Even though I wasn’t a fan of The Wrong Family, I loved The Wives, so I was excited when I heard Tarryn Fisher had a new one coming out. Especially since it was focused around a cult setting and I’m all for that. But after finishing An Honest Lie, it left me somewhere in between I liked it and it was just ok.

This one alternates timelines between Rainy’s life in the past and present. I felt like most of the book was a build up to the ending, which had me saying “well that escalated quickly”. It was a good ending, but very rushed. I enjoyed reading about Rainy’s present life & her struggles trying to fit in, but her past was a lot to take in and at times too weird. I’m still not sure exactly how to feel about this one other than to say it was just ok. 3 ⭐️s

I enjoy this author's work, so I did not read the description prior to diving in head-first. Holy moly! The main character is a strong woman who escaped horrific circumstances as a child, orphaned and emotionally scarred. Fisher weaves the story so that her readers have no idea who to trust or what anyone's intentions are. Gold star, truly.

I am struggling between a 3 and 3.5-star review for this book. While I enjoyed the overall plot, I really disliked the characters. I found them to be pretentious, predictable and somewhat annoying with their thoughts and actions.

I felt the ending was predictable and feel most readers will enjoy the flashbacks better than the present story.

I liked this novel, but I didn’t love it. There was something lacking in the concept and character development that didn’t give me the reader’s high I typically expect, though there was a enough action to keep me from abandoning it altogether.

An Honest Lie is a wild ride! Rainy is a complicated woman who hides a dark past. Pressured into a Girls Only Vegas Vacation with her husband’s friend’s wives, she tries to fit in. But her past rears its ugly head and complicates the situation. What can be worse for Rainy, feeling like the odd one out in the clique or stumbling into her dark past? She soon finds that both are their own brand of hell. Tarryn Fisher weaves together a narcissist’s ego, small town drama, and a mighty quest for closure into a psychological thrill ride.

I’m not sure how well this story came together. It was a mix of current and past timelines that didn’t merge all that well, and often verged on unbelievable. The story centers on Rainy, who reluctantly attends a girls weekend in Vegas with a group of girls who are really friends of her boyfriend more than herself. Things aren’t as they seem with the friend group but the real drama in the story is related to Rainy’s past, which catches up with her there.

I honestly didn’t see the point of the current storyline when the story is really about Rainy’s past. It didn’t add anything to the story and just provided distracting drama beyond the actual storyline. I thought the flashbacks were far more interesting than the current story, even though I’m not super into the cult theme. The last 3rd of the story is much more of a thriller and more action packed than the rest of the book; I liked that part best, though it did often cause me to suspend my disbelief. Still, the plans that Rainy came up with to try to outsmart her assailant were clever and I found it interesting. There were no real surprises in the book- I thought it was pretty easy to figure out who was who.

Overall I found this to be kind of a bizarre story, but it did hold my interest. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rainy has left her past behind to move in with her boyfriend, however her boyfriends comes with a gaggle of friends wives whose weekly wine get togethers she feels she should attend, but has no interest in. When a girls trip to Vegas is brought up, Rainy's traumatic past is a big obstacle, but to keep the peace she agrees to go. But her past is no longer in the past, it has arrived to haunt her, in a deadly way.
Blech. Sorry. Too many secrets. Too much dishonesty. From the characters and the writing. I don't need to be led in 18 directions just so I can't figure out the actual direction that the book is headed. And what a dislikeable protagonist. She mentions all of the therapy she has done to move past the issues in her past, but then continues to lie and deceive everyone around her.
And being plopped into these random friendships with brewing tension all around. I don't want to be there. These relationships are annoying and unhealthy.

Has a book ever drawn you in so completely that you take on the characteristics of the MC? No? Just me?
Well, Rainy doesn't trust anyone very easily... and towards the middle of this book I was so paranoid that I trusted noone and nothing. I suspected everyone was behind the present terror she was feeling or was a part of the past terror she had already experienced. All consuming this book had me up until almost 2 am last night because once I started it I could not put it down. Every noise in the house made me jumo while reading this, and I was hooked.

I did not even mind the flashbacks, which sometimes can hinder the story more than add to. I actually loved getting the little tidbits in between the present story. Rainy is a character that you can love/hate. On one hand I was like just try harder to be nice and you are the one pushing everyone else away. Than there would be a flashback and I was like oh... well .. now I see why you are acting this way. Even towards the end I was questioning every decision she made. She did not even want to go to Vegas and now she is outting herself in danger and making dumb decisions.

This book kept me guessing right up until the end. I had no idea who was doing what and what was going to happen. I was nervous. I was terrified. I was excited. This book brought all sorts of feelings to the surface. Can we talk about the ending? Well not really .... but just wait ... what an ending!

This was my first book by Tarryn Fisher, but I am officially a fan!

Happy Friday besties♡︎ I can not believe we are about a week away from Christmas- theres so much to be done! Baking, last minute shopping, wrapping, fun Christmas activities with my baby girl and of course watching all the Christmas movies! Even though I’ve been super busy I’ve also been on a serious reading roll and December has been full of so many five star reads🤩!

@tarrynfisher’s newest thriller 𝐴𝑛 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐿𝑖𝑒 was seriously perfect and I devoured it in just a few days. The plot was completely addictive and honestly unique. The story flip flops between past and present and the stories intertwined brilliantly. I definitely found myself more interested and invested in the “then” aspect of main character Rainy. And speaking of Rainy, I f@^%ing loved (still do) her character- everything about her was just awesome.

