I really enjoy stories by Tarryn Fisher and have previously had my mind blown by this author, however An Honest Lie didn't meet my expectations. I thought the cult story line was going to be interesting and draw me in but I found the book a bit drab and predictable, nothing you wouldn't expect to happen happened. This one was a miss for me.

How could a girls weekend in Vegas go wrong? For Rainy, her past will come back to haunt her while visiting Vegas with her new group of “friends”.

I feel this book is best to go into blind so I will do my best not to give anything away. This book is set in two timelines which I normally love, but to me they almost read as two separate books. With dual timelines, I love to see how they come together, but this one just didn’t work as the ending felt unrealistic and unbelievable to me.

Another issue I had was Rainy’s choices in the present day timeline. For someone who wanted to avoid her past, it didn’t make sense to me that she would throw herself back into it. I felt like her decisions weren’t in line with the character we were originally introduced to.

This was one of my most anticipated books this year, but sadly it fell flat for me. Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Tarryn Fisher knows what she is doing when it comes to a good thriller. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. She is able to hook readers in from the get go and keep them wanting more.

Pretty average book but felt a little lackluster for a book about a girl who lived in a cult for a few years. All of the characters in the “now” were pretty boring and didn’t really have any depth to them. The character in the past were a little more developed because we learned more about them and the cult. I can’t tell if this is just supposed to be fiction or a thriller because it didn’t feel like a thriller, even with the kidnapping. Read it if you want but I wouldn’t explicitly recommend it.

Thank you to the publishers for an advanced copy.

A woman with secrets goes to Vegas and has to save someone. But why? What are those secrets?

This book was an emotional ride for me. I needed answers. I thought one person was involved for a good chunk of the book. But I was wrong. I shed a few tears at some of the stuff the characters had to endure.

I didn’t give it 5 stars because I wanted a bit of follow up on a few things. But it was so great!

As per usual Tarryn Fisher totally blew my mind. She is my favorite psycho for sure. This story was a trip. I really enjoyed the then & now, I felt even though it went back and fourth the entire time she weaved the storylines together perfectly. If you like books about kickass woman, definitely pick this one up.

Review of An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this thriller. It was a fairly quick read and I loved the dual timelines. I especially enjoyed the earlier, past timeline which I won’t mention specifics about for spoiler reasons. It held my interest the entire time though there was never a huge twist or aha moment.

Quick synopsis: Rainy is an artist living with her boyfriend in Washington. At his insistence she had become friendly with the neighborhood wives and all is well until they invite her to a girls’ trip to Vegas. She reluctantly goes pushing her much closer to her past life she’s rather forget. Things get much worse when one of the friends goes missing and Rainy gets a very ominous text proving that her past and present are now dangerously colliding.

Thank you to @netgalley for my advanced copy. This one is out!

⭐️⭐️
Not my favorite. The story line was all over the place. Tons of characters that were hard to keep straight. The big reveal wasn’t even a big reveal because of the number of characters in the book. It was incredibly difficult to follow everything and lots of irrelevant details.
I’m not even sure what to write as a short paragraph about the story because it was suchh he a mess. Basically, Rainy is in a cult and escapes. But her cult life comes back and turns out to be useful? Maybe? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Tarryn always keeps me on my toes and I love it!

Rainy lost her father when she was younger and her mother reaches out to an old friend for help and they travel to Vegas to go live with him. Rainy’s mother soon realizes what a huge mistake this is for her and her daughter but there is no easy way to turn around and leave.

This story bounces back between then and now and I must say that I was really pulled in and hooked with the past.
Something just felt lost with the now for me.

Rainy finds herself as the new girl in a group of her boyfriends friends and the girls invite her to come away to Vegas for a quick getaway. This idea doesn’t sit well with her and she refuses at first but eventually gives in.
Her past which she ran from come crashing into the present and she decides it is time to once again fight back.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wowza! Ms. Fisher goes right for the proverbial jugular with this new story!

From the deserts of Nevada to the rainy land of Washington this story is going to take you places, some unspeakable.

This story centers around Summer/Rainy. A young girl that survives a horrific experience in essentially a cult and how she was able to become stronger, fiercer and a woman to admire.

I really did admire Rainy, she was how she was and made no apologies for it. Her internal dialogue was spot on and I could empathize with her in her adulthood. I admired how she didn't kowtow to the group of women that was her new circle of friends. (I use that term very loosely, you will read what I mean.)

