Sabrina Bowen knows hockey and Vermont, but boy does she know domestic thrillers too. This book! It took time to wrap my head around all the plot twisty greatness that is The Five Year Lie. I could not put it down. I was always thinking, “Ooh, I know what’s happening next.” or “I know who did that.” Nope. All my guesses were wrong. Everything in this book is fantastic. The suspense, the surprises, the love.

I thought the pace and the way the story unfolded were spot on. I enjoyed all the characters. I felt their actions and emotions were absolutely what someone would do if placed in the confusing and bizarre situation of this book.

4.5 Stars 🌟

The minute that I saw that Sarina Bowen was stepping out of her usual genre and into the thriller genre...I was in. She has built up such an enormous amount of credit with me that I was actually excited to see what she had in store with this new book in a new genre. And guess what? She DID NOT disappoint.

The premise of this book is interesting. Apparently, there was a glitch in the cellular provider and FIVE years later, there is an enormous one type dump of texts that were sent during the exact same time....only they were sent 5 years earlier. Believe it or not, this caused quite a few awkward situations. There were MANY, many circumstances in which this caused some pretty bad situations.

In our story, we are introduced to the female MC - Ariel. Ariel is the daughter of the CEO of a company similar to Ring - Chime Co. They are in the doorbell camera business (and he is a really awful father.) To make things even more interesting, in addition to being CEO, her father was a co-founder of the company with his brother, her Uncle Ray. The only problem is that Ariel CAN NOT stand her father and she does her very level best to act out (I know, she is supposedly an adult, but her initial behavior is representative of a teenager who is rebelling) but she still behaves badly. If it can annoy her father, she does it.

This story is told in two POV's - well, actually, there are a couple more POV's but for the most part, we are getting Ariel's POV and Drew's POV. Drew is a new programmer hired by Chime Co and it becomes apparent immediately that he is there for reasons other than what he stated on his resume.

We are also given two different timelines - the here and now (present), and then also 5 years in the past. The time period 5 years ago was when the things from the text that have just popped up were actually occurring. Why is that important? Well, because with this unexpected drop of a citywide batch of 5 year old texts - Ariel receives a belated text from Drew. The problem with that is that Drew is now dead. He died just under 5 years ago. But in the text, he asks her to meet him in an hour at a specific location because there is trouble. Unfortunately, she never received the text at the time it was sent so she is obviously confused when she receives a text from the grave. All this time she thought that Drew bailed on her. That he just up and left her without a reason, without a phone call.....with nothing. And then to top everything off, a few months later, she saw his obituary. He was dead. So imagine what she thinks when she sees this text from the love of her life out of the blue. She is an emotional wreck before she understands that the text was not sent in the "now" and realizes that this text was sent 5 years ago. Oh, and to make things even more complicated, she has a son from Drew - a son that she never had a chance to tell him about before he disappeared. Yep, definitely a lot to deal with.

Honestly though, what happens is that it opens a can of worms. When Drew disappeared all those years ago, she did make an effort to find him, but with her feelings being so hurt, and feeling like she was abandoned, she didn't try too hard. Then she realized that she was pregnant and that changed everything. She made the decision to raise her son on her own.

But now, with the help of another one of the employees in the company - Zain - he jumps in and wants to help. Zain has the talent and programmer skills to start looking into what Drew was actually doing those last few months before his disappearance. And boy oh boy do things spiral from there. I can honestly say that once things got started, it was like being a part of a snowball as it rolled down a mountain -having utterly no control, then finding out things that just became crazier and crazier and then realizing that maybe...just possibly, that Drew did not leave on his own......THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

So - no more information on the storyline from me. This story enters into 5th gear during the last 30% of the book and things are happening at lightning speed. It kept me interested, holding my breath and just crossing my fingers that things were going to turn out okay.

So - Ms. Bowen....GREAT JOB! Not that I had a doubt, but you did a fantastic job with this new thriller. I enjoyed every minute.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

Unofficial Synopsis:
Ariel gets a text, but it’s five years late, and from Drew, who’s dead.

The text throws Ariel for a loop and ends up bringing back memories of that fated day. As she starts asking questions, things start to get sinister and it becomes clear everything she thought happened, didn’t.

But in order for Ariel to safely reveal the truth, the only way she can safeguard herself is by finding it before it finds her.

