was completely captivated by this one! I started it in the afternoon and before I knew it, I was 25% in and hooked--I finished it that night.

The story centers around con artist Meg Williams and a reporter Kat Roberts who has waited 10 years for their paths to cross again. I LOVED the cat/mouse dynamic between these two that author Julie Clark immediately crafts. The reader then learns the backstory of these two, alternating narrators and timelines in three main chunks. The pacing of this is masterfully done, I was never bored.

Usually, a con artist isn't as likable as Meg is, there is more than meets the eye with this plot. While the ending and overall story isn't super twisty--I think I was only really surprised once--it is a highly engaging domestic thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark is a great summer thriller that leaves you with a smile on your face when you turn the last page. Meg is a con artist but that's not all that there is to her. Kat is the reporter ready to wreak vengeance on Meg for an event that occurred in her past. The two come together in an unexpected way that makes for a great story. Read and enjoy!

Meg is a con artist who has spent the past decade duping people all across the country. Kat is a journalist who has set out to expose Meg and all her schemes, for both personal and professional reasons. Kathy’s sat in wait for Meg to turn up again in her hometown and when she does, Kat moves in on her and creates a relationship to get into the mind of such a criminal mastermind. But as Kat grows closer to Meg and sees what she is up to, she starts to see there’s a motive behind who she chooses as her victims. So is Meg really the heartless criminal that Kat thought she was or is there more to the story?
The plot was paced well and like all fiction, there are parts that you definitely have to set aside reality or else you’ll be taken out of the story, but overall this was an enjoyable read and fans of the Last Flight will find themselves grabbed by this story just as much.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Fantastic novel!

Meg Williams is a con artist who becomes a new person with a new name and a new role in your life. She has a purpose--get close to you and take all that is important to you before you realize what is happening.

Kat Roberts had her life turned upside down because of Meg Williams. Once Kat realizes that Meg is back in town, she decides to try and infiltrate Meg's life using a false last name and other miscellaneous information. She intends to expose Meg for her cons and finally take her life back. The more time Kat and Meg spend together, the more confused Kat becomes about Meg's true intentions.

5 out of 5 stars. I couldn't wait to see how this ended!

Meg Williams is an unapologetic, successful grifter. Since she only goes after bad people, she makes a perfect antihero and will keep you rooting for her to the very end. She came by her way of life early on when she and her mother were forced to leave their home and live in their car thanks to a charming but ruthless man. When we meet Meg she is at a political fundraiser, posing as a realtor, and tracking the man who ruined her life so many years ago, Ron Ashton. The fundraiser is to support his run for state senator. Unbeknownst to Meg, her presence at the event is being tracked by a woman named Kat Roberts. Kat is a struggling journalist, and she first became aware of Meg ten years earlier. Kat had been pursuing a story about a teacher ousted because of inappropriate relations with his female students. Although Meg and Kat never met, they did have a brief phone conversation at the time of the teacher's dismissal, and that phone call landed Kat in a very bad place. It effectively destroyed her career at the LA Times and has affected her personally ever since.

I loved everything about The Lies I Tell. The characters of both Meg and Kat were skillfully drawn, and I would want to be friends with them both! Author Julie Clark, hit the best seller charts with her last book, The Last Flight, and I'm sure the same will be true with this latest novel. It is just terrific. Well written and painstakingly plotted. I really, really enjoyed the maneuvers that Meg made in getting her revenge against Ron Ashton, and the ending was perfect.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me an eGalley for review. The Lies I Tell is going to be a great hit this summer.

Meg Williams is a con artist. She has been using a variety of names over the past ten years fine-tuning her craft. Her ultimate target is Ron Ashton, a businessman and local politician who conned and swindled Meg’s mother into losing their large Brentwood, California home. Years of being homeless and living in a van has fed Meg’s desire for revenge. Kat Roberts, a budding journalist, discovered Meg’s exploits and thought covering her story would be her big break. But this quest turned disastrous for Kat and now she too has spent ten years searching for Meg and seeking her own revenge. The two are finally eye to eye. Let the games begin!

I became a fan of author Julie Clark after reading 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 is a fast-paced, can’t-put-down, cat and mouse thriller about two women who are trying to fool one another. While Kat is a sympathetic character, it is Meg who is the star. She lies and steals, but you’ll be rooting for her anyway. I fully enjoyed this very clever tale of a woman who unapologetically does what she feels is warranted. I loved her response as to why: "It's the Girl Code. We have to look out for each other because no one else will."

Welcome, Ms. Clark, to my list of auto-read authors.

I received an ARC of The Lies I Tell in exchange for an honest review. I read The Last Flight by Julie Clark and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to The Lies I Tell. I was not disappointed. Meg is a con artist. Kat is a reporter. But not only a reporter, Kat is someone who Meg wronged many years ago. Kat is determined to expose Meg. The story is told from Meg and Kat's point of view. The story also goes back in time to expose some of Meg's other scams. As you read you will be unsure of who you should root for, Meg to pull off the con or Kat to expose her.

