I read this book cover to cover in one day;!7 could not put it down. The story sucked me right in from the beginning: a mother and daughter fleeing the US to London to start a new life for themselves. The characters were well defined.
I loved the idea of the school moms ganging up on the newcomers; it sounded so realistic. I haven’t attended a private school myself, though I’ve heard how competitive and hard it can be for the students. And I can only imagine the parents wanting their child to be at the top.
There was so much to love about this story; I’m so glad I read it and look forward to read more by the author!

I was really looking forward to this one, but am stopping at 14%.

I was repeatedly confused and disoriented by the complete lack of character.. dimensionality? A character is introduced with almost no context, no physical description, no history; it felt like being dropped in the middle of a scene (not in a good way, where things are eventually clarified) and I had no opportunity to develop a sense for the character, let alone determine whether I cared about them as as character, or whether it mattered if I did. The first time this happened I was certain I’d made a mistake - missed or skipped something. But then it happened over and over again. I’m not sure that I’ve ever, in any review, used the phrase about a character, “one dimensional” but this book seemed the epitome of that concept to me. I couldn’t imagine the locations or images of the characters, I often couldn’t determine their purposes, and many came off as a sketch of one simplistic emotion (typically anger), overblown and comical. I was annoyed by actions that didn’t make any sense to me; in the beginning the protagonist (whose name didn’t show up until about the third chapter? - this is only one reason why she felt completely flat and unsympathetic in any way to me, just like the rest of the characters) decides to start clearing out her mother’s home, where she hasn’t been in 15 years and the woman seems to have been a hoarder. She throws some things in a few bin liners and.... dusted her hands off and got dressed to go and try and find a job, proclaiming things to “at least be clean” now. It was... insane! There’s no way in hell a hoarder’s filthy house - yes, it was conveyed as pretty much the whole house, not just one room - could be tidied up so quickly (although it was, like everything else, vague, the time conveyed seemed like a couple hours or so?).

I just....ugh. This book made me mad. Mad and frustrated and disappointed. I’m not giving a rating or review online because it seems unfair to rant when I DNF’d at 14%. But starting to wish I hadn’t bought the author’s previous book, Blood Orange, which I haven’t yet read...

I have two favorite genres—domestic thrillers and “mean moms” women’s fiction. Luckily for me, U.K. author Harriet Tyce has married the two in her sophomore release, The Lies You Told. And I’m happy to report that the genres go together as well as the much-lauded chocolate and peanut butter combination.

To read the rest of the review, click on the link below:

The Lies You Told is Harriet Tyce’s second domestic psychological thriller.

Frightened by the recent uncharacteristic behaviour of her husband, Sadie Roper does the one thing she swore she never would and returns to London to take up residence in her late mother’s home. The terms of her mother’s will insists that for Sadie to take occupancy, her daughter, eleven year old Robin, must attend the same elite girl’s school, Ascham, that Sadie did. Sadie has very few good memories of her alma mater, and the events of the first few weeks do nothing to change her mind. The mothers are judgemental and hyper-competitive, and Robin is ostracised and miserable, but until Sadie can relaunch her career as a criminal barrister, mother and daughter have no other options. Just as Sadie can bear no more, the worst school-gate offender, Julia, unexpectedly apologises, and suddenly Sadie, and Robin, find themselves in the inner circle. It’s a relief for Sadie when both Julia, and Nicola, extend their friendship and offer to look after Robin while she is working, but are these really women she can trust?

The main plot of The Lies You Told is focused on the relationship Sadie develops with two Ascham mothers, Julia and Nicola, which begins, and ends, in extremis. There are several dramatic events that play out between the women, and their daughters, and though I felt the motivations were greatly exaggerated, there is a kernel of plausibility at the heart of the tale. Exclusionary ‘school-gate’ mothers are all too real, particularly in a privileged setting, and there are plenty of mothers willing to do almost anything to ensure the success of their children, though thankfully few who are willing to go as far as Julia and Nicola.

The secondary plot is a loose variation on the theme, with Sadie hired on as an assistant to defend a young, white teacher from a ‘good’, wealthy family who is accused of seducing his teenage student. His overbearing mother insists on micromanaging the case and is venomous towards anyone who suggests her son is anything but perfectly blameless. Rather improbably the accused’s father was responsible for a sexual assault against Sadie when she was a law student, adding another layer to the plot, and this, is in addition to the mystery surrounding Sadie’s relationship with her mother, and her husband, feel forced.

Despite all this, the pace of the first two thirds of the book was fairly slow, though to her credit, Tyce does establish, and grow, a tense, foreboding atmosphere, and I was furiously flipping the pages during the final third of the novel, caught up in Sadie’s frenzied behaviour.

