Long-time Slaughter characters Will Trent and Sara Linton are taking a well-deserved break for their honeymoon - but for the GBI detective and Atlanta medical examiner, there's no escape from their jobs when the manager of their luxury camp is found brutally murdered on their first night.

This Is Why We Lied is a heart-breaking examination of generational trauma and domestic abuse - and so comes with major content warnings for those elements. Highly recommended, Karin Slaughter hits it out the park once again with this nail-biting, propulsive thriller, set at a family-run camp on an isolated Georgia mountain.

Only Will Trent and Sara Linton could run into trouble on their honeymoon! In fairness to them, it's not something they could have seen coming. Staying in luxury lodges in the middle of the Georgia wilderness should have been, at best, idyllic. At worst ... well, who can rally live without Wi-Fi these days? It was Will's idea of romance, and a chance to experience a little part of something he missed out on as a child in care. If he'd had his wits about him, the simple words 'remote' and 'no wifi' should have given the game away. This was never going to end well was it? But just how 'not well' took even me, a seasoned thriller reader, by surprise. The what of the situation is no shock really - this is a murder and ithe name of the victim is cleared up very quickly in the early part of the book. The who and the why of it all ... well that's another matter entirely.

This book felt a little different in tone from previous books, possibly because the situation at setting are so far removed from the urban setting of Atlanta that creating the context of both this and the cast of characters who are going to be key to what happens takes place over pretty much the first half of the book. Given that this is meant to be their honeymoon, Will and Sara are very much out on a limb for the first part of the book and it's fair to say that local law enforcement has no real interest in investigating thoroughly. The victim is known to them and their demise is very swiftly written off. Which would be fine, if said victim, Mercy McAlpine, wasn't also the manager of the resort. Whilst we quickly establish that Mercy is the victim, Karin Slaughter takes us back in time to the hours leading up to the murder, including the arrival of all of the potential suspects on the mountain, and introducing the McAlpine clan.

The McAlpines ... Gosh they leave a lot to be desired. And I thought I was from a dysfunctional family. I have to be honest, with the exception of our favourite GBI team, there really weren't many people I had much of a pull towards. Of all of them, Mercy was perhaps the most sympathetic, and of the other holiday makers, the charismatic and likeable personalities were few and far between. We are slowly brought up to speed on their back stories, explaining much about they way they behave, but not before the finger of suspicion has spent a long old time pointing in each of their directions in turn. As Faith points out, this is a locked room mystery with a difference. There is a highly limited number of potential suspects, but the possibilities for motive are very far reaching.

The book allows us a little more of a glimpse into Will's history too, bringing him face to face with a former nemesis from his care home days. Perhaps inevitable given the fact he is actively chasing his own history with his choice of honeymoon venue, but it pushes the usually unflappable Agent Trent to the limit and exposes a few of his own prejudices in this particular case. But then bowing to what he feels to be obvious is possibly better than what is discovered, the story taking a dark, skin crawling, and unimaginable turn. I didn't see it coming, but in a family as warped, twisted and bitter as the McAlpines, perhaps I should. Hat's off to the author though for hiding the culprit in plain sight and keeping the mystery until the end.

The book is packed with atmosphere and tension, and the pacing is spot on. There is an ebbing and flowing of intense jeopardy, but we are never really able to settle, as the author sets our expectations from the off. Fans of the series are going to love it, but I think the happy couple really do need a proper vacation now. In another country where they can properly switch off. With no mountains or murderers in the vicinity. And working wifi. Just in case. Another cracking case and definitely recommmended.

Another brilliant Slaughter book, great style of writing, one of my fav characters Sara Linton back and a great storyline to boot. The suspense doesn’t let up in this novel, the characters are well written and some and very likeable whilst others not so.
The plot and sub plot run parallel to each other and it kept me intere and guessing until the end.

I was incredibly excited to receive the email inviting me to read and review ‘This is Why We Lied’. Unfortunately, this didn’t feel up to Karin’s usual standard.