I picked The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark based on my enthusiastic enjoyment of her previous book The Last Flight. What I loved about that book was the complex main characters and their interactions that somehow changed and molded both characters. The Lies I Tell is about two women whose lives cross almost accidently, but who change each other in ways neither saw coming.

The story is told from the viewpoints of Kat, a journalist who took a call from Meg ten years ago which lead to a life changing incident for Kat, and Meg, the con-artist who comes back to southern California to finally face the man who ruined her life so many years before. Both women have been hurt and each responds in their own way. Kat chooses to blame Meg. She searches for her and sets up alerts in case there is ever an opportunity to reveal her for what she is. The thing about Kat’s blame is that I could both see how misguided it was and understand her feelings at the same time. Kat can’t place the blame where it lies because she knows that she cannot hurt the person who is really responsible. I feel that in my heart and in my gut. I think most women will relate.

Meg has her own story of vengence. She wants to destroy the man who stole her family home and left her homeless and alone while she was still a child. Living in her car and trying to get by, circumstances bring her back to the one girl in high school she saw as a friend and what happened to her. Meg is definitely doing people wrong here and a few of her deeds are revealed in the story. Yet, when you read the details you have a hard time disliking her. I wanted both women to get what they wanted. What they wanted seemed to clash too much for that to be possible. Nothing keeps me reading a book more than wanting to see how the author manages to bring it all to a satisfying close.

Julie Clark has managed, again, to create a story that is complicated and powerfully shows the interaction of two women and how that has an impact on each other’s lives. Both women want payback. Vengeance. In most books, vengeance is a violent and bloody thing. Not here. Vengeance is more about trying to balance scales that never started out balanced in the first place. Male characters are religated to the place usually reserved for female characters. The are left reacting to what the women are doing. It is powerful to see a world where that happens. It is more rare than many would think. Look at the Bechdel Test for most movies and you’ll find the scores pretty low. Even in movies with a lot of female characters. The criteria of the Bechdel Test are (1) that at least two women are featured, (2) that these women talk to each other, and (3) that they discuss something other than a man. Two women talk about themselves and their needs. Men may be in the converesation but they are not the whole conversation. It seems like a pretty low bar.

I have now officially added Julie Clark to my list of authors to watch. Thanks to NetGalley and Julie Clark for allowing me to read the ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review. When this book goes on sale-buy it!

Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she's done, you've likely lost everything. Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat's long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg's true target is.
I loved Ms. Clark's previous book "The Last Flight", so I was excited to read an ARC of this newest book. I was not disappointed. I never thought I could like an anti-heroine, but like her, I did. There was a reasoning behind what she did, she was sort of a "Robin Hood for women". There were lots of twists and turns and for once I was rooting for the :bad guy" to win. I definitely recommend this one!

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
The Lies I Tell is a thoroughly engaging psychological thriller about what it looks like when a need for revenge becomes a quest for justice. Or is it still just revenge after all?

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I’ve heard awesome things about this book from people who have already read it. The cover is intriguing, and it shows a picture of a woman’s face torn in half, or based on the blurb, it could be the top part of one woman’s face and the bottom part of another. The blurb refers to cons, seeking justice, and many identities – it definitely sounds like it has all of the components of a wonderful thriller.

Actual Reading Experience:
I just loved this book. It was everything I was expecting and much more. It’s full of twists and turns as someone tries to con a con just to be conned by the con, or were they? Is it more about expectations, or is it a reality? I’ll never tell, but if you followed that, you could imagine how absolutely and delightfully twisty turny this story is. It reads so fast. I couldn’t believe how far I got in just a short time. And I loved every short minute of it!

But, the twists, turns, and fast pace are just a small part of what made this book an excellent read for me. I loved how character-driven it was and how Kat and Meg make the story the fascinating read that it is. The depth that making this story character-driven brings is incredible with its many layers and complications, making me question more than once if I was on the side of what was right or if I had ventured to the dark side of morality.

The story is told in first-person narration through both Meg and Kat. I never confused which narrated, even if I didn’t catch the name at the chapter head. Their voices are uniquely their own. It is also told with a dual timeline, which is absolutely necessary, and both timelines are equally as engrossing. Of course, saying more about this story would compromise your enjoyment of discovery when (not if) you read it, so I’m going to stop here. Just know, this is one of my favorite thrillers this year!

Characters:
Meg is an anti-hero of sorts. As a teen, she all but blended into the background, enjoying only one sort-of friendship. Life had dealt her a raw deal, and she did what she had to survive. Taking on different names and occupations in various towns across America, she follows the girl code she learned from that one high school friend, “Girls have to look out for each other because no one else will.”