Review:
This book was amazing! I love a good romance thriller crossover and this book hit the mark for me. I also loved that this book dealt with technology and cybersecurity. Those are always fun for me because it’s a topic I care about and work with. It’s always creepy to me how much privacy people give up, and this book did a good job highlighting some important issues. I enjoyed that this book was written in dual POV with Ariel’s POV being the present and Drew’s POV being the past. I think that the writing style was great. I felt that the character development was nicely done and unfolded nicely as the story unfolded. The ultimate twists were a lot of fun and I think were well done. Everything in this book is wrapped up nicely with a nice bow, and it was nice to get that type of ending every once in a while. I do think that you need to suspend your beliefs a little for the ending, but it worked for me.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars

In The Five Year Lie, Arial Cafferty has been trying to move on with her life since Drew, the man she fell in love with disappeared, and then wound up dead. She hasn't moved on with her life in any substantial way, and spends her days working at Chime Co. (the extremely successful doorbell camera company her family owns), blowing glass in a local studio, and taking care of her four-year-old son. She is shocked to receive a text out of the blue from Drew, asking her to meeting him under a tree in their favorite park.

What follows is a mystery that unravels at just the right pace, with plenty of plot twists and strong supporting characters. As Ariel tries to figure out whom she can really trust, more information is uncovered that leaves it unclear just how far outside the bounds of the law her family business has been operating, and who exactly has been letting it happen.

I lived in Portland, Maine for quite a few years, so I may be biased in saying that I enjoyed the setting of The Five Year Lie. Any time you have familiarity with the area a book is set in, it helps connect you with storyline and visualize what is happening. Regardless, I thought Bowen's writing was descriptive and very enjoyable. Ariel is an easy character to root for, and I enjoyed her personality, strength, and poise. The suspense is real, and will leave you wondering right up until the end who is really involved in the murder and general mayhem that's being going on around Chime Co.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ariel is sitting in a company-wide meeting at her family-owned security company when she receives a text from Drew, her ex. He's asking to see her, at their special place. Only problem....Drew is dead and has been for 5 years.

What follows in The Five Year Lie is a very modern story about security, AI, family drama, romance and murder. Sarina Bowen has captured an exciting romance and a thrilling mystery all in one book.

While I did find some of the back-and-forth tedious, I still thought this was a great little thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book

5 Year Lie is an absolute page-turner that skillfully integrates the ubiquitous medium of text messages into its compelling narrative. From the moment I received the book, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. The storyline kept me guessing at every turn, with twists and revelations that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. A gripping read that brilliantly captures the complexities of modern communication and human relationships. Highly recommended for anyone craving a suspenseful and thought-provoking read!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC e-book in exchange for my honest review!

It’s just an ordinary day when Ariel receives a text message from Drew, the father of her son, that leaves her speechless. The only problem: Drew disappeared from her life 5 years earlier without a trace and is presumed dead (she even saw the obituary). While trying to determine what happened, Ariel uncovers truths and a lot of secrets that even people close to her are willing to go to extreme measures to keep buried.

This was unlike anything I have read by Sarina Bowen. If you are looking for a thriller that keeps you guessing and has a happy ending, The Five Year Lie will not disappoint.

[arc review]
Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Five Year Lie releases May 7, 2024

Ariel is a single mother to a four year old boy, and works at her family’s tech company where they manufacture doorbell cameras.
On a random weekday, she gets a text message from the father of her child saying there’s trouble and that she needs to meet him, only he’s been dead for nearly five years now.
Not to worry, this isn’t a supernatural ghost story — it turns out thousands of people got sent outdated texts from a cell tower that went down five years ago, on the same day that Ariel’s father died.
So what really happened that day? And why did Drew end up leaving Ariel?

I really liked how this was split into dual timelines where the present was told from Ariel’s pov, and the past was Drew’s.
Bowen’s background as a romance author worked really well here where they effortlessly blended a compelling romance and family story with the suspense and inner workings of a thriller.
I’d recommend this to readers that want a revenge mission with secret identities, surveillance, glass blowing, a great cast of side characters, and a bittersweet ending.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Five Year Lie" and all opinions expressed are my own. Thriller, no - mystery, yes. I think it would have had to be more suspenseful to be a thriller for me. This book was a slow burn and some of the book was predictable which I don't mind that as long as I am engaged in the story. I really didn't care for Drew calling Ariel "baby" all the time, just a pet peeve of mine, he should have given her a nickname (from Toy Story haha?). Lots of Toy Story references in the book. I knew that things would wrap up nicely at the ending, that is just the kind of book it is. Overall good. This is my first book by this author and I would try another.

I'm giving this 5 stars because I really just enjoyed every bit of this book. When a single mom gets a text 5 years later from her dead baby's daddy...yes please! I enjoyed the book being set in Maine- it's my home state and I loved that. There are a lot of good characters in this book and although I really didn't like the main character Ariel, I did feel bad for her loss and was invested in her finding out the truth.. The story does end in a neat little package but for once I was happy with a happy ending! Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for the ARC of The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen.

At this point I have lost track of how many of Sarina's other books I have read (it's a lot). I love her style and her storytelling, and I'm happy to read her explorations of writing in a new genre.

In The Five Year Lie, Ariel, a 29 year old woman with a 4 year old son, receives a text message from her son's father, Drew, five years from the last time she heard from him, right before he abandoned her with no explanation. Three months after that he died in a car accident, so it is totally shocking to Ariel to receive a message from a dead man asking her to meet him in one hour. From there we dive into a deeper story from the past - her meeting Drew and falling in love, and her father dying of an accidental overdose - which all occurred over a four month or so span. As present day Ariel tries to determine if this is a hoax or if Drew is still alive, old secrets come to the present, leaving Ariel and her son in danger.

Overall I did like the story. It reminded me a bit of The Last Thing He Told Me with a romance subplot (and I liked it a lot more, I didn't really enjoy The Last Thing He Told Me). The storyline itself is gripping though I would say 80% of the action and movement happens in the last 20%. The story itself starts a bit slow, and we're really following Ariel around while she tries to place items together. I do wish the action had been a bit more distributed, but I was engaged most of the time I spent reading. There was a good connection with smaller details throughout multiple plot points that helped the suspense to build throughout the book.

I found it a bit hard (or maybe unbelievable?) to like Ariel as a character. She's a trust-fund baby, potential future owner of a multimillion dollar tech firm, and lives in her mother's guest house. She works four hours per day as the operations manager of the tech company where it seems like all she does is serve people coffee and cookies. Her passion is glass blowing, which she does every afternoon. She truly does seem to have everything she could possibly want in life and absolutely no motivation to do more than the bare minimum. With all these resources at her fingertips, she does not see anything in life further than her arms can stretch out. The actions she takes in the last 20% of the book are the only time she seems to step outside her comfort zone and what she accomplishes in that time...if she had tried some of these same tactics five years earlier the book wouldn't exist. I get being 24 and mad at your abusive father, but five years after his death and you're still acting that way? Meh.

I also think there might have been a few too many of the romance action/thriller tropes thrown in here - namely that surprise at the end - but also just a bit of the outlandishness of how everything is resolved. I get wanting things to be not gritty and dark, and I understand suspending my belief for the sake of a well told story, but a few pieces of it were just so left field that I wish it had had a similar but different ending. There was a larger conversation beneath all of this about technology and what privacy are we willing to give up for convenience - I would have liked to see a bit more on that outcome. Or even just a bit more of what Ariel now stands for as an individual.

I would still recommend this book to others, and I would still read anything Sarina comes out with after this - romance or thriller. She's a great writer and her style is flexible to fit both spaces. She has 50 other books to enjoy as well for anyone who wants to experience more of her work.

I enjoyed this one! However I don’t know if romance has a place in mysteries and thrillers unless it’s done well and unfortunately the romance part missed the mark for me. But despite that I enjoyed the mystery.

Thank you netgally!

5⭐️

Five years ago, Ariel Cafferty met Drew, a programmer working at her family's surveillance company. After a secret whirlwind relationship, Drew breaks up with Ariel via a message to her company email and completely ghosts her. Not long after the breakup, Ariel learns that she's pregnant with Drew's son. And to make matters worse, she also finds that Drew died in a motorcycle accident without ever knowing about his son.

But then one day Ariel receives a text from Drew stating her needs to see her immediately. Even though she knows Drew is dead, she still goes to the meeting point and no one shows. The message sends Ariel down a rabbit hole of what happened to Drew and the more she uncovers that darker the situation seems. She also discovers that someone is still lying to her and that lie is putting her and her son in danger.

I really liked this! We immediately hit the ground running with the prologue focused on Ariel going on the run with her son before pulling back to look at the history of the story. I liked how the POV jumped back and forth from Ariel in present day to Drew in the past. Everyone we meet was suspicious and I liked trying to pick apart their motives.

I liked that the whole present day investigation stemmed from an offline cell phone tower coming back to life five years later and finally delivering text that had been stuck in limbo for years. I also like that those same messages are what eventually trips up the 'bad guy.' This was a fun read all around.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Paperbacks for providing this ARC to me!

The Five Year Lie is the first Thriller I've read by Sarina Bowen. The story follows April a single mom who works for her family company. Shortly after the book begins she receives a text message that shakes her foundations and imitates a mystery that she starts looking into. This story had me distrusting almost all the side characters, trying to solve the mystery and discern what is tru and what is a lie. I am happy to say that I did narrow down the suspects, and when the reveal occurred I had narrowed down correctly. This story has romantic elements and is told from multiple perspectives in two different time periods, present and 5 years ago. I think the story was really well done, I was entertained and toward the end I couldn't put it down. The set up took some time for me to get into the story as the characters, setting and backstory was explained. Once the action started I was completely hooked.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and voluntarily give my honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 7, 2024
It’s a typical Monday morning when Ariel receives a text message- “I need to see you. Something’s happened” from her partner, Drew. There’s only one problem- Drew ghosted Ariel five years ago, and died soon after. Ariel knows that dead men can’t send texts but she shows up at the meeting place anyway and, as expected, nobody shows. But now Drew is in Ariel’s mind and as she continues to ask questions, she knows at least one thing is true- what she was told five years ago was a lie. Although investigating might bring Ariel the closure she deserves it may also upend her family, her career and her life.
This is the premise for Sarina Bowen’s “The Five Year Lie”, a clever, entertaining and addictive psychological suspense novel. I am not familiar with Bowen and haven’t read her previous novels, which is my bad of course, but also stems from the fact that many of Bowen’s previous novels are romance (definitely NOT my genre). “Lie” has some romance elements in it, of course, but it is so, so much more.
The story itself is told from the perspective of Ariel, now, and Drew, five years ago. As both stories converge, the reader is taken on a wicked-fast thrill ride with twists and turns around every bend. Ariel’s family owns a technology company (responsible for creating the technology similar to that in the “Ring” doorbell cameras) but, of course, there’s shady deals being done behind the scenes, which pull more and more people into the plot. Some parts are predictable while others took me by complete surprise, but every page was heart-pounding!
Obviously, the novel is tech-focused, but Bowen does not inundate us with confusing technobabble. “Lie” provides just the right of information to stay on track, and I actually found the tech components to be unique and creative. Add on the mysterious “five years late” text and I immediately got goosebumps.
I think this is the first novel of this genre by Bowen, but she definitely did not make a mistake dipping her feet into this pool! Bowen should try this genre on for size more often and I guarantee, if she does, I’ll be one of the first in line!

I have read just about all of Sarina Bowen's previous books and I was really excited to read a thriller by Sarina. She did not disappoint. Ariel's brief affair with Drew haunted her. He disappeared without saying goodbye. This happened right around the time that he father passed away. Things were definitely not as they appeared. This book took me on a bit of a roller coaster ride. i wasn't sure where the story was going to end up. I hope that Sarina writes more thrillers in the future!

I’ll start by saying I’ve loved Sarina Bowen’s previous work. The Five Year Lie is an exception. I found it to be slow, dry, and without much character development. I didn’t understand the motivations of most of the characters or the family dynamics. Things weren’t coming together or holding my attention, so I found myself flipping ahead, not really soaking up much detail while pressing ahead to the end. While the end was satisfying it didn’t in my opinion redeem the overall story and delivery.

I did not enjoy this book at all. This pacing of this book is incredibly slow, and there is no suspense built up at all, in my opinion. There were “twists” I guess you could say, but all of them were completely predictable. I almost couldn’t finish this book because it was so boring. It was far too “techy” and all of the unnecessary tech jargon ended up making this book a solid 30% longer than necessary. There were too many characters and it made the plot completely convoluted. The “surprise” at the very end was what made this book go from three stars to two for me. Absolutely do not recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley & Harper Paperbacks for an eARC ♥️


"The Five Year Lie" is like a puzzle that you can't stop trying to solve! Ariel's world is turned upside down when she gets a text from her ex, Drew, who she thought died years ago. But the message is cryptic and creepy, and it sets off a chain of events that makes her question everything. Like, seriously, everything. Her past, her present, her relationships - it's all up for grabs. And the more she digs, the more she realizes that someone is playing her. The tension is real, guys! You'll be on edge as Ariel tries to figure out what's going on and who to trust. And just when you think you've got it figured out, BAM! Another twist. It's like a thrill ride of emotions and theories. Plus, there's a romantic thread that'll keep you swooning🔥