Member Reviews
If you’re looking for book to keep you up reading all night this is for you !!
This book is about deceit and revenge and just how far someone will go to right the wrongs committed by a certain kinds of men. The story is told in alternating chapters between Meg and Kat. Meg is a con artist who targets men that have used women and left them with nothing. Meg is a journalist who has been tracking Meg for years. She believes Meg is responsible for her being drugged and raped 10 years ago while undercover for a story. Both women come back into each other’s life and form a friendship of sorts.
This is an author that hasn’t disappointed yet. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book !!!
Julie Clark's The Lies I Tell was an engaging novel that swapped between Meg and Kat's perspectives. Meg runs cons with the patience only a woman looking for revenge can and Kat is seeking to expose Meg's cons because she holds Meg partially responsible for something that happened to her 10 years ago. The two develop what could almost be considered a friendship. It's a complex story where you desperately want to root for the bad guy--I guess that's the issue. Who really is the bad guy? Is it justice or vengeance? My only hold-up is that Clark used a false accusation as a plot device to propel the story forward--this felt problematic and I hate to say, but like lazy story development. That being said, it was a great read. Fans of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl are sure to love Clark's The Lies I Tell.
Really excellent mystery. Kept me guessing about how it was going to play out. I think it will be just as popular as The Last Flight. Can’t wait for her next book.
“THE LIES I TELL” is the perfect title for Julie Clark’s new thriller. The reader has no idea who is the conman ,or who is getting conned. Meg, the main character, is seeking revenge for her mother’s financial ruin by sophisticated con man. She has a bit of a Robin Hood complex. She often swindles the rich, and gives the money to people who have been swindled. Kat, another main character, is unintended collateral damage to one of Meg’s cons. As a reporter, Kat is investigating Meg to bring her to justice. This is a novel with twists and turns, and the reader is along for an enjoyable ride.
Meg Williams is living the lives of 3 different women. Or, rather, she has 2 alias which she uses (in addition to her own name) to promote and pull off her various schemes. She is a con artist who travels the country scamming her victims. She may be a real estate agent, a home decorator or a student, she may be Meg Williams or Maggie Littleton or Melody Wilde, but one thing is certain, whoever she is and wherever she is, she is up to no good.
Meg’s mother was the victim of a scheme that left she and her mother homeless when Meg was still in high school. Shortly thereafter her mother died and Meg lived alone in her mother’s old van, until she found her way. Her way has been to emulate the man who took everything from she and her mother and, to plot her revenge.
Kat Roberts was collateral damage in one of Meg’s schemes. Meg didn’t know it at the time but, Kat felt that she had been set up. The results were devastating for Kat. Since then she has been on the lookout for Meg, waiting to seek her own revenge.
Told from the point of view of two women, each with a quest to rewrite the past, and the future. A fast paced domestic thriller with a wild cat and mouse game. I loved this book, from the moment I picked it up, I was hooked. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book. You’ve got a great one here! Publication date: June 21, 2022
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While I really enjoyed this book, I have to say that it didn't have the thrill and excitement of The Last Flight, which I loved. However, the author has a very engaging style of writing with enough twists and turns, as well as tight plotting, to keep you interested and rooting for the 2 protagonists, especially Meg.
I highly recommend this thriller about revenge and justice and want to thank Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for granting my wish of this ARC!
Really enjoyed this original thriller! I loved The Last Flight by Julie Clark and her newest novel, The Lies I Tell, did not disappoint. I loved the two different narrators’ perspectives and how it jumped around from present day to moments in their pasts. I love Julie Clark’s books as they are not the typical domestic thriller (which I do love), but an original story with two female leads. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced story that keeps you on the edge of your seat!
As a reader who loved the last flight, I was anxious to read Julie Clark's follow-up book. The Lies I tell is told from two points of view. Going from past to present in a cat and mouse game. Kat is a journalist trying to find her story of a lifetime and Meg is a con artist working on her mark. A great story from beginning to end and one I know people will love to read while sitting on the beach.
I highly recommend this one for a quick suspenseful thriller with a strong female character.
3.5 stars
While I really liked the premise of The Lies I Tell, I felt the execution of the story was somewhat lacking.
Told through alternating perspectives of two strong female protagonists, The Lies I Tell takes the reader on a turbulent journey filled with deceit and manipulation that begs the question as to the allowable limits for retribution and redemption. This book is filled with twists and turns and unexpected surprises which kept me engaged throughout reading up until the very end.
There were two things that kept me from rating this book higher however. The first was that I felt like the main characters were not fully flushed out. I never felt like I truly got to know who the true Meg and Kat were because of all the lies and manipulation occurring throughout the story. At the beginning of the book, I downright disliked Meg but as the narrative progressed I found myself liking her more and more. (Maybe that's a nod to Julie Clark's writing ability though. This story is told over time and Meg changed over that time in many ways. I just wished I could have connected with her earlier because I think that would have allowed me enjoy the story more.) The other thing that bothered me was the ease in which Meg seemed to have manipulated people. I can see some people being trusting and perhaps naive, but I think the reader had to stretch their imagination quite a bit to believe that she would have been able to achieve some of her biggest accomplishments.
