TRIGGER WARNING: infanticide, child neglect/abuse
Chief Maggie Riley discovers a body then moments later a young woman wanders out of the wood. Maggie begins an investigation into the death but becomes personally involved with Heather's recovery from her shock as she finds out the truth about the teen's awful home life. Meanwhile Maggie and her boyfriend Steve are both hiding secrets...
The Girl Who Lied is the first book in a new detective series set in America.
Maggie was a high flying detective until her little brother disappeared and she lost her family and career. She retreated to a small town where nobody knew her and was satisfied with the low profile crimes she faced. But a murder victim changes everything and Maggie is startled to find links between the dead man and her colleague as well as vulnerable Heather.
The book is written from multiple perspectives, some (Maggie, Steve and Heather) in the first person which provide an emotional pull towards these characters. Maggie and Steve have both been keeping secrets from each other about their pasts but now they need to be open and honest.
Heather's character arc is hugely emotive and Maggie is forced to call in social services to deal with the child abuse and neglect that she discovers at their family home. Heather admits to a crime but Maggie believes that there are extenuating circumstances which diminish her culpability. The original murder case is not entirely straight forward and there are significant twists along the way.
The Girl Who Lied is a gripping crime and detective thriller with a strong emotional element. The next book in the series, Their Angel's Cry is also available now and I intend to read ASAP!

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for these ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
👮🏼‍♀️👮🏼‍♀️
This book had a very beautiful beginning and middle, but the ending was botched, and I was so disappointed. I gave it 3.5 stars
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The setting was okay. A small town, Coyote Cove in Maine. It was a typical small town where the residents are kinda depressed by their environment. But I didn't really like it because I didn't like any of the residents.
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That aside, I liked Chief Maggie Riley, her expertise, and the cloud of mystery over her. I liked that her secrets and that of get boyfriend Steve were exposed. I'm sure that Maggie's brother's case will still be revisited in another book in the series
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This book was okay, but it would have been better if the ending was different. I don't like it when books have ambiguous endings. The title of this book is 100% accurate
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I'll still read another book in this series because Chief Riley is an amazing character(and I got my wish!)

What a ride! Seriously, the pages were turned pretty quick.
We are being introduced to Chief Maggie Riley, who during a stormy evening finds the body of a man, and a young girl, Heather, showing up quite distraught and out of place. The small town is quick to point a finger at Heather, but another body is found.
The characters and layers are very intriguing and I am totally ready for book 2

Next weekend, I plan to stay in a hotel in London for the night. And of course, had I wished, I could have booked somewhere fabulously luxurious and iconic and made my overnight stay a once in a lifetime experience. At the time of writing, The Ritz had rooms available on my chosen night. So did the Savoy, and somewhere at the top of the Shard. And yet, I've chosen instead to do what I normally do, and booked a Premier Inn.

Partly - indeed, mostly, if I'm honest - this is because I can't afford to stay in the Ritz or the Savoy. But it's also because, given what I actually want to use the hotel for, all that extra luxury would be rather a waste. I'll be spending the evening at the theatre, most likely followed by a few drinks in a bar, and using the hotel only as a place to sleep before driving home the next day. So what I really need is precisely what Premier Inn offers: a comfortable bed in a clean room. And that's it.

I do wonder, though: if I were to stay at the Ritz, would I continue to view Premier Inn in the same way that I do now? Or would it suddenly start to feel a bit cheap and nasty?

It's a similar story with the car that I'll be driving to the hotel. I love my big blue barge because it's a very comfortable way of moving myself, other people, my dog, work tools, caravans/ trailers and who knows what else from one place to another. And yet, I suspect that if I were ever to drive a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari, it would feel somewhat downmarket. Not to mention underpowered.

As you may have gathered, I'm procrastinating. I'm trying to think of a kind way of saying what I really thought about The Girl Who Lied by Shannon Hollinger. I have a feeling that, if I had read this book at random without having previously come across its author, I'd have liked it. But I have read her previous novel, a stand-alone psychological thriller called The Slumber Party, and loved it. So much so that when I heard that she had written the first instalment in a police series, which is one of my favourite genres, I couldn't request it from Netgalley fast enough.

My problem now though is one that is becoming familiar to me, but doesn't get any easier to write about. I really wanted to love The Girl Who Lied, and to rave about it on its promotional tour. But in comparison to The Slumber Party, I didn't like it as much.

It starts so well. The setting - a remote piece of North American woodland, on a dark night, just as a thunderstorm is about to start - is wonderfully conveyed. So too is the main character - a burnt out police officer who has come to the area in search of a quieter life. And on top of that is just the right amount of mystery: not only has Police Chief Maggie Riley almost stumbled over a murdered man who she doesn't recognise - unusually, in this small town where almost everyone knows everyone - but the first strike of lightning illuminates a dishevelled teenage girl. So, that's atmosphere, character and intrigue covered in just a few pages. Fabulous.

