Thank you to Agora Books and Marianne Holmes for sending me an E-ARC of All Your Little Lies. This was a really interesting read, with a gripping main character.
Annie lives a quiet, contained, happy life. She goes to work, meets her only friend, and is in love with her boss. Annie wants to prove to everyone that she is happy and worth knowing. When shes the last person to see Chloe Hills before she disappears she believes this is her chance! That is until she becomes a suspect.

This book was an interesting read. Annie is a very interesting but a little psychotic. I was not a huge fan of this book. I found it was all over the place, which could have been intentional because Annie was always all over the place. The connection between the main character and the victim was really non-existent. The ending felt rushed and very frustrating. I did enjoy the dark backstory of Annie, it did bring the book together a bit, but not nearly enough. This may be a book for new mystery readers who are expanding their reading horizons but for anyone like me who reads mostly mystery’s it was a little disappointing.

Annie is a character you want to feel bad for but I just couldn't. From the first moments that we meet Annie, we are drawn into her world, a world she has created in her mind, which is pretty far from the truth. A world that is unlike one many of us occupy, as Annie lives to check off the boxes, but when she decides to involve herself in the disappearance of a young local girl, Chloe Hills, Annie starts down a path that leads her further away from the Full Happy Life she so desperately wants and starts to uncover secrets from her past.

This book wasn’t for me it’s about a very awkward woman who had a crush on Paul at work who didn’t want to know her as she was a bit weird and told lies to get attention I couldn’t see the point of the story I skipped too many pages I found it boring and to be honest couldn’t wait for it to end but thank Netgalley for an early copy to review this book

This was a quick, good read! It had an original premise, with some great character development! Felt that it had some great suspense, shocks, and thrills! Fast paced, but not in all areas, but easy enough to plow through fairly quickly! Would recommend to those looking for something easy to read, that provides needed aspect of thrillers and is unique! Think most will enjoy it enough to finish and some might even be blown away!

Will buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

The author teased us throughout this gripping book. We knew some awful tragedy was in Annie's childhood with the references back to 6 year old Lottie, and mention that she had been running all her life. We don't find out the full sad story until the end. I did think there was more to learn about the mother's behaviour and Annie's childhood but we only learn what we are told at the end and what is revealed in flashbacks. In the present day, Annie is a nervous, not very well adjusted adult with a stalker like crush on her boss. We meet her breaking into his flat. Every small incident or slight becomes major to Annie, and I couldn't help but wonder how her life would have been different if she hadn't been made to feel responsible for a childhood tragedy, and had actually dealt with it and been given help. When a young girl goes missing and Annie thinks she is somehow involved because her car is in CCTV coverage things start to spiral. She takes part in a search, and starts to wonder if she could be involved. Much of Annie's lonely existence takes the form of fantasy. A sad read - and a book I really wanted to get to the end of to find out what happened both in the past and the present. #netgalley #allyourlittlelies

This is my first book by this author and I am now going to seek out more. I enjoyed her writing style and she really made me feel for Annie, which is sometimes difficult to do with unreliable narrators of books. I cannot wait to read more from Ms. Holmes in the future!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I really struggled with this one as I found Annie infuriating and there wasn't really much explanation for why she was so unusual. An interesting story but left me with too many questions

Annie is a socially inept woman who finds herself helping in the search for a missing 12 year old girl. As the story develops Annie is sucked further into the police investigation after she spots her car in the security photo of the missing girl. Annie believes she was the last person to see the missing girl and becomes obsessed with the investigation

This book is a slow paced but compelling read with well developed and interesting characters. It is the first book I have read by this author and I will certainly check out her other books.

Thanks to Netgalley, Agora Books and Marianne Holmes for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, really liked the main character, she reminded me of eleanor oliphant...the ending was a disappointment though

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE SPOILERS.

The synopsis for this sounded so good: mysterious, unusual, and hinting at a really good psychological thriller. Unfortunately, the reality was completely underwhelming.