Unfortunately though I never really warmed to Sadie. Though she’s obviously under quite a lot of stress from the opening pages of the novel, she makes some unforced gaffes that make her seem like a flake. All I could think, as Julia screamed at her without cause, was that Sadie’s unwillingness to defend herself didn’t bode well for her skills as a barrister. Sadie then goes on to get over involved in the court case she in a part of, and seems to forget her role as a member of the defence. She also makes some decisions with regards to her daughter that didn’t sit well with me, and can’t wholly be blamed on her distress at the time.

While The Lies You Told has some strong and thrilling elements, I have mixed feelings about the story as a whole. Another reader may feel differently.

This book has two plots and a lot of characters that leave you wondering who did what. I loved the slow burn of the character development and trying to figure out all the different roles characters played in the novel. The Lies You Told is a solid psychological thriller that leaves you guessing until the very end. This is my first book by Harriet Tyce and I would absolutely read another!

The author wrote a compelling thriller that has a touch of humor in it! The suspense built at a great pace and the ending was the perfect way to tie the story up! I am definitely going to read more by this author.

Your back in your estranged at best, verbally abusive at worst, late mothers home with your 10 year old daughter and your separated from your husband who's a whole sea away. Could this get any worse?

For Sadie and her daughter Robin, yes, it definitely could. Sadie's former all-girls private school seems to be just as bad as it it was back then for Robin, but now she has the wrath of the "Mean Moms" to deal with on top of it. Throw in that you're trying to go back to work, while also trying to make a good impression with these women who already seem to hate you. This is a nightmare.

But when the mom's seem to start to take you in, and your daughter has made friends, everything must be looking up. Right?

This book was a DOOZY. I loved every page. I found myself not wanting to go to sleep to find out what was next for Sadie and Robin. Not only was the pacing enough to never want to stop, but the drama just kept coming! You know when you're dealing with a book having do with a private school, it's going to be juicy! And many books like to say it, but only few actually live it... this book will keep you guessing until the VERY LAST PAGE.

I forgot the title as I was reading it and then thought- wow the title says it all! The book kept me guessing at what happened while Sadie and Robin return to London after splitting from her husband. From the mom's to the students, the book is filled with so much suspense and guessing who is lying and who is real! I couldn't put this book down and read in 2 days. Highly recommend!

3 1/2 ⭐️‘s
This book was a slow burn, but still kept me turning the pages quickly. With so many threads,Tyce did a nice job of juggling and sewing them up completely by the end of the book, but the story could have been stronger overall with just the two main threads. It was definitely an enjoyable read, even with many parts of the plot being unbelievable, but as the last page was turned it felt like there was just something missing.

I absolutely LOVED Blood Orange, so I was thrilled to pieces to get a chance to read The Lies You Told early. While I needed a solid chunk of time to get fully into this one, it was so amazingly good. I loved the twists and turns, the parental insanity was just off the charts, and holy buckets that ending! So, so good.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘥 is the best thriller I have read in awhile. The story was riveting and fast-paced. I had a difficult time putting it down and stayed up late to finish it.

There is quite a bit going on in the book, and it was not focused on solely one simple mystery. This provided excitement across the storyline. I thought this fullness of plot really enhanced the book and the reading experience.

I had a couple theories about how it would end, including the actual ending. However, I do not think the book is predictable and immensely enjoyed it. It is somewhat rare for a thriller to tackle important issues. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘥 did just this - discussing shaming of working mothers and extreme academic pressures on children.

Overall, I recommend this to all readers and thriller lovers. I think 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘥 is a gripping and delightful book that is compelling and well written. I am looking forward to picking up Harriet Tyce's other books.

A bit of a slow-burner, which I like, and some parts really had me cringing for the characters (the PTA dinner party?!). The tension really builds throughout and had me staying up late to finish! I did feel the ending was a little rushed though.

This is one terrific thriller!
After her marriage blows up, Sadie moves with her daughter from Brooklyn to London, in the hopes of a fresh start. What she gets is a home with too many memories, a placement for her daughter in the same school she detested when she went there, an instant feud with the unofficial head mom at said school, and a job on a court case that seems like a blessing, but starts to turn sour. As Sadie tries to navigate her new life, the secrets that surround her turn more & more dangerous, and before it all plays out, someone will pay for the lies they've told.

This book had a couple small mysteries wrapped up nicely in one well written, entertaining book. This novel always kept my attention, and unlike with the last few books I have read, I was actually looking forward to the time I got to read it. I really empathized with and cared for Sadie and Robin, and hoped that life would turn out a little better for them. The end was a little sad, but I feel it was necessary to the plotline. I will absolutely recommend this one, and I will look for future titles from the author.

There are a few different plot lines running through this book, and while it seems as though they will all tie together at the end, that is not the case. Though everything is resolved, it turns out that these other elements were apparently meant to serve as red herrings for the main plot. I found this a bit annoying, since these entire sections could have been taken out without changing the overall story. I found the primary story fairly predictable, with the twists fairly minimal. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC for review.