The book continues from there in a similar vein, really. Think of it not as a police procedural, but as a psychological character study with a bit of police procedure on the side, and there's a lot to like. The characters of Murphy and Heather, in particular, are extremely well-conveyed and there are moments in both of their stories that really tug at your heart-strings. I also loved the portrayal of the small, remote community where, even if you're a police officer and your duty is to the law first and foremost, you can't help but feel differently about it when these are people whom you've known all your life.

My problems with this book are really twofold. Firstly, there's the issue that some parts of the main story didn't quite work. Heather's abduction - this isn't a spoiler if you've read the blurb - lacks the suspens that it really needed, which is a pity when some other parts of the book are so dark. And the ending, whilst very cleverly done, left me thinking "could that really be possible?" When what I needed to be thinking was just "wow".

My second problem was with the character of Maggie Riley. She's wonderfully complex and multi-layered - and all the more real for that reason. But the effect for me was to not be sure whether I liked her or not. This would have been fantastic in a stand-alone psychological thriller, where I could have continued to wonder about it long after I had closed the back cover. But it's not so great when, as in this case, the book is the first in a stand-alone series. For that you need a main character that you can, if not like, at least relate to or form a bond with in some way. After finishing The Girl Who Lied, I still feel like I'm lagging that with Maggie.

I suppose the good news is that Shannon Hollinger has the chance to redeem herself. Because I also have copies of the second book in the series, The Angel's Cry, which is out now and the third, The Shadow Girl which is due to be published in the UK on 3rd September.

I just hope that after reading those, the character of Maggie will have developed enough for me to be drawn into the series a a whole. Because for me, reading The Girl Who Lied on its own, particularly off the back of The Slumber Party felt a bit like having been given the key to a room in a Premier Inn when you were expecting the Savoy. Undeniably good. But nonetheless disappointing, because it's not as good as you had been hoping for.

My thanks to the author and Netgalley for the digital ARC, and to Bookouture for my inclusion on the blog tour. With their agreement, this review will be published on my blog and Netgalley only, with public shares on social media limited to promotional materials.

This is book one in the series. I really enjoyed the mystery and look forward to the rest of the series. I would definitely recommend it.

Maggie Riley is the Chief of police in the small town of Coyote Cove in Maine. Maggie happens upon a murder scene during a storm and is desperate to secure evidence before it’s destroyed.

A local teenager, Heather, comes out of the woods and is terrified. What happened to her? It seems Maggie has more than one mystery to solve. When Heather goes missing, Maggie will race to find her before she becomes the next victim. Will she be able to find out who the killer is?

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The first book in a series always sets the tone for the books that follow. Shannon Hollinger has centered her series around Chief Maggie Riley, an awesome character that comes to life quickly in THE GIRL WHO LIED. Coyote Cove, Maine seems a perfect community until the bodies start piling up. When a young woman is found at the scene of the first murder, it seems too easy to solve such a gruesome murder....and it is. The murders continue while this young woman is locked in the town jail, but when she's released, she goes missing too.

For three years Cheif Riley has been able to keep her town safe, now she must use every skill at her disposal, including those she hoped to never need again. Great beginning to a new series. It will be interesting to see if book #2 can live up to this one.

So good!! This book had me guessing and creating theories from start to finish. I was not expecting half of the secrets or how people worked together to solve the crime(s). The character development is interesting and I found all the characters to be colorful and unique. This was not the typical police/murder style thriller and I look forward to more books in the Maggie Riley world!

This is a great suspense!! Chapters told from different characters, giving you each perspective is awesome. Likeable characters with lots of secrets that keep you guessing throughout! Highly recommend!!

I received this ARC through Net Galley, thank you for choosing me for this book.

So having read books 1 and 2 of the Chief Maggie Riley series, the more I read of it, the more I like it. It took a little while for the characters to grow on me. I wasn’t sure I liked Maggie and Steve at the start of the series, but I am really a fan now. Both books had a storm threatening to tamper with things. In book 1, as Maggie is introduced, things are very personal and both Maggie and Steve have secrets that threaten to derail their life in Maine.

There are many POVs in the books, which is a switch for me in the usual detective novels I read. As I read, I wasn’t sure why the POVs outside of Maggie and Steve were important and only as the story progressed did it become clear why they were. Both stories are layered and kept me wanting more. They are fast paced, full of suspense and there were some twists along the way.

Book 3 comes out September 1 and I can’t wait to see where the series is heading.

I listened to book 1 and read book 2 and enjoyed both formats. Both kept me interested and were easy to follow.

If you want to jump in at the beginning of a new detective series, this one won’t disappoint.

