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!

I don’t usually read these type of books (women’s psychological thrillers) but thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, who provided me with this arc in exchange for an honest review, I have expanded my horizons. I am glad I did. It reeled me in from the beginning and I could not put it down. This book is about a con artist (Meg) and the journalist (Kat) who blames Meg for a horrifying act that caused changes in Kat’s life. Kat investigates Meg so that she can expose her for her criminal acts. But, of course nothing is ever as it seems-revenge or justice?

Wow! This is an amazing book! Couldn't put it down.

Kat Roberts is a reporter. When she receives a random call with a tip about a story she is working on, she oversteps her bounds to follow the lead. Unfortunately it has disastrous consequences. She blames the caller, who she knows is the infamous Meg Williams, who is a con artist and very much at the center of the case Kat is working on.

10 years later, Kat sees Meg at a function she is attending and realizes that she must be up to her old tricks. Kat finds out Meg is working as a Realtor and decides to get close to her to find out what she is up to.

Unfortunately, Meg is on to Kat from the beginning. Despite the lies they both tell to keep up appearances, the two women develop a complicated relationship.

Soon strange things start happening to Kat, such as bills going missing and random attempts to access her accounts, Her fiance thinks that Meg, being a con artist, is after Kat's money.

Kat must get to the bottom of things before Meg finishes her latest con and disappears again.

Riveting story from start to finish! I am thankful to have been gifted an advance copy of this book!

Well written & fun. The evolving relationship between Meg & Kat is truly dynamic. Both strong females in their own ways. This is a page-turner with plenty of twists to keep it interesting! All identies are just a shade of the truth in this book & in life! My 1st work of this author I've read & I will definitely be reading her other works!

Oh whew. What a ride this novel ended up being. Read from start to finish in one day, if that tells you anything. Meg and Kat are strong multi-dimensional women, who at first appear to be at odds, but are they truly? Meg was wronged as young girl and has gone about her life for the last 10 years setting herself up for revenge. Kat happened to be a victim in Meg's path and has been following her ever since, hoping for the right scoop to expose her in a news article.

Both women wronged by men, both looking for revenge and redemption. The way this story leads us to it's conclusion, I couldn't put this book down. My only concern and why I marked it down to 4 stars is just how to good to be true Meg seems to be and at no point did I ever really fear for her plans to fail or go awry.

Definitely check this one out, especially if you like strong character driven stories. Julie Clark's debut was fantastic and so is this novel, she is going to be an author I keep my eye out for in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the electronic ARC copy of this novel for review.

The Lies I Tell is a fun, fast paced read that will have you hooked from the first page to the last. Like Julie Clark's previous book, The Last Flight, The Lies I Tell explores themes of justice and revenge, relationships and lies.

The LiesI Tell is told through two points of view. First we meet Meg, a woman who has had a rough, complicated past, but decides to turn that hurt and sense of betrayal into revenge. She quickly hatches a plan to target men who have wronged her and other women.

Our other narrator is Kat, a reporter/ writer who seeks out Meg because she wants to write about her but Kat begins to get caught up in Meg's web of lies and manipulation.

I love books with complex characters, ones who blur the lines of "good" and "bad", and books that make you empathize and root for the person that others might see as the "bad" one. Because life is messy, and that how I like my characters too. And that's just what I liked about this book.

I read this book in one sitting and truly could not put it down. It reminded me a bit of the movie, “Promising Young Woman,” in which a woman seeks revenge on men who seek to take advantage of drunk women. In this case a woman seeks money from men who have taken advantage of women. It was flawlessly written and I can imagine it being adapted the big screen.

The Lies I Tell

By Julie Clark
Mystery/Thriller
Publish Date: June 21, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was not the typical type of thriller that I usually go for, but I am glad I did, it was an excellent story. This story starts out in one POV (Meg) and then another POV is added of Kat. Meg is the con artist and Kat is the reporter doing a story on the con artist. The story starts out with how Meg gets her start as an con artist and at times, you really feel empowered for her. As Kat further investigates Meg, she realizes why Meg does the cons and it is not the typical con artist ideology. The story begins with Meg beside her self as she lost her mother to cancer and shortly after her mother’s diagnoses, they were kicked out of the home that they owned,but was swindled by a politician.