There were, in my opinion, too many characters, too many red herrings and some unanswered questions. I also thought it was really confusing mentioning the layout of the area and all of the different trails and buildings and added nothing really of value. The book also felt excessively long with repeated talk of mosquitos, Will’s hand, the furniture in the cabin, the weather and characters that didn’t add anything.

Having read all other books in the Grant County and Will Trent series I would hope this is just a one off and the next will be back on form.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Who killed Mercy Mac? That is the question that runs through This is Why We Lied. At an isolated mountain lodge, Mercy lays dying with multiple stab wounds and the broken-off knife still embedded in her chest. Any one of the guests could have done it, but so could her family and staff - was it one of her vengeful parents? Was it her ex-husband, her brother, his best friend, her son or one of the guests? Everyone has a secret, and all of them are lying.

Hoping to have a peaceful honeymoon, newlyweds Will Trent and Sara Linton check in, but they are soon faced with a confounding case - can they work out who killed Mercy before they get away with it?

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and a thoroughly enjoyable read! An easy 5*.

There are so many locked room stories out there that it tends to be tedious, but in the hands of Karin Slaughter this one is worth the read. This is why we Lied sees the return of Sara and Will. After the heartbreaking previous novel After that Night, and the subject matter, I had hoped that this would be a bit lighter but really, it isn’t. There are some terrible things happening in the world and no matter what an author writes about you can bet far worse is happening in real life.
The opening of the story sees Will and Sara married and about to start their honeymoon, a honeymoon arranged solely by Will. This includes a hike into a secluded mountaintop retreat. They have hardly had time to settle in when there is a murder. The retreat has patchy wifi coverage, and limited cell phone reception. Added to the mix a storm has washed away the main way in. As Will tries to take charge of the situation and isolate the staff, guests and family that own and run the retreat, he finds that everyone is lying about something. Then a second person is found dead and now both Sara and Will have to figure out what is going on. Will managers to get a message to Amanda, his boss and Faith, his work partner. They are able to get to the site using UTVs and it takes all of them all of their wiles to solve this case, and stop the guests from commandeering the UTVs to escape the retreat. There are enough red herrings to fill a jar and even tho I had guessed early on who had killed Mercy, the first murder, I was completely wrong as to why, which was more horrific than I could have imagined.
I really love Karin’s books, I’ve said before, she is just about my favourite female author and I have never read a bad book from her, and I am sure I have read them all.

#ThisIsWhyWeLied. #NetGalley

Will and Sarah's honeymoon is not what either would have planned but that's good for us as its a great story to read.

When Mercy the manager of the beautiful site where the 2 happy honeymooners are well it's a honeymoon is killed things get changed very quickly and Amanda their boss isn't impressed but as the Sheriff is well useless would be unfair as well as a massive understatement. So as the secrets of the Family Mercy's not the newly created Will and Sarah plus the other guests come to light this becomes a ever increasing adventure that gripped me and I really didn't want to put it down but had to a couple of times however not for long apart from the sleep.

The characters are great there is the wierd the really? and the ones you want to support which aren't many outside the team. But i loved the twists they keep you guessing the story moves at a great pace not to fast but definitely keeps you in your toes. This really is a great read So I want to highly recommend it.

Whoo boy. Ok. I love this series. I love these characters. This was a very interesting installment in this series because it's essentially a locked room mystery (something Faith is very excited about) but the main chunk of the case solving doesn't happen till the second half the the novel. But it works considering what this book is ACTUALLY about.

What it's actually about, and something that Karin Slaughter always explores in such a nuanced way, is the legacy of abuse. The way it shapes peoples lives and shapes their children's lives. How some people 'escape' and some don't. How even if you do get to a good place, it's always something that's going to be a part of your life. We've seen this subject before in this series for sure considering Will's background and Sara's backstory of her rape. But this one felt like a real deep dive into the subject. A lot of the novel was centered around the victim, Mercy, and I think that worked so well. We got to see from her pov and got to know her as a real person. It made this one feel so sad. There's this feeling of helplessness but also it's like. Will and Sara know they have to push through and that it can't be for nothing and that she deserves justice. But not everyone ends up like that. This is a book about how it can be so hard to escape the cycle of abuse and how the cycle of abuse is allowed to continue. Abuse victims can become abusers, or are more likely to be abused again. It's just such a deep subject that's really complicated and hard to read about.