With that said, I enjoyed this book (although not as much as The Last Flight). I would definitely recommend The Lies I Tell to others and look forward to reading more from this exceptional author.
Thanks to Net Galley for an Advanced Readers Copy to read and review!
Reading this book will give you a ringside seat to the machinations of a conniving female con artist and the journalist who wants to expose her. There are layers of intrigue that will without a doubt keep the reader guessing until the very end. And, when you're finished, you will ask yourself if the crafty swindler's actions were justifiable or just plain revenge?
I really enjoyed reading this book, as well as this author's last book, The Last Flight, and I highly recommend both of them to readers who love mystery and suspense with strong female protagonists. Julie Clark will definitely be added to my list of favorite authors and I will be eagerly awaiting her next book.
My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book. Expected publication date: 6/21/22.
Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!
This thriller follows Kat and Meg. Kat, an investigative report and Meg a con artist. Little did Kat know she would become personally involved with Meg when she began a story that involved Meg. I enjoyed that each chapter was from their own perspectives and how we see them intertwine and connect. Neither knows how much to trust the other. Meg takes on numerous personas as she makes it her personal mission to fix those who have wronged others. Kat, learns of money stolen in different investigative articles and decides to follow Meg for years to uncover her secrets. The two meet and play undercover roles, each playing each other. We learn more about Meg's thought process during her identity changes and why she does what she does. We learn that Kat needs to not trust people so easily. So many twists and turns up until the very end.
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I could not stop reading. I needed to find out Meg's next move. I needed to find out what was happening, how it was going to happen and if Kat was going to trap her.
The story is so much more then just a CON woman, scamming men. Its more about control, power, taking back agency, not being a victim.
I loved the interplay between Kat and Meg, I loved that it wasn't just two women against each other.
The story is so layered, I devoured it.
The characters so relatable, all women have been screwed over by a man at some point in their lives. It was a wonderful story and a great fantasy to harbor.
I can't wait to see what else this author has in the works.
This was fantastic! I enjoyed so much about this fast-paced book. I loved Meg and also really enjoyed Kat's chapters too. This was a lot of fun from start to finish!
This is a fast paced read in the thriller genre. It's told by alternating perspectives, between Kat, a journalist tracking down a story that has gotten personal for her, and Meg, a con woman out for revenge. They go back and forth, especially as they become friends and colleagues, with both of them keeping secrets and knowing more about the other than they say aloud. There's also focus on stories from the metoo era, and pretty much all the straight men in this book are bad, whether they rape women or steal from them. In that sense, it may be a little overdone.
In Julie Clark’s entertaining second novel, THE LIES I TELL, two women, Meg, a con artist, and Kat, a journalist trying to expose her, spin intricate webs around one another. Meg is on a mission to end the political career of the man who upended her childhood. Kat wants to reveal Meg’s nefarious deeds to the world for personal reasons, and as a way to restart the journalism career that Meg unknowingly derailed a decade ago. It’s a twisty cat-and-mouse chase that in the end turns out to be a surprising tale of female empowerment. Clark has a talent for hooking the reader from the start, and also for writing tales that are about more than the mystery at the surface.
Julie Clark is a literary master! The Lies I Tell is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. The twists and turns and her characters...just wow.
I could not put this book down. It's a solid thriller/mystery with a super likable anti-hero, con artist Meg, whose young life has derailed by a man dating her mother, just because he could. Meg is out for the big con. The other female character, Kat's life has been changed by Meg is also out for revenge. These two women, working mostly in parallel, one on a con, one for revenge. There are not a lot of twists and turns, but his book is very good and so readable.
If you like thrillers, you will love this book. I really enjoyed The Last Flight by this author but would rate this one even higher. I love being in the head of the characters. The author's style is to flip first-person narratives between the main characters. And they are conflicting characters so you are scratching your head trying to figure out who is good and who is bad? But the beauty in her writing is she doesn't make blatant villains and victims. Like real life, the characters (like us) have both qualities. The book pulls this off all while giving a great mystery along the way.
Just read this book. It is so good. Yes, it is an awesome thriller- cat and mouse game between a master con artist- Meg, and the writer Kat who is determined to expose her. But it is so much more than that. Julie Clark explores the WHY of how people get to be who they are. Why is Meg the damaged master con artist? Why does she do the things she does? Kat thinks she knows who Meg really is- and is determined to tell the truth to the world about her- and in turn get revenge for what Meg did to her. But as the reader you learn along with Kat- that things- and people-are not always what they seem. I love this novel because it isn't just a fantastic thriller- Clark took it further and explored how events in our life damage us and change us. I am still thinking about these two women. I hope Julie Clark writes another novel with both women in it. I am jealous of anyone who hasn't read this book yet and still gets to discover it.
Fantastic thriller! I could not put this down all night. First time read of this author but I will be on lookout for more!