Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 6/11/24!

As someone who is a fan of both mystery/thriller novels and true crime, I enjoyed the blend of the two that this book provided. Told from one POV, readers are taken along for the ride as two mysteries, one old and one new, are revealed. Despite the single POV, I believed the characters were well-developed and did not pick up on any flaws within the character interactions. Giving this one 4 stars because at times I found the pacing of this to be off in that it would be fast paced, and then lull, to pick back up again later on. Additionally, at the end I was not surprised but rather had the understanding that the ending made sense given the context of the book. This one was an overall good read though, one that I would recommend! If you do decide to pick it up, please check any relevant trigger warnings before doing so.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a DRC of this title.

This was interesting! Would definitely recommend this one for those who aren't looking for a super-dark or gritty thriller. Will be looking for more from Maisey Yates under this pen name. 3.25/5.

Some things are better left alone doesn’t apply to people whose young daughter has gone missing. True crime author Margo Box should know where to look for clues and connect the dots, but she gets tripped up along the way.

Though the premise for this one was excellent and the pace clipped along, I felt some elements made it feel disconnected in some parts. It didn’t help that Margo wasn’t my fave as a main character, and I never like romance as a subplot in a thriller/mystery unless it adds to the story, and in this case, it did not.

I liked it ok but didn’t race through it but would read another from this author in the future.

Lies Make Perfect by Ellie Banks is a new thriller novel. The story in Lies Make Perfect is one that covers not one, but two cold cases that are close to the main character with one from the distant past and the other from only months before.

Lies Make Perfect also may look to readers as a debut novel by the author however Ellie Banks is the pseudonym for bestselling author Maisey Yates, who has written over one hundred novels which are usually more from the contemporary romance genre with a few romantic suspense being the closest to this new novel.

Margo Box is a popular true crime author having helped solve cases she’s studied. Now however Margo is living her own true crime nightmare when six months ago her husband vanished without a trace taking Margo’s five-year-old daughter, Poppy, with him. When Margo comes across a clue to the disappearance of an old friend twenty years before Margo dives right in to investigating that case after having no luck finding her own daughter but Margo soon finds that both cases seem to be connected.

Lies Make Perfect was a solid thriller read incorporating the really popular true crime movement of today. This one however wasn’t without a few flaws that I noticed a long the way while reading. One thing was that some of it seemed a little repetitive where I was thinking haven’t we mentioned that a few times, lets get moving. Which then leads to it seemed to really take a while to take off making the beginning very slow moving which may tie both things together. Overall I finished this one at the three and half stars mark and knowing who the author actually is I will undoubtedly read her work again in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For popular true crime author Margo Box, the past six months have been a waking nightmare. Ever since her five-year-old daughter, Poppy, vanished—abducted by her own father—Margo has tortured herself the way only a mother with unrelenting blame. How could she have let this happen? Had she been working too hard to see the signs? Despite the guilt and unanswered questions, Margo holds on to the hope that Poppy is somehow still alive. Yet after years of solving other people’s cold cases, her own case proves impenetrable. That is, until she finds a cryptic letter hidden in a secondhand book in her neighborhood library box. In this letter are clues that someone in the community knows something about the disappearance of Margo’s school friend Sarah nearly two decades ago—the disappearance that drove Margo into true crime and haunts her still. To distract from the pain in her life, Margo throws herself into Sarah’s case, desperate for closure of some kind. But as she digs deeper into her friend’s history, she unearths a disturbing connection to her daughter she never expected to find…

What a great book for a debut author! This book grabbed my attention right away and kept me intrigued. I tried to guess the ending and had it wrong. Some of the parts were a little repetitive but over all this was a good book for a new author.

Margo is a true crime writer who is looking into a case from her childhood. A friend of hers disappears with a teacher but no one has heard from them since and Margo wants the truth. Margo is also having personal trouble because her husband abducted her daughter and somehow these two cases overlap.

This book has potential. I usually enjoy a true crime story and this one had a nice set up. I liked how fast paced this was as well.

I do feel like Margo was a bit annoying to follow. A lot of her thoughts were very repetitive and that made the story feel repetitive. I also feel like everything wrapped up too nicely and it seemed a bit unrealistic.

The romance in here was fine but i don’t really think it was necessary.

Overall, not a bad book or bad writing but it wasn’t my favorite. I was entertained but not blown away.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Harlequin for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Margo opens a Pandora's box when she goes all in to look for answers about the disappearance of her friend Sarah 18 years ago even as she also looks for her missing husband and daughter. A true crime writer, she's solved other cold cases but these two, well, they lead her down into a morass of secrets and lies. You, like me, might wonder about how the two link up and if it's really plausible but I gotta admit that I kept reading for answers. This would have benefited from another edit but it's a pretty good debut. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

Rounding this one up from 3.5 ⭐️ for this review! This was a solid read for me, when i wasn’t reading it i definitely found myself thinking about it! A few things happened that were almost too good to be true, and i was certainly not sure how i felt about a single character in this book. Although things worked out a little TOOOOOOOO perfect i totally enjoyed this book and would recommend! I usually am not a huge fan of unreliable narrator, but after everything this one was dealing with i totally finally found one that i didn’t just HATE.

Lies Make Perfect by Ellie Banks had me on the edge of my seat through out the book! Unputdownable.

True crime writer Margo Box has been living in devastation for the last 6 months. Her husband disappeared with her 5 year old daughter, Poppy and she hasn’t heard from them since. She happens to stumble across a clue to her friend Sarah’s disappearance that happened 20 years ago. She had a gnawing feeling it’s somehow tied to her husband’s disappearance.

