It's always sad to say goodbye to che characters of a series but I thoroughly enjoyed this last instalment as it was gripping and the end satisfying.
There's plenty going on and the story deals with fundamental issues like ecology.
Great world building and character development, a plot that flows and never drags.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A worthy, and heartfelt ending to what has been an unexpectedly unusual and enjoyable series. I went into these books thinking they'd be crime with a hint of fantasy but what I got was fabulous and unique world building, a thoughtful and distinctive religious system, flawed and believable characters, and stories, wrapped in stories wrapped in stories, I read the three books in the series one after another and found myself turning pages into the night. It was a gripping tale, with a dark and gritty plot but woven throughout with moments of hope and humanity in the tales told. An author who I will be checking out for further publications.

I love the world Fields has created with this trilogy. The idea that stories can physically change reality or affect outcomes – for elections, for court case verdicts – was innovative and compelling. Stories are dangerous weapons as well as necessary tools and pieces of entertainment. I like the way Fields has encapsulated that – story within story – in a series that is police procedural meets fantasy exploring the idea of monomyth. I feel as if we get a fair if slightly harrowing resolution for Cora in this book, too. After three books of poor decisions and fury, she is finally faced with an awful choice and the build up really pays off. Over all this is an excellent series. Highly recommend

Intrigued by the description I requested this ARC not realising it was part of a trilogy. It was indeed a serendipitous request as quickly found after buying and devouring the first two books, Widow's Welcome and Stitcher & the Mute.
The trilogy - Tales of Fenest centre around Nora Goderheim a city detective from a disgraced family.whose role places her in the heart of the capital Fenest. Nora is an excellent detective and the mood of the inital stroy is gritty noir and blends fantasy, politics and police procedural.
The Union, composed of six realms Perlish, Wayward, Casker, Lowlander, Torn and Rustan, is in the midst of elections which occur every five years. Stories are central to the lives of all in the union and the decision on which realm rules is guaged by the stories told with votes placed by the Audience.
We are introduced to Nora after the death of the Wayward storyteller and this leads her deeper into the politics of Fenest - something she has avoided since her parents disgrace.
Each book includes two election stories from the Realms which were fascinating in themselves and I found myself allocating them a black or a white stone much as the Audience votes are cast. Each story provides an insight into each Realm, relflecting their ethos, customs and thoughts.
In Farewell to the Liar the last book of the trilolgy Nora has been forced out of the police and commits herself to her estranged sisters Ruth to ensure that the Wayward story is told. This book ties up story threads, we learn more about the Tear and the calamity the Union is facing but with a roadmap for hope.
I urge you to read and immerse yourself in this trilogy - a fantastic find for me particularly in the post lockdown period.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC, all comments are my own.

This was a great, albeit occasionally a little confusing, finish to this trilogy.
What seemed like a police investigation into a gruesome murder quickly became something much deeper over the course of books one and two. In a world where stories literally determine the outcome of elections, and storytellers are deeply important to each Fenestrian culture, especially the election Storytellers, fired police officer Cora Gorderheim has critical decisions to make about dealing with the corruption in Fenest, as revealed by Cora’s murder investigation and by Ruth.
Newly fired for being a little too good at ferreting out the truth, Cora has to protect her older sister, now the Wayward Storyteller. It’s a harrowing job, as Ruth has other critical duties to fulfil, taking the pair out of Fenest, and there are many attempts to silence the Storyteller. And it all comes down, after Ruth’s telling of the final election story, to deciding who gets to decide the outcome of the election: the voters, or corrupt government officials eager to build walls, lie and murder people to hide the truth of an increasingly dangerous situation creating a stream of refugees out of the Lowlands.

The authors do a great job ratcheting up the dangers and tension, while again embedding two more terrific novella-length stories, told this time by the Rustans and the Waywards, within the larger narrative.
Meanwhile, Cora has to confront her feelings about her parents, Ruth, and herself, making this the toughest, in some ways, of the three books to read. She’s been brimming with anger, and has made poor decisions throughout the three books, and is finally faced with a terrible, gut wrenching choice at the end. It’s been a difficult journey in so many ways for this character, and well handled by the authors.
Additionally, the choices faced by Fenest, and who these people want to be and how they define themselves are relevant and timely questions.
I literally picked the first book up on a whim, and because I thought the cover looked great. I’m glad I did, and more glad I followed the series through to its end. It’s been a deliberate, thought provoking journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you so much for letting me review this amazing book! I absolutely loved the characters and the story! Had me hooked from the very beginning! I couldn't put the book down! I highly recommend this book to enjoy!!!

A good final installment. of the trilogy. It didn't disappoint. Readers who enjoyed the first books will read this one, that's obvious. They can count on more cool world-building and character development and things wrapped up in a neat way. Recommended.

Did I know this was the last book in a trilogy when I requested it? No. Was I super confused for the first couple of chapters? Yes. Did I go read the first two books and then hurry back to read this one? Also yes! The world built in these books is super interesting and well developed and I may have lost the full affect because I binged it but I still liked it all the same.

When I got this ARC I had no idea that it was part of a trilogy, I honestly just wanted to read it because it sounded really interesting. The whole series is really great and this book provides an excellent conclusion to the overall story.