The story is told in multiple timelines, filling in some backstory, which is helpful to understand why Meg does the things she does and also helps Kat understand Meg. All of Megs cons leads back to the man that destroyed her life. Kat’s own life is spinning out of control as well, for different reasons and for the same reasons. I do not want to spoil the book for anyone, but their lives end up intersecting and this is where the book is hard to put down. I read the second half all in one sitting as I could not put it down.

This was a very well written story of a con artist and a reporter, how their life’s are separated by the reporter wanting to do the biggest story of her life of the con artist, of the two lives intersecting, and the con artist handing the reporter a very generous gift in the end. I would highly recommend this book. Julie Clark is brilliant and tells a wonderful story.

I really enjoyed The Last Flight, but this one is even better. Once again, Clark created two strong female leads without a clear choice in who to root for. Great twists and a satisfying ending!

4.5 stars.

I had never heard of Julie Clark but the plot of this story looked compelling and many, many people raved about her previous book so I decided to give it a chance and I am so glad I did.

This is the story of Meg Williams who has been on the run and a con artist for more than a decade and Kat Roberts who has been trying to find her and expose her for equally long.

Both of the women are well-developed, complex characters. As a reader, it's hard not to root for both of them. Unlike the latest trends with unreliable narrators or drunk women, both of these women are strong, complex and flawed but real.

The pacing of the story is just right, giving you enough hints along the way but not so obvious that you want to roll your eyes.

I find it hard to find smart, engaging and enjoyable mystery novels lately and this one stands out. I highly recommend it. In fact, I loved it so much that the minute I finished it, I went back and read her previous book, which was also as good as everyone said it was!

with gratitude to Sourcebooks Landmark and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Julie Clark is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors- I read this book in one sitting. It centers on 2 women, Meg and Kat, the former who cons men out of money and the latter looking to settle a score.

Clark has a way of making you love characters that aren’t likable on the surface. I rooted for Meg the whole way through, and while it took me longer to warm to Kat I ended up rooting for her too. The story itself was fast-paced and well written and invoked so many feelings along the way, from fear to empathy and back again! I found the ending to be completely satisfying.

I don’t know what else to say other than to tell you to go read this book, assuming you have a few hours to spare since you won’t want to put it down. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oooooh, I wanted to go into this hating Meg and seeing Kat get her revenge, but I fell for Meg and her almost Robin Hood like quality. Thos book was just se well-written and very well-done, and I ran through it in about a day and a half, which is approximately half the time I normally need to read a book. I kinda hope there is a follow up so I can see that Nate gets what he deserves.... whatever the case, this book was an easy five star read.

This book was awesome! I enjoyed the first book by this author and this one was just as good. I read it in 2 sittings. Lots of twists and keeps you guessing, look forward to her next book!

5+++ STARS!!!!!

The Lies I Tell is outstanding! Great characters, amazing storytelling and a relationship between two women who were wronged that is both somehow both disturbing and satisfying.

Meg and Kat are complex women and the way Julie Clark reveals their past and the way it motivates both of them in the present is brilliant. The lives they lead and lies they tell become intertwined so the reader becomes invested in both Kat's and Meg's paths toward the revenge they want.

The pacing was spot on and having each women share the narrative drives the plot. In a way, it makes the reader become like a con artist's victim because they don't know what's happening as the story progressed.

I literally could not stop reading. (Just ask two adorable cats who become quite testy waiting for their canned food dinner.)

Thank you so very much to Julie Clark, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Last Flight so much, I was thrilled to read this one! The author gives another set of damaged yet strong female characters in Meg Williams and Kat Roberts. Meg Williams didn’t have the greatest upbringing and so she quickly learned to adapt to her surroundings. She is a con artist, inventing different names and professions to get what she needs. Kat Roberts is a journalist and has been chasing Meg for years. Kat finally has Meg in her grips, before her secret is revealed she needs revenge! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

How refreshing to read another great book by Julie Clark focusing on two women's interlocking stories. Meg/Melody is a con artist extraordinaire - she can change her persona at will, fits right into any milieu she finds herself in, always comes out on top. Kat's been chasing her for years, seeking revenge for a set-up Meg engineered that wound up causing her years of psychic pain. Now the two of them are finally face-to-face but instead of a cat fight, we get a much more intriguing interplay where Kat becomes Melody's assistant in fleecing would-be luxury home buyers and slowly, begrudgingly, comes to admire the con woman's ability to forge her way through life, getting back at those who have done her wrong. If you like strong women who seize life by the balls and don't suffer fools, this is the book for you.