Emilia is a writer and things from her books start happening in real life. You don't know who is guilty or who to trust. I thought I knew for a bit but things started to lead me in a different direction only for me to then realize I was right haha I love when the writing makes me second guess everything. Very clever storyline. I can't wait to try out more by this author.

This book! I was at the edge of my seat. It was a more original premise than I'm used to seeing, and I was here for it. It was all about a mystery writer who is having her murder stories come to life around her. The MC was relatable, and I cared about what would happen to her and her family, which is no small feat for me. I liked trying to solve the mystery and the storylines weaving together. Wow! Solid 4.7, rounded.

An unusual premise as someone starts re enacting scenes from a murder mystery author's books. Lots of twists in this one as she identifies suspects one by one. Definitely didn't see the ending coming. A repeat reader of Claire Douglas!

Emilia has just finished her latest book in her popular detective series entitled “Her Last Chapter”. When things start happening from her book series in real life, Emilia soon realizes she has a stalker. When scenes from her yet to be released book happen, Emilia realizes her stalker is much closer than originally thought and when someone dies, Emilia knows that’s she’s the next intended victim. Will she be able to figure out who wants her dead before it’s too late? Douglas has us questioning everyone from start to finish and with her many twists and turns, you might just stay up all night to finish this one. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

While this book doesn't feel particularly unique or totally out of this world, it is a solidly-paced thriller that kept me intrigued and wanting to find out what happens. 4 stars for being the kind of thriller that will make all readers happy to spend some time guessing whodunnit.

This was my first book by Claire Douglas but it certainly won't be my last

I really enjoyed this twisty thriller.

Emilia is an author of a detective series, she is just about to publish the final book when crimes begin happening around her that follow the storylines of her books,

This is a great read, a little slow at the start but after about 40 pages I was engrossed. I loved the dining and didn't guess what was going on. An added bonus was that it is set really locally to me!
Certainly recommend this for psychological thriller fans and am definitely going to check out the authors other books.

Thank you to netgalley and harperperennial for the gifted e-copy.

This book didn't work for me. Too many characters with superfluous details. Didn't care about the main character. No atmosphere, or tension, or suspense of any kind. Weak dialogue. Even the premise is something I have already seen before, but done better. By the 30% mark I skim read the rest. This book was boring and forgettable.

What happens when a mystery author's real life starts to imitate the tense plotlines of her beloved book series?? Everyone, even those closest to her, become suspects! I love the book within a book plotlines, and this thriller really delivered. While I have read books with similar themes, this one is well-written, has developed characters, and builds palatable suspense as the book progresses. I was on the edge of my seat to reach the conclusion!

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book! It’s been done before many times but if written well, can still feel new and intriguing. A novelist starts experiencing troubling occurrences having to do with her best selling books and plays detective herself to figure out who is behind it. The story was well written and the characters were deep and complex, with nothing being quite as it seems. I would recommend to anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers inspired by detective novels!

This book was very good. I did figure out part of the twist, but not all of it.
You'll spend the entire book saying..but wait, maybe that person did it.
Definitely a must read. I'll look for more books by this author.
4 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Emilia Ward is an unassuming mystery writer, and she’s made the decision to end her successful series. As she’s finishing the final book, the quiet life she enjoys with her family takes a decidedly unexpected turn. Disturbing incidents begin occur that eerily mimic events portrayed in her previous novels. Soon Emilia starts to suspect the perpetrator is someone she knows.

The Woman Who Lied is a great read. It’s well-written with a good plot that follows two storylines, creating a “book within a book” type off mystery. The characters are well-developed, with good descriptions, and the author is adept at moving between several stories, while maintaining both the pace and the suspense.

Ms Douglas has written a clever and smart mystery. She keeps all the balls in the air while providing an entertaining story. I really enjoyed The Woman Who Lied. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas. Clever plot, crime, tension.

I rated this 4 stars.

Miranda Moody writes detective novels and suddenly someone begins to use her novels as a guide to murder. Miranda believes it could be a fan of her series until things start happen that are in her unpublished book that only a select amount of people know.

First book from this author, she has a great way of building a story. Will definitely pick up another one of her books. Thought I had the ending till the twist!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

🔹 My take: 3.5/5

🔸 Emilia Ward is best selling author of 9 books and the fictional detective in her books Miranda Moody is a character readers have loved. Emilia is on verge of writing her 10th book which she feels is the most difficult since she is planning to make some big changes in them and coincidentally her life starts mimicking those troubles in real life too. Strange incidents start popping up in her life and she starts connecting dots that these incidents are same to scenes she has written in her earlier books. Then an incident occurs which is identical to the scene she is writing for her current book and hell breaks loose. Emilia and her family are in danger and try to break the pattern.

💖 Wows - Claire Douglas continues to be one of my favourite thriller authors. The Woman who lied starts with a bang and the thrill aspects begin from chapter 1. The writing is as always fast paced and interesting. Different characters are introduced at regular intervals and contribute to the overall story. And of course the plot of a writer writing books is always lovely to read.

💔 Ows - I found the other books by the author like ‘The Couple at no. 9’ and ‘The Girls who disappeared’ better. This one had all the right elements but maybe the mystery was a tad bit predictable and hence I am unable to give it full 5 stars.

