I love Karin Slaughter books! Have read all of the Will Trent series and this one is just as amazing. Slaughter is so good at character. Each one feels real and alive. She drops in backstory so effortlessly. She's someone whose books I buy the second they come out.

What a way to start a honeymoon! The murder offered up clues near the beginning, but not obvious until later in the book. I haven't read all the books in this series (mainly the earlier ones), not because I didn't enjoy them, but financial issues. I still enjoyed this book and think it could be read as a standalone. There were some lighthearted moments, not all murder and mayhem, which made the characters more real, and the setting was described so you could almost imagine it. A one sitting read for me!

So sad, so beautiful, so exciting, so shocking! I love Karin slaughter and love this series. Will and Sara are such real characters and it’s been great to see their journey even though it’s been pretty rocky at times.
This book was amazing, really thrilling I couldn’t put it down!

Loved this book. I've read all the novels in the Will Trent series and Jarin Skaughter hits a bullseye with this one yet again. Brilliant read which I just couldn't put down. Get your hands on a copy....I guarantee you'll be gripped from the first page

This is the first Karin Slaughter book I've ever read, and even though this is part of a long detective series I didn't need to read any of them to get the information I needed from this book (which is great!)

The writing is phenomenal, the plot was great and jumps between before the murder, during and after but it's very easy to follow. I feel as though this book could've been a bit shorter, some parts were long winded. There was also a lot of characters to try and remember which I found a little difficult. But the storyline, the messed up family and their disturbing pasts, the reveal were all great and the killer was unexpected.

3.5/5

Although this is part of a series it works well as a stand alone book. The two main characters Will and Sara are on honeymoon when a murder is committed at the venue. The plot is complicated as the honeymoon site covers a vast area and there are many complex storylines woven into it. A fact paced novel that is easy to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the advance copy of this book.

This is Why We Lied is book #12 in the Will Trent series. This was one of my top reads of 2024. Karin Slaughter shows us that she knows what she is doing and why she is the queen of this genre. The author doesn't shy away from heavy subject matter and elevates what could have been a simple police-procedural into a complex examination of human nature and the complexities of trauma and childhood abuse. As with all Slaughter's novels there is some difficult content, so maybe steer clear if you're easily triggered by these types of stories. The book is quite long, but all the better to fully immerse yourself and get to know these characters. All your favorites from the series are featured here including; Will, Sara, Faith and Amanda, and we get a continued glimpse into Will's traumatic childhood. Do yourself a favor and get into this series, you won't be sorry. I'd highly recommend starting way back at the beginning with the Grant County series before picking up with the Will Trent series if this is your first foray into Karin Slaughter. There is a reason this author is beloved in the thriller genre. This one is just as dark, visceral and compelling as her other stories. Highly highly recommend.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

slightly disappointed in myself as I didn't realise it was a series so I was a little confused overall though it was good and bad made me As the rest to my tbr

I was on the edge of my seat reading this claustrophobic thriller. Will and Sara are on their honeymoon at an idyllic looking retreat. When they discover a dying woman who has been violently attacked by the lake the setting quickly becomes somewhere you'd want to escape from.

Slaughter manages to make the victim one of the main characters of the book and despite knowing how her story ends, through flashbacks and diary entries I found myself really caring and hoping that Mercy survives. Everyone at McAlpine Lodge seems sinister and suspicious especially Mercy's creepy family. With all the elements of a locked room mystery I enjoyed trying to work out who the killer was, there were lots of clues and red herrings and I had dismissed my initial gut feeling early on and kicked myself once Will uncovers the truth.

I think this book could be read as a standalone book but as someone that enjoys the Will Trent and Sara Linton books this was a real gem. I keep thinking about the book days after finishing it, Mercy's story has really got under my skin. A fantastic page turning thriller.

Another fantastic will Trent book. Didn't no where this storyline was gonna take us. But as usual massive twist and moments that made me say oh my god.
Brilliant ending

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and didn't realise this was no 12 in the series, but it didn't seem to matter to me.
GBI Agent, Will and Medical Examiner, Sara and Will are on their honeymoon in a remote lodge in the mountains. She is a Medical Examiner and he's a GBI Agent but they don't want to let people know
Things seem to be going so well when suddenly Mercy McAlpine who helps run is brutally murdered and Sara and Will are first on the scene.
Having lied about their occupations to avoid unnecessary questions from the other guests they now have to reveal their true positions as investigators and they are determined to solve the case with the help of the rest of their team including Faith and Amanda
So many twists and turns in this gruesome murder story

Will and Sara are freshly married and are looking forward to their honeymoon, but then someone gets murdered.

I only learned after reading this that this a part of a series so if you were woried about having to read 11 books before this one don‘t worry I never felt left out or anything.
This book is incredibly slow, almost a bit to slow for my taste. I was never really involved in the story or the characters and found the first 200 pages incredibly hard to get through, after that it got better but I never really loved the book. I didn‘t expect the twist at the end but I didn‘t really care so it didn‘t affect me that much.

