Here We Lie

This is a thriller about Emily.
She goes on holiday with her fiance and her family and friends his 2 children also go from a previous marriage, he is a much older man then Emily and his ex wife hates her.When his 13 year old laughter Dee Dee dies after taking poison was it a horrible accident or something else? After returning home she meets up with her old flame Dan this starts a dangerous game to find out the truth about what really happened.
A great read lots of twists and suspense.

This review will appear on the link below approx 23rd September

Jed had finally left his wife Zoe, son Lish and daughter Dee Dee for Emily, the love of his life. Admittedly there was a considerable age difference between the two, but Emily didn’t care. She loved Jed; they were supremely happy – the announcement of their engagement came as no surprise to anyone except Zoe. Emily had had a tragic childhood – the loss of both her parents when she was only eleven to a car accident meant her older sister Rose had stepped into the void, deferring her own life – uni, education, romance – to care for Emily and their brother Martin.

Now adults, Emily was finally happy with her life; the inclusion of Jed meant her dreams of husband, children – a family life; all were about to happen. The holiday Emily was on with Jed, Dee Dee and Lish, as well as Rose, Martin and his partner Cameron, Jed’s brother Gary and his current girlfriend – a yacht plus flash apartment in France – Emily couldn’t have been happier. But tragedy struck when death knocked on their door; the French police were suspicious. Gradually, those who could, returned home to London until eventually they were together again – but things were decidedly different.

Emily was unsettled – her decision to investigate what had happened meant her life would be in danger. But what she was uncovering shocked and unnerved her; she knew there were people out there that she couldn’t trust. As the twisted and distorted facts came to light, the truth, lies and half-truths blew her away. But without evidence, her guesswork wasn’t good enough – she knew she was in danger, but she couldn’t stop. Terrible secrets were about to be uncovered; would Emily survive to discover the answers?

Here We Lie by Sophie McKenzie is a dark, unsettling psychological thriller. Filled with tense paranoia, power-plays and jealousy, the plot is a good one. A fast pace, with many gripping twists, there were a couple I hadn’t seen coming; one I had – but all in all, an excellent and enjoyable thriller which I have no hesitation in recommending highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

'Here We Lie' is a dark, psychological thriller about families and the secrets we hide and lies we tell each other.

The novel opens with a family holiday in Corsica. Emily, her fiance Jed and his children Lish and Dee-Dee meet up with Emily's brother Michael and partner Cameron on board their yacht for dinner. The next morning one of their party is found dead. Back in London, Emily tries to get on with her life but investigations into what happened in Corsica lead her to question who she can really trust.

This is a gripping mystery, full of suspense as the plot twists and turns and the tension ramps up to an unexpected revelation. Definitely recommended for those who like a compelling, engaging plot.

I’ve been in a real reading rut. Along with the last few books I’ve read being very disappointing, I’ve been busy in real life with a new job and school holidays and Christmas etc etc etc, until I just felt like I’d lost my book mojo completely.

Anyway, I’ve passed the time writing some things, and catching up on some things I have been meaning to do for ages until, for the New Year, I decided to again take the plunge and get back in the saddle, so to speak.

Firing up the ereader, I clicked on Here We Lie, a book I’d received via Net-galley. In the back of my mind I wasn’t confident it would spark a resurgence in my recent blah attitude. But now I can happily report, it did!

Yay! I loved this book! Yay!

The book opens with Emily, a thirty-something year old school teacher, enjoying a relaxing holiday in Corsica. She’s joined by Jed, her quite-a-bit-older fiance, and his two children. Also joining them in France is Emily’s sister, Emily’s brother and his boyfriend, and Jed’s brother and his girlfriend.

Soon, their idyllic vacation comes to an abrupt halt when Jed’s daughter, Dee Dee, is found dead.

Back home, everyone is obviously having difficulty with coming to terms with the loss and blame is thrown around, including quite a bit from Jed’s bitter ex-wife.

Enter Dan, Emily’s ex-boyfriend. Dan is a journalist chasing a story on well-known lawyer, Jed. Along the way he comes to believe that Dee Dee’s death might not be what everyone thought, and that perhaps Dee Dee wasn’t even the intended victim.

From then on, the book jumps from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. There’re quite a few likely suspects from those on the trip, as well as those back home, and it’s not easy for the reader to completely guess who Emily should trust.

I found all the plot quite believable, and the use of modern technology clever instead of corny (as some books using it tend to be).

Interspersed between chapters of Emily’s first person point of view are chapters of the family tragedy Emily endured as a child and diary entries of Dee Dee’s.

Other than one particular surprising moment towards the end, I was able to guess most of the revelations of the book and its characters. I’m not whining about this, however, because it wasn’t due to the obviousness of the reveals, but the way McKenzie had actually taken the time to set them up using the three narratives. I love a good bait-and-switch as much as any reader, but I’m not fond of sudden silly endings that have no foundation. In this case, other than that one shock, I thought the lead up provided enough clues for me to easily believe the book’s ending.

I didn’t know anything about Sophie McKenzie before starting the book. After finishing it, however, I looked her up to discover she’s written quite a lot of YA titles, and I must say that that is obvious when reading the Dee Dee sections. They seem quite real and not as cutesy as some supposed teenage narration can be.

I’ll definitely be looking for more McKenzie titles, and I’d highly recommend this (what I’d call gentle) psychological thriller.

4.5 stars out of 5

This plot was interesting and complex with so many varied characters. The journey taken by Emily to find out the truth is fraught with danger. The point of view from Dee Dee I found intriguing as she held one of the critical secrets. Enter Emily’s ex boyfriend and the plot becomes even more complex. A a reader I wanted him save the day. Then their is Emil’s finance Jed who is a character you will either love or hate throughout the story until all is revealed at the end where you will have a definite opinion.

A very well written story that does not reveal the true depth of the deceit until the end. If you like a story that you want to deconstruct as you go to guess who is telling the truth and who is lying then this is the one to read.