I’ve been a fan of Tarryn Fisher’s books since I discovered The Opportunist almost 7 years ago. Something about her writing style is addictive; romance or thriller, once you pick up her books, they are impossible to put down. This book was no exception!

I was immediately hooked into Rainy’s story and the alternating timelines of past and present were both compelling. Rainy is an artist who stands out in the group of women who live in her neighborhood. When they invite her on their girls’ trip to Vegas, she is hesitant to go back to the desert where so much of her past trauma is from. She and her mother were trapped in a religious cult and, through flashbacks, we see how emotionally, physically and verbally abusive that time of her life was.

Once in Vegas, the two times lines quickly catch up and once that happened, I’ll admit I got a bit confused and felt like the story went in a completely different direction (and tone) than I had anticipated. It almost seemed jarring and let up to a quick and fast paced ending.

Definitely not my favorite of Tarryn’s stories, but was still addicting, fast paced and compelling! Full of strong women, moments of throwing over misogyny, and heart pounding drama, this is definitely a summer read thriller that many will enjoy!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC
The first half was a quick read! The rest went downhill fast.
I wanted to like this one. The plot sounded interesting, a Vegas girls trip, a cult, and a lot of drama.
The dual point of view didn't work in this book. It felt chaotic and disjointed to me. Both storylines could've used some expanding on.
The ending felt drawn out to me. I wasn't invested in the story and was honestly just wanting it to be over.
Overall I'm glad I didn't spend the money on this one, as it just wasn't for me.
2/5 stars

Another book I stayed up way too late reading! What I love about the Thriller/Suspense genres of books is when I *think* I have it all figured out and then am wrong repeatedly. That’s what happened in “An Honest Lie” and even though it wasn’t exceptionally twisty turn-y, the story progressed nicely and kept me guessing on every single page.

Something that is crucial for me in reading a book is whether or not I feel connected to and attached to the characters. I wouldn’t say I necessarily fell in love with any of the characters of this book but I DID find each and every one of them were invaluable to the storyline so A+ there too!

Book: An Honest Lie
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Pub Date: April 26, 2022

Tarryn Fisher is one of my favorite authors. I have loved all of her books. This one didn’t pack the punch for me that the other two did but still a good solid read. I loved every minute of the “then” part. (Summer’s story was much more exciting than Rainey’s story.) It took me awhile to get into the “now” part. It moved a little slower than I wanted it too. I didn’t really connect to any of her friends and just didn’t enjoy that side of the story as much as the cult. But still if your Tarryn Fisher fan you don’t want to miss reading this book!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is April 26, 2022.

Tarryn Fisher knows how to write about people and precarious situations. Her writing always stands out to me for the unique characterizations and observations. This story's pace was slow until the last few chapters, but the ending delivered on the eerie and dark vibes throughout the novel. Fisher continues to be an author I watch out for new releases.

For a cult thriller, this one is good; however, I am over that story troupe at this point. Cults aren’t super thrilling. But good try?

Only under Tarryn Fisher's masterful hand could cattiness, cults, and revenge all come together in a seamless rush of adrenaline.
An Honest Lie is everything I love in Fisher's writing, with a new addition of the kind of creeping crawling dread that honestly had me fighting sleep like a toddler in order to know what was going to happen in the final pages; all I know is, once I was sucked into Rainy's world, past and present, I was deeply riveted.
From page one I was horrified, scared for, and grieving right alongside her, and this was the wildest ride a story has taken me on in a long, long time; I will be thinking about all the players in this story for weeks to come until it draws me in for a second round.
An Honest Lie is a do not miss read for lovers of suspense with a scalding side of vengeance.

Rainy has a past that she hopes has been put to rest, but while on a girls' weekend in Vegas, things start coming out of the woodworks and she must confront it head on whether she likes it or not. Told through chapters labeled then and now, Rainy's past will collide with the present and she will have to make a few big choices.

I love a dual narrative and I especially love it when the reader knows the connections between the two storylines early on and can just sit back and enjoy as each storyline develops. With a little bit of a cult situation, I weirdly enjoyed the storyline from the past as we watched Rainy and her mom join a group and hope for a better future, I wanted more about what they joined and the consequences of this group.

