A very interesting, original, not predictable thriller. Told in the perspective of an author, who is being terrorized by crimes against her similar to her novels, including on unpublished, the perspective of the police investigating and the unpublished novel as well. Very absorbing. 4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Woman Who Lied is a thriller that hits on what I imagine is the third largest fear most thriller and mystery novelists must have (after no one enjoying the novel they dedicated themselves to and being accused of writing off another author’s work), which is the plot of their novel coming true in their own life. That’s the reality for author Emilia who sees her thriller - which has her lead character from her long running series killed off, coming to life.

There were a lot of questions that came to a great conclusion and I thought the cast of characters were well done in not overwhelming me as a reader. I did want a more finely tuned ending, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t end in a way that may appeal to many readers. A well done mystery, this is recommended for fans of mysteries and thrillers!

Emilia is a successful thriller writer who just finished writing the last book to a series where she decides to kill off her main character. Emilia’s life is turned upside down when incidents that happened in her books start happening to her in real life. As if that wasn’t disturbing enough, something happens that is from her newest book that hasn’t been published yet and only a handful of people closest to her have read.

I really love the plot of this book! And the elements of the book within a book is one of my fav to read! There was a lot of different perspectives going on but they weren’t clearly defined so that made it a little confusing. But maybe that was on purpose!

The beginning was a little slow, but picked up pretty quickly and then I was staying up late to try and finish it! I felt like I was constantly guessing the entire time to try and figure stuff out, but wasn’t able to figure it all out. Although the ending wasn’t my fav because I felt there was a little bit of a plot hole, everything wrapped up very well! I’ve been wanting to try a Claire Douglas book for awhile and this was my first, but definitely not my last!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for a copy of this book!

A mystery writer is alarmed when scenes from her books start playing out in real life. Things get even worse when she realizes some of these events could only be created by someone who has read her galley, someone close to her.

***
*3.5 stars rounded down*

Claire Douglas writes a pretty easy to read thriller with a conclusion that does wrap up all of the storylines quite nicely. That being said, I wish there had been a little more teeth in the story. It would have been nice to get more backstories of some of our suspects so we understood their potential motives more. While my suspicions did bounce from character to character, I didn't know enough about them, or our eventual culprit to really care all that much.

I also think the thriller could use higher stakes, and a bit more heart racing scenes. Douglas' books in general tend to lack some of the urgency a really good thriller has throughout.

Overall, it's an easy read and a good addition to Douglas' shelf. She is quickly becoming an auto read for me as she gets her formula and pacing down.

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

Wow this book is really well written. I enjoyed the different plot lines between real life and the novel Emilia has written. The twists and turns had me guessing who did it until the end.

Emelia Ward is a bestselling mystery author who’s just finished her tenth novel in a series. Inexplicably, a scene from one of her novels occurs in real life, then another, until a body is found that mirrors a scene from her latest book, which hasn’t been published yet. The Woman Who Lied is told in two parts. Part 1 moves slowly and repetitiously, and the book scenes that are occuring are relatively tame. You think this book is going nowhere, then Boom! There’s a blockbuster at the end of Part 1, and the book really takes off from there. Whereas the reader was a bit bewildered, the plot comes into sharp focus in Part 2, as the suspense is ramped up and the chapters now fly by as the pieces come together. Stay with this one, you’ll be glad you did. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Do not start reading this book if you're not ready to stay up all night!!! Claire Douglas has woven a web so tight you won't know what's real and what's "fiction"!!! This book is so cleverly written and is about a mystery author who's written a mystery book that has happened and is still happening in real time! Thanks for the advance copy!

Wow! What an ending! I was hooked on this book from the beginning and loved seeing it all unfold!

There were so many red herrings in this book that I couldnt have predicted the ending if I'd tried! I had an inkling Ash and Daisy were people from Emilia's circle but would never have guessed who they really were!

There was so much depth to the characters but still enough doubt woven in that I was never quite sure about any of them. I really felt for Emilia throughout and wanted her to see it through to the end.

The epilogue really ended this novel on a high. It gives the final twist you didn't know it needed with a final secret to answer the remaining questions.

Amazing read! I recommend everyone gives this book a try.

I am a huge fan of Claire Douglas, so I was stoked to receive an ARC of "The Woman Who Lied." This book is a twisted tale of lies and deceit, with a little dash of murder along the way too. It literally kept me up at night reading because I had to know who the culprit was behind the stalking and odd gifts delivered to Emilia. I loved the idea of an authors stories coming to life but wish they were less scary. Loved this thrill ride of a book.

Thank you to the author Claire Douglas and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for this read. Overall I really liked this story. It kept me on my toes and I was never sure who the villain of the story was. The characters were likeable and I loved the overlap and the connection of the chapters of the book within the story to the storyline. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a good thriller book to add to their TBR!

