Ellison did it agin with another juicy tale. Her Dark Lies is overflowing with danger, luxury and secrets galore. The writing is atmospheric, the characters are layered, and the setting is so incredibly stunning. A wedding on a remote Italian Island sounds fantastic, right? Throw in a huge storm, a lot of cash, dead bodies and few potential ghosts and you've got yourself quite the tale. Ellison wowed me with her nod to Daphne du Maurier. Paying homage to one of her favorite books (Rebecca) in Her Dark Lies was Absolute perfection! Bravo!

J T Ellison has written a seductive and chilling contemporary Gothic thriller that held me completely in thrall from beginning to end: Her Dark Lies.

The stars seems to have finally aligned for up and coming artist Claire Hunter. Having met and fallen head over heels in love with Jack Compton, Claire simply cannot wait to marry the man of her dreams and start her life with her handsome and charismatic husband. With their wedding set to take place in a majestic cliff-top villa on the Isle Isola in Italy surrounded by their closest family and friends, Claire is counting down the days until she finally says ‘I do’ and can begin to build a life with Jack. It was meant to be the wedding of her dreams, however, little did Claire realize that her worst nightmares were about to come true in the most alarming and unexpected of ways…

From the moment she set foot on the island, Claire could immediately sense that something was amiss. Her every instinct was telling her that she needed to keep her wits about her and be very careful. She initially dismissed these worries as wedding jitters and nerves, however, when things begin to take a sinister turn, Claire realizes that amongst her closest friends and family a dangerous enemy is hiding in plain sight waiting for the right moment to strike and cause maximum havoc and destruction.

Things begin to go from bad to worse for Claire. Skeletal remains have just been found on the island, but events begin to hit very close to home as she starts receiving threatening text messages, a wedding dress is ruined and she begins to hear troubling rumors about Jack’s first wife. Has Jack been lying to her all this time? How well does she know the man she was going to be spending the rest of her life with? And can she trust him? Or will the skeletons in her bridegroom’s closet prove to be deadly?

As a raging storm descends on the island, the power goes out – bringing Claire closer and closer to jeopardy, despair and danger…

Like a modern-day Rebecca, J T Ellison’s Her Dark Lies is a deliciously sinister, creepy and menacing thriller I couldn’t help but devour. J T Ellison knows how to bring our fears to life on the page and in Her Dark Lies she has penned a superbly tense and terrifying read which I was still engrossed in in the early hours of the morning.

An immensely enjoyable rollercoaster ride from an outstanding storyteller, switch off your phone, lock the door and kiss sleep goodbye because once you start reading J T Ellison’s Her Dark Lies, putting it down is simply not an option.

In Her Dark Lies, the setting is beautiful and the action is non-stop. Claire is preparing for her luxurious wedding on an Italian island owned by her fiancee's family, but a huge storm is coming. Bad things start happening, and as soon as Claire arrives at the island, skeletal remains are found. Is this just a normal part of historic excavations, or could it be something more sinister? While the pacing and setting of the story are great, so much was revealed to the reader along the way that the ending lacked impact for me.

This story is an intense and wild ride so buckle up and enjoy! The Compton family is one of wealth, privilege, and secrets - very intriguing. Their handsome son is marrying an eclectic artist on an Italian island. But all those secrets have a way of catching up to the family in an insane way, one that will hold your attention from beginning to end.

Claire is finally where she wants to be and is soon to be married to non other than Jack Comptom, a member of one of the wealthiest families in the world. Their exclusive marriage is to take place on the Comptom family’s Italian island. Off the bat things start to go haywire and the family is forced to suspect those closest to them of sabotage.

Her Darks Lies, is very much a locked room mystery. There are plenty of twists, turns, and drama that I won’t get into because I don’t want to spoil anything. From a narrator perspective we get both Claire and the antagonist’s POV, which provides a bit of conflict within the story. I would have liked to see a bit more character development, and honestly I didn’t really love any of the characters, which I think really makes you suspicious of everyone.

Told in the vein of a Lucy Foley mystery, I rounded my review up to a 4 from 3.5 star rating. I did really enjoy the story and it’s a page turner for sure. However, the ending left me questioning what really happened to Jack’s first wife. I prefer to have clear answers at the end of a thriller such as this one, and that along with a few plot holes at the end, knocked of a half star for me.

This book is out now and if you love a page turning thriller than you’ll really enjoy Her Dark Lies.


Her Dark Lies is out now. Thank you to MIRA & Harlequin for my advanced copy for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

Omg this was so good. Not sure what I expected but I went in blind to and I'm so glad I did.
Thanks for this Arc. Can't wait to read more form this author.

