Another brilliant book from Karin Slaughter.
I’ve read all her books and especially love the Will Trent series.
Will and Sara are enjoying their honeymoon in a remote mountain retreat when they hear a piercing scream. When they go and investigate they find the resort manager, brutally stabbed.
We then have chapters which give an insight into what happened before the murder, and it’s clear there’s a few people with the desire to want Mercy dead.
This is a gripping crime thriller and one I’d highly recommend.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Once again Karin Slaughter proves why she is my favourite author! With another book that grips you and keeps you on the edge of your seat al the way through! Literally could not put this one down!
Following Will and Sara on the next step of their journey and of course it's never easy is it?

An Ending I Did Not See Coming… 😲

Many secrets and lies unraveled in this latest novel. Told from various times counting down to Mercy’s murder, many suspects to potentially rule out. A great read from beginning to end, a definite should read.

Any fans of Sara Linton and Will Trent will not be disappointed with this latest instalment.

While on a honeymoon break they are a caught up in a murder. The victim is one of a family of oddballs who all have their own demons and issues. Not to mention the guests staying at the resort, who also have their own secrets.

This will twist and turn and keep you guessing to the very end!

As a huge fan of Karin Slaughter I was delighted to receive the ARC of ‘This is Why We Lied’ and I was not disappointed so many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review.

This is another in the Will Trent and Sara Linton series but can be read a s a standalone.

The couple are on their honeymoon and have booked a secluded retreat. Flashback chapters give the reader background information and as the story develops so do the secrets, lies and twists.

Another great read from this author.

Highly recommended

This Is Why We Lied is the first Karin Slaughter novel I've picked up. Initially I didn't register that there were 11 previous novels featuring the detective Will Trent, but thankfully that didn't matter - Slaughter has written it in such a way that, while I'm sure there are some extra goodies for returning readers, it reads just fine as a standalone novel. At no point did I find myself feeling lost or confused, and I highly commend the author for that.

The entire book takes place over the course of around 36 hours, and there is plenty that goes on in that time with the first few chapters being set before the incident, and the rest being dedicated to a thorough investigation with plenty of twists and surprises.

I will admit that it took me a little while to get into, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself eager to see what happened next. The chapters are long, which slowed me down somewhat - I find it a lot easier to say 'one more chapter' and binge my way through a book when kindle says it's only 10 minutes as opposed to almost half an hour - but when I was reading I was thoroughly engaged.

Definitely a book worth picking up for anyone who enjoys crime thrillers, especially when there's a side of locked door mystery.

I am a huge Karin Slaughter fan so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read This is Why We Lied featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton. Sara and Will are on their honeymoon at McAlpine Lodge, an off grid retreat in the mountains, when one of the McAlpine family- Mercy- is murdered after she threatens to expose family secrets. I love the Will and Sara novels (although not as much as the Jeffrey and Sara novels) but I'm less keen on locked room mysteries in remote locations. Despite my misgivings, Slaughter is of course one of the best thriller writers around and I'll read anything she writes.
The novel starts off slowly, setting the scene with the location and an introduction to the McAlpine family. The pace soon quickens as the reader is drawn into a multi layered plot which exposes the horrific secrets and lies of the family. I love the characters of Will and Sara, their contrasting backgrounds and how different their relationship is to Sara and Jeffrey's. This is another twisty and compelling thriller from the author that I would recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

In the isolated serenity of the McAlpine Lodge, a sinister veil of deceit hangs heavy in the air. The prestigious lodge plays host to a gathering of eight suspicious guests, each bearing the weight of their own concealed truths and hidden agendas. The McAlpine family, a toxic web of simmering tensions and buried secrets that threatens to consume all who dare to tread its treacherous path. Mercy McAlpine threatens to expose them all, yet as the night unfolds in a symphony of whispered confessions and veiled accusations, Mercy's life is abruptly extinguished, leaving behind a trail of shattered illusions and unanswered questions. Who among them is a killer?
Will Trent and Sara Linton are plunged straight in to the investigation.

This was a brilliant story with an excellent plot full of suspense and plenty of twists. I was totally invested in this book and found myself page turning wanting to know more. Highly recommend this book and it totally deserves a full 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Karin Slaughter for an early copy.