This story was fascinating right from the beginning and it was hard to put down. Each chapter was riveting and it kept me guessing until the end.

I loved how you truly see what a smart, remarkable woman Rainy becomes throughout this story. It made me cry, it made me gasp and it made me feel angry for all the things that Rainey goes through. It drew some deep emotions from me.

Every story that I read from this talented writer leaves me begging for more! Get your hands on this!

This has got to be my absolute favorite Tarryn Fisher novel this far. Rainy is the main character, she's an artist that moved from NYC to Washington for her boyfriend Grant. After moving there, she's introduced to Grant's group of friends and she starts attending girls nights, lovingly referred to as the Tiger Mountain Group. One night Rainy is invited to a girl's trip to Las Vegas with them Rainy is private and doesn't want to go. Grant pushes though and Rainy finally gives in. This is the start to the undoing... Rainy has a past that she's never shared with her boyfriend, let alone her new friends and going to Vegas brings her right back to her past's front door.

I really enjoyed the entire story told from Rainy's perspective. We alternate between past and present. I'm thrilled Fisher gave us the entire back story about what happened with Rainy is her past life. I feel like it added some real definition to the storyline. Plus it gives us several antagonists to choose from while we're working our way through the story and wondering who is doing what. An Honest Lie kept me interested the entire story. At no point was the story lagging or boring. I feel like that's something that's almost impossible these day as most follow a slow storyline for the first 3/4 of the book just to hit you with action that last quarter. That isn't the case here... this is full of action.

“I’m going to kill her. You better come and save her.”⁣
⁣
Would you go for someone you barely even knew?⁣
⁣
You might - if they go missing in Vegas while you’re on a girls trip - all loaded up on slots and shots. ⁣
⁣You might - if you love your boyfriend and it’s one of his friends girls and you really want to make him happy.
⁣You probably should - because the whole reason she’s in this mess - is because of you.⁣
⁣
This one's pretty dark and twisty - it’s got two separate storylines - then and now. I found myself not really feeling the now - cause bitchy girls are not my favorite! 😆 I also felt like meeting all the girls and their stories were kind of a throwaway - the story would have been fine without them! (or a lot less of them)

It did sorta feel like two separate stories and the connection wasn't really what I was hoping for when then and now collides. It's more of a bump than a collision. But the 'then' storyline? Well, I LOVE a good cult story and you will always hook me in with a psycho cult leader!⁣ I could have done with just that story alone!

Oh Tarryn, thank you so much for finally giving us the cult read we've been begging for. You know, now I'm just going to want more, because there are not enough cult fiction reads out there for me, especially those that capture the truth about cults. That's right, An Honest Lie follows a woman who was once in a cult, a woman who made a brave escape in her youth, but lives her life in fear of the repercussions of leaving. Of course, that's not what her new life is about, at least it wasn't until a fated trip to Las Vegas.

Rainy, an artist by trade, has recently moved to the mountains of Washington for her boyfriend, Grant, exchanging the blur of Manhattan for the quiet life. She wants to give him everything, so she goes along with making friends with the wives' of his friends, even accepting a trip to Las Vegas, a place she never wanted to go back to. The trip, though laced with jealous feelings and the one-upping nature of women, feels almost normal. There's clubs, shots, dancing, and pool time. She feels closer to Braithe, she thinks she might have a break through with Tara, and the other girls begin to show their true personality. There's drunken behavior and bonding moments. There's also a tension there underneath the surface, one that Rainy believes is connected to her past, but it isn't until she receives a text from Braithe's phone that she knows her past has come for her. What follows isn't the Las Vegas trip she planned for, but the terrifying escape from her past that she has spent avoiding.

I love a good feminist thriller and this one has all the makings of one. The girls are naturally catty, I love that Tarryn doesn't lie about the nature of women in a time where we form these opinions so young, she lets the women be, it is their strength when the time comes. There's no faking that friendships are perfect, that there isn't always an undertone of competition and fear laced in it. That the insecurity isn't there. It just so happens that Rainy's insecurity is much larger than anyone else's and it has nothing to do with her looks or her personality. Rainy is insecure about her past and when it comes for her, she cannot allow herself to be the young follower she once was, instead she must step up, for herself and for the women she has befriended and unwillingly put in this position. It's a haunted tail of love, loss, and the things we let slide by using religion as a reason.