I was browsing crime on Netgalley and stopped for the cover of this one. A great intro for a new to me author and it won't be my last. I enjoyed the author's cruising style of writing and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. I really like small town stories, the characters if not born there have interesting stories of why they fled the big city life.
This story was written in multiple POV but easily recognised by the title of each chapter. I really enjoyed this insight into each major character.
More than one murder in this story, the crime that brought them together but other bodies from the past brought such colour to this story.
I hope Chief Maggie and her partner stick around and I look forward to more from this series and author.

Maggie is a police chief with secrets in a small town. She finds a man murdered and a teenage girl nearby covered in blood. Etc. 4 stars. I'll try more in this series.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Small Town Crime & a Chief of Police with a devastating past, yes please!.

Chief Maggie Riley used to be a gritty City Detective until a tragedy forced her to leave her past behind and start again in Coyote Cove, which is two cop town that never sees any real crimes and she’s the first female Chief.

Maggie stumbles across a murder victim and has to use and remember every part of her former training to preserve the scene before the heavens open and destroy any evidence, whilst she’s waiting for back up a terrified local teenage girl comes stumbling out the woods and starts screaming hysterically.

OMG what an absolute wild ride this was, I read it in a few short hours and I really couldn’t believe the HUGE TWIST at the end.

The setting of this story is just perfect as it’s a little creepy, as Maggie pieces together this crime we get little tidbits of her former life and what she’s done and what she’s going to to next and I was absolutely LIVING for them and needed more details desperately, which is why this is a double review and I’m about to start reading book 2.

I hope Maggie gets the peace she deserves in her Cosy little cabin in the woods with her two dogs and Steve but by the sounds of book 2 I doubt it.

Wonderful. Intriguing. Stunning. An absolutely addictive page turner. Do not give this one a miss - it is a real treat. Loved, loved, loved this one.

Chief Maggie Riley uncovers a body, but when trying to secure the crime scene a teenage girl appears who may know what happened. Soon another body is uncovered and the teenager is missing; will this be a race against time to capture the killer before the killer can strike again?

This novel is told through multiple points of view to keep the reader on their toes and the narrative engaging and it does exactly that. I couldn’t put this book down and found myself wanting to read ‘just one more page.’

There were twists I didn’t see coming and tension throughout, this is a great start to a new series and I look forward to reading book two.

The Girl Who Lied is the first in the three book series, but needless to say, I won’t be reading the other two because I felt no connection with the characters or the plot. The book left off on a cliffhanger which makes me curious, but this one dragged on with hardly any mystery or suspense.

You may read it, and love it, but it fell short of my expectations. I read a lot of scary, gory, creepy books and this one felt more like a novice mystery which is perfect for someone who would enjoy a cozy detective series.

Read if you like:
▪️Small Town Secrets
▫️Detective Series

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Girl Who Lied' by Shannon Hollinger.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Shannon Hollinger, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 2nd August 2023.

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have also read 'Best Friends Forever' and 'The Slumber Party' which I would highly recommend! It is also the first book in the 'Chief Maggie Riley's series.


This novel consists of 75 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


'The Girl Who Lied' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Shannon discusses infanticide and child abuse/neglect.

OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS BOOK!! A FANTASTIC START TO A PROMISING NEW SERIES!!! WELL DONE SHANNON ON ANOTHER HUGE SUCCESS 🥂

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. Shannon's evocative writing skills and descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

An absolutely explosive start to a promising new series by the fantastic Shannon!!! I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense, murder, lies, loss, family, secrets, friendship, secrets and omg the twists!!! I DID NOT see any of them coming!!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Shannon!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over and over!!! I absolutely loved both the multiple perspectives which are all weaved together perfectly to drip feed the reader just the right amount of information to keep them guessing and hooked without giving too much away. One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have read!!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. Shannon includes the death of a baby and goes into other details which I have included a trigger warning for at the start of my review. The storyline is filled with crime, twists, shocks, suspense, tension, deceit and everything you could want in a psychological thriller. There was not one, not two but several explosive bombshells I did not see coming!!! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I loved that the story was so multi layered and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the storylines from this book in 'Their Angel's Cry' which is next on my reading list. Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! Practically every chapter ended on a cliff hanger so no way could I put it down!! Absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!! I am looking forward to reading'Their Angels Cry' as ,if this is anything to go by, they are guaranteed to be page turner's!!

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Amelia Sciandra who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Amelia did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Shannon but also to listening to more books narrated by Amelia! I have previously listened to 'The Girl In The Pink Shoes' by Stacy Green which is also narrated by Amelia and which I would also recommend reading/listening to.