While the solution to the perpetrator was interesting, it felt like a bit of a let down after the big rise to the end. I didn't have a guess early on, but I was surprised by the character she chose and wished for more.

My first Tarryn Fisher read and I definitely have a few from her backlist that I am intrigued to read and see about how I feel about their conclusions.

4.5 stars!!!

I was HOOKED from the first page! This book is captivating, suspenseful, fast paced, and full of some crazy! I HIGHLY recommend this one to thriller fans!

With a perfectly done past and present time-line, you get to know Rainy. Her past leaves you on the edge of your seat as she navigates her way to escape…her present gives you an unsettled feeling as her “friend” group seems untrustworthy.

And then shit hits the fan when she receives the message, “𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

I found myself holding my breath during some intense scenes that made me want to jump through the pages and yell obscenities at some characters. If I could drink right now, I would have needed stiff one to get through some of it 🤣 - which is a sign of how infatuated with the story I was!

This is one where I got lost in the story and nothing about my real life mattered while reading it!

I do recommend looking up triggers warnings as her past was sometimes hard to swallow. The writing was superb with the perfect amount of description where I could easily picture everything going on. This one would make an excellent movie!

Thank you Netgalley and Graydon House for my e-arc in exchange for my review!

An Honest Lie

In An Honest Lie, Tarryn Fisher, tells us the story of present day, Rainy, a successful artist recently moved from NYC to the Tiger Mountains to be with her significant, and her childhood self, known as Summer, a 13 year old who, along with her mother, seek refuge with her mother’s childhood friend turned Cult leader.

Rainy, struggling to fit in with the women of Tiger Mountains and against her better judgement, is convinced to take a trip to Vegas, the home of some of her deepest traumas.

Fisher weaves a psychological thriller that blends together the brutal realities of growing up in a cult and the enduring trauma faced by it’s survivors as well as ugliness that women can inflict on each other.

The first half of the book was slow and it’s not until we’re well into the Vegas trip, that anything exciting happens. The second half of the book felt, well, a lot like Vegas; chaotic, a little showy, mostly messy albeit slightly entertaining. I found the “twists” mostly unbelievable and a little too convenient.

Plot holes aside, I would say the most well written part of the story were the parts told from Summer’s point of view. Her experiences were well told and her fear felt real.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Overall this book was fantastic!! It drew me in, kept my attention, had me going back for more, but. Yeah there’s a but. I found the present parts a bit slower and not as intriguing at times as the past. There were a couple times where things didn't jive or present itself as smoothly as it could but those were far outnumbered by the very great aspects of this book.

A very gripping, enthralling, intriguing mystery to try to wrap your head around.

Kudos to Ms. Fisher for another brilliantly twisted book!!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

3.5 stars

Tarryn Fisher takes us to a convoluted journey in An Honest Lie. Secrets. Deceptions. Twists. Dangerous past and unstable future. This story has wonderful suspense in every layer. The characters are complex and twisted.

Emerging artist Rainy moved to Tiger Mountains with her boyfriend Grant. On his insistence, she starts going to the local womens' group hangout lead by Braithe. She is not outgoing and her past has dark parts she never wants to revisit. Vegas is the last place she wants to go on a girl trip because this is too close to her nightmarish past. But she goes and things go chaotic. Braithe disappears and she starts getting mysterious texts. Who is that person?

It took a bit of time for me to get into the story. It felt a bit disjointed. I was given a lot of informations about Rainy's present life those didn't make real sense to me. I felt like the details are important but I don't know how. Only when the author started talking about her childhood and her twisted traumatic experience, I started getting interested into the story. The story goes back and forth in timeline so you need to stay vigilant. That part of Rainy's life was all kinds of insanity. Fear. Pain. Desperation. A need to leave and be free. And all of them shaped Rainy. The past may or may not have come back to hunt her. The last 30% of the story was fast paced and held the most action as Rainy finally decided to take her revenge for once and all. You will start connecting the dots but the surprises will still be there. This is not my favourite Tarryn Fisher book as I could not feel emotional connection to the characters. But it was still a good suspense to read.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

2.5/5⭐️

A fun girls’ trip to Vegas + a cult= an amazing plot, right?! WRONG!

