Started off well, soon became rambling and implausible. I didn’t like any of the characters and the plot was farcical. Sorry, but this was a no from me

This was the first Jane Corry book that I have read and I am grateful for the opportunity of reading before the publication date.
I liked the idea of how far you would go to protect your child. As a mother, it certainly stops me in my tracks and made me think about what would I do in the same circumstance. I didn't really connect with any of the characters but can see this making a good tv mini series.

I enjoyed this book very much and found the second half particularly compelling. Most of the characters are flawed with troubled pasts and I had to keep reading to find out how Sarah and Tom were going to get out of a terrible situation, when their teenage son Freddie tells them that he has killed someone. There was plenty of intrigue to keep me reading and the ending was satisfying. I could relate to Sarah and her determination to protect her son at all costs. It’s an interesting novel about secrets, lies and family relationships - my kind of book!

How far would you go to protect your child?
Tom and Sarah, a mis-matched married couple have one son Freddie. Growing up Freddie and his father fell out more and more and Sarah who would often take Freddie's side meant that her and Tom's marriage would inevitably crumble. Everything changes when Freddie comes home late one night begging for his parents help after he admits to killing someone. He begs them not to call the police.
Sarah makes a decision that will change everything and she will do anything to protect her son.
This is a book about unconditional love, loyalty, friendship and trust. It explores just how far someone will go to protect their loved ones.
A great read that I would definetly recommend.

This was a surprise of a book for me a new author to add to the list of ones I like. It really makes you think about what would you do to protect your child. It is a truly enjoyable read and I could not put this down.

I really enjoyed this book. I could understand how Freddie felt as a misunderstood teenager and his need to fit in. Unlike a lot of people I really liked a Sarah and thought her crime wasn’t her blame as much as she felt and had been punished for. This could be in part because I really disliked her husband and was really pleased her and Freddie finally escaped him - even if the reasons and timing were wrong.

I liked the villagers where Sarah ended up
And was pleased with the ending.

All in all a really enjoyable read that had me wondering what I would have done

A mothers love. How much could you protect your child who is guilty of murder? A really enjoyable, fast moving story that is tense at times. A book that spans the years and makes you think of 'what if?' on many fronts- how things could have had a different outcome. And how some people can change and how a small missing piece of the jigsaw would have made a huge difference had it been slotted into place at the time of the incident.. A book that will stay in the memory for quite a while after the last page is read.

Thought provoking and moving. I read the first few lines, then put it down, and chose an alternative book. I dismissed it, without reading, fearing it would be something of a cliché. How wrong I was. As soon as I read a couple of paragraphs I realised that my assumption was totally mistaken. I was gripped from beginning to end. This is not a trite, formula written novel; it explores many themes and reflects the complexities of human nature and behaviour. I encountered several surprises, but they were not gratuitous plot twists, but the inevitable denouement of interwoven tragedies. The novel poses many moral questions and none of the characters are stereotypical black or white. There is a complexity and satisfying depth to the characters and to the story. I highly recommend this book.

An usual story about relationships and the impact of past mistakes. The mistakes haunt the main characters and the fact that they have not told or cannot tell the truth has a huge effect on the future. The reader watches the characters move inevitably towards the endgame as the web created by the many half truths unravels.
As the story moves towards the end there are characters with strength and courage and this leads to resolution.
The characters are strongly drawn but I found that I couldn’t relate to or like the main couple. In spite of this, I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

A great book from this fantastic author. How far would you go to protect your only child when they have done something unthinkable. The book explores the characters extremely well and is full of surprises some heartache and familiarity. Thoroughly enjoyed would recommend

The premise of this novel really interested me: your child confesses to murder, what do you do? Not only do we get an answer to that, we also go back in some detail to the past of both parents, and to motives, lies, decisions all of which might have a bearing in the family plight.

This is the first Jane Corry book I read, and I know now how popular she is. Clearly, if you like a rather intricate plot, a long narrative that meanders one way and another, surprising yet reassuring turn of events, analysis by the characters themselves of their actions, you will enjoy The Lies... very much. I was impatient by the meandering and some fairytale elements (eg that ready potters´ wheel and kiln, the tidy endings). Probably, I would have preferred a tighter story with far more things left to my own imagination, but as it was I was not really invested in what happened to the characters. Despite appearances (at the beginning specially we get a balanced rather predictable Sarah's first-person account, Tom´s first-person account) the novel is Sarah´s story, and it becomes that clearly as the storyline moves forward. Fair enough! The result of this is that the novel feels a hybrid, neither suspenseful enough for a thriller, neither deep enough in its analysis of the psychological and moral dimensions of its characters. Yet again, the novel presents a number of elements which are interesting and which will make for a cozy read and some personal reflexion on matters of real import: parenting, the rule of law, the weight of past abuse.

I thank NetGalley for this opportunity to read and review this book which despite not being exactly for me it was interesting to read.

I really enjoyed this book. Very interesting premise of how far a mother would go to protect her child. The whole family is very dysfunctional with more than a few skeletons in the closet making the main characters seem rather unlikeable. Very well written and engaging throughout.

The Lies we Tell by Jane Corry – publishing 17 June 21.

I would like to extend my thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me this book in order for a fair, frank and honest review.
Sarah always thought of herself and her husband, Tom, as good people. But that was before their son Freddy came home saying he had done something terrible. Begging them not to tell the police. Soon Sarah and Tom must find out just how far they are willing to push themselves, and their marriage, to protect their only child . . .As the lies build up and Sarah is presented with the perfect opportunity to get Freddy off the hook, she is faced with a terrifying decision:

Save her son . . . or save herself?