I love Will Trent with a passion, I cannot wait till we get the next chapter of him everytime we get a new book. And this one did not disappoint. Will and the lovely Sara are on their honeymoon in a secluded mountain getaway, but there is no getting away from murder for these two. The only nice one of the McAlpine family, Mercy is murdered and Will and Sara take on the task of finding the culprit. The family are so awful, they make your blood boil and you root for Will getting to the bottom of why the family are so nasty and horrible.
Loved everything about this and will wait with bated breath for Karin’s next tale of Will and Sara for us.
Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy.

Will Trent and Sara Linton are on their honeymoon, staying at the secluded McAlpine Lodge, an off grid property that is the perfect chance to escape and unwind. Or so they thought. When a late night swim on their first night at the lodge is interrupted by a scream for help, both Sara and Will go running, only to find the manager of the lodge, Mercy, murdered. It soon becomes clear to Will that normal rules don't apply at McAlpine Lodge, and he knows that the only way Mercy will get justice is if he brings it himself.

The latest Will and Sara fix sees the couple finally married! When this one started and was in an unusual location I was wondering how it would go without some of the other main characters for this series such as Faith and Amanda. I should know better than to doubt Karin Slaughter!

The McAlpine family made my skin crawl right from the start of this book, and honestly the more I learnt about them the worse things got. By the end of the book I would have been quite happy for the lodge to have been burnt to ground with them all in it. The only ones that had anything to like about them were Mercy who dies at the start, and Jon a sixteen year old boy. Mercy's story was heartbreaking.

In terms of the plot this one as always was cleverly crafted. switching timelines between the hours leading up to the murder and those after it, Slaughter paints us a picture of the events and the people involved. There is a range of suspects and I believed all of them could be the culprit at one stage or other. I did eventually click on who was the killer, but didn't see the why coming. There's a lot going on at the Lodge and unpacking it all made for an interesting and page turning read.

As I said at the start I was a little unsure in the first few chapters on how this would go, but it didn't take long for me to be hooked in. Another great installment in one of my favourite series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Harper Fiction for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another cracking story from Karin Slaughter that begins in a romantic way as Will and Sara embark on their honeymoon. Will, an officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and his wife a medical examiner with the same establishment hike to a remote luxury mountain resort and are delighted to find themselves staying in an idyllic cottage surrounded by nature. Without wifi and not revealing their true jobs to the owners, the McAlpine’s, they felt they could really switch off and enjoy a blissful holiday. Of course this would not be a Karin Slaughter thriller if that were the case. Sure enough on their first night when down by the lake, a scream and plea for help has them racing towards the victim. Will desperately tries to keep the person alive but to no avail as their injuries are too severe. There begins a dramatic search for the perpetrator while trying to get assistance from his colleagues. As secrets and lies are revealed amid the dark clouds of childhood abuse and bullying, Will has to face his own demons without it affecting his ability to do his job. A story that gradually reveals the dark truth of everything about the McAlpine family and after many twists the full horror is revealed. With so many unsavoury characters it was difficult to decide who could be responsible and even if I had, I couldn’t have imagined the whole sordid truth as the book escalated to an unthinkable finale. A well executed story that had many layers to it and was extremely thought provoking as to the true meaning of guilt.

This is the 12th book in the brilliant Will Trent series by this very talented author who once again reels us in to a dark twisty, disturbing story which is full of interesting characters, some of which are mean, calculating, manipulative and abusive.

Will and Sara are on their honeymoon, a remote retreat, cut off from the outside world, no internet, no phone reception. The property is owned and run by the McAlpine family, to say they are dysfunctional is an understatement, they seem to thrive on lies, deception and bullying.

The much planned honeymoon for Will and Sara is cut short when Mercy McAlpine is brutally murdered, stabbed multiple times, barely alive but able to speak a a little to Will when he finds her. Mercy did not have an easy life, she was pregnant at 15, knew only coldness and abuse from her parents, she suffered both mental and physical abuse from her ex husband, her best friend died in a car accident, Mercy blames herself as she was driving, she has a nasty scar on her face as a daily reminder.. Will cannot walk away from the investigation, he needs to find the murderer who committed this vicious crime, everyone is a suspect, her family, the other guests at the retreat and the few employees.

