An intriguing concept that was not delivered well. The alternating timelines of past and present were okay, but the past timeline story was clearly more interesting as opposed to the present storyline that for the majority of the book was pure set-up for the end. The transitions between timelines felt disjointed at times and left something to be desired. I was not expecting this to be a cult book, but the cult aspect was actually well done. Unfortunately, it just made the present timeline's mean girl cliquey women fell even more trite.

I love a good thriller that twists your mind and Tarryn Fisher can always deliver!

An Honest Lie starts off with Rainy and her friends and her being roped into a girls trip to Vegas. What comes after that changed this story completely. The biggest shocker was the ending. It's a story that after finishing I feel like I want to reread it right away to see if I can catch any of the little details I missed along the way.

It was an amazing story and I highly recommend snuggling up with this one!

3.5 stars
I really enjoyed author Tarryn Fisher's last two releases, The Wives and The Wrong Family, but An Honest Lie didn't have quite the same shocking twists and turns, so it didn't wow me as much. Although the ending fell a bit flat for me, I am still a fan of the author and look forward to her next release. I borrowed the audiobook via Hoopla, and I really enjoyed Lauren Fortgang's narration.

This was definitely your typical psychological thriller. It was a bit slow and the characters were flat and kinda dull/boring but overall the story was still just average for me. I am not a huge fan on cults so you have to be ready for that in this one. It was told with two POV's and I felt more was stronger than the other and kept my interest a bit more but both didnt merge very well when reading. But I do think the ending was the best part of this book. Thank you to Net galley for providing me a copy of this book.

This psychological thriller was a book of two halves for me. I found parts of the story were quite slow and was waiting for the action to start. Rainey moved with her boyfriend to Tiger Mountain she has had a hard time fitting in with his group of friends and is a bit of a loner. The woman are like mean girls the only difference is they are grown women and play different games. He encourages her to go on a girls trip to Vegas as a way to fit in and this trip changes everything when her past and present collide.

I found reading about Summer and her past the more interesting parts of the story, I was invested in her in a way I wasn't with Rainey. Reading about her experiences where she went and who she met was what kept me reading. I never connected with Grant and I think that is because we never spent time with him individually or them as a couple he was almost an afterthought in the storyline. I enjoyed when the action picked up in Vegas and would have liked more of that it was fast paced and full of twists.

This book really sucked me in! I read it in a night. Tarryn Fisher really knows how to keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. The story goes back and forth between Rainy's time now and before (when she went as Summer). I liked the "now" storyline a lot better than the "then", but I was interested to see how they would come together. Wow was I amazed! I hate that I have to wait for another year for a book from this author!

Lorraine, or Rainy is hiding out on top of Tiger Mountain. She is trying to forget her past in this remote are. She is pressured into go to a girls’ weekend in Vegas, and her friend Braithe does not make it back to the hotel after a wild night.
This novel turns very twisty, involving Rainy’s past which cults, control, and something she wants to forget. Rainy must try to save her friend and herself! Is she able to do both? What in her past is so horrible that she wants to forget?

So incredibly boring ): I wanted to love it but I was so bored by this "thriller". The flashbacks felt so repetitive and weren't interesting to me.

This book is told in two different timelines and ultimately feels like two separate stories that should never have been mixed together. I also think that the synopsis for this book is very misleading and actually gives away the start of the concluding arc of this story. As someone who really enjoys cult stories, the past timeline was the one I connected with the most and would have loved this book so much more if it had just been centered on that. Instead, we got a confusing addition of a present day storyline about a friend group that didn’t ever make much sense. I kept hoping that there was going to be a really good motivation for why two of the women in the group were acting shady and what the big deal was about a Vegas trip but it never happened. Despite that, I was really enjoying this book for 60% of it and then things just started to go off the rails. This was when Fisher brought the two storylines together and it just didn’t work. The present day story line was nonsensical and the combining of the two stories led to such an outrageous ending that was too drawn out and completely turned me off to this story. However, the themes and ideas in this book are great and Rainey was a character that I admired and was a bright spot of both timelines. I also think Fisher nailed the cult aspect of this book and I would recommend it for that reason to other readers who enjoy the cult sub genre of mystery/thriller/suspense novels. I know that I will be thinking about the “compound” for a while because it was such a great, ominous setting.