I wasn't just 100% invested in the storyline but also in the characters. Every single one of the characters were well defined and developed, realistic and strong. I really liked Heather as a protagonist especially the fact that she isn't perfect and has her own secrets and history which I'm intrigued to discover more of her in the next books in this promising series. Maggie has gone from being a well known hot shot homicide detective in the big city and moved to the chief of police in the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove. This book has a lot of character development as is usual in the first book in any series and as we meet alot of characters in can get confusing at times but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book as it is normal in the case of books at the start of a series. I'm all for a strong female protagonist and am looking forward to getting to know Heather more. The other main characters we meet and hear from are Heather's deputy Dale Murphy who is leading the investigation into the discovery of a strangers body found in the wood and whose mother went missing 30 years ago, Steve who is Maggie's neighbour and has his own secrets and Heather who is a 16 year old developmentally challenged girl who is discovered by the body in the woods. All of the main characters have their own secrets some of which we discover in this story and others that we are yet to discover. It was intriguing to watch their personalities change and grow along with the relationship development between each of the characters. I am not going to say anything about any of the other characters as it isn't worth the risk of dropping any hints but there was major shocks to be had!! If you want to know more you will just have to click the link below to get a copy!! All in all a great mix of characters that worked well with this storyline and I'm looking forward to getting to meet most of them again in the next book 'Their Angel's Cry' which I'm off to read next.

An explosive start to a promising new series!! This is EXACTLY why you are in my favourite author club Shannon!!!! Here's to the next success 🥂

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue of Shannon's 'Their Angel's Cry' which is the next book in this series and looks just as addictive as this book was!!

Overall an absolutely heart racing, never wracking, unputdownable addictive and explosive start to a promising new series!!


284 pages/ 7 hours and 28 minutes.

This book is just 99p to purchase, free with kindle unlimited, £8.99 in paperback, £39.37 on Audiobook and £7.99 with Audible via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Crime novels are not usually my favourite genre but I did enjoy this one. The writing style was easy to read and kept me intrigued throughout. I was hooked from the first chapter when Chief Maggie Riley stumble upon a deceased man with a local schoolgirl present at the scene. The revelation of finding another body added to the overall suspense and kept me reading to find out the link and who was to blame.

There’s a storm approaching the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove when Chief Maggie Riley comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. As she desperately struggles to secure the evidence before the rain hits, Heather, a local teenage girl, emerges from the woods, shivering and unable to talk.

The grisly murder brings in the state police and during the investigation, it comes apparent that everyone in Coyote Cove has a secret, and I mean everyone!

The Girl Who Lied is the first of three in the  Chief Maggie Riley series, and this was a great start to the series.
The story captured my attention immediately and had me hooked until the very end. It is told in alternating chapters between 4 POV. This definitely kept me on my toes. The author maintained a great pace throughout, and the chapters flow well. I loved the relationship between Maggie & her boyfriend Steve and hope to find out more about these two in the next book. There were a fewtwistst andrevelationsn in this book!

A totally addictive crime thriller packed with suspense and with a great female lead character. Chief Maggie Riley is complex and flawed, with her own secrets, and I am excited to get to know her more.

Thank you, @netgalley, @bookouture, and @thiswritersays for the opportunity to read the ARC.

This is the first book of the series Chief Maggie Riley.

The story starts with Chief Maggie discovering the bloody body of a dead man lying in the forest in a small town. Next to the body, a girl named Heather standing next to the body. Heather seemed to be having a dark history and many people in that small town pointed fingers at Heather believing that she may be responsible for the murder. But Chief Maggie Riley believes that Heather is innocent and there might be someone else who is responsible for the murder.

I enjoyed reading Shannon Hollinger's book so I was super excited that she started on a series. I would say this was good but not as good as her two previous books which kept me hooked till the end. This was fast paced, some twists and turns along the way and above all, the plot was really interesting which made me want to read this book and really want to finish it and see what the ending was going to be. The only problem I had was there were too many multiple character POVs which I don't mind but there were some characters that I feel were bit unnecessary for the POV. Above all, if you are looking to start a series, I strongly recommend this book to you--worth 4 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

A twisted beginning to this new series! Police Chief Maggie Riley is overqualified for her new job in Coyote Cove. Nothing much happens in town, until it does. Her lieutenant is not pleased to be working for a woman, as he continues the search for his mother who disappeared thirty years ago. Maggie comes across the body of a man in the forest who has been stabbed to death. The man is not local and she knows that the state police will take over, but with a storm moving in, she must safeguard the evidence before it is too late. As she is wrapping up the scene, Heather, a terrified local girl wanders into the scene. Did she see who killed the man? Maggie is more qualified to investigate than the police who arrive, but this was her safe place…will she lose her safe place? As they identify the victim, Heather is now missing. Has the killer taken her and if so, will they find Heather in time and stop the killer? I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)