I have come to realize that atmosphere plays a big part in my enjoyment of a book, and this one has a ton of it from the prologue right up until the eerie decision in the last pages. The story is told in three parts with Eva’s perspective first, then Nancy’s, then both of them wrap up to the end. It’s an effective structure and allows the reader to have a clear understanding of the characters’ mindsets as the plot winds its way toward the conclusion. I didn’t relate to any of them, but that was okay because in this case I don’t think it was necessary to identify with a character or situation in order to enjoy the book. At times, it reminded me of the King novel "Misery." I would definitely recommend it. For a full review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.

The Liar's Daughter by Rona Halsall is a dark and twisty tale that keeps you guessing until the final page. This one was, admittedly, quite slow to pull me in, but my patience was duly rewarded.

Eva lives with her father, who suffers from dementia, and her stepmother. When a call comes to say that her sister has been in an accident, Eva finds herself travelling to Wales to help with the much older Nancy's recovery. But just who is Nancy, and where has she been all of Eva's life? A lifetime of secrets are waiting to be revealed, and Eva knows that her understanding of her family will never again be the same.

Although this starts as a slow burn of a read, the momentum picks up steadily as historical and vital information is established, and the action in the here and now accelerates to a dizzying pace that will leave you breathless. While I would not rate this one as a personal favourite from this author, it is certainly worthy of your time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

More secrets, lies and deceptions than you can shake a stick at! This book had it all and more! When Eva answers a phone call her entire world is turned upside down & her mother has a lot of explaining to do.
This was such a good book! Great writing, characters were well developed and THAT ENDING!!!! Thank you so much!!

This book had me from page one, I could not turn the pages fast enough!

A well-thought-out plot with complex and developed characters. A fast-paced thriller with plenty of mystery, suspense, twists, and turns.

A compellingly good read that keeps you invested from start to finish.

I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this advanced reader's copy.

Wow. What a book! Ok, so at the start you definitely have to suspend your disbelief a bit (surprise, a sister you never knew about!) but if you just go for it, you're in for a wild ride. There's so many twists and turns, and so much of the plot is genuinely jaw dropping. I've never read any of Rona's books before, but I cannot wait to change that - if they're half as good as The Liar's Daughter, they'll be truly gripping reads.

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.

Eva lives with her parents to help care for her father, Mike, who has dementia. Her mother, Linda, is really her stepmother. Her real mother died when she was a baby.

Eva receives a call from a hospital in North Wales saying her sister, Nancy, is a patient. She was brought in with a head injury and would need someone to take her home and stay with her for a few days. Eva is shocked because she never knew she had a sister. Questioning Linda, she learns that Nancy ran away when she was 16 just after Eva was born. Now Nancy is 40. Linda reveals the story but she and Mike did not want to tell Eva because it was determined that Nancy ran away and committed suicide by drowning but her body was never recovered. Eva is intent on getting Nancy at the hospital, caring for her, and getting to know her sister.

Nancy has had a serious concussion and needs to be watched carefully. She lives in an old, remote farmhouse. Eva finds it creepy but cannot get much information about the place from Nancy. Ah, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. What has Nancy been doing all these years living in an old, isolated farmhouse? Why would she choose to do so? Eva has so many questions but is about to learn an amazing tale that will knock hers and even your socks off!

This is a sad story of what’s called Stockholm Syndrome. The life Nancy has wasted is pitiful and I felt so sorry for her for not having more strength and bravery to change her life. But Eva has suffered as well. She always wanted her big sister to be a part of her life and spent many sad years yearning for her. The many lies and selfishness of some people can ruin the lives of others. A good story that I think will have many readers thankful for what they have in their lives.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It is early early hours of the morning and I have just finished THIS book! Holy Moly! Rona strikes again! This is not the usual craziness I know, love and expect from Rona. This is something more. This is a darker story than I am used to with Rona to be completely honest, I LOVED it!

The Liar’s Daughter does not relent! There are just SO many secrets that made my head spin. Some I saw coming and some I had no idea were even possible. I was tricked, kept in the dark and that rug was firmly pulled from my feet with this shocking tale.