I don't feel like you could do this story justice if you didn't have characters like Will and Sara. They're honestly such important characters. There's a part in this that made me cry in which Will tells Sara a story about how he wanted to go to a summer camp with the other children and had even set his honeymoon up to create this but the reader knows that horrendous abuse was happening to the kids at the camp. Will had a child's memory that had this dark underbelly he didn't know about. He just knew he wanted to go to the summer camp. That detail just felt so real and it was such an upsetting idea. But that's what Karin Slaughter does so well. I don't know another author who can write her characters like that.

Ok so that section went on longer than I thought. I just find this series so hard to put into words because there's so many layers. I loved Will and Sara's relationship. I feel I'm more of a Faith in this scenario, especially when she makes a comment about their annoyingly healthy communication. There was a scene where both me and Will were ready for Sara to blow up on him for being - in my opinion - a dense asshole for 5 minutes - and she did not do that. And they sorted it out and apologized like adults. I guess Sara Linton is way more mature than me. And I love that for them. If romance doesn't look like the way Will loves Sara then I don't want it.

One thing I will say is that I would love a bit more development for Faith. I feel like she's essentially in exactly the same place as she was in the last novel - Which makes sense since this is like. A month after that. But maybe in the next book she can graduate to calling the guy she's sleeping with her boyfriend (I have forgotten his name, that's how long it's been since we've seen him on page). Also I want more Amanda. But I do love when she turns up and steals the show.

So I loved this because it's probably my favourite series? Not so much development because this book takes place over a single weekend, but I love being back with the characters and am already waiting for her to write the next book.

Absolutely fantastic thriller. Karin Slaughter does it again. This one was utterly gripping and I could not stop reading. Highly highly recommend this latest installment. Now the wait commences for the next installment.

I am constantly amazed by Karin Slaughter's ability to create an array of such horrifically damaged, and mostly unlikable characters and then just drop them so effortlessly in to get another original and compelling story. I mean, that's over 20 years of, for me, near perfection in both complexity of storytelling whilst at the same time moving the constant characters forward, giving readers that need to finish another chapter (and Slaughter doesn't do short chapters) and never leave us short changed.

With the delightful ambiguity of the title, we're now, almost, delivered Slaughter's version or the modern locked room mystery; except the 'locked room' is a luxurious mountain retreat run by two generations of one family with secrets to keep and those secrets soon start exposing themselves - unfortunately, the same night that Will Trent and Sarah Linton arrive in their honeymoon, and hours before a storm wipes out the only access to the mountain.

There's no wasted dialogue, some taught interactions and superb use of flashback, and some immense sadness as well, but delivered in sharp, concise and relevant form that suited the format - I thought this was spot on.

Another fantastic read from Karin Slaughter.

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Harpercollions uk and the brilliant author karin slaughter for an early copy of her book.


Another fantastic read from this brilliant author, and I cant get enough of this will trent series..Ive read them all...Will and Sara finally get married,Will chooses there honeymoon a family run lodges where they can hike and do activities this place looks ideal the family that runs the place have many secrets and dont get on,Mercy who runs the place ex husband treats her badly,her son is distant and Mercy has a troubled past...Mercy is murdered was it a family member or someone who works there or a guest? Will & Sara and the team Faith and Amanda investigates....A great murder mystery certainly a five star read was engrossed with this read...Recommended...

This book will be reviewed on goodreads and Amazon and waterstones...

The book starts out with very little Will or Sara. Given that this is book 12 in the Will Trent series, I did not anticipate a book so heavily focused on characters other than Will and Sara. This does change towards the mid point of the book, but this type of plot might have been better suited to a standalone that ties into the Will Trent series (book 11.5, maybe?).

There were a lot of things that kept taking me out of the story, but I won't go into detail here.

