have happened, hoping to eventually be left alone. But she carried the guilt ever since.

Now it's her husband who has disappeared. And as the police close in on her once again, she can no longer hide behind her stories. She has to finally tell the truth: did she hurt Teddy? And could she have killed Dan?

I've got mixed feeling about this one. I thought the plot was intriguing and the prose good, but I hated the characters. Had I not felt obligated by a review, I would not have finished this. Dan is as detestable as they come and I didn't feel bad at all about his demise. I felt Lucy's character was annoying--in particular her spinelessness with regards to her husband and her imaginary friend as an almost 40 year old.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this copy for review.

I started this book hating it but as it progressed enjoyed it more and wanted to find out what happened. Lucy Harper has written bestsellers, making a lot of money. Her husband, Dan, wanted to be an author but has ended up managing Lucy's finances, the housekeeping and anything else, freeing up Lucy to concentrate on writing. Dan ends up disappearing. Lucy's brother also disappeared but many years ago and was never found. The book focuses on Lucy trying to figure out what has happened to Dan and what ties he may have had to her past.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ending to this story....completely unexpected! I just KNEW I had it all figured out. I was SOOO wrong. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

A speedy fast read! I'm a big Gilly MacMillan fan, so I was excited to get my hands on this one. I enjoy a book where you question the reliability of the narrator but find yourself rooting for them anyway, which I found myself doing with Lucy. I enjoyed most of the story and found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed by the ending and felt it came out of left field, but it wasn't the ending you might predict. Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins, and Book Club Girl for the advance digital copy!

To Tell You the Truth is a taut psychological thriller with the epitome of the unreliable narrator, which will keep you in suspense, wondering who can be trusted, including the narrator herself.

Lucy, currently a crime fiction writer, was involved in a mystery of her own when she was 9 years old and her 3-year-old brother went missing. She took her brother into the woods near their home late at night to witness a pagan spring equinox festival. She stowed him in a bunker she had discovered, but when she went to retrieve him, he was no longer there. The case reached national prominence and as a result, in adulthood Lucy changed her name to escape the past. The details of this event are told in a series of flashbacks interspersed with the current narrative.

In the present, Lucy lives with Dan, her overbearing husband who has taken control of her life and her finances while she sequesters herself to write her crime fiction thriller series. The series involves a main character named Eliza, which is based on what appears to be a hallucination that began as an “invisible friend” from her childhood, who has over the years morphed into a person that Lucy sees, hears and obeys. Without her knowledge, Lucy’s husband uses her money to buy an expensive mansion near the woods where her brother disappeared, which also happens to be located on the same lane as a woman with whom Lucy suspects Dan is having an affair. Lucy comes to believe that Dan is “gas lighting” her, first by making her think her memory is faulty and then for buying the house near the scene of her greatest trauma. In addition, he criticizes the quality of her writing, the success of which has made them both rich. When her husband disappears, Lucy wonders if “Eliza” had something to do with it.

This thriller will draw you in with the tension filled events surrounding Dan and her brother’s disappearances as well as richly drawn characterizations of herself and her neighbors, all of whom seem to be suspects. Add to this the creepiness of sharing Lucy’s delusion-filled thoughts, and you have a tantalizing read.