The story covers a lot of dark subjects, childhood abuse, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. There is however woven in this dark book evidence that love can help heal, trust can be earned and given. Mercy loved her son, she wanted to protect him from her warped family. Will has come a long way in his journey and is delighted each day with his love for Sara and the light she brings to his life. As Will moves closer to solving the case there
Some expected twists to the story as Will moves closer to finding Mercy’s killer. Once again a 5 star read from Karin Slaughter,

Many thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Book 12 in the Will Trent Series and joy of joys Special Agent Will Trent and Medical Examiner Sara Linton have finally married and Will is taking Sara on a surprise honeymoon to a campsite in the hills. The lovebirds find themselves as guests of the McAlpine Family Lodge Site hosted by what can only be described as the most detestable family I have ever come across. As always a well written and brilliantly plotted story.

Briefly, McAlpine daughter Mercy has threatened to reveal family secrets and shortly afterwards, on their first night, Will finds himself holding the body of Mercy who has been brutally stabbed and Will himself is injured with the murder weapon. With only 9 other guests plus the family and trapped in a storm it is clear the murderer is amongst them. And as Mercy said everyone wanted her dead! With the storm blowing it will be some hours before his colleagues can reach the site so it’s all down to Will and Sara.

A superb locked room or maybe locked campsite murder mystery. With secret upon secret being revealed almost by the page Will has his work cut out just to make any sense of it all. Then just when he thinks he knows everything a shocking truth comes at him like a thunderbolt and it was the same for me! This is quite a dark read with subjects of abuse in many forms and with so many twists and turn I was self guessing myself all the way through. A compulsive, tense and exciting read. Brilliant.

Gosh what a whirlwind journey this book takes you on. I went from having no idea who’d done it to being sure I knew to being bowled over by the twists and turns. What I like was the storytelling around the very difficult relationships involve with the main characters. Some of it was disturbing and difficult to read with violence and abuse. The main character Mercy had been treated appalling all her life. A brilliant twisting and turning thriller that keeps you guessing to the end.

A locked room mystery with Will Trent and Sara? Sign me up!
Ok, it's not so much of a locked room as it is a cut-off-from-the-world-by-geography-and-weather type of situation, but it's close enough to keep Faith happy. And Amanda grumpy.
This has all the ingredients you'd expect from Karin Slaughter, and some you might not.
It's a hard read in places, probably meriting a content warning (though not as graphic as her early books, there is still a lot of gore and abuse and nastiness).
The humor and simple human decency gives a needed contrast to the nastiness, and even if it gets a little convoluted for its own good at times, it's still a damn fine read.
(Thank you to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC)

Once again, Karin Slaughter has delivered a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and stay with you long after you’ve read the final page.

A classic “locked-room” mystery in the Agatha Christie-style, this tale has it all. Everyone has a motive to kill and everyone is lying about something. With twists and turns that will leave you breathless, this book also has what Ms Slaughter writes best – great characters, who you feel you truly know and who you want to see succeed.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I got an invitation to review this book and it was actually a privilege to get an invitation to read one of my favorite thriller author's latest novels.--Karin Slaughter's latest novel and Will Trent series Book 12.

Will and Sara go to a secluded cabin resort owned by a family McAlpine. The couple try to enjoy their small honeymoon retreat until Will comes across the Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the cabin fatally stabbed. Realizing that someone in the cabin is the murderer, Will calls his GBI team and sets to find the murderer. They find that Mercy has been living a life of hell and that most of her family members were treating her badly...and nearly everyone wanted Mercy dead.

This was a fast-paced thriller. Not only that, but it was also unputdownable and a page turner as well. As there are so many suspects in the book, we as readers have to guess which of them actually murdered Mercy brutally. The whole story was well written and knowing how the author leads the reader, I was instantly hooked into the story. I also like the fact that one of the suspects Dave who is Mercy's husband is also grew up with Will in the orphanage that Dave still calls him by the nickname he had been given. The ending was completely unexpected. Even though this book was very long, I wasn't bored at all and I actually enjoyed reading this thriller. And I cannot wait to read more of Will Trent's series or Karin Slaughter's next novel! Worth five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Another great read featuring the fabulous Will Trent and Sara Linton. This time with a reverse plot, starting with the murder then a flashback to build up to this point and beyond. There is a map at the start, which helped me get to grips with the location,although difficult to return to reading on a kindle.

Told from a variety of POV the reader is able to view the story from different perspectives giving a deeper understanding.

