Margo is a true-crime author who has somehow ended up in the world she used to just write about. Her five year old daughter and her husband are gone without a trace. The assumption is that her husband kidnapped their daughter and fled the country, but there’s been no evidence to support that theory. Margo has been researching crimes since her friend and their high school teacher went missing when she was a teenager, and that was one case that she couldn’t solve. She hopes that by diving back into that mystery, she’ll somehow solve her own.

This was a quick read, and overall I enjoyed it. None of the characters were particularly likable, and each had a reason not to be trusted. I would definitely check out other books by this author, and this was a good one to get me out of a slump!

Lies Make Perfect by Ellie Banks is a chilling and emotionally charged psychological thriller that delves into the darkness of guilt, loss, and the lengths we go to for answers. Margo Box, a successful true crime author, has been living in torment ever since her five-year-old daughter, Poppy, was abducted by her ex-husband. Plagued by guilt and unanswered questions, Margo refuses to give up hope, but after years of trying to solve her own case, the truth remains elusive.

Just as Margo is drowning in her pain, she discovers a cryptic letter hidden in a secondhand book at her neighborhood library, offering clues to an old case—the disappearance of her childhood friend, Sarah, nearly two decades ago. Margo becomes obsessed with solving this long-forgotten mystery, hoping it might provide some sort of closure to her own heartbreak. But as she digs deeper into Sarah’s disappearance, Margo uncovers a disturbing link to her daughter that she never could have imagined.

Ellie Banks crafts a tense, page-turning narrative that keeps readers on edge with every twist. Margo’s drive to uncover the truth is both heartbreaking and gripping, and the gradual unraveling of secrets makes for a suspenseful and thrilling journey. The emotional weight of Margo’s journey—her guilt over Poppy’s disappearance and her desperate need for answers—is expertly conveyed, creating a deeply immersive reading experience.

Lies Make Perfect is a masterfully crafted tale of suspense, loss, and the devastating consequences of buried secrets. Fans of psychological thrillers will find themselves absorbed in this dark, twisty story that explores the fine line between truth and lies, and the lengths we’ll go to for those we love.

A twisty, cold case missing person mystery that was full of layers but was just an okay read for me. My first by this author, and while I liked the best-selling author, mother of a kidnapped child storyline, overall this wasn't as good as I had hoped for. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love cold cases and trying to figure out along the way what happened. This book was exactly that!

Initially the start was slow and repetitive, I had a hard time focusing. But once the story line started to pick up and you got more background on what was going on in Margo's life it became a quick page turner and made me want to find out what happened that much quicker. Margo is a wife and mother who's husband and child go missing, along with that there is a cold case from 18 years prior from the same town with common threads. Margo is on the hunt to find all the answers.

There was a few details that I was able to guess along the way but the ending was still a shocker. I recommend this book to anyone that likes cold cases and mystery/thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book felt a little messy and confusing. The writing was all over the place. Maybe it could just use a good edit? It almost felt like the author's stream of conscious rather than a published novel. MC was very annoying and I didn't care for the rest of the characters either. The entire plot was pretty unrealistic. The side plot of the love story seemed unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and the author for an ARC of this book.

I really liked this novel. I enjoyed the twists and the turns very much. I also loved how this book started with a true crime writer suddenly finding herself in the middle of her own true crime nightmare.

What is a mother to think when her husband and young daughter suddenly go missing with no trace left behind? Margo was at odds with how to grieve this tragedy needing an outlet for her grief and confusion. She latches on somewhat obsessively to a book she finds and her local Little Free Library. She sure that it must contain a clue of what happened to her daughter.

I was not prepared for the ending at all. I can’t say more without giving away something unfortunately. There were some twists that I definitely did not see coming.

I could really empathize with Margo. I know some other readers probably felt like Margot made some stupid choices. However, if your child was missing, you probably would not be able to make rational decisions either. You’d be trying to do whatever you might think could possibly help.

This is an ode to mothers everywhere and the lengths parents will go through to find out what happened to their child.

I would more of Bank’s books in the future. I’ve heard through the Riverview grape line that Ellie Banks is a synonym for Maisie Yates as this is her first thriller I thought she did a great job.

As for my ratings :
Excitement level: 5
Ease of reading level: 5
Overall rating : 5

I really enjoyed this book! It was twisty enough that it kept me interested and wanting to come back for more. I also enjoyed the audiobook! I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

I enjoyed this one!

Margo writes true crime books. She digs hard when she is investigating and she has helped solve several cold cases.