So much darkness in one book! So much fear, tense and unsettling times. At one point, when Eva was in the kitchen and it was pitch black outside, the descriptive writing had me thinking Rona was descending into the horror genre, she definitely got the hairs raised on my neck!

I loved how the book is told in 3 sections, a now, a then and an explosive current now! It does make sense when you read the book what I mean. Eva has a lot to get her head around, as we do, revelations just do not stop coming and my heart went out to her. Nancy, I struggled with at first, she is not the Nancy we expected. Then the unidentified third person, well that was a nice little twist. Gah! Read it!

This is a book that so easily falls into the only the more chapter trap. It is a book that will sink its claws into you. It made me question everything and I am still worried about 2 people wandering the woods!

I always look forward to a book with Rona Halsall’s name on the cover that I don’t even bother to read the blurb, I already know I am going to love it. It is no different here. It was an interesting and refreshing dark look at the situation that is laid out in front of us. There are enough twists to keep your head spinning as if you have been on the Waltzers!! It grabbed me from the first page, a slow start to suck you into the mystery with a shocking second and third part!

Dark, twisty and taut, everything I like in a thriller! This ticked all the boxes and I loved it, a really great read!

BOOKWORMS Review:

Welsh Wldlife Conservationist Eve has to take time out from her job to help with her dying father. He has Dementia and needs round the clock care. Linda,her stepmom is her co-pilot in this endeavour...its just the two of them. Eves birth mom passed away the day she was born and Linda,their neighbour stepped up..eventually marrying her dad.
Eve has always wanted a sibling bit it wasnt to be. So,you can imagine her shock when Linda receives a call from a hospital saying Nancy,her other step daughter has had an accident at home and needs someone to come get her.
Wait,what?!
Linda is gobsmacked as is Eve who feels totally betrayed by this reveal. She was never told she had a sister as it was believed 16yr old Nancy ran away and killed herself. Her parents saw no sense in putting that on her,as she was a happy child.
Linda wanting to leave well enough alone after all this time is reluctant to go to Nancy,but Eve is adamant..so off she goes,alone.
Of course,things are not as presumed. A story of family,betrayal,and mental health to name a few. This book builds and got better as it went on...it was a slow burner for me,but totally delivered. Definitely read this one when you can.
With thanks to Rona Halsall,Netgalley,and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Just brilliant. This author never disappoints. Heart thuddingly tense and thrilling. I raced through this book in one breathless gulp. Very suspenseful. Packed with twists. Loved it.

Rona Halsall is one of my must-read thriller authors. So anytime I hear she has a new book coming out I jump at the chance to read it and be part of the blog tour. This latest book sounded as intriguing and entertaining as her others so I was excited to start reading.

She had me hooked with the intriguing prologue as Eva’s life is torn apart on that ordinary Sunday afternoon when she finds out she has a sister her parents never mentioned. A sister who is now in hospital with a serious head injury and needs taking care of. Feeling betrayed, Eva rushes to her side, reeling from the betrayal and searching for answers she feels only the mysterious Nancy might be willing to give.

This readable page-turner was so expertly written that it lulled me into a false sense of security. I should have known better than to get comfortable and think I had it all figured out. But I did. And then out of the blue she delivered one of her trademark twists that revealed a skillfully crafted hall of mirrors and turned everything I thought I knew on its head. I couldn’t read fast enough and was flying through the pages as the author took me on a wild ride packed with sizzling suspense. I’ll never underestimate Rona again!

The story is filled with compelling characters that may or may not be reliable. I don’t want to ruin the surprises in store for those yet to read the book, so I’m only going to talk about Eva. She was a likeable character that I found it easy to root for. Most of us have experienced that gut wrenching feeling when we discover someone we trusted implicitly has lied to us for a long time. I can only imagine how much more painful that is when it was your parents. Eva’s heartbreak, loss, confusion and sense of betrayal is palpable, Halsall putting us in her shoes as her whole world crumbles and she tries to rebuild it with the broken pieces of lies and truths that she never imagined.

Riveting, unexpected and tense, The Liar’s Daughter is another morally complex and emotional story from a sensational author.