SYNOPSIS: “Lorraine--"Rainy"--lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Remote, moody, cloistered in pine trees and fog, it's a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the disturbing past she wants to forget.

When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls' weekend in Vegas, she's prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn't come back to the hotel room.

And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe's phone: someone has her. But Rainy is who they really want, and Rainy knows why.”

✨✨✨✨✨

Release date is April 26! Preorder it today, it’s so worth it!

Special thanks to @netgalley @graydonhousebooks and @tarrynfisher for the early arc!

Starts strong and has a fascinating premise. I loved the first half (though the present timeline was much better than the bizarro cult timeline). But by the end, it had devolved into a mess of random characters and off-the-rails plotlines. I finished it, but the last quarter of it was a slog. I do love Fisher’s other books, but this one wasn't for me.

OMG. Y'all. I was so excited that I was able to read this book. I am obsessed with all of Tarryn Fisher's books and I knew this was going to be outstanding. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. Wow. The writing style and the characters in Tarryn's books are out of this world. This was excellent and I think I read it in a day. Must read.

This was one of those amazing edge of your seat thrillers. I binged this in three days simply because I couldn’t put the book down. Told in alternating voices between Rainys past and present it weaves together the perfect story. As a teenager she spent her life suffering mentally, physically, and emotionally at the hands of Taured; leader of the religious cult her Mother joined after her father passed away. Years later she is pulled back into the past she worked so hard to escape when someone from the Compound kidnaps her friend. Will Rainy be able to save herself and her friend? Will she finally make peace with what happened to her at the Compound? Read to find out!!

Wow! It’s hard to say what I loved most about this book, but if forced to choose I’d say it is the author’s amazing, evocative, unique voice. The way the main character thinks reveals so much about her. For instance, early in the book Rainy describes two other women, one as adorning the other like an unneeded tiara and then later talks about how she (Rainy) doesn’t desire costume-jewelry friends. Really remarkable and telling descriptions such as these are peppered throughout this gorgeous book. The story itself is deep, dark, and emotionally gripping. I could almost hear the characters breathing-they seemed so alive. The plot is a complicated puzzle I felt compelled to solve. Unflinching is a word that comes to mind. Memorable and original are others. What a pleasure to read!

I enjoyed the previous books I’ve read by this author but this one is just not for me. The current timeline was ok but the one from her past was just not something I enjoyed reading about. I abandoned the book at 50%. I will not post to Goodreads since I didn’t finish the book.

Do cults fascinate you? Rainy has moved to Seattle to live with her boyfriend Grant. Grant encourages Rainy to become friends with his girl friends so she knows people in her new home town. The friends invite Rainy on a girls trip in Vegas which she’s reluctant to go on because Grant and his friends don’t know about her past. Growing up Rainy belonged to a cult that was in Vegas so when she goes on the trip she keeps reliving memories. One night her friend doesn’t come home and she gets a text from someone pretending to be her.

This is a book you won’t be able to put down, because you really want to know how rainy makes it out alive. Fishers chapters on Rainy being in a cult brought me to tears multiple times, and the last line got me right in the feels.

What I love most about Tarryn Fisher is that her books are so unpredictable. I won't even read the descriptions of her books before I start reading - you just go in blind and it's wonderful each and every time. I was not disappointed AT ALL with An Honest Lie. Go read it! I already ordered copies for our library!

The story flips between the protagonist’s life growing up and the present as an adult. The more interesting half is her youth. The two stories eventually merge. The present day events run from dull to unbelievable. Sometimes I had trouble following what the main character was talking about/doing.

A long time fan of Tarryn, I would literally read her grocery list. The dual timelines from growing up in a cult and a girls weekend gone wrong were interesting storylines to weave together. Ultimately, it felt a bit too all over the place and didn’t quite connect for me like some of her prior books have. I still look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I can’t wait to read this again! I’ve been reading this author for years and this one is a favorite of her recent releases. OG fans will enjoy I think!

Tarryn has done it again with this brilliantly clever psychological thriller. She is the goat of this genre and her mind seems like a scary place to be! The ride she takes you has you questioning everything. The book starts out setting the tone very mean girlish (except for Viola). Tara was a real pos throughout the book. Braithe was as well once we find out what she was really up to. The real meat and potatoes of the book was Rainy's flashbacks. We gain a lot of insight that detailed her upbringing and time with Taured. Now that is when we go on the crazy train. Rainy orchestrated the perfect plan to get her revenge and make Taured pay. In the end, it wrapped up perfectly and you are left completely satisfied with how it all went down.

Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fisher again weave a thriller that could only take place outlandishly between the pages of a book.

Cultish compound? ✔
Stalker from the past? ✔
Wild hairbrained plot? ✔

Done with the deliberate care of clue-laying that is a hallmark for her, Tarryn leads us on a twisty thrill ride highlighting the importance of inner strength, believing in yourself, and leaving your childhood demons behind.

This easily could have been a 4.5-5, but the end, for me, was a but too neatly wrapped... too methodical to be believed from the 'on-the-run-from-herself' character Rainy portrayed. However, I enjoyed the foreshadowing and use of contrasts to show the depth of story... a very enjoyable read!