I always love Tarryn Fisher's work, I am a true fangirl who believes she can do no wrong, but I will say this is the best release from her out of the past three novels. This one is unique, standout, and emotionally riveting. I couldn't put it down and I hope you won't be able to either.

**Dark, Twisty, and suspenseful!**

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.
If she’s allowed to.
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.

Tarryn Fisher knows to keep her readers guessing!
This book felt a little darker than her previous book the wrong Family. It starts off slow with Rainy clearly having some big secret that not even her boyfriend knows. She doesn't fit in with the girls but agrees to the girl's vacation anyway and once they reach Las Vegas things start to pick up pretty quickly. You soon learn Rainys dark secrets and are left wondering what's going to happen next. A true nail-biter!

Although it was a little slow at the start I really did get sucked in for the last half of the book and would recommend this one!

Tarryn Fisher knows how to plot a twisted storyline that will hook readers and keep them on the edge of their seat whilst turning pages, that is for certain. I really empathized with the main character in this book, and after reading about all the atrocities she went through as a young girl living in a cult situation with her mother, I really wanted her to come out ahead at the end. At times, the story is pretty graphic when depicting the violence that went on within the cult. For a shorter novel, this one really packs a punch of suspense and thrills. Thank you to the publisher for the early copy of this thrilling novel.

Another excellent book by Tarryn Fisher. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Most immediate thought? This book did not live up to my expectations at all, a fact that I attribute to several factor. One being that I had just don's much care for cult books, so much so that once I read that in the description, I'm pretty hard pressed to pick up. I only bothered to do so because it's Tarryb Fisher - a reigning queen of the twisted read. Sadly, this one just lacked her usual punch. I'd also just wrapped up Janelle Brown's I'll Be You, which not only featured a cult (talk about overkill) but in my opinion, was just a much better story. An Honest Lie is serviceable, and certainly readable, it's just pretty vanilla and run of the mill.

✨ Book Review ✨

📱EBook: An Honest Lie

✍🏻 Author: Tarryn Fisher
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
TW: mental and physical abuse, cult, kidnapping
Rated:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spoilers: yup
Synopsis:

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.

What follows is a twisted, shocking journey on the knife-edge of life and death. If she wants to save Braithe—and herself—the only way is to step back into the past.

Thoughts: 💭

Where do I begin? The synopsis of this books sounded really good but the cover of this book is completely deceiving and so is the synopsis. I was looking forward to a fun girls trip with Vegas and it definitely wasn’t fun. I wish I would have known in advance that this was a book mostly about a cult. For me it was difficult to read. The present chapters were narrated by Rainy and the past chapters are narrated by Summer. The present chapters were boring. I didn’t care for any of the Tiger Mountian Group: Tara, Viola, Braithe, Samantha, Ursa and Makenzie. They seemed fake. The present, trip to Las Vegas and the past the cult years didn’t seem to mesh.

The past chapters although difficult for me to read were definitely interesting and action packed. Summer, even at the tender age of 13 was a strong willed determined girl. I wish I had half her drive and confidence. Rainy/Summer had such a hard life but still managed to become a artist/sculptor and make a new life for herself in New York. Meeting, dating Grant and moving to Washington State with him. The Tiger Mountain Group is Grants friend group. Rainy doesn’t really care for them and vice versa. So when she finds out Braithe has been kidnapped and goes to help her, it’s a little bit unbelievable. Rainy knowingly went into danger. Who in the world goes to a hotel room and drinks something they have no idea it could do to them?!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I was just not feeling this one. I am traditionally a romance reader and I dabble in suspense/mystery. I can tell someone that reads primarily suspense would probably like this one better but nothing was really grabbing my attention the first 20% and that is key for me. I think my rating is a personal preference here!

I never know what to expect from a Tarryn Fisher novel and this was no exception. An Honest Lie is an engrossing, unpredictable mystery thriller that had me hooked until the end.
This is a story about an artist Rainy, whose dark past comes back to haunt her during a girl's trip to Vegas.
Filled with angst, suspense, mystery, twists and turns, this story alternates between the past and present day, with both time periods being equally interesting. We are taken on a crazy yet highly emotional journey with Rainy and my heart just breaks for her and her mother in the past chapters.
The story had great character development and although slow at the start it really picked up action wise in the last 30% of the the story with everything coming together however I wished we got a bit more at the ending epilogue.
This was a highly enjoyable tale and I would definitely recommend it to lovers of thrillers.