I've always enjoyed Jane's books before but this one didn't hit the same. I can't put my finger on why - I couldn't put it down but I think it's missing the shock factor. A large portion of the book (roughly the first half) is all about how Sarah and Tom met and how they as a family got the point of Freddie's revelation. Then up until the last few chapters we hear nothing from Tom. We don't know how he is feeling or what he's doing. Not my favourite book by this author.

This was an interesting read by an author that I was not familiar with having never read their work before. I always enjoy a new to me author and I wasn’t disappointed.
I found the characters interesting and really had a depth to them with lots of details described for me to portray them in my mind and really get inside them.
The story line took me to a place I wasn’t expecting and kept me intrigued right until the end.
I would recommend to anyone interested in this genre and will be reading more.

The Lies We Tell by Jane Corry is a slow-burn mystery exploring the limits to which a couple can push themselves to save their son, who has confessed to a murder.

The book hooked me with an intriguing start and despite being a slow-burn was extremely gripping. It's a character-driven mystery. Tom and Sarah's marital lives and their past are laid bare for us to read and empathize. But are they still hiding something? Read the book to find out.

The story explores how two individuals as different as chalk and cheese end up married and how those unresolved differences slowly chip away their marriage.

Once Tom knows about Sarah's sordid past, he can't let go of it although he himself is guilty of the same thing. He never tries to interact with his son more and is always finding faults with his wife. He never really opens up completely to her.

The author seamlessly transitions between past and present to provide flashbacks into the past which reveal how Tom and Sarah met. The story flows smoothly and despite the dark theme is easy to read.

The Lies We Tell
by Jane Corry

A disappointing book. The book had potential to polar opposite middle class parents with a spoiled teenage son who comes home confessing to a terrible crime. The parents have very different views regarding what should be done. The beginning of this book drags with the back story of Sarah and Tom it’s very plodding and too long. I don’t know that I particularly like the parents much and the son was a bit of a spoiled bratty teenage. Many twists in this story and the second half was better but not my favourite. 2.5/5

I’ve heard of Jane Corey but not read any of her novels previously. I really enjoyed this and intend to try more of her novels

When Sarah and Tom's son Freddy comes home one evening and says he's done something terrible, Sarah's Motherly instinct is to immediately protect their son.

This creates a divide between them as Tom believes that Freddy should be held accountable for his actions, and wants to call the police.

We almost immediately understand that Sarah and Tom are very different people. This is confirmed when we rewind to when Sarah and Tom first met and how their early relationship played out before Freddy came along.

This helps us to understand why their reactions are so different and why they make the decisions and take the actions that they do as the novel progresses.

I've got to say that not all of the characters here are particularly likeable, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the novel.

If you are looking for a book that will have you captivated, then look no further.
Jane Corry has once again produced a story that has you gripped, filled to the brim with addictive plot twists, an array of intricate, engaging characters and a plot fully of twists and turns you wont anticipate.

I struggled with this to begin with, so it's a near miracle that it almost ended up being a four star read. The first half of the novel could almost be cut in it's entirety, and I was trudging through it waiting to get to the actual meat of the piece. But then it finally caught up, and oh boy was it worth waiting for. I flew through the second half and was absolutely invested in the characters and events.

So why three stars? Because, dear Lord, did the first half draaaaag. You start with a tense confession of murder from a teenage son and then... it skips. All the way back to when the parents first met and you read all about the challenges of their relationship, their fertility journey, how they are chalk and cheese, the early years of parenthood and more relationship struggles and... it's boring. Completely unnecessary. It's a 500 page book, supposedly about a teenage boy who confessed to murder and yet at least 250 pages are before he was born, or too young to remember much.

I kind of understand why Corry wanted to display the background with the parents, but somewhere along the line an editor needed to say enough is enough. A hundred pages, done as flashbacks, might have worked. Two hundred and fifty pages in one bulk before you hit the interesting stuff? Less so. It dragged badly.

That said, the second half of the novel absolutely makes up for it. Everything about the tale of Sarah's time in Cornwall and her battle to protect her child was beautifully portrayed. The characters jumped off the pages and I absolutely fell in love with them. Corry really brings the setting and the people to life, along with Sarah's fears and anxieties. It's just a pity it took so long to get there.