This is my first Rona Halsall book that I've read.

This is a dark and thrilling and I loved it.

The twists will keep you wanting more and more. It kept me on the edge of my seat until it finished.

This book sounded interesting and I was really looking forward to reading it but I found that it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. The first half of the book was a bit slow and uneventful a part from Eva learning that she had a sister. But the second half was better because that’s where all of the action happened.

My favourite part of this book was Nancy’s perspective because it provided a deeper understanding of what actually happened all those years ago. I also enjoyed her perspective because this is when all of the secrets and lies start to unravel.

I found myself not really connecting with any of the characters but they were interesting in their own way. I have to say that Eva really annoyed me but I won’t say why because I don’t want to spoil anything but I wish she was less forgiving I guess.

Eva has put her life on hold to help look after her dad who has been diagnosed with dementia and his condition is getting worse, then her stepmum Linda receives a phone call stating that Eva's sister is in hospital after being involved in an accident, but she is an only child, isn't she? Eva doesn't have a clue what's going on but is certain that someone has been lying to her for her whole life, so she decides to travel to Wales to meet her sister Nancy, and look after her while she recuperates, and hopefully get some answers while she's there, but things are never that straightforward are they?

This latest story by Rona Halsall is told in three parts by Eva and Nancy. It's a very dark and disturbing tale of coercive control, gaslighting and deception, with the author drawing us in slowly during Eva's perspective in the first part, then revealing what happened twenty four years ago when Nancy disappeared, before finally leading us back to the present day. I loved the atmospheric setting of the farm, which really added tension and intrigue to the story. It's a well crafted plot, with a few spine tingling twists along the way and some very dark moments which had me on the edge of my seat, very reluctant to put the book down and return to real life, culminating in me reading it in less than a day. Another gripping read from Halsall which I highly recommend.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

A great thriller showing the darker side of family and the secrets that we keep in order to survive. Let’s just say I did not envy the protagonists thrown into this plight!

I'm a big fan of Rona Halsall and her latest did not disappoint! When Eva discovers she has a sister and begins to investigate the truth the twists and turns begin - and don't stop.! The book moves at a great pace and the narrative switches between the two women. With well written characters and an original plot, this is a great read. Highly recommended,

Another great read from Rona Halsall.
Eva is looking after her Dad alongside Linda, her stepmother. He’s suffering with dementia and it’s taking it’s toll on both Eva and Linda.
They receive a call to say Nancy needs someone to look after her as she’s recovering from a head injury, but Eva can’t believe it as when she asks Linda who Nancy is, she tells her it’s her sister.
Eva never knew she had a sister so wants to go and help her but Linda tries to persuade her not to.
Eva sticks to her guns and drives to Wales to pick up Nancy and is surprised how ill she is.
They drive back to Nancy’s farm and Eva tells her she will stay for a few days until she can manage on her own.
Things start out okay but soon there is tension between the two women and Eva just wants to leave. Nancy turns nasty and things go from bad to worse for Eva.
The book is full of twists and there are a few shocks in store as the lies come to light.
I really enjoyed this book and loved how the story was told.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Excellent psychological thriller told in two parts. Each are equally harrowing and the secrets slowly spill out creating the whole picture which is far from what the sisters believed to be true. Exciting, engaging and sometimes terrifying but oh so good!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

The comes out of the blue one Sunday afternoon to say your sister has been admitted to hospital with a serious head injury. But you don't have a sister.... do you? You've never doubted your parents. But your stepmother is uncharacteristically speechless, and your father isn't well enough to understand.

Eva never knew she had an older sister until she received the phone call from the hospital. Eva drives to Wales to meet and help her newly discovered sister Nancy. Nancy lives on a remote farm in Snowdonia. In my opinion, the second part of the book is the best part. The pace is slow to begin with but it soon picks up and the twists keep coming. It's also quite a dark domestic thriller with lots of secrets. Once I got into the story, I couldn't put it down.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #RonaHalsall for my ARC of #TheLiarDaughter in exchange for an honest review.

A rather slow start but eventually it picks up. Dark and creepy full of family secrets and a few twists. An interesting read my first by the author.