I really enjoyed this novel. Margo was a relatable character in my opinion. She was dealing self doubt and guilt that gone with loss and grief. I would love to read more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Ellie Banks and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC

The book was a good read. This genre is out of my normal genre. I was definitely kept on edge with the mystery. Thought I had figured out parts, but curveballs were thrown in that I didn't see coming. I was a little thrown off with the main character talking in the perspective she did as I am not used to it, but not a deal breaker. I had some issues with being able to tell where emails and texts started and ended. Emails would start in red and change colors half way through. Texts were the same color and just blended in with the story. I did notice in the beginning when they were at the main characters house as i was reading it ended with the main character left her best friends house but no mention of them moving over to her house. Otherwise the book was a good read. I would recommend it to people who like this genre of book.

Lies Make Perfect was a book with a case of "decent concept, poor execution". The book starts with Margo Box lamenting her life decisions. Her marriage fell apart, her husband left with the baby, and she wrote a successful book but can't chase success a second time. What's interesting about her situation is her successful book was based upon solving true crimes, and she now is in the mess of a true crime herself. After a serendipitous stumbling upon a book with a note in it, she's inspired to start investigating a cold case from her hometown long ago. From there, the case starts to intertwine into her own life, and lots of secrets are uncovered.

The idea of having these multiple true crimes play into each other isn't anything new, but it was interesting to watch unfold once it started. The problem is it took nearly half of the book to get there. I almost didn't finish the book because I was growing bored. The first half is Margo's "woe is me" narrative that leans really heavily into "bad mom", "crazy lady", and "woman with substance abuse" tropes. They're belittling, overdone, and I think thrillers need to move away from that narrative. Beyond that, Margo just isn't a likeable character. She's made to be morally grey, and not in an interesting way. It felt like Ellie Banks was trying really hard to emulate Gillian Flynn and falling very short.

Another challenge I had with this book was the romantic subplot. Normally, those are thrown in to add dimension to the characters even if it has nothing to do with the core plot. It had the opposite effect here, it made me dislike Dane (the romantic lead) and Margo even more. Their romance is cliche and written like a teenage diary. Margo even compares having sex with him to exorcising her demons, and having him bring her clarity in her life. Overdone, cliche, and didn't really do much for the plot.

I know this was Banks's first book, but it really needed more editing and focus. Instead it felt like a bunch of cliches loosely tied into one, relatively predictable thriller. It's probably a good start for someone new to the genre to get their feet wet, however.

First of all a special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advanced copy of this book.

At the beginning of the book, I will admit that it moved quite slow and was very repetitive, to the point I almost DNF. So glad I did not because once the investigation started by Margo, the main character, it started to pick up. There was a lot of twist and turns throughout the book that kept me on my toes and kept me guessing who did what and why they did what they did.

I do recommend this book to whoever that likes mystery and cold cases.

I really enjoyed the story and the characters, but the writing style of this one wasn't for me. While Banks' writing is very poetic, many passages felt long-winded and repetitive to the point I found myself skipping across certain areas. Very original ideas with a sharp twist as far as debuts go, and I look forward to seeing what else Banks brings out!

(3.5) Great twist that I did not see coming! The very beginning pulled me in, but as I rambled in Margo's thoughts, her memories of taking pills to wake, to sleep will she worked on her book I felt buffeted myself. I wanted off this back and forth. I did fast forward through several pages. Elle Banks pulls off a great ending, a say what moment, a gasp, an OMG. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review! #LiesMakePerfect #EllieBanks #HarperTradePublishing #CanaryStreetPress #NetGalley

(Also left on Facebook, X, Pinterest)

A great debut thriller!

I actually liked the main character in this book. Her inner thoughts ran long at times but my mind circles constantly also. I like that she trusted her intuition but I would have appreciated more physical evidence in solving the cases. The characters were well-developed. Their emotional journeys added to the story. This book was an intriguing dive into the human psyche.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher HTP/TheHive/Canary Street Press for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own. #HTP #HTPTheHive #Partner #HTPInfluencer #TheHiveInfluencer #HTPHive

This book was a good and fast read but unfortunately, you could kind of tell it was written by a newer author. There were parts of this book was there repetitive. Now, don't get me wrong, I DID NOT hate this book. It just wasn't a five star read for me, which I was hoping it would be after I read the description. With that being said, I Iook forward to seeing Ellie grow as an author and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more books by her in the future!

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher HTP/TheHive/Canary Street Press for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own. #HTP #HTPTheHive #Partner #HTPInfluencer #TheHiveInfluencer #HTPHive

I'll start with the good: Ellie Banks is a strong writer. The overall set up is intriguing.
Now with the bad: Because she's a strong writer, she decides to take about 10 different ways to say one thing. The dialogue doesn't feel authentic. Everything is a reflection, and there's little of the plot moving forward. In what's meant to be a thriller, you need the plot to move forward. Once it finally does, it's over quickly, and you're wondering why you spent 20 pages on nothing.

This book is not unreadable by any maens. However, it gets boring and a little cringey. I wanted to find out the mystery, but the payoff was just not worth it. Once Banks fine tunes her writing style and intent, I think she could write some amazing stories!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this advanced copy in return for my honest review. I love a good cold case however this book started off a little slow and repetitive for me but I still enjoyed it!

'Lies Make Perfect' is a very odd combination of a great read, mix with 'where is this going'. I enjoyed reading it but kept asking myself why I was enjoying it... because nothing seemed to happen for the longest time.
The last 15% was the most interesting part for me, that's where things started picking up and coming together.
I would definitely want to pick up other books by this author.