💫 As a fan of Claire Douglas, I would recommend this to all thriller lovers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thanks to @clairedouglasauthor @netgalley @harperperennial for sharing the DRC in exchange for honest review.

This was a good read but a little slow to start.

Once the story starts and the plot starts making sense this book is hard to put down. As soon as it starts picking up i didnt want to put it down. I was dying to know who the perpetrator was and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story had twists in it and it wrapped up nicely.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Emilia is the author of a successful crime fiction series; however, she starts to notice that things are happening to her straight out of the plots of her novels. Are her and her family in danger?!

I loved The Woman Who Lied. It was a gripping psychological thriller with some surprising twists. I was hooked in the first chapter and really enjoyed the plot. I’m not surprised that I loved this book since I have loved @clairedouglasauthor’s other books as well!

Thank you @harperperennial for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

(This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website)

4.5 stars

A little slow in the beginning, but oooh, did it speed up!

I really enjoyed the plot, but mostly, I enjoyed the twists. This thriller had me on the edge of my seat, and I was dying to know who the perpetrator was. There were a lot of suspects and a lot of red herrings, and it kept me zeroed in. Unfortunately, I was tripped up by some of the red herrings lol, but I found the reveal very satisfying! The epilogue was a nice touch and I really enjoyed the way the story was wrapped up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this earc in exchange for my honest review.

This is an excellent read! I enjoyed the different points of view and not knowing if it was past/present/part of the book being written. I thought I had some parts figured out, only to realize I had it all backwards. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Paperbacks for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 7/30!

I really enjoyed the ride that this book took me on. This book featured different POVs in a way I don’t believe I’ve experienced before as a reader, so that kept me intrigued throughout. When everything came together, I found myself reading with my mouth hanging open because what the author led me to guess was not the case at all. I think the character development and backstories in this book are integral to the plot, and something the author did well. As I read a lot of this genre, at one point while reading I did think I had the end twist figured out but I was pleasantly mistaken! This was a fun read and I would recommend.

4.5⭐️

Emilia Ward, a mother of two, lives a quiet life with her second husband in a London suburb. A bestselling author of a successful detective series, Emilia is almost finished with her latest and possibly the final installment in her series. Writing a best-selling series has been taxing and this last book has proved to be especially challenging. But truth becomes stranger than fiction for Emilia when an incident mirroring a scene from one of her books occurs in real life. This is not an isolated incident and it seems that someone is trying to send her a message using her own fiction against her. After a shocking incident that is eerily similar to a plot point from her unpublished manuscript, Emilia begins to suspect that the threat is closer to home since the draft was shared with a select few in her close circle and Emilia begins to fear for her family’s safety.

Does someone know Emilia’s secret – a truth that has been hidden from most in her close circle? Is she being targeted for the same reason? Is her family in danger? Could someone close to her be responsible for all that is happening or is she being paranoid?

Exceptionally well-written and intricately plotted with an intriguing premise and several interesting twists and red herrings leading up to a satisfying ending – what else could you ask for in a psychological thriller? The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas checked all those boxes for me. I really liked Emilia and found her to be an interesting protagonist. I’ll admit that initially, I presumed that the story would be formulaic and predictable, but I was so wrong! There was a point in the novel where almost no one in Emilia’s close circle was above suspicion. The narrative is presented from Emilia’s perspective with segments from another unnamed narrator’s perspective interspersed throughout the narrative. Cleverly structured, these segments had me confused (Who was the narrator? Segments from her unpublished manuscript? Segments from her previous installments? A new character or someone we knew? ) but as the narrative progresses, the author dials up the tension and the threads converge in a riveting denouement. The final reveal really threw me and being proved wrong always elevates my overall experience! I was glad that the author did not incorporate some of the annoying (personal opinion, no offense intended!), overused tropes that are common in this genre to manipulate the plot.


This was my first Claire Douglas novel and I can’t wait to explore more of her work.

Many thanks to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Woman Who Lied, by Claire Douglas, is a smartly written mystery novel, with complex, layered plotting, sinister doings, and a colorful cast of characters.
Successful author Emilia Ward has written the popular Miranda Moody detective novels. She is happily married to her second husband, has lovely children, and a nice modern home. Then her world is rocked by a series of murders that emulate the crimes in her ten novels!
Emilia is a likeable main character, full of love for her family and her life. She tries to figure out the connection of the crimes to her novels, but unfortunately is surrounded by friends and acquaintances who are unreliable, or could even be involved in the murders. So Emilia seems to be constantly swimming in a whirlpool of solid clues, subterfuge, and red herrings
I like Claire Douglas’ prose and her exploration of the characters’ inner thoughts and motives. Conversely, sometimes I wished Emilia could get out of her own head and away from seemingly obsessive thoughts about her emotionally distant, cold parents. The plot twists are many, a few really surprising, and the inclusion of excerpts from Emilia’s unpublished latest detective novel is an added treat, further immersing the reader in the story.
All in all, I recommend this well-written novel, combining a domestic thriller with a whodunit and police procedural. It is a very entertaining read!

Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.