The Lies I Tell is a fast-paced mystery told in alternating perspectives by Meg and Kat. When Meg is a teenager her mother is bilked out of their family home and dies shortly after, leaving Meg alone and living out of her car - with an ax to grind. As she uses dates as a way to get free meals, an opportunity presents itself to get revenge on someone that took advantage of one of Meg’s few friends in high school. And so begins Meg’s life as a con artist. Kat, meanwhile, is investigating Meg as part of her initial scam when a phone call from Meg causes her unexpected trauma, and makes Kat more determined than ever to expose Meg. Ten years later Meg and Kat cross paths again while Meg is planning her biggest con yet. Each has each other’s measure and are quietly circling each other. Despite this the pair are becoming friends and it’s getting harder for Kat to keep her objectives in mind, until she’s the target of fraud. Is it Meg trying to distract her, or someone closer to home? Clark tells a great story and just like Kat, the reader begins to rethink their feelings about Meg. Can doing the wrong thing for the right reasons really be so bad? This is a great combination of a mystery, a cat-and-mouse game, and a thought provoking look at ethics. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Rating: 2.5
I liked the beginning of the book, but I was either bored or angry throughout the rest of it. The multiple timelines got convoluted and confusing and the plot really wasn't what I expected it to be.

A super engaging, fast-paced thriller. I enjoyed this one even more than The Last Flight by her. I really enjoyed both Kat and Meg's perspectives, and the ending was fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

The Lies I Tell
by Julie Clark
Pub Date: June 21, 2022
Sourcebooks
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.
* Thriller * Mystery

This is one of the best thrillers I have read this year. I have not read Last Flight, but this book makes me want to read it! The 2 main female characters in this book, Meg & Kat, are top-notch, complex, and very well developed throughout the book. The friendship that developed between them felt natural and real. The storyline was original and interesting! This was a face-paced book and just overall, an amazing read!! Highly recommend!!
5 stars

This is my first book by this author, but it certainly won’t be my last. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.

Kat Roberts has been waiting 10 years for her to return -- Meg Williams, better known as the woman who ruined her life. Kat slowly integrates herself into Meg's life to see what she has up her sleeves; she knows it must be something good for her to return back home. Meg, Maggie, Melody is a con artist who becomes whomever she needs to be to get the job done, and 10 years ago she put Kat in harm's way. Kat plans on exposing Meg for the trickster she is, but finds herself growing to actually like Meg and starts questioning the people around her and the way the world is. Who will Kat believe in the end?

I really enjoyed the feminist bent of this book -- Meg was just following "girl code" the whole time. It was a great read, and I found myself wanting to know more about why Meg is the way she is and about ALL the cons she pulled off. She's like the Robin Hood for mistreated women, getting revenge on all the men who did her and others wrong. I had hoped for a great confrontation scene with Ron, but was a little let down by how anti-climatic that certain part of the book seemed. I want an epilogue from Meg's point of view and found Kat's to be exciting (maybe a sequel!). I'd love to hear about Kat, finally, getting sweet justice on Nate!

Thanks to the publishers for the ARC.

The Lies I Tell is FANTASTIC, wholly bingeable, and leaves you on the edge of your seat & the ENDING 🤯. I devoured this in a single sitting and absolutely loved it! I definitely recommend you grab this one if you need a thriller for your summer reading!

Loved this book Julia Clark writes the best twisty turning thrillers.Her characters come alive the story drew me right in.I could not put the book down I read way past my bedtime.Will be recommending.#netgalley #theliesitell.

Julie Clark does it again!
This author is an incredible thriller writer and takes her characters to the next level.

The entire time I am on the edge of my seat wondering how Meg and Kay are going to derail each other’s plans or come together and embrace the obvious friendship.

The ending was mind blowing!
I absolutely loved the nod to her first novel, THE LAST FLIGHT in the airport. I could see that happening in a movie.

If this book is not on your TBR you need to add it now!

This was an amazing suspenseful, character driven story. I absolutely loved. I definitely recommend..

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for alllowing me to read this story.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by anyone else,

The Lies I Tell is a fast-paced psychological thriller that you don't want to miss. Much like Clark's debut novel The Last Flight, the story in her newest book unfolds at breakneck speed, leaving readers unable to stop turning pages and keeping them on their toes with twists and turns along the way. Though both characters were a bit unreliable at times, I found myself able to empathize with both of them and really become invested in the story. If you are looking for a quick thriller which will leave you thinking "what the heck just happened," then look no further. Thank you for the early review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

WOW.

It has been a while since I read a book that I did NOT want to put down or stop reading but this one hit all the boxes. It was engaging, well told and had interesting characters. I was hooked in early and was sucked straight into the book until the end.