The Review

What a fantastic thriller! From the book’s opening chapter the author establishes a haunting tale of murder, revenge, and family like no other. The vibrant setting and upbeat festivities of the protagonist’s wedding make for a fantastically stark contrast to the dark themes of family secrets, greed, and power all taking over as the rich family the protagonist is marrying into holds sway and inadvertently causes a catastrophe no one could have seen coming.

It is the author’s ability to really draw out and delve deeply into the character growth of the narrative that makes this novel shine brightly. From protagonist Claire and her haunted past and present to the Compton family and their ruthless behavior that would make anyone kill to keep a secret, the identity of the killer and their need for revenge makes for a masterful story that draws the reader in time and time again.

The Verdict

A beautifully mesmerizing, haunting, and heart-pounding mystery and thriller, author J.T. Ellison’s “Her Dark Lies” is a must-read narrative. The twists and turns the author creates make for a gripping tale, and by the book's end no one in the story will be safe, and no one will be totally innocent either. It's a marvelous read you won’t want to miss, so be sure to grab your copy today!

First 40 % very fast paced, intriguing, I was on board with the setting, the unreliability of the characters, the potential for things to not be as they seemed
This didn’t happen, things got very ridiculous - beyond the usual suspension of disbelief as there were storms, generator was out etc , started to feel rushed, tension disappeared, and plot became bizarre. Not a lot of suspense, I felt it was predictable, and the ending was underwhelming

Positives - the setting in Italy, alternating perspectives

I love a good murder mystery at a posh wedding on a remote island story and Her Dark Lies was certainly that. There were a few twists I didn't see coming! I was entertained throughout, but I did wish I could connect with Claire a bit more. I wanted someone to root for and she wasn't quite that. I'll hand this one to fans of Lucy Foley and locked-room mysteries and thrillers.

When Claire Hunter met Jackson Compton it was love at first sight. A whirlwind romance that culminates in their wedding at his family’s estate at Isle Isola in Italy.

Claire and Jack are from two different worlds. She’s an artist, from a middle class family, and he’s the fourth generation of a millionaire and famous family, not only because of their business but also from their philanthropy. And they are both hiding secrets...

Even though Jack fell in love with Claire just as she is, she began to change almost immediately, turning herself into what she believes Jack’s wife should be. He’s ten years older than her and a widower. His first wife died in mysterious circumstances but he doesn’t like talking about it. And, eventually, Claire becomes obsessed in finding everything she can about her.

Meanwhile, someone is watching their every move...

A few days before the wedding, when they return home, they surprise an armed intruder and, in the ensuing fight, Claire shoots him dead to save Jack. But the version that becomes official is that it was the security guard Marlcom who killed him. After all, the family’s reputation has to be protected...

This is only the first incident and the first body as the wedding date grows nearer. And it soon becomes obvious that the killer is in the island where their whole family as well as the rest of the guests are, trapped due to a series of storms. It also becomes evident that the killer is determined to, not only stop the wedding from happening, but also on destroying the Comptons.

When the last storm is finally over, who will have survived at Isle Isola? And will the wedding happen?

A claustrophobic thriller, where all the characters have secrets they don’t want to see revealed. I really liked it, even if it wasn’t all that hard to figure out who the killer was. Even so, the author was still able to surprise. And she wasn’t shy about killing her characters...

Gripping story that had me till the end. The family business lost me a little and wish I had more clarity on that.

A thrill ride drama from the author J.T. Ellison. Set a gorgeous backdrop that sets stage for this engaging thriller. The storyline along with multiple POVs including the main voice of Claire and the person behind the attacks. Makes for a creative plot line.

Isla Isola is an idyllic island off the coast of Italy, and where Claire Hunter will marry Jack Compton. The idyll is shattered almost the moment Claire arrives on the island. A body is found, and then there are creepy texts, a ruined wedding dress, and the mystery of Jack's first wife. When the power goes out, it all goes downhill from there.

We have different POV chapters which aren't labeled. Most of it is told from Claire's POV, but we also get her future mother-in-law Ava's POV, a chapter from her sister Harper's POV, and several chapters from a mysterious person that deliberately wants to take down the Compton family. The family is rich thanks to generations of investment, ties to celebrities, and now IT; the power they wield also is a force to be reckoned with. Jack is far older than Claire and utterly besotted with her and wants to use the power of his name and money to protect her from whatever force wants to destroy them. She genuinely loves him, but she's not so out of her head in love that the odd events are glossed over. She pauses, considers that the marriage should be postponed, and cares more about the safety of others than the money. The Comptons certainly have their moments where hidden secrets are hinted at, making the reader doubt how genuine they are in the interactions they have with Claire, her friends, and her family.