I absolutely loved this book; full of twists and turns and drama. The descriptions of the characters was excellent, and I cared about them very much. Not only was there the main story but there were many little stories of each other throughout the book. I am always looking for ways to recommend books without saying too much but this is one definitely worth reading.

5 stars

Thanks netgalley for letting me read an early copy of this book.
This was a really great story, about love, murder and drugs, and what a mother would do for her child.
Sarah had her secrets, so did Tom her husband.
But when Freddie their hard to understand son did something so bad, this was a secret that was hard to keep a secret.
A wonderful story about friendship, love and secrets.
Loved the characters even Tom by the time I had finished the book.

If you are a fan of domestic thrillers, couples living with secrets and lies, with a criminal element, this is the thriller for you!

*Spoiler free review* This is my first read by Jane Corry and it definitely will not be my last! First and foremost this is a great thriller about a family with secrets, and how far a mother would go to protect her son. From beginning to end I kept thinking was what truth is going to come out next? I was kept guessing right until the end:

The Lies We Tell is told from the narrative of Tom and Sarah, we learn about how the formation of their family up until the present day where they are present at a trial, the details of which are uncovered as we read on. We also learn that they are a couple who both have sketchy and secretive pasts. Tom has an upper class, rigid background who likes to stick to the rules, Sarah’s history is more chaotic, the pairing couldn’t be more different!

Despite them being polar opposites I loved (and hated if that’s even possible) how Jane Corry made the reader feel like Tom and Sarah had to be together for each other’s good, despite the relationship coming across as abusive and coercive (re Tom having doubts about Sarah working after having Freddie, lovebombing and a quick proposal for marriage after a short relationship). They are clearly toxic for each other, so it’s no surprise when the events of the book happen!

Jane Corry has done a brilliant job of fleshing out the characters of Sarah and Tom. This was a really good thriller with lots of twists, so for that reason I give this 4 stars!

When arty Sarah meets actuary Tom there is instant attraction. They marry and start to try to have a child and it soon becomes apparent that they are in fact not at all suited. One thing they have in common however, is that they are both lying about their past. Both have something there that they want to keep hidden. But by the time their son Freddie is born, Sarah's secret is in the open and threatens to tear them apart. This has an effect on the family dynamic and by the time Freddie is fifteen he is out of control. So, when he comes home one night and tells them he has killed a man, they are at odds about what to do about it.

This is becoming such a recurrent theme in books that I'm beginning to wonder if anyone doesn't have a life threatening secret in their past! The theme of the mother hen protecting her brood is also all too familiar. I just felt exasperated with all the characters and didn't empathise with any of them so couldn't really relate to this tale at all. It was an ok read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The story is about how married couple, Tom and Sarah react when their teenage son Freddy comes home in the early hours of the morning, confessing to his parents that he has just killed someone.
Tom and Sarah are very different in every way including personality and background and Sarah is over-protective of their son especially after having difficulty conceiving, whilst Tom feels that she is too soft with him.
I liked the amount of detail when Tom and Sarah tell their backstories and characterisation, with a few likeable characters. The book is very well written and descriptive.

I absolutely love Jane Corry and have read all her previous books - this one was excatly the kind of twisty can't put down read I was expecting.
Sarah will do anything to save her beloved son, even if it means ending her marriage and leaving her life behind to live continuously looking over her shoulder. This story is of a mothers love and a childs mistakes.
I can't honestly say it was my favourite Corry book - having preferred 'I Looked Away' and 'Blood Sisters' but definitely a solid 4 star read and one I would buy in paperback to add to my shelf.

The heroine of the story is called Sarah Vincent but she is a difficult character to warm to for reasons which become clearer as the book goes on. She gets involved with Tom Wallace, a kind of literary caricature of Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is – unsurprisingly you might think – also unlikable. They have an unpleasantly behaved child called Freddie who is having a difficult adolescence, a lot of which can be blamed on his parents. Tom has a nasty posh friend called Hugo while Sarah seems over-acquainted with drug addicts and down and outs. It’s not really a promising start!

Of course, the reason why everyone is so unpleasant are the lies which they are all harbouring and which have been festering for years and years but, instead of having a good chat about their pasts and clearing the air, Sarah and Tom go on to get married. At every turn, their pasts continue to bedevil the present and few things go right and then Freddie admits to committing a heinous crime and he and Sarah make up some more lies while they go on the run.

There’s lots of back story to explain what everyone did and how it happened and, as readers, we can see that this is why Sarah is a case of arrested development – arrested being the operative word! She tries to express herself through her tortured art! We also find out why Tom is so tormented and the awful secret which he and Hugo share. It’s a mess!

In the end it all comes out in the wash and other things happen to explain that everyone wasn’t quite as guilty in the past as they think they are now and it’s a shame about the dead people but these things happen and, almost absurdly, everyone find some kind of happiness. It’s one thing to have the occasional Deus Ex Machina in your plot but this story needs about four of them!

I think you will like the book if you can feel more sympathetic towards Sarah but I found that difficult. The character I sympathised with most was the son brought up by dysfunctional parents locked in a loveless relationship and given the weight of their lies to add to his problems – and showing, in graphic detail, how the sins of the parents are visited on their children. However, the book as a whole didn’t really work for me!

An enjoyable read, the back story to the characters is complicated and maybe stretches the imagination just a bit. But the moral dilemma that they are faced with is well written and does leave you wondering what you might do in similar circumstances. Everyone has secrets and I did have to keep going just to find out where things would end.