Kat has struggled to find out who her adult self is. Placed in a job her mother arranged for her, she worked to make a place in journalism for herself. Kat becomes obsessed with the woman who turned her boyfriend in for his relationships with teenage girls. This case was being written about by the journalist she fact-checked for. That obsession created a path for her from which there is no going back.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you love domestic or psychological thrillers and if you love revenge versus justice stories, The Lies I Told is a book you will kick yourself for not reading.

A thrill for sure. Kat is determined to expose Meg for the schemer and liar she is. Meg is a chameleon, who changes colors whenever necessary. She is very adroit at manipulation, lying, but she does do some good.
As I read further I kept asking who is toying with whom more. The narrative tilts one way and then back toward another.
It’s a great read about trust, revenge, redemption, and persistence.

This book definitely wasn’t as “dark” as I anticipated (no big murder or anything like that), but it really knocked my socks off!
…..
This book follows the POV of 2 different women, one a con-woman seeking revenge for her mother and another a journalist (seemingly) seeking revenge for herself. It delves into the world of privilege, especially the privileges of men and the ways in which some of them use those privileges against others, particularly women.
…..
Again, it wasn’t at all what I expected and I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving something away, but I think I liked it so much because it was a surprise, so I hope you all feel the same!
…..
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me this Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who's telling the story." (P. 274)

This binge-worthy novel follows the lives of two women, both with their own revenge in mind.

A couple trigger warnings: date rape and statutory rape.

Meg has done her research and waited for the perfect time to get back at the man that broke her mom's heart and left them homeless. This con artist, vigilante has perfected her game over time and is back to follow through on a promise she made to herself.

Kat is a young, go getting fact checker dying to climb the ladder. But one tip changes her life. Now with her own revenge planned out she must learn the ways of lying. But is she the one conning the con artist or will she get played?

I didn't think Julie Clark could write another book as gripping as The Last Flight but wow. I was lucky enough to get this approved novel on Netgalley and absolutely devoured it. When it came out as a Book of the Month pick for June, I had to add it to my library!

Julie Clark DOES IT AGAIN!

This was phenomenal! I absolutely loved the cat and mouse aspect. I loved that I felt like I was kept on the edge of my seat and couldn't want to find out how this ended.

Just click preorder now!

Thank you @sourcebookslandmark and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC of THE LIES I TELL.

Julie Clark is officially on my thriller autobuy list!

I absolutely loved THE LAST FLIGHT and with THE LIES I TELL, Clark delivered another fantastic thriller that I couldn’t put down featuring two more complex women.

So many thrillers fall into the trap of putting women into stereotypical boxes but Clark’s MCs are multidimensional and authentic. You want both Meg Williams to pull off her con and for Kat Roberts to get her revenge. I spent most of the book flip flopping between who I wanted to “win”.
The cat and mouse game between Meg and Kat kept me engaged and guessing until the end.

I can’t wait to see what Clark writes next!

THE LIES I TELL is out June 21, 2022.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4747742571?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
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I really enjoyed this novel about two women out for revenge. The characters were likable and relatable, their actions felt justified, and the development of the plot was well-paced. After Meg's mother was duped by a politician and they lost their home, Meg ended up living life on the streets - sleeping in her car and vowing revenge on the man who ruined her life. In the past she crossed paths with Kat Roberts, who is now a journalist, and is out to expose Meg as con artist. And Kat has her own personal reason for wanting revenge on Meg and has been waiting years for the opportunity to expose her. This is a page-turning, slow-burning thriller where nothing is what it seems and I loved it.

In The Lies I Tell Julie Clark introduces us to a skilled female con artist and a female journalist hoping to expose her. However, there is a lot going on in this book which quickly grabs onto you and won’t let you go.

I was instantly hooked into this story! I loved both characters and how their stories intertwined. I have never read a book about a con artist so that was really interesting to me. And it's like you want to root for both of the main characters because they both had their own struggles. Some things seemed a bit unrealistic but also con artists are smart and I would really have no idea what they could get away with! The ending wasn't quite what I wanted and it wasn't quite as exciting as the rest of the book but I read it super fast and would definitely recommend this book! I now want to read more from this author.

The twist and turns in this book will keep you guessing. Meg and her mother Rosie had been swindled by Ron Ashton while Meg was still in High School. Unfortunately, they had to live in a car for awhile. Rosie ends up dying from cancer so Meg has to make her living. She becomes a con artist but I would say more like Robin Hood she robs from the wealthy to help the ones they hurt on their way to riches. Kat is after Meg for what she feels Meg did to her so she wants to expose Meg. One con artist conning another con artist. Then you have Scott who is Kat’s fiancé and he is a fraud investigator but also a gambler. Meg tries to tell Kat but the head games who can you trust.
The ending was the ultimate one last gig! I can see where it would be really hard too trust anyone when you are in this position. Grab this book you won’t be disappointed.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This author is a new fave for thrillers! I absolutely loved this twisted domestic thriller, just as I did with her previous book The Last Flight. It was a page turner and I absolutely loved the con-artist storyline. I looooved that ending!!! All the stars. I highly recommend picking up this one.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.