This is a great locked room mystery, set in the remote, secluded mountain location, where guests have to ‘hike in’. Initially I found there were a lot of characters to get used to, which meant it was longer before the story took hold.

I particularly enjoyed learning more of the history of Will’s childhood and contrasting the harshness to Sara’s much more ‘conventional’ life.

This book deals with a lot of social issues and does not shy away from the harsh realities of each, leaving the reader in no doubt of the effects of each. The characterisation of the guests at The Lodge was a slow burn, keeping their secrets as just a hint for the readers to think about.

The action, when it comes, is quite fast and the plot dark, gruesome, shocking and multilayered. For me, I felt the ending happened too quickly after the intensity of the story.

In this, the 12th book in the Will Trent series, he and Sara Linton have finally tied the knot and are on their honeymoon.
They’re staying at the McAlpine Lodge, a family run site of 10 wooden cabins situated deep in the woods. The site’s owners, the McAlpines, live on site in the big house. Only staff have access to wi-fi and the landline is for emergencies only. Will and Sara will truly be away from it all and to make doubly sure, they’ve invented new jobs for themselves.
But as they dally on a late night swim, a woman’s desperate cry for help, breaks the tranquillity. By the time of the second scream., Will is half dressed and heading towards the sounds followed by Sara.
They find a woman, half dressed, lying in the lake as a cabin blazes. Miraculously, despite being covered in blood, she is still alive. Will and Sara know who she is as they both saw her in an argument with the rest of the McAlpine clan at dinner earlier that evening. She is Mercy McAlpine and she gives Will a message before succumbing to her injuries.
Who murdered her so savagely and bloodily? Mercy was obviously on bad terms with the rest of her family who wanted to sell the Lodge despite it having been handed down through seven generations. She was a lone voice of opposition as it was her that singlehandedly revitalised it after Papa’s accident that left him in a wheelchair. Mercy was seen by everyone as a failure with a useless, abusive ex-husband and also an addict who caused the death of her best friend in a drink/driving accident. She and Dave had a son together, Jon, who was being sucked into the family dynamic.
So Will and Sara come out of hiding and admit who they really are and take charge of the investigation. They begin to question family members, Dave, family members and the other guests staying at the Lodge. Amongst them are two investors and one of the couples gave a false name. But it’s the name on his chest tattoo that is a reminder of Mercy’s bleak, dark past.
And Will sees another familiar and unwelcome face from his past amongst the McAlpines which brings memories flooding back. But he had a very different fate….
With the disturbing relationships and family dynamics of the McAlpines being exposed by the investigation and Mercy’s helplessness in the light of a cruel and hard life, Will and Sara fight to find her murderer and justice for her.
Wow! What a ride! A disturbing cocktail of rancid family betrayals with Mercy as the scapegoat for it all and the past catching up with one of the characters. This is a locked room mystery which immediately piqued my interest as I love to follow the trail of the murderer ahead of the investigator. It’s a serpentine plot with the abused but determined Mercy at its heart and the creepy people surrounding her. An insular family living in the woods is a ripe breeding ground for strangeness. The author’s adept handling of a multi layered plot was impressive and she made me feel sympathetic to Mercy who never stood a chance but whose dying words were only about her son.
However, the author having characters commenting on the plot jarred a little as when near the end one describes the events as ‘An Agatha Christie locked room mystery with a VC Andrews twist’ as it made the reviewer’s job easier!
I’m used to fast paced crime novels and I did find the book very slow in places. It seemed to concentrate on more family revelations rather than on discovering Mercy’s killer. But there were some excellent red herrings and a real twist at the end. Very Tennessee Williams. I read the previous book in the series, After that Night’ and the pace seemed faster and more gripping.
But Will and Sara are engaging characters and this will not be my final acquaintance with them.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

A new Karin Slaughter is such a treat., especially when it's a Will Trent and Sara Linton adventure. Hiking into a remote luxury mountain resort to begin their honeymoon, they find themselves caught up in a very dysfunctional family feud. When resort manager, daughter Mercy MacAlpine is murdered on the first night, their professional responsibilities kick in and the honeymoon is over. All is not as it seems, the main suspect has a watertight alibi and Will and Sara are caught up in all sorts of danger. A tense storyline with deep implications for Will where one of the main protagonists is one of his childhood tormentors. So much to unwrap and so much depravity. #netgalley #thisiswhywelied