It seems that cult-ish books are in right now, and there are so many of them out there right now that I suggest you pick up before this one. I love reading books about cults, or anything cult related for that matter. Unfortunately, this one did not work for me. The book did not flow well and it was not able to keep my attention. I contemplated DNF this one, but I kept going and made it through, but I was highly disappointed.

I was not invested in the storyline, or any of the characters as they were unlikeable, and had absolutely no depth to them, which made it hard for me to connect with them. There was really no twists or any suspense, I was pretty bored with this one from beginning to end.

Don’t get me wrong-Tarryn Fisher has written some incredible books, and I will continue to read anything she writes, but this one just did not work for me.

I’ve come to love Tarryn Fisher’s twisted stories and this one didn’t disappoint! This is whip smart, fast paced, and so intriguing that I had a hard time putting it down! I loved how we got to know our heroine through not only her present but the things from the past that motivated her story. All in all, this is a solid read and once of those thrillers that every reader should have in their beach bag this summer.

I really don't know about this book. I felt that I should have enjoyed this book, but I didn't. Not that it is bad, but I didn't enjoy it as much as others

I have to say I didn't know much about this book going into it. I am a sucker for a cover with water on the cover. I'm not sure why but I always find it so pretty. It's funny that I mention that because I'm a little confused what the cover has to do with the story. Regardless of that, it drew me in.

Anyway, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I went in not really sure what to expect but overall I really enjoyed this story. The story is about a girl named Rainy. She just moved to live with her boyfriend. His friends invite Rainy away to Vegas for a girl's trip. Rainy doesn't want to go because she doesn't really know these girls and she has history in Vegas. However, her boyfriend informs her that they told him about the trip and he already bought Rainy the plane tickets. The trip turns out to be a lot crazier than everyone expected.

As I stated before, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I was feeling a bit iffy at first but the more I got into it the more invested I was. There are definitely a lot of rough topics that are dealt with in this book. I did really enjoy a lot of the back and forth with the present and past. I got really invested in this book quickly. The more I learned about Rainy the more I didn't want to put it down. I do have to say there were a couple of things that I was questioning after reading. I get it's not super important but it almost felt like it should have been explained. I don't want to say what for spoiler purposes. I definitely plan to read more books from Tarryn Fisher.

I definitely recommend this book. It's fast paced and I never felt like there was a dull moment in the story. As I stated before it does deal with some heavy topics. The story doesn't really go into too much detail so it's not very descriptive. If you're looking for a new thriller I highly recommend checking this one out.

This was a face paced thriller read and I was very intrigued in the beginning. This book had a "cult vibe" to it but the dual timeline POV did not match up for me. In the end, it was enjoyable and I did want to know how it ended. A solid 3 stars for me

I read this book in one sitting - one very long bath tbh. Just over two hours from cover to cover. It was all over the place and wild and depressing and exciting. A rollercoaster of feels. I couldn’t put it down - my major critique is that it was sometimes hard to follow but that can happen with any book - especially when you can’t stop turning the pages.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Told in dual timelines, we follow Rainy as she navigates two major problems in life: Her mother joins a cult and takes Rainy along with her; and her new group of friends seems to not like her very much.

This book was so well written. Taured’s character was just as charismatic and horrifying as you’d expect a cult leader to be.
There weren’t really any twists that I didn’t see coming but the action was nonstop and I loved every second of it. Tarryn threw in some really well thought out tiny details that I appreciated. Highly recommend.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

“Her past is a wound. But it’s also a weapon.” How awesome is that tag line?

But then The Honest Lie starts with: “At the end of the highway sat plain old town, not completely dead, but on its last breath.” 🏚🌳. Can’t you just visualize that exact setting?

I think that’s why I loved most about Tarryn Fisher’s upcoming release (4/26), I mean aside from the suspense and non-drama, was the ability to picture the settings and know the characters, right down to Shep and his clicking nails. (Bonus points for cute dog characters 🐾)

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

LInk to 4/21/2022 Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnzV4ir7Dk/