'Wonderful... A one-more-chapter, don't-eat-dinner, stay-up-late sensation.'
Lee Child, Sunday Times bestselling author'You are going to despise me.
I am the rot that lives in the floorboards of your house. I am the spider that scuttles away when you shine a light in the corner, ever watching, ever waiting. I am the shard of glass that slits the skin of your bare foot. I am all the bad things that happen to you.
I steal things.
I kill things.
I hope you enjoy the show.'
They built a life on lies...
Sutton and Ethan Montclair seem like the perfect couple. But dark secrets hide behind closed doors. Then, one night, Sutton vanishes...
All that she leaves behind is a note telling Ethan not to look for her. As the police investigate Sutton's disappearance, the lies the couple have been spinning for years begin to unravel.
Could Ethan have killed his wife? Did Sutton kill the child they never wanted? And will they uncover the truth before it's too late?
A thrilling psychological suspense full of twists and turns. New York Times bestselling author J. T. Ellison takes her writing to a new level with this exceptional breakout novel.
- ISBN10 0778308375
- ISBN13 9780778308379
- Publish Date 23 April 2019 (first published 1 September 2017)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Imprint Mira Books
- Format Paperback (US Tall Rack)
- Pages 544
- Language English
Reviews
Amber
Lie to Me isn't the best thriller that I've ever read. It's probably not even in my top ten. Don't get me wrong, I vaguely enjoyed reading it, but it had too many things wrong with it for me to truly get into it and love it.
Firstly, Lie to Me tried so hard to be Gone Girl. You could tell that Ellison was going for a certain vibe with Sutton and Ethan. A vibe that was very much like Amy and Nick. Except it didn't work as well at all. Sutton wasn't as mysterious or, I guess, out there as Amy. She didn't have the same dark intelligence. And Ethan was just so dull.
The major issue that I had with this book was the main character, Sutton, going back to her abuser. The abuse came up several times throughout the novel, but it wasn't addressed by anyone after a certain point. It was very much brushed over and used to deepen the mystery of what happened to Sutton after she disappeared. Like, at one point Ethan punched Sutton so hard out of anger that he broke her nose and she bled everywhere. And yet he's still meant to be a good guy? Nah. Nahhhhh.
And also the ending wasn't particularly clear. I'm not sure what went on in those final few paragraphs because it wasn't explained at all. I think Ellison was going for a shocking twist ending, but instead it made no sense. You have to make allowances for thrillers to be a little farfetched, but there's farfetched and then there's nonsensical. I'm disappointed.
kimbacaffeinate
- You enjoyed books like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train and edge of your seat tales. Lie to Me hooks you from the first pages when Ethan Montclair's wife Sutton leaves an ominous note and disappears, leaving everything behind including her ID and purse.
- Ellison shares both past and present in the Montclair's marriage, courtship, and daily trials making you question everything. If you love unreliable narrators and picking apart, the subtle clues given in Lie to Me.
- I bounced back and forth between believing her and him. As I read chapters by each, I started to question their motives. Did he kill her? Has she gone all GONE GIRL on him? Ellison did an excellent job of making me both loathe and feel for these characters. Trust me, we will never be besties as I found them to be self-centered and arrogant, but slowly Ellison introduced twists that had me rethinking everything.
- Multiple perspectives, suspenseful scenes, and the buildup were all well developed and had an air of believability.
- Matthew Waterson, Saskia Maarleveld, Sarah Naughton, and Julia Whelan narrate which enhanced the tale and made the change in perspectives seamless. Each did an exceptional job portraying their characters as the author intended.
- Ellison surprised me with events and discoveries before delivering a satisfying conclusion.
Audio provided by the publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer