I guessed the ending way too early on and it kind of ruined the rest of the book for me.

This is a very slow burn so if, like me, you’re not the biggest fan of thrillers that take too long to get to the point, this might not be your cup of tea.

I still enjoyed the writing style and the plot but this is definitely not my favourite book by this author.

She’s done it again!!!

Karin Slaughter is nothing short of a genius. Just when you think, surely her books can not get any better, she smashes the next one out of the park.

The detail and research Slaughter must put into her books is outstanding.

Massive five stars.

Before I start the review, I just need to say, WOW!

This is Why We Lied is the latest in the long running Will Trent and Sara Linton series. I know the characters, having read some of the series, but I am not fully up to date with it. This didn’t matter in the slightest, this book works wonderfully well as a gripping, dark standalone.

The McAlpine family have proudly run their lodge for 7 generations. They are a ‘close’ family, but the tensions within this unusual family dynamic run deep.
Will and Sara are on their honeymoon, yes, they’ve got married. They are staying at an idyllic, secluded, luxury cabin, set in thousands of acres of trees. It sounds blissful, a perfect setting for them to unwind from their stressful careers, and start their married life. Until late at night, they hear a scream, followed by a harrowing plea for help.

The characters are so well crafted and portrayed, that some made my skin itch, others increased my blood pressure to an unhealthy level, while a few I wanted to scoop up and protect from the world.
This is Why We Lied is compulsive, gripping and very intense. It is a story of long held secrets, guilt for some, and judgement by others; of small town gossip tainting lives, of never being able to escape once the die is cast.

I have to give a specific mention to the conclusion of the book, obviously without giving away any spoilers. The denouement is so horrifying and shocking. The use of the dual timeline, allows us to see the events, and feel the intensity of the emotions, alongside poor Mercy.
For me, This is Why We Lied, is a 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕ read/listen, her best book; a must read for thriller lovers.

Yet another entertaining read from author, Karen Slaughter.

The amazing thing for me was that almost all the characters (goodies and baddies) had such traumatised lives! I wonder if that is a reflection of society nowadays. In comparison I have a lot to be grateful for!

The plot was incredibly complex and evolved at a natural pace as we found out more about the characters and their relationship. I felt incredibly sorry for Mercy. I could hardly understand the progressive hardships she faced while growing up before getting in involved in a toxic relationship! Poor Mercy!

It is also worth mentioning the location! It showed that despite being idyllic the isolation brought its own problems!

All in all another successful book involving Will Trent and Sara Linton on their honeymoon. Can I nominate Sara for a knighthood or sainthood! An amazing role model!

Another good book in this series, which I enjoyed but maybe not as much as the previous ones I have read. Set in a remote hillside locate Will and his new bride escape to a honeymoon retreat, only to be faced by his old nemesis Dave, bringing back difficult memories from their shared childhood in care.

The story of the death of Mercy and the horrific life she led with abuse, incest, rape and murder was at times a very difficult read. The writing is gripping and you cannot fail to want to read to the end but I was disturbed by some of the outcomes and skipped through some of the end wrapping up parts and they were quiet graphic.

A good read but may be triggering for those susceptible to abuse within a family and care setting.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's the first time I've read a book by Karin Slaughter. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed plot-wise, as you half expect Miss Marple or Poirot to pop out mid page in the true sense of an Agatha Christie plot. Because that's what the plot of this book basically is - a dozen people stuck in a train, or a castle, or a house on the med.....in this case a holiday camp......all with the motive to kill one poor soul, who then gets killed, then classic whodunnit. So plot-wise, very far from original.

I did enjoy the read. Character development is very good, so I felt I understood some of the main characters. But I'd need to read something else by this very famous author to see if there are other books with more original plot lines.

An idyllic mountain retreat for the wealthy hides a multitude of secrets within the family that runs it, Will & Sara arrive for their honeymoon as tensions are bubble surface and Mercy McAlpine (the daughter who runs it) is murdered on their first night. As Will, Sara and the GBI team investigate her murder they uncover so much more.

I didn't realise this was the 2nd book in the series, it reads brilliantly as a stand alone story but has made me want to read the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read This is Why We Lied.

This book was ok but half way through I was starting to get bored and wasn’t bothered about who had killed Mercy. It did pick up towards the end and I liked the big reveal. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.

I have read another book in this series and enjoyed it, this one was OK. The main issue that I had with it, was that it was too long and too wordy. I like description about people and surroundings but in this book it got repetitive. The crimes are committed in an isolated camp, so the suspect must still be around. There are plenty of motives and the family running the camp are fairly disfunctional, with the local Sheriff in their pocket. The first murder is quite soon in the book, so there doesn't seem to be much interaction between Will and Sara once their investigation got going.
Quite a lot of triggers here too including child abuse, rape and extremely mixed up family relationships. It was a chore to finish the book and the plot was quite stretched out and confusing so it took some thinking about what was relevant and what not.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC , not a bad read, but have read better

Just love this Will Trent series.
Many thanks to NetGalley UK, HarperCollins UK and Headline Books for this ARC which came at exactly the right time for me as I was reading book number 11 at the time I saw this available to request.
Will and Sarah are on their honeymoon in the mountains when things quickly go wrong and they find themselves with quite literally a murder on their hands. There is also a side story relating to Will’s childhood which was an excellent addition and compliments the storyline.
I feel like I’ve missed out on their wedding, though there is reference to it at the start of the book, but I love these characters so much, I hope there are further details to come in future books.
The twists and turns at the end were many and unexpected.
A great read. Already looking forward to Book 13.
This Is Why We Lied will be published on 20th August 24.

Absolutely fantastic as expected from Karin Slaughter. Fast paced with plenty of tension and twists I couldn’t put this down until I finished.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Karin Slaughter does it again. It lived up to the hype and of course i will read anything this author writes.

Great read, Great Suspense, Great Character build. I could write a review all day of her novels.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I am having a hard time writing this review, not because the book is not worth reading but because it uses what I consider unnecessary expletives as if they are the norm. Even in this book where so many of the people are just not nice people, I find it impossible to believe that 174 of one specific expletive had to be spoken by almost every character including all of the "good guys".

Moving on from that, it really is a book in two halves. First half seems to be leading to an expected conclusion and the end of the book. Then, suddenly, everything moves up a notch or two and the second half then takes the blinkers off and things definitely turn out to be a lot more complicated than the first part suggested.

Expletives aside, this is a very nicely crafted tale which kept me engrossed to the last page, even though my hunch as to "who dun it" proved correct.

Will and Sara are on their honeymoon enjoying a cabin stay close to a location from Will's past. Of course as its these two they soon find themselves caught up in a murder. There's a lot of anger and secrets at this idyllic site but what is the truth and who killed Mercy.

Wow what a ride this was. You just don't know who did what until the end. I think I figured it out just before Will did and what a genius twist that was. This is the newest installment in the series and definitely one of the best ones. I was hooked from the start. Plus I'm a sucker for the relationship between Will and Sara. I love how healthy and sweet it is in this one. They have some great moments and brilliant lines together. The ending was so good especially the very last few lines. A brilliant addition to the series. Karin Slaughter is a go to reader for me and I always look forward to her new stories. A dark and twisted thriller.

This was a twisty tail of a murder in the mountains. An entire cast of unlikable characters, coupled with Tragic life choices by the murder victim.

I enjoyed this story, and was intrigued when I heard had that there would be another murder, and wondered what was going on, and why nobody seemed to care.
I believe this book was too long as I was beginning to lose interest before I reached halfway, however it was well written and The story fleshed out the character as well.
Thanks to #NetGalley For the opportunity to have read this book ahead of publication and exchange for an honest review. Apologies for the late review.

I loved this book - it really lived up to the expectations. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Just when I was thinking "not another abusive family" scenario Ms Slaughter comes up with this brilliant book including some really nasty family members. Not only that Will Trent, a GBI Investigator and his wife Sara a medical examiner. are on their honeymoon in a mountain lodge with other lodges nearby, some occupied.

The lodge complex is managed by Mercy McAlpine and the whole secretive family are involved in the business all of whom are not the nicest people! What a story unfolds with the murder of Mercy! Will takes over the investigation leaving the honeymoon to one side..

No more spoilers as the more Will uncovers, the twists and turns unfold in typical Ms Slaughter fashion.

Loved it!

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for the chance to read and review a brilliant murder mystery.

I would basically read anything Karin Slaughter writes - she is an autobuy author for me and I have never found her books anything other than gripping. This Is Why We Lied is no exception. I’m a huge fan of the Will Trent / Sara Linton series and this latest instalment is as brutal, compelling and addictive as I’ve come to expect. I can’t pinpoint quite how she does it but Slaughter just has this way of grabbing her readers attention and not letting up until the very end of the book. I was totally hooked from the first page of This Is Why We Lied, which is something of a locked room mystery, concerning a family so twisted that my mind was reeling with shock. There are brilliant twists and turns, red herrings and characters that you will either hate or become completely invested in. Another unquestionably five star read for me from the Queen of thrillers. Highly recommended.

A locked room mystery with Karin Slaughter's writing style is the best combination for an unputdownable thriller. Having read 3-4 Slaughter's books previously, I'll say that the pace in this book is a little relaxed, especially in the first half of the book, which is understandable because the mystery is mixed up with Will and Sara's romantic vacation. Amanda and Faith make their appearances only in the latter half of the book.

Will and Sara are married and they are honeymooning in a remote lodge, owned by the McAlpine family. The lodge is set amidst beautiful mountains and is spread over several acres of land. As Sara succinctly puts it, in such a place, you scratch under the surface a bit and all sorts of secrets start to tumble out of from dark places.

And that's exactly what happens when the lodge's manager, Mercy McAlpine, gets viciously murdered and Will and Sara are the first to come across the victim's body. Most of the guests and all the family members have secrets to hide and they lie to protect themselves. I'll just say that this one is too twisted and sinister. The book deals with toxic families and abuse and turns even darker towards the end. I did find the twists in the end to be placed too close to each other, so much that it seemed a little implausible. Overall I enjoyed reading the book and wanted to read it faster to find how it ends.

Slaughter's writing, as always, is witty(the part where she mentions that series on Hulu about a detective with a dog-totally wicked) and very addictive. I have made up my mind to read all the books in the Trent and Grant County series, even if it takes me a million years to do so. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this book.
I haven't read many by this author and I knew this was number 12 in the series, but it didn't matter, and once I pieced some personal stories of Will together, the rest didn't matter.
Could be read as a standalone.
It kept me guessing and kept my interest.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.