Her Dark Lies is a thriller that sucked me in almost immediately. I can see Jack's charm for Claire, but he has a dark side of his own. Claire is young and uncertain in the glitzy world of the Comptons, but she also isn't an idiot. She has her own demons, which we learn more about as the book progresses, and the guilt still drives her. In essence, it's why she's so loyal to Jack and his family, even in the face of increasing drama and a rising body count. I didn't expect the ending to go the way it did, but it's also one that fits the scope of the story. It's a taut story, keeping me up long past my bedtime!

2.5 stars!
Claire thinks she has met her prince charming when she falls in love with Jack Compton, a member of a powerful & wealthy family. They are set to get married at his family’s Italian villa on their private island. Jack has been married once before and his first wife died, leaving their relationship shrouded in mystery. Claire is fascinated by Jack’s first wife but tries her best to play it cool. When human remains are uncovered on the day they arrive on the island, things quickly start to fall apart. Claire’s wedding dress is destroyed by someone and it feels like someone is trying to deter them from getting married. But who?

I loved J.T. Ellison’s Good Girls Lie last year and honestly I was disappointed by this novel as my second read by her. A lot of it just didn’t make sense. It was long (over 400 pages) and there was so much going on. It made the plot line disjointed and difficult to follow. So many people were killed off and they never really skip a beat. Jack and Claire’s relationship just seemed extremely superficial and fake. The setting was cool and had a lot of potential because it was like a huge mansion on a cliff with a crypt and all sorts of other creepy hidey holes. I have a feeling this may be an unpopular opinion because I think a lot of people liked it!

It took a while to settle in to the story and I was a bit uninvolved at first but as the body count mounted my interest became piqued and by the end I had endless scenarios whirling around in my head.
At times I wondered which of the characters I was supposed to believe which was a teensy bit off putting. I feel the character development could have been more engaging but the story travelled at a fast pace and the crescendo finale was excellent.

With a tagline that reads "At the wedding of the year, a killer needs no invitation" master thriller writer J. T. Ellison launches a Gothic spine chiller featuring international billionaires and a mysterious first wife. Does that sound familiar? It should because it’s a re-telling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic page-turner, Rebecca.

The Manderley of the original is replaced by an Isle Isola cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, where up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends and a host of dark secrets.

From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains are unearthed. Do they belong to Jack's first wife, who mysteriously disappeared off the Californian coast several years ago? And if so, how did they turn up in Italy?. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. Jack and Clare's relationship, which begins convincingly affectionate and tightly bonded, frays at the edges as Clare's doubts about his directness and honesty in confronting the issues grow.

Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

Her Dark Lies is a brilliantly paced story which convincingly traces the gradual "awakening" of a young woman so dreamily captivated by her husband-to-be she is reluctant to see the horror that is unfolding around her.
J T Ellison talks about her work on The Joys of Binge Reading podcast.

Thank you @netgalley and @_mira_books_ for the gifted eARC of ’Her Dark Lies’ by J.T. Ellison.

Key Highlights:
⛰Island off of Italian coast
🩸Multiple narrators
⛰Killer attacking during a destination wedding
🩸Slow burn
⛰A great ordeal of drama
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𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴.
⠀
If you love the slow burn Agatha Christie and Daphne Du Maurier spirit, then this is for you bc Ellison definitely channeled them well.

What a wild ride! I really enjoyed this book. There were a few “almost” storylines that I would’ve loved to see more development of (though guessing maybe the editor took them out) which is the only reason I’m not giving this 5 stars.

This is a “locked room” mystery where the locked room is an entire remote island off the coast of Italy.

I loved this twisty suspenseful thriller. It was a story about Jack and Claire's wedding. The wedding is full of issues that lead to chaos and disaster. I loved the ending and how everything fell into place. A great story that I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mira Books for my advanced copy.

Claire Hunter is an up-and-coming artist who is marrying into the famous Compton family. Jack Compton is taking Claire to his family’s villa on an island in Italy to have the wedding of the year. On the night before they leave, they come home to find an intruder in their house. Claire gets the gun away from the intruder and shoots him dead. Jack’s bodyguard takes the fall for it. Then, when they arrive at the villa, a body has just been found in ruins on the island. This is just the beginning of the ominous disasters that happen at the villa. Everything that happens has one thing in common: it all leads back to the death of Jack’s first wife.

This was a heart pounding thriller from the beginning to the end. It was so hard to put this book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen. Each incident escalated the drama and made me excited to keep reading.

I figured out what was behind the incidents pretty early on in the story, but I couldn’t figure out how or why they were happening. There were still some unexpected twists at the end that surprised me. Even though I was pretty sure I was right, I had to keep reading to find out how it all happened.

This was such a great thriller!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.