I won’t discuss the plot, as I’ve given a spoiler filled summary at the end of this review. But I will say that although it had some promise at the beginning, it pretty quickly fell into utilising many of the cliches associated with the genre. Simply put, there was nothing about the plot to make it stand out, and not much really happened to keep your interest.

Indeed, most of the book was Annie handwringing over her stupid choices, before making more stupid choices. It’s been a long time since I’ve disliked a character so much, but she was just completely awful. She is a prime example of being your own worst enemy, constantly saying the worst thing possible for that situation and then making the worst decision of what to do next. There was no logic to her actions, they were impossible to understand and really just made her incredibly irritating.

But, I persevered. I hate not finishing books, especially books that I’ve received through NetGalley, and sometimes there’s some redemption in the ending. But, there wasn’t. The ending was rushed and flimsy, in both the present day and the flashbacks. It’s a shame, as the writing at times was really good, but the plot was just a huge disappointment, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d wasted my time.

If I’m honest, I would’ve bailed out on this one, but I was just too curious to see if the reveal of what happened to Chloe would be worth waiting for. Spoiler - it wasn’t. So, as my good deed for the day, I am going to end this review with a summary full of spoilers, so that anyone who is wanting to add it to their DNF pile can do so safe in the knowledge of what they’re missing out on.




Don’t read on if you don’t want to read spoilers!




SPOILERS AHEAD!






So, Annie is obviously a bit of a fruit loop. She gets pissed at a work event, then gets thrown out by her manager/boyfriend Paul. So she does the logical thing and breaks into his flat, drinks from his mug, sleeps in his bed, and inadvertently steals a sand baby (some sort of strange figure that she previously gifted him). The next day, she sees her car on the CCTV showing the last sighting of 12 year old Chloe before her disappearance. The only problem is, Annie was so drunk she can’t remember seeing her at all.

So rather than stay well out of it, she repeatedly inserts herself into the investigation, implies to all and sundry that she’s a key witness, and constantly makes weirdly suspicious comments then seems stunned when she becomes a suspect. Along the way you also learn that her ‘relationship’ with Paul is all in her mind, and that she has been left quite unstable emotionally after an incident during her childhood.

This is covered during the flashback sections about Lottie, which are actually about Annie as a child. She was obsessed with piskies (a Cornish mythical creature), an obsession which was manipulated by two older girls and led to her ‘sacrificing’ a younger child to them. One of the older two girls is then killed in a house fire set by vengeful locals, just for good measure.

Annie’s true identity is revealed, and there’s a lot of drama for 5 minutes, then it’s fine. Eventually it’s revealed that Chloe is fine, and that she ran away to avoid the lecherous advances of a family friend. He goes on trial, and Annie signs up for restorative justice to make up for her past. That the end.


Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

This one didn’t work for me. I could not get interested at all in the story line and I quickly lost interest. DNF at 40%. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐
This was interesting! At the beginning I wasn't that convinced but the more I read, the more invested I was.
Loved the concept and how the stories were intertwined. It was well developed and easy to follow. The characters were intriguing enough to keep me reading.

This was a dark, tragic story, moving between a missing girl in the present and a terrible crime in the past. Uniting the two stories is Annie - a damaged woman who wants to atone for her past.
It was compelling and very readable. Annie isn't a reliable narrator, and there are clearly some gaps in her memories, and the ending leaves things very ambiguous.

Well written definitely recommend, interesting plot, had me hooked.

A girl goes missing, a woman gets heavily involved and weaves herself into a tangle of lies and semi- truths.

Annie is a bit of a social outcast with no real friends and gets transfixed on Chloe's dissapearance. It seems she struggles with relationships and friendships as she says inappropriate things and tends to speak before she thinks.

Leading her to embed herself in the search for Chloe as she tries to get others to like her. People start to notice Annie....but for all the wrong reasons.

At times it was tense, as felt like a game of cat and mouse between Annie and those investigating Chloe's dissapearance.

Then flit to another story line of a little girl who gets pulled into a wicked game that affects her forever. Found it interesting how the two stories were woven together.