Highly recommend to those wanting something suspenseful and hard to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited yet nervous to read this one because I enjoyed the author's previous novel so much. I'm thrilled to report this is a worthy follow up!

This story follows two women, each bent on revenge for different reasons. The characters are compelling and believable. The story is intense, I couldn't put it down and I couldn't guess what was happening next. This is a fast paced, twisty story that hops around in time yet is easy to follow. The writing is strong.

I highly recommend this one for readers of thrillers.

The Lies I Tell, described as a “twisted domestic thriller”, follows Meg Williams, a con artist and Kat Roberts, a journalist who has been waiting years to expose Meg for who she really is. When Kat hatches a plan to befriend Meg and get the scoop she needs for her career making story, Kat soon finds out that not everything is as it seems.

First off, the beginning of this book had me hooked. We get a glimpse of how Meg started her “career” as a con artist and how she targeted her former high school teacher, a man who supposedly had something to do with the disappearance of another student. Based on the first third of the book, I was expecting to love this story. Unfortunately, the plot started to meander around the 50% mark when Kat befriends Meg. There was too much real estate jargon to hold my attention, I became a bit bored.

While this book is predictable (I guessed the twist super early), the ending was satisfying and redeemed the slow parts, so I’m settling on 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 6/21/2022

I was totally absorbed in this thriller and read it in one sitting. Cheering for the con artist and cheering even more when the despicable were brought to ruin. Multilayered characters and an excellent storyline, especially as this con is served with revenge.
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an early copy of this book. This review is voluntary and the comments are my honest opinion.

Meg’s target is a man she has patiently waited for the last ten years. She was just a girl when she and her terminally ill mother Rosie lost their home, their stability and life as they knew it. All because of one man, Ron Ashton. Alone in the world Meg became a chameleon changing her personality, skills and her name as the situation required. Like the Robin Hood of emotional trauma, Meg focuses on men who have ruined the lives of women by taking all of their power away. Narcissistic, often good looking, successful men who believe they are above the law. Kat Roberts has also been biding her time. As a young journalist in Los Angeles she received a tip on a hot new story her boss was covering. Unfortunately, following up on this lead alone and inexperienced Kat was physically and emotionally traumatized leaving her life in shambles from which she has never truly recovered. Supporting her detective boyfriend Scott in gamblers anonymous, Kat finds herself at a crossroads. She has discovered that Meg is back in town. She is posing as a realtor, licensed and with a surprisingly authentic web site. Kat is determined to befriend Meg, infiltrate her latest con and put her sorely missed journalistic skills back to work. The two women quietly remain optimistic that justice will be served and are often reminded that the teacher is sometimes the student. Extremely fast paced suspenseful domestic thriller. Author Julie Clark has done it again with this absolute perfect beach read. Bring lots of lotion because you will not be able to put this one down.

4.5 Rounded Up
There is something special about a book written by Julie Clark. She expertly crafts strong female characters and makes you fall a little in love with them and cheer for them, even those with some major flaws. Meg is a con artist and she's come back to Cali for revenge. Kat is the reporter that is determined to figure it all out and cover the story. Back and forth, back and forth, the chapters alternate perspective and it was very entertaining to see it all unfold from both of their points of view. There is a bit of time hopping as well and it all flowed quite nicely. Well done, Ms Clark.
There are some triggers in the book, so beware of that. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Lies I Tell will be available on 6/21/22.

This book was seriously addictive! I had a hard time putting it down and kept wanting to come back to the engrossing story and compelling characters. Meg and Kat were both well developed and fascinating narrators, and I loved seeing the dynamic play out between the two. I highly recommend this fast-paced, twisty thriller! Julie Clark hit it out of the park once again with another 5 star read and I can't wait to read what she writes next!

I love a book that is smart, that makes me think, that makes me appreciate the gift the author has for telling a great story. The Lies I Tell by Julie Abbott Clark is exactly that kind of a book. For ten years, Meg has been running cons as she crisscrosses the country, and Kat is a journalist who wants to expose her. But of course it’s not as simple as that, because there are layers to Meg that prove that she is not just a grifter, and there are things in Kat’s past that not only draw her to Meg for the sake of the story, but for personal reasons as well. The Lies I tell is a twisted, tangled web of deception, revenge, justice, and manipulation that I could barely put down. Throughout the book, I never knew who to believe, who to condemn, or whose side to be on. The ending was unexpected, brilliant, and perfect. This brilliant line from the book sums it up for me: “The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who’s telling the story.”

I love how Julie Clark writes strong female characters. Meg and Kat wove a story that was so fun to unravel. There were so many twists and turns!
It is no secret that I do not like unreliable narrator plots but this one was so good! I loved the misdirects. It felt like I was inside a movie!
This almost felt like Dexter meets Ocean’s Eleven!