This book was twisty and exactly what I was looking for. From the first chapter I was intrigued, the characters grew on me over time and the ending left me breathless.
If you are looking for a good thriller I'd suggest checking this one out.

I have been a fan of Claire Douglas for quite some time and was very intrigued by the description of The Woman Who Lied. I thought the premise was extremely clever, and Douglas was able to truly pull it off without being too fantastical. I'm typically good at figuring out the perpetrator early on but this one had me guessing for most of the book -- which to me is the sign of a great author! Put this one at the top of your Must Read list!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book!

I have always been a Claire Douglas fan and this one did not disappoint.
The characters are well developed and the plot development kept you guessing which makes this impossible to put down in my opinion.

5 stars

I would give this book 3.5 stars if half stars were possible here, but I rounded down to 3.

Overall, I liked the premise of the book. However, I just feel like there was maybe one or two too many hysterical pivots in the book. I mean, Emilia accused *everyone* of being the villain. Literally everyone. Apologies if that's a spoiler, but I had a real issue with that.

However, it was still a good book that kept me interested. Would make for a great book to request from the library.

The storyline in itself is okay. However, I found this to be a slow-burn. If you are into crime fiction than this would definitely be the read for you.

I found parts of the story to be confusing and while I usually enjoy books with multiple POVs this one just didn’t do it for me.

Unfortunately, three stars from me. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for a chance at an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Short Summary: Emilia Ward, a best selling novelist of a popular series, sets out to end her series with a twist. However, once she submits her final copy, strange and dangerous things start happening to her and everyone around her.

I really did enjoy this book and all the elements of surprise. I was confused, I was anxious, I was sure I knew who the killer was until I wasnt sure anymore! It had all the great elements of a great thriller. It took me a minute to get into the book and was extremely detailed and longwinded at first. However, once I got about halfway through I flew through the book. I did not want to put it down and stayed up too late a few too many times.

The reason I gave 4/5 stars is because it can get quite confusing at times. There is a lot going on with a book inside of a book. It took me a minute to figure that out. At times I had to go back and read the last several pages to figure out what I was missing but nonetheless good book!

Thank you for to NetGalley and Claire Douglas for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of The Woman Who Lied.

One Line Review: When Emilia sets out to end her long running mystery book series, she never imagined that the words she's written would manage to come to life, and in such a terrifying way...

Synopsis: Emilia is a mom, a wife, and a best-selling author of a long running book series about a detective named Miranda. Emilia longs to be able to write about something different and makes the tough choice to end the series to expand her creativity. She has been inspired by so many things that surround her daily, and in a horrific turn, the things she has written about in her ten-book series begin to happen... one by one. After a horrific night where her daughter goes missing, Emilia realizes that someone is out to get her, and must be someone incredible close... because the last book hasn't been published, and has only been shared with her innermost circle of family and friends... Who can she trust, because it's starting to feel like no one is being honest with her?

My Thoughts: Loved this book!!! Once I got into the first few chapters, I couldn't put this book down! Claire Douglas is now on my shortlist of authors to read from now!! Absolutely recommended this to my Mother-In-Law, who is my book sharing bestie!

Edge of my seat read. I got so focused on it, I didn’t realize my family was trying to get my attention and I jumped all clear on multiple occasions.
Fantastic book! I know I will be recommending it to all of my friends.

3.5⭐️

Books within a book? It’s always such a fun, neat detail! This is definitely more of a mystery with elements of a thriller. I think it had a unique and clever plot which I really enjoyed. What would you do when someone is copying the actions of your best selling novel? This provided unreliable narrators with suspense.

I must say though that there’s constantly so much going on because of the story within the story within the story, that it becomes confusing. It’s almost too much of a tied up knot for the reader to digest. It was also a very slow burn which is a hit or miss sometimes.

Read if you like:
• crime fiction
• puzzle like stories
• serial killer documentaries
• slow burn
• multiple POVs

Claire Douglas presents us with a solid twist on a police procedural with The Woman Who Lied. Told from several points of view, our main character is an author who is putting the finishing touches on the tenth book in a very successful police procedural mystery series. Emilia feels done with this series, despite her agent's pleading, and decides to kill off her beloved Detective Moody at the end of book ten. There are also chapters by a young woman named Daisy nearly twenty years go and another perspective as well.

But things go sideways for Emilia when events from her books, including book ten that isn't even out yet, start happening in real life. She calls the police, who advise her to tighten up security at home and remain calm. It's probably no big deal. Of course, that's not the case and the events progress in severity.

My quibble with this book is that it felt tedious and overwrought in the first half, but when a major twist occurred at 51% the pages started flying by and the writing was a better balance of descriptive and well paced. I would have liked a bit more character development for Emilia, but the characters did feel real enough for me to enjoy it. I predicted two of the major twists but not the final kicker, and I couldn't put this down for the second half so I'm calling it a win overall.

3.5 rounded to 4 for Goodreads