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

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Woman Who Lied.

Emilia Ward is a bestselling novelist of a popular detective series who has just finished the last book in the series. And it was not easy to do.

Right after she's dropped off the final manuscript for review, strange things begin happening, mimicking the plot of her earlier novels.

At first, Emilia dismisses it as a coincidence. Until it happens again. And again.

When someone dies just like a character in her novels, Emilia realizes someone is onto her. But who? And why?

The premise sounded so intriguing and in the beginning I was eager to find out who was doing all this and why.

Then, the narrative quickly began convoluted, full of coincidences and random meetings and how everyone connected to everyone else.

Also, it didn't help that Emilia is a deeply unlikable character; she has no self esteem, no confidence, and I get her ex cheating on her didn't help, either, but she also jumps quickly to conclusions and immediately assumes every person she meets is the killer, based on little circumstantial evidence.

Emilia is a nervous Nellie, her personality is neither interesting or vibrant, and she seemed very mousy.

It was hard to take her seriously as a bestselling novelist, talented at anything that didn't include being passed over for a younger wife.

The story is identical to so many thrillers being churned out now; red herrings to distract the readers, cheesy scare tactics (I hear footsteps behind me? Am I being followed? Who is it? Turning around and there's no one there), one ridiculous plot twist after another based on coincidence or deus ex machina to 'shock' the reader.

But right before the final page, one more twist to throw at the reader. So many twists including the kitchen sink!

The narrative lacked urgency and suspense, interesting characters, and dragged on too long.

This book was so clever! I loved the characters, I loved the way the 3 POVs were. I was SOOO sure I knew exactly how the twist was going to be and I was SOO wrong!!! I’m definitely going to be recommending this book and reading more by this author! Thank you so much for the ARC!!

I went into this hoping for a gripping story like others I've read from Douglas, but I struggled with it. The beginning felt slow because there was too much detail that made it hard to get into. The plot got really complicated, and I found it tough to follow.

Even though the idea behind the story was interesting, it didn't feel as well done as her other books. I just wanted to finish it quickly because it was hard to keep up with. The big surprise in the story wasn't much of a surprise for me. Overall, while there were some exciting parts, I ended up feeling disappointed and confused by the end.

I'm a huge fan of Claire Douglas and this was no exception! It felt like EVERYONE in this book had a motive and I was at the edge of my seat to find out what really happened. I loved that it was a book within a book as well. The ending took me by surprise, I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner but this book really kept me guessing.

I thought I had this one solved about 20% in. I was SO wrong. The different POV's were a little confusing, I found myself going back chapters to see I was remembering things correctly. Overall, I enjoyed this book - a great mystery/suspense that will leave you guessing until the end.

Having one of your stories become reality might be a dream come true for some novelists, but if you’re a crime writer it might just become a living nightmare…

Emilia is a typical suburban mom in London who is also the author of a bestselling detective series. She’s been through some hard times with a divorce in her past, but is happy with her second husband & their lovely home. After finishing her tenth novel she decides she wants to mix things up a bit, & spark something new in her creative life by writing something different instead of just continuing the existing series. But when specific scenes from her books keep popping up in her real life, Emilia realizes that walking away from her detective novels won’t be that easy…

The prologue of this book does a fantastic job of pulling you in, & when I got to the end of Part One I realized that a major assumption I didn’t even register I’d made was wrong, & it flipped the whole story inside out! I liked how the pandemic lockdown was included in the backstory, & I always love when there’s a book-within-a-book. I’ve read & enjoyed CD’s work in the past & she has definitely still got it because there’s no way I could have predicted the intricate details of that ending.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emilia Ward lives a wonderful life as a mom, wife, and bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels, but things take a turn when life starts mimicking art-in the form of accidents happening that follow her latest and final novel. Only a select group of people have read the final chapter of this character's series-and they are all close to Emilia. She starts to look into the crimes being committed, and also starts to suspect some of her family/friends along the way. Will she end up being the next victim, or will she uncover the truth about who is committing these horrible acts before her final ending becomes true in real life?

Throughout reading this, I had so many different suspects. Everyone seemed to be hiding something, whether it be big or small. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot, though when I finished it was a little "busy". There were many different pieces of the puzzle and a lot of information wrapped up into a decent conclusion. I would recommend this book and author to a friend!

"The Woman Who Lied" by Claire Douglas is a riveting thriller with intricately crafted characters. The narrative keeps you on edge, skillfully weaving a web of secrets and lies that leaves you constantly guessing about the true antagonist. Douglas's skill in crafting a compelling psychological mystery, solidifying "The Woman Who Lied" as a noteworthy contribution to the genre.

The Woman Who Lied
4⭐️

Being a crime-thriller author is all fun and games until your words and pages become your reality.

Emilia has written a series of detective novels over the past decade. She has decided to write one final book and end the series. It’s sent off to be reviewed and a handful of close family and friends are given an advanced copy. Soon, things from the books start happening to Emilia. At first it seems like this must be a crazed fan, until events from her unreleased book start happening to her, including a murder. Now she worries her stalker, the murderer, must be someone close to her.

I love can’t-trust-anyone thrillers. Everyone is a suspect. I thought I had it figured out a few times. I felt Emilia’s mental spiral as my own.
This will be a great thriller to add to your Summer TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley, Claire Douglas, and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for providing this ARC. This review is being shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date 30 Jul 2024

Claire Douglas does it again with another exciting thriller perfect for summer read! Does she reinvent the wheel with this story? No. Does she create a whodunit mystery that kept me turning the pages? Yes. This book is filled with excitement and mystery from approximately 30% onward. However, the beginning of this book is filled with a myriad of small details that seem overwhelming and unnecessary. Only later in the book do you realize the importance of these minute details and how Douglas uses them to shape the story. Throughout the story, Douglas also does a good job of developing and shaping Emilia, the main character. Overall, I enjoyed this book and while I would recommend it to a friend, I likely will not re-read this book. I give this book a solid 3.5 stars, rounded down because, in my opinion, it doesn't feel like a 4 star book.

this book was alright. I was confused and irritated half he time. but I'm sure someone would enjoy it. it just was not for me. the cover is still very beautiful.

Thanks for allowing me to read! This started off strong and did not disappoint. Lots of characters all with faults and morally gray moments. Told with multiple POV's , which got confusing particularly when a new entered later in book. A bit too long got a little lost in itself. With these great characters and twists it could have been two books. But the suspense is well written and I really did just whip through the book to see how all the threads would be tied up. I look forward to recommending this to everyone
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3.75 Stars

I really liked the premise of this book, but I think it was executed in a convoluted way. Told from three POVs, one of which I think was completely unnecessary, only served to make the plot more confusing. The MC became more and more annoying to me, behaving irrationally, blinding accusing everyone in her life of being a serial killer. The twist was good but boy did I have to sit and think about it and the characters and their connections, which in my opinion makes it less worthy of praise. A solid book with a solid twist, but be ready to think and work through some confusion.

The premise of this novel is really good and the author makes you want to understand the truth behind the escalation of the threat levels. The characterisation especially of Emilia and her family is good with all of them being well fleshed out. There are plenty of plot twists and turns and the author keeps on coming right to the very end with the final one being especially good. I like the extract from the book that are also included in the narrative.

Arc from netgalley

It took me two weeks to read this book. I just was so inspired by it.
The premise is good but some parts where just so over detailed. Some may not be bothered by that but I just wanted to get back to the story.
Solid 2 star