So a mixed bag. Corry absolutely is an author I'll follow, but I hope future novels have distinctly less padding in them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.

How far would you go for your child? This is the story of Tom and Sarah Wallace and their fifteen year old son Freddie and hooks you in from the start.
Tom and Sarah are such different people, but both have interesting pasts that we learn as we read. Full of twists and turns, there is a feeling of tension and unease as we sense impending drama. Overall, I really enjoyed this well written slow burner psychological thriller, it has a very good premise and plenty of plot twists to keep you invested to the end.

This book hooked you in from the start, I have no idea what I would do in this situation and so it was a good read. I have read several similar books in the past and this one also worked. I do like reading books by this author

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

How far would you go to protect your child if they came home having done something terrible?
I'm not sure I would have done what the mum in this story does, but then that wouldn't have made a entertaining read.
Everything is not what it seems as you progress through the story.

This is the first book by this author that I have read, and I was expecting, from the blurb, a really gripping and emotional page turner.

However, this is quite a slow burner, especially for a thriller. There is a great deal of background story in the first part, and it felt very much like waiting for something exciting to happen.

I didn’t like either of the two main characters. Sarah was a typical artistic, free-spirited hippy type, and Tom was a frustrated, repressed, product of a private school. It didn’t feel as though the author really explored the depths of these characters. And I didn’t understand why Freddy was so badly behaved. The other characters lacked depth and were very stereotypical (the posh, high maintenance, frustrated rich wife? The salt-of-the-earth country people who provide a house, and work, and a relationship at the drop of a hat?). Honestly, it all felt a bit lazy.

The witing was a bit awkward too, which was really surprising. It almost read like an early draft.

All a bit disappointing really.

This is my second Jane Corry book in a matter of weeks and while I enjoyed this book I didn't feel it was as gripping as the first I read.

We follow our main characters through a period of around 30 years from the meeting of Tom and Sarah to the conclusion of the novel.

As with the title there are so many lies told by all of the characters but none really had as big of an impact as I would have expected from a thriller.

I am excited to read more from the author as both books I've read have been compulsive reading.

What would you do if your son did something dreadful, something totally unforgiveable. Sarah an Tom were good parents where did they go wrong? Suddenly Sarah is presented with something that could get her son free so to speak....does she do this?
This is a slow burn book but I'm a great fan of Jane's....shes pulled it out the bag again!

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

Finally a book that I really didn't want to put down. It had me hooked from the first few chapters and I simply wanted to know what's going to happen and how. It was full with moral dillemas, questions that you don't know answers to and I was really curious how the author is going to end things. It was written in a brilliant, engaging way, not too over - dramatic, yet fascinating, keeping you in a suspence, you don't know what's expecting you around the corner. It is a very descriptive book, there are relatively less dialogues, so you really have to know your way around and with words to make it so interesting, to be able to capture the reader's attention and Jane Corry has done it brilliantly.

The characters were very engaging. I found myself changing my mind about them a few times, siding with Tom and then with Sarah and then the author would turn everything on its head again.

It's this kind of story that raises all sort of questions, put the characters in situations you will never want to find yourself in. The plot os strong and well thought - over, filled with twists and turns that bring us to a great conclusion.

This book was amazing I was hooked from the first page I did not want too put it down the storyline is explosive and the twist and turns left me dizzy wow...wow...wow....thankyou netgalley and the author for giving me this book for an honest review

Lies, they always float to the top!!

This book follows Sarah, an artist with a dark past, who meets and marries Tom, who is a bit of a nerd by all account. They go through the beginning of married life in bliss until a series of heartbreaking miscarriages threaten to break them. Then they have a son - Freddie.

This is when the book just got meh!! The first half of the book was enjoyable. The second half was so blindingly irritating I struggled to carry on.

Each character grated on me, it became repetitive. If Freddie said "You don't get it" once he said it a 1000 times.

I didn't particularly care for the characters towards the end.

I've read other Jane Corry books and really enjoyed them but I am sorry I just didn't enjoy this one.

Well written, good thriller, although I found it a little slow at times, but would definitely recommend. I hope to read more by this author

I have read a few of Jane Corry's books, and once again I wasn't disappointed. The book starts off with a bang when their son confesses to a crime he committed. The book alternates between Tom and Sarah's past with their current life, and gives you better insight in how they will handle their son's issues.