Farewell to the Liar has really excellent world building and all of the locales are really neat. The characters are also great and display excellent personal growth and development. Overall, it's a really pleasing read.

I don’t know if I just forgot how to read or what, but I totally didn’t realize this was the 3rd book in a series. It definitely made it difficult to know exactly what was going on. Make sure you know this before going in!

I can see that these books will be great if read in order, though. I’m excited to read them properly.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Apparently this book is the third of a trilogy, which made it more difficult to understand what was going on and get into the story. I would recommend reading the first two books before this one.

A fine conclusion to a gripping series.

This is the third and final part of writing couple David Towsey and Katherine Stansfield’s “Tales of Fenest” series, featuring Detective Cora Gorderheim, and really needs the reader to have finished the previous two for it to make much sense.

Fans of the series will know that the books combine a police procedural theme with a political background where elected Storytellers, representing various Realms, are important personages, all wrapped up in a fantasy setting. It’s a world where elections are fought and won on stories, which themselves are power.

Following the events of “The Stretcher and the Mute”, Cora has been stripped of her badge by the Chief Inspector, and her priority now is to protect her sister, Ruth, the new Wayward storyteller. Ruth must tell her tale of the Tear widening if people are to know the truth of what's happening in the Union of Realms.

What follows is a tense journey across seas, to spread the word, and both sisters face challenges, hard decisions and unwanted truths. It’s another wonderful read, albeit hard to follow in places.

Cora Gorderheim is a complex character – flawed, compassionate, and conflicted, but always trying to do the right thing. It’s been good to see her grow through the series, even when she gets things wrong. The publisher blurb ends with “…slowly Cora realizes she must make a terrible choice: her sister's life, or the future of the Union.” That’s all you need to know to realise how things go.

This has been a rich, complex and thought-provoking series, and really needs to be read twice to be fully appreciated. My NetGalley ARC was marked as “mystery & thrillers / sci-fi & fantasy” but I’m certain the series was previously referred to as “young adult”. But the books defy genre-fication. They are what they are – stories about the importance of storytelling, the dangers of political control, and the decisions we need to make in life.

The books will appeal to fans of Ben Aaronvitch, Samantha Shannon, and Laini Taylor. Definitely recommended.

Well here we are, the final chapter in the Tales of Fenest. And what a final chapter! I have been eagerly awaiting these last two election stories - and the continuation of Cora’s own story - and I was not disappointed. After the developments at the end of Stitcher, I was intrigued to see where the plot would go, and just what it was about the Wayward story that deemed it so dangerous.

Storytelling is the foundation of the nation, but also of this trilogy, and Farewell to the Liar ramps this up a notch. In a place where elections are fought and won on stories, stories hold power, yes, but there’s more to power than political control (though it may not seem like it a lot of the time…). Even as the stories throughout the trilogy ruminate on destruction and preservation, looking back and looking forwards, they also linger on humanity, its hopes and fears, and its capacity to navigate conflict. As Cora’s eyes are opened to what’s really going on in the South, and to the machinations of the Commission, she has her own decisions to make, and it was fascinating to watch her have to juggle the conflict of head and heart. There are so many layers that make up Cora Gorderheim, that she is a deeply captivating character, flaws and all. Beneath all the smoke, there may well be a heart of (slightly tarnished, perhaps) gold, but, most compelling for me is how she both embodies the conflict between pragmatism and idealism as a creation, and grapples with it as a character.

As with the previous two books, I couldn’t help but get pulled into the allegories and turn my mind to our own times - especially in the wake of the last year or so - and the ecological, political, and social contexts in which we live: are we resigned to apathetic acceptance, or is the hope of an optimistic future enough to get us there?

Brilliantly imagined and incredibly thought-provoking, this trilogy is one which I am sure I will return to again and again; the suspenseful mystery is absorbing, the characters are imbued with such an essence of humanity that they sing with realism, and the world-building is so rich that part of me wouldn’t mind spending a little time there myself (maybe a few years prior to the events of the trilogy, though…). An absolutely cracking read.

Hello !
First of all I would like to thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review !

Unfortunately I havent been able to read it because I just realised it was the third book in a trilogy, and I havent read the first two !

I'm really sorry, that's my fault, I should have payed more attention when reading the synopsis ! That's what happens when you try to get into the book mostly blind !

Sorry again about that !

That being said, that series seems really great, and I hope I can read it someday !

What a great conclusion to an excellent trilogy!

When I got this ARC, I didn't actually know that this was part of a trilogy, I just thought it sounded it interesting. I quickly realised and went and bought the first two books. The whole series has been fantastic, and one of the things I really enjoyed about these books were the stories within the story. As each storyteller took their turn, it was great to see how you would vote yourself for the story they were telling to the Audience.

I really liked the world building in this. The different areas like the Tear, the Rusting Mountains, the Lowlands, etc., plus the Swaying Audience of 50 gods who listen to the stories of the people that you tell them throughout your life. It was just an interesting religious based system that I felt was really well done.

I liked the characters. Cora isn't perfect, and she makes mistakes. She holds on to things from the past and allows that to cloud her judgment about things, but she also shows development.

Sometimes, with a trilogy or series, the ending can be disappointing, but I was really pleased with how this one ended. I definitely recommend it.