I have loved Tarryn Fisher’s other works, and this one proves why. Complex characters, full of flaws and strengths alike. Messy situations and messy people that work their way out of or around them. It’s refreshing to read characters that you can truly relate to, and who encourage your own strength and growth.

Told from the protagonist’s (Rainy/Summer) POV in both the ‘Now’ and ‘Then’ timelines, the story was slow going and didn’t pick up speed ‘til we learn more of Rainy’s past. I definitely find the story more interesting during the ‘Then’ chapters as we learn more about Summer and her mother’s lives in a cruel cult. I was honestly getting anxiety reading those chapters and was really rooting for them to have the courage to leave that horrible place. I can’t imagine having to go through the kind of abuse they went through. It was chilling just to read. The ‘Now’ chapters consisted a lot of Rainy hanging out with a bunch of shallow and somewhat b*tchy women. Not much happens til the Now and Then collide. Overall. I enjoyed this book and was satisfied with the ending even though everything was wrapped up a little too nicely in the end.

Thanks Harlequin via NetGalley for this ARC.

Tarryn Fisher is exceptional at writing page-turning psychological thrillers! This flip-flops between the past and present, as is often the case these days with contemporary thrillers. This may not have been my favorite book by Fisher, but it had me fully engaged up until the last third of the book. In my opinion, at that point, everything went off the rails a bit, although I can't mention how and why without giving away spoilers. I think the one thing I can say is that Rainy, the main character, seemed inconsistent to me in her personality and behavior.

Regardless of the fact that I thought the latter part of the book fell short of my expectations, I loved the cult-world and backstory that she created for Rainy and her mother. I think I would have preferred more of that and less of the present-day part of the narrative.

An addictive psychological thriller about a girl raised in a cult. While this book did keep me wanting to find out more I found the overall story kind of boring. The book was slow at the beginning and the Now chapters seemed forced and lacking. The love triangle part wasn't needed in my opinion. I would have liked to have more chapters from Summer's POV. Overall this was an interesting book and I will always read anything Tarryn Fisher puts out.

Not a fave and didn’t care for any of the characters. I’m sure this would be a good one for someone else, just didn’t hit the mark for me

This book was amazing! I enjoyed every single chapter, and it kept me hooked the entire time, which I loved!

First of all, thanks so much to Harlequin Publishing and Graydon for the free review copy of this book.

This was my first book by Tarryn Fisher and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style and loved the dual timelines in this one.

I had no idea what was going to happen and read this in one day! I enjoyed how it builded little by little to a very intense end!

This book could be hard to read for some people so be sure to reach out and ask about content warnings if that's a concern for you.

This book is out now!!

3.5 what a Threat Stars
* * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
I have had a strong history with Taryn Fisher. I loved her Love Me with Lies series. I couldn't get enough. This new book had a different feel and it was intriguing. The main character had a very complicated backstory and we are pulled in.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. I absolutely love every Tarryn Fisher book I’ve ever read. She does a great job of integrating twists you don’t see coming, and ending chapters on cliffhangers. That being said, this one fell flat for me. I really liked the dual timelines, and how they eventually crossed over. However, I never felt like there was enough of a plot for me to keep wanting to read. There were things the characters talked about so casually as if it was mentioned before, or should have been implied, which surprised me. I had such high hopes and just didn’t end up loving it like I wanted to.

A psychological thriller with a past vs present dialogue. I got a different vibe out of this novel then Taryns other work.
Thanks NetGalley!

Thank you @graydonhousebooks and @netgalley for my eArc.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Well, until your past comes back to haunt you. I was heavily invested in the dual timelines; present day and past (compound days). Has anyone seen the TV show Waco (you know, with Tim Riggins from FNL)? If so, you will enjoy the compound timeline more. Her current day timeline was hard to adjust to. I just couldn’t understand how a character so strong and brave could even entertain these fake group of girls; yet alone go to Vegas on a girls trip with them. BUT I understand Rainy’s need for creating “normal” connections and relationships in order to heal from her trauma. Towards the end of the book these two timelines come to an intersection; this is where it fell a little flat for me. I think if Fisher would’ve left one person out and skipped right to the big reveal – it would’ve been EPIC! Without giving anything away, I did find some poetic justice and thrived on it.

Overall, an alright book but highly recommend for a great summer read. It is fast-paced and entertaining!