Thank you to the author, publishers HarperCollins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Will Trent and Sara Linton’s honeymoon turns into a murder investigation when they find the manager of the rural Georgia getaway they’re staying at stabbed and dying at the water’s edge.

Karin Slaughter somehow manages to write about the darkest and most disturbing traits of humanity while simultaneously writing the most heartwarming and hopeful, yet realistic, relationship between the two main protagonists. This is Why We Lied is another great example of this.

I guessed fairly early on at one aspect of the plot that isn’t confirmed until the end, but that was just the result of being a long-term reader of this author. I just thought of the darkest place this story could go and knew that if anyone would go there, and do it convincingly, it would be Karin. Still it managed to go darker than I’d even imagined and deliver a compelling read that I cannot recommend highly enough.

Loved this book. The characters of Will and Sara are fantastic and the plot of this book kept me on edge and puzzling to the end. Great twists and turns throughout and a fabulous ending. Quite gruesome in the manner of the murder and backstory of the characters but not so much that I didn’t want to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara are finally married and have gone to a secluded mountain lodge for their honeymoon. Mercy McAlpine the manager of the lodge gets brutally murdered and Will and Sara get sucked into finding the killer. Every single family member of Mercy's gets benefitted with her out of the way and even few guests who are staying at the lodge have motive to kill her. Investigating the killer is not that straight forward when too many of them are guilty of something.
CW: Physical abuse, domestic abuse, rape, pedophilia, assault, grooming, alcohol & drug abuse, murder, trauma

This has got to be, by far, my most favourite installment of this series! Looking back I've more than likely said that for every book in the series BUT this one blew me away.

Talk about sucking you in! Right from the prologue I carried it around with me, reading at every chance possible until the very end.

I'll admit, 8m not usually a big fan of plots that have a large array of characters BUT the sheer amount of characters within this tale actually made the book. They were so impeccably written, each with their own strong characterisation and backstory, that you can't help but be fully invested in the story.

This book explores deep secrets within a rather unsettling, dysfunctional family.

Will Trent and his new bride Dr Sara Linton are on their honeymoon at a luxury mountain lodge retreat, run by the McAlp8ne family. The head of the family Papa is now cated for by his wife Bitty after a bad accident last year whilst the lodge is now being managed by their daughter Mercy with the help of her brother 'Fishtopher' and her son. To say the family are dysfunctional is an understatement. There is an awful lot of resentment, hatred and spite running through the whole family.

Mercy is a seriously strong character. Once a teenage mum with serious addiction and domestic abuse issues, she has battled through life to be able to bring up her son while the whole world, and town, are against her.

On the first night of their honeymoon, whilst enjoying some 'newlyweds' time, a scream echoes through the forest. Will and Sara split to try and locate where it came from. Will stumbles upon Mercy, stabbed repeatedly and left to die. Who killed her and why? Just a few hours before she had threatened to expose everyone's secrets so I could literally be anyone!

Whilst it's set in a truly isolated location (think escape room) it is far from predictable or repetitive. The close circle of characters are engaging, relatable and full of life. While not all likeable they were most definitely all readable in their own right.

A tale full to the brim of eerie tension, secrets and spins, twists and turns and an ending that I was not expecting.

HUGE thanks to Netgalley and Harpercollins UK for the ARC.

This book is mind blowing. The characters are complex. The setting is beautiful. Who doesn’t love a remote mountain getaway? So the characters has poignant past and terrible things happens with them. The truth is twisted and twists and turns will keep you on the edge. The book is suspenseful.

Mercy is found dead, she was still alive when Will Trent found her but he knew she is not going to make it. He tried to ask her about her killer but she didn’t reveal anything. Life has been unfair to her. She has such a touching past and the past is the key to solve the mystery of her murder. So Trent and Sara investigates the case. The last thing Mercy uttered was that she loves her son. The truth is twisted and there are lies, secrets and mystery. The mystery slowly unveils with past memories and layers of secrets and lies. Some characters were deceiving while some were mean. I liked the character of Will Trent. The ending was jaw dropping and heart wrenching. I loved the writing and shocking revelations at the end. I would highly recommend this book.

Many Thanks to the Publisher and Author.

Welcome to Will Trent & Sara Lintons honeymoon, it’s taken a while to get there but Will has finally got the girl if his dreams and he’s booked an idyllic honeymoon retreat but straight from the first page Karin Slaughter deftly throws the reader into a murder scene and manages to get the title in. She really is an accomplished writer who makes each and every character believable and the love that Will & Sara has jumps from the page and pretty much all the way through I had an idea who might be the killer but Karin Slaughter is better than that. As always when I come to the end I always feel a little sad at saying goodbye but at least there is always the promise of the next book.

You’ve no idea how excited I was to get an advance reader copy of ‘This is why we lied’!! I loved every minute of this book, happy to be back with Sara and Will, Amanda and Faith. As Sara and Will try to switch off during their honeymoon they get more than they bargained for and more murders than they care for. So much going on as the story unfolds, it was impossible to put it down and for once I was in no hurry to get to the end. Thank you Netgalley for making my day!