Now tragedy hits Margo when her husband takes their five year old daughter and disappears. Every mother's worst nightmare - their child goes missing. She starts investigating trying to figure out where they are and we are along for the ride.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this! The twists were unexpected and I was guessing to the end. The writing style is unique which I liked. This is a solid thriller! Thank you to Ellie Banks, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC from NetGalley of Lies Make Perfect by Ellie Banks..

It took me a long time to get into this book because a lot of it felt repetitive in the begining and the story line drug out. However, I think the final chapters make up for it. I just wish the ending wasn't so rushed.

With that being said, the book does hit all the marks with adultery, murder, and a true crime writer; and it's all woven between a current case and a cold case.

pretty good debut! However, I do think this book could have been cut down a lot or maybe some scenes enhanced to just improve pacing. It's really important for a thriller to NOT drag, and this dragged a bit in some parts. However, overall, I think it was a pretty good thriller with a pretty good concept. I liked the book in general, but there were times when it felt like I started to skim to just get through some of it. 3.5 rounded to 4

This was an easy fast read and a solid mystery. I did not guess the ending which I love in a suspense.

LIES MAKE PERFECT is a good suspense novel. Banks' writing flows well and the pace is good. However, I just couldn't get into this one like I wanted to. The characters weren't pulling me as much as I tried to connect.

I loved the setting of this novel, at a high ranking university. I enjoyed they back and forth between decades among sisters. This added to the unknown. I thought this was a well played out novel and had a very unexpected twist. I enjoyed it and did not expect the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of "Lies Make Perfect" by Ellie Banks. This thought-provoking thriller delves into the complexities of truth and deceit with a crisp, immersive writing style. Banks skillfully blends suspense with introspection, vividly portraying the protagonist's internal struggles as she unravels a web of lies. While the pacing occasionally lagged, the psychological tension and intricate plot twists kept me engaged until the satisfying conclusion. The novel offers a compelling exploration of the consequences of deception and the quest for redemption, making it a worthwhile read for fans of psychological suspense.

Margo, a true crime author, starts investigating a missing person’s case which was also her childhood friend. Her friend disappeared at 16, leaving a note that she was running off with her teacher. She was never heard from again.

During this time, Margo’s husband and daughter disappear. Believing that her husband took their daughter and ran, Margo fears she’ll never see her daughter again.

After a body is recovered from deep in the water, secrets are unearthed, leading to more questions..

What happened to 16 year old Sarah and her teacher? Where is Margo’s husband and daughter? How will Margo get through it all?

My thoughts:
☁️☁️☁️
I really enjoyed this mysterious and intriguing thriller. It was fast-paced, held my interest and completely baffled me! I was pleasantly surprised by the many twists!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I can’t believe I put off reading this for as long as I did! I loved it so much that I immediately searched and found one other book coauthored by Ellie Banks and purchased before writing this! The writing style had me hooked - there was the overall current day story that lined up with a cold case from years ago that they kept uncovering things about while searching for her daughter. I had never once had things figured out and was shocked at the end. I loved it! 10/10 recommend!! And I’ve followed this author for any more she writes! A new fav!

DNF’d at 47%. Ooooomg this is one of the most annoying main characters and repetitive books I have ever read. I didn’t even get halfway in and I’m already so tired of hearing about how this mother isn’t crazy, her daughter isn’t dead, she got distracted by her writing a lot but wasn’t a bad mom, and she may have wanted to cheat but she didn’t so she was a good wife. Just around and around and around those thoughts and statements over and over and over again. I truly could not care less about the resolution of the mystery of her missing daughter, the progress of her writing career, or her fascination with true crime.

Margo has the perfect life in the perfect house with her perfect husband. She has made a living off of her bestselling book which she wrote about her experience in solving a large missing persons case. What made her famous quickly becomes her own reality when her husband takes off with her daughter. The story starts six months later with Margo in a deep depression and going through the motions each day. Unmotivated to write or do much of anything, Margo finally finds the push she needs to focus her attention on something other than her missing daughter when finding a book by her favorite author with a mysterious note in it. The note is a possible reference to ANOTHER missing person’s case where a teacher ran off with a student, neither being seen for 18 years. (How many missing people can one town have?!)

The search for Sarah quickly turns even more personal as the story spirals in another directions than I thought. Two plot lines here- the old missing person case or Margo’s friend and the recent case of Margo’s family.

I felt this was well written, fast paced, and constantly kept me guessing ! Great read !

Margo is a true crime writer, maybe not by choice but as a healing mechanism. Her husband vanished with her daughter years ago, and she has been filled with self blame and guilt ever since.
When she finds an odd letter in a book, it hints to clues regarding the disappearance of her friend Sarah years ago…as she dives deeper into this mystery, she can’t hall but notice a possible connection between Sarah’s disappearance and her daughters…could they be linked?
Great debut by Ellie Banks!