Spain knows how to write a twisty mystery, Inspired by the challenges of facing adversity and tragedy whilst living abroad. Erin as an Irish woman who has escaped a painful past by moving to the US and marrying an American detective. Living in New York, far from Erin’s parents and the family dynamics that have split them apart.
Then her husband Danny commits suicide by jumping from the balcony of their fourth floor apartment, leaving behind a legacy of questions no one wants to answer. What prompted her easygoing husband to take his own life in front of her? This one kept me on my toes

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book and did not see the twist coming, I really enjoy the way in which the story was told as it was really easy to connect to the characters that were put forth.

I would recommend this book to others.

Loved this… could not put it down! So many twists and turns throughout, to keep you guessing , I was satisfied with how it ended.

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of crime or thrillers, I loved the fact that The Perfect Lie wasn’t very predictable! I didn’t see the ending coming at all. I had wished it would be a more exciting ending though - the whole story fell a little flat for me. Overall though it was a nice, thrilling story!

I loved this. Jo Spain writes THE BEST twisty psychological thrillers, the premise for this one is highly intriguing and the execution does not disappoint.

Plenty of witnesses to a suicide so why is Erin on trial for murder? Well of course nothing is straightforward here and you’ll soon be immersed in a labyrinthine plot that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

The quality of the writing and storytelling is superb as ever and the unpredictable sense of it is maintained throughout. Overall a most excellent read that I adored and will happily recommend.

I really struggled with this story. It sounded interesting but I found it abit slow and predictable. I didnt really connect with any of the characters

Absolutely loved this book. I've heard about Jo Spain but never read any of her books however I am not a huge fan. The main character is very likeable and I loved the way she unraveled the mystery surrounding her husbands death.
I stayed up until the morning hours reading this, highly recommend

I really enjoyed this book. Full of lots twists and turns that keep you on your toes. It had 3 plot lines but they all panned out well. I liked the character and their development. Strong sense of how people put on a show infront of others and the difference of what happens behind closed doors. And how well do we really know someone.

This was my first read from the author but will be looking at there other work too.

Twist and turns as you go along. A brilliant story which kept me awake reading till 4am! I absolutely loved the characters and the mystery. Well written and a definite high 4/5.

A really well written story, a tale about how easily manipulated and coerced a person can be under extenuating circumstances. But also a refreshing tale of resilience and friendships

I couldnt stop turning the pages and had me guessing the whole way through. It was very well written and was packed with twists and turns. The story has past and present timelines. It started off with a big bang and it continued all the way through.

This is the first book by Jo Spain that I have read but it certainly won't be the last.
It really did have me hooked and I couldn't wait to pick up the book each night before bed.
I enjoyed how clever of a thriller this was.
It kept me guessing and there were plenty of great twists and turns throughout.
Things were also unexpected, without revealing too much or the ending, which is really impressive, given that I usually have an idea or can guess how things will ultimately turn out.
I definitely can't wait to read more from Jo Spain and will be checking out her back catalogue and keeping my eye out for her next release.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a terrific read. The characters are very well drawn. Plenty of twists. The settings are great,and I felt like I was there-which is especially nice when travel options are limited.

An enthralling domestic thriller. Erin lives with her police detective husband Danny in a fourth-floor apartment in Long Island. One morning Danny jumps dramatically to his death, when his colleagues come knocking at their door. Eighteen months later, Erin is on trial for her husband's murder. Told over three timelines that weave seamlessly into a fantastic and fast-paced read with more twists than a corkscrew.

I really wanted to like this book but after several attempts, I’ve given up. Such a shame because I can’t pinpoint what it was that I didn’t like.

I will try again another time but for now it’s not my thing.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

This book is so clever, in the way thrillers really need to be, but aren't always. It takes the past/present format to a new level. Although you know what's going on in the present, nothing in the past gives away how it got there and you are kept guessing right until the end. There is great empathy for the main character. My only critisism would be that because you only got to hear about some of the other characters through the main characters eyes some of them just came across as a little too good to be true, but that's only a minor thing. In all will be definitely reading more by Jo Spain, this is my first book of the authors and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers!