I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this book, because I love the series and look forward to a new instalment. However, the first half of this book was hard work, and even though the second half felt a bit quicker, throughout the majority of the book, I kept wondering how necessary it was for this book to be THIS long.

Jaw dropping thriller you don't want to end. Absolutely shocking. Karin Slaughter never fails to leave me stunned. I couldn't put this book down. Will and Sarahs honeymoon takes a nasty turn and we get to feel a little more of Will's abusive childhood. With a handful of suspects to murder, I never saw the final twist til it was unfolding. So much emotion and feeling in all the books but this one gave me tears. Fantastic read, love it. Would recommend all her books.

As always a fabulous book from Karin Slaughter. The plot twisted & turned and reached a very unexpected conclusion. Brilliant! Highly recommended

Karin Slaughter brings back GBI agent Will Trent and his new wife and medical examiner Sara Linton - on their honeymoon at the McAlpine Family Lodge, a five mile hike from the nearest town,

Only five couples have booked into the lodge for a week, which promises an escape from the outside world. The lodges, which have been in the family for a couple of generations, are run by Mercy McAlpine who took over when her father had an accident which broke his back. But things are not as peaceful as they should be. The first night dinner is fraught with tension between the family members and Mercy, who seems to be doing everything, is not good enough for anything her father wants.
The other couples are a real mixed bunch, and also include possible investors - a point of contention for Mercy who doesn’t want to sell. All the couple seem to have a secret to hide.
Then Will and Sara hear a scream and a call for help - and Mercy is found murdered. Who is responsible? Family or one of the guests?
Will and Sara work against time and the weather to find out what’s happened, but the family have friends who think that Mercy is responsible for all the problems that the Lodge has suffered recently.
A good read with the ever resourceful Will and Sara - but can they work out who the murderer is before anyone else is killed.
Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC.

Oh you thought Karin Slaughter was gonna let Will and Sara’s honeymoon be chill? You thought!?!?

Love them as a married couple and this series just keeps getting better as we get to know them more deeply.

I have read other books in this series and have always enjoyed the stories. This feels different, set in a lonely mountain resort and without the usual city facilities on tap. It’s fast moving and full of action. The story is also full of horrific happenings in this remote area. It examines family and loyalty in a completely different and often dreadful way.
It’s a complex story which kept me wanting to read more and still looking for the culprit to the end.
Recommended

Very good Will Trent detective novel - not easy subject matter!

This time Will and Sara are on their honeymoon and inevitably they become embroiled in a murder mystery which turns out , unsurprisingly, to be far more involved. There are many interesting but not necessarily nice characters and the subject matter is hard-hitting which is typical of the author. For me, a little too much description of the terrain in the area which adds little to the plot or outcome. It’s a roller coaster ride and certainly engaging. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The incredible new thriller featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton….,,,This is a favourite author of mine, rattling good tale with twists and turns aplenty. If you enjoy a well plotted police procedural with realistic characters and thrills galore then this is for you! five shiny stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Will Trent and Sara Linton series is one of my favourite crime series, and every time there's a new book I need to get my hands on it as soon as possible. This is Why We Lied is slightly different to some of the others, as the murder takes place while Sara and Will are on their honeymoon (yay) staying in a beautiful lodge/camp in the mountains. I loved the setting, I loved that it was essentially a locked room mystery but in an outdoor location.

Karin is so good at making the crimes believable, at pulling out emotion while keeping things fast-paced and action-packed and making the reader breathless, and this one was no different. There was such a great cast of characters, quite a lot of whom were incredibly flawed, damaged, downright horrible, and some you had a lot of sympathy for. I spent a whole lot of time guessing who had done it, what had happened, and was – as usual – wrong footed at every turn.

The beginning is shocking, it grabs your attention and doesn't let go for the rest of the book, and the ending is just – no words, really. But because there is Will and Sara, Faith and Amanda, all of who feel like friends to me now, there's a lot of comfort to be had in the familiar relationships/bickering/tension.

I loved every minute of this, I just feel really sorry for Sara and Will and hope they get to have a second honeymoon somewhere a little less murdery.