The writing is fast paced and the scenes were set so well I could imagine myself there on the fringes looking in. Would be interested to read more by this author as like her writing style.

I really enjoyed this book, it's the kind of crime novel I've been looking for. The character of Annie is so well drawn, the reader gets right into her head. Often the narrator of thrillers are beige, but Annie is a proper character with many quirks and an intriguing backstory. There are hints about her past throughout, but nothing is overdone.
Overall, a really well written thriller and I'd happily read whatever Marianne Holmes writes next.

It’s not often where I find a narrator who made me feel extremely edgy but it was I got with Annie. I have to admit that this feeling didn’t last for the whole length of the novel but she definitely wasn’t a character who I would like to meet in real life. And even though my feelings did change slightly when I realised what had happened in her past somewhat, she was still someone who I felt wary of. Even though this book is about a missing girl, most of the novel concerns Annie and the way she handles the situation. Which has to be said isn’t well.

Apart from the character of Annie what I found interesting about this novel was the impact a missing child had on the local community. This isn’t really told from the point of view of the police. Instead it’s about those who come together to search, help, and at times turn vigilante as suspects are revealed. It also show how rumours and gossip spread and how dangerous it can be. Often without any thought for the victim or their family and friends. It also shows that there will always be the ones who don’t really care, who are more concerned about the impact it has on them rather than a family going through their worst nightmare.

Alongside the story that concerns the missing girl there are also brief passages that show an unsettling friendship between three girls. They are short but sinister, when you see how easy it is to manipulate a dangerous situation.

This is the first book I have read by this author, I would definitely read another.

Poor Annie Marwood, socially awkward yet yearning to settle and to fit in. In love with her boss, it takes the disappearance of teenager Chloe Hills to give her an opportunity to shine. Another missing girl, another yearning for friendship keeps pulling her back into the past. Touching and compelling.

Annie is a bit needy, she is sure that her boss wants to be with her, even if he hasn't really given her any clues. Then a young girl goes missing from the small town Annie lives in, Annie doesn't remember seeing her but her car is definitely in the CCTV footage so she must have been there right? A small lie, just to make her seem more important won't hurt will it? It'll impress her boss, her colleagues and that other guy from the village she quite likes....

But now the police are taking her seriously, they're asking questions she can't answer and she didn't think this through...because surely the past that she's been running from all her life is going to come out now, plus what she was really doing that night....

This book is fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, the memories and the outcome. I found Annie's character a little uncomfortable reading sometimes, maybe because probably most people can relate to chattering when nervous, making bad taste jokes or when telling a story embellishing your part in it just a little bit...except Annie now can't untangle her lies and the truth anymore and I just want to yell at her STOP TALKING! It's fast paced, good chapter length, well developed characters and very addictive!

#netgalley #allyourlittlelies #marianneholmes

Review has been posted to goodreads, it won't link with my netgalley account.

Annie lives in a quiet village and lives a simple life. She works in an office and has a crush on her boss Paul. One Thursday after a work event she makes a rash decision to break into her boss' house. The next morning she discovers that a girl from her neighbourhood has disappeared and she might have been the last person to see her. Annie becomes obsessed with the situation and people around her begin to question her behaviour. The story is told from the perspective of Annie and as the story unfolds you begin to feel sorry for Annie as life has not been kind to her. Thought provoking and intriguing.

I Received An eBook Version Of This From @netgalley In Exchange For An Honest Review.

It Took Me A Little While To Get Into This Book As It Starts Heavy By Throwing You Right In To The Deep End Of Annie’s World.

It Is A Good Thriller In The Fact That There Are So Many Possibilities Of What Could Have Happened That You Don’t Ever Really Know For Sure Until The End.

Annie Has Had A Difficult Life And This Is Explained By The Going Back To The Past. I Don’t Normally Like Flicking Between The Past And Present, But It Worked Well In This Book!

What Annie Needs Is A Good Friend 🙂

I Think It Is Definitely Worth A Read.