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain 

What a beginning and what a puzzler of a story! The book starts with a rushed, sexy morning for Erin Kennedy and her detective husband, Danny. After a knock on their door, Erin answers it to find Danny's co-workers, while Danny walks to their 4th story window and jumps to his death. We then hop between several timelines as we learn that Erin is being tried for the death of her husband. How can that be when we saw her husband jump?

The story hops between several past timelines and the present, which is at Erin's trial, eighteen months after Danny jumped to his death. Two of the timelines involve two college women who are wrestling with the aftermath of the rape of one of the women. Another timeline follows Erin, after Danny's death, as she hits brick walls trying to find out what was going on in Danny's life that would cause him to be under investigation at his job. The more Erin learns about Danny, the more she realizes she did not know her husband. He was keeping secrets from her, and his colleagues, rather than consoling her because of Danny's death, will have nothing to do with her.

But Erin has friends, some of them new friends, that come to her aid after Danny's death. With the alternating timelines things are very confusing although I did figure out a lot of what was going on before the halfway mark. Still, I enjoyed seeing how the story played out and I plan to investigate more of Jo Spain's work. 

Publication: January 4th 2022

Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book starts with a dramatic opening - Erin is at home in Long Island one morning with her husband Danny, a police officer when his colleagues arrive to arrest him. Danny jumps to his death from their apartment balcony - and yet 18 months later we find Erin on trial for his murder.

The book has three timelines - the court case, the events following Danny's death as Erin tries to uncover the truth and a third about events at Harvard that, whilst initially unclear how it fits in the story, are soon linked to the mystery surrounding Danny's death. The book gets better and better as you begin to understand how events are connected and the further I read the less I wanted to put it down. It keeps you guessing throughout, with plenty of twists, and an ending that had me reeling. Another excellent book from Spain.

This is the second Spain book I’ve read and I must admit I’ve become a bit of an instant fan.

The Perfect Lie opens with Danny jumping to his death in what everyone assumes is a suicide. Spain then flashes forward to a ‘now’ scene where Erin is in court, on trial for the murder of her husband. This opening is very effective and leads the reader to come up with all sorts of explanations including whether or not Danny is truly dead after the jump, given that Erin wasn’t allowed to view his body.

Obviously Spain keeps switching between the timelines, drip feeding us the details, until they link up and the twists are revealed. I said with the other Spain book that she displayed impeccable timing when it came to switching from the past to present and I believe she again managed to do this really well. There were no awkward transitions and she keeps the mystery plot tracking along well before tying all the strings together seamlessly in the end.

The setting is an upmarket beach area on Long Island, New York. There’s also a back story set at Harvard College. I enjoyed the US setting even though I thought it was an odd choice at first (as I read on, I discovered there were several plot points which relied on the overseas setting, however). Spain didn’t disappoint me with the Irish connection completely though, with Erin and her family heralding from there and one of her regular haunts being an Irish pub (albeit one without too much authenticity).

Spain’s style flows easily and this was a quick read. Usually I say books of this size (just over 400 pages long) often need editing and their word count cut as they seem to drag in places but I never felt this way with The Perfect Lie.

With the hefty word count comes an obvious hefty cast of characters with many likely suspects and red herrings and potential victims but Spain’s characterisation was good enough to cause no confusion with who was who. Erin was a likeable leading lady and I couldn’t help but cheer her on. Karla, her lawyer, was a standout from the supporting characters and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up in another of Spain’s books one day.

If there was a hiccup or critique, it was that most of the story is told from Erin’s first person point of view except for a few chapters which are told from the point of view of another female character, Ally. Ally’s boyfriend’s identity needs to be kept secret from the reader for quite a while so as not to give too much away leading to Ally constantly referring to ‘my boyfriend’ ending up a little clunky. Maybe Spain could have simply said ‘he’ now and then to break up the weirdness of this part.

For the most, however, Spain’s writing is really good and I’m looking forward to exploring more of her titles. 4 ½ out of 5