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liralen's review against another edition
4.0
When this book showed up on my doorstep, I briefly wondered whether I'd regret having entered/won the firstreads giveaway. I don't read a ton of mystery, and I'm trying to read more nonfiction.
Then I read the first three lines, and I was hooked.
For somebody who has regular nightmares, this was a creeptastic read -- the right level of I'm probably overreacting and genuine threat. An early mystery splits off into multiple mysteries, related but not always directly. A few characters end up being a bit caricature-y for my liking, but most were complex and unpredictable without being inconsistent.
While at times the multiple mystery strands felt like too much, I particularly appreciated the complexity of Emily's fears about her stalker / her past trauma -- something that brings up a painful history but isn't something she's initially actively afraid of; a wound that has largely healed but with a scar that will never go away; guilt that she knows does not belong to her but which she can't help but feel anyway. Mike makes for a pretty endearing hero -- not perfect, but there in the ways that matter. Ditto Emily: not perfect, but right in the ways that matter.
Pretty good for a book that made me wonder whether I should really be reading it right before I went to bed.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
Then I read the first three lines, and I was hooked.
For somebody who has regular nightmares, this was a creeptastic read -- the right level of I'm probably overreacting and genuine threat. An early mystery splits off into multiple mysteries, related but not always directly. A few characters end up being a bit caricature-y for my liking, but most were complex and unpredictable without being inconsistent.
While at times the multiple mystery strands felt like too much, I particularly appreciated the complexity of Emily's fears about her stalker / her past trauma -- something that brings up a painful history but isn't something she's initially actively afraid of; a wound that has largely healed but with a scar that will never go away; guilt that she knows does not belong to her but which she can't help but feel anyway. Mike makes for a pretty endearing hero -- not perfect, but there in the ways that matter. Ditto Emily: not perfect, but right in the ways that matter.
Pretty good for a book that made me wonder whether I should really be reading it right before I went to bed.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
thebrunettebookjunkie's review against another edition
5.0
After finishing Lie Still today, I have read all of Julia Heaberlin's books and I wonder, where is the hype for this amazing author?! With all the thrillers out there today that are full of gimmicks and cliches, Heaberlin is above and beyond. Her writing style draws you in, makes you believe her characters, drops nuggets of trivia, truth, and pop culture references, and brings you to an organic conclusion that you did not see coming. I have nothing but praise for all of her work. I especially enjoyed Lie Still and it's nuances. The Texas women and their creepy club was by far one of the stars of this book. Lie Still deals with the heavy topics of rape and child abduction.
beachteach81's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Good book with some downfalls in the plot. Still entertaining.
larisajane's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. It started off good but ultimately went downhill in a hurry. The story line veered off into the most unbelievable and rushed story that had to tie all the loose ends together. I cannot believe the author makes such a huge deal about how the main character, Emily, is finally carrying a pregnancy this far after so many miscarriages and even says that her husband had been so careful to not let her scoop kitty litter or be near anything that could harm the baby AND YET she drinks a glass of wine all the time. I know that wine these days is "safe" and all that but that just seemed like such an unnecessary and offensive detail. I just found the main character obnoxious; but that's not to say that I don't feel sorry for what she was put through and how incredibly horrible her past was. I'm still
Incredibly confused by the ending and just all around annoyed that the author whipped characters out of thin air to tie everything together. At the end of the book the author talks about how she never knew that the first words out of Emily's would lead her to tell a story about rape. Well maybe as an author you should plan things out a little better so your story doesn't end up like this.
Incredibly confused by the ending and just all around annoyed that the author whipped characters out of thin air to tie everything together. At the end of the book the author talks about how she never knew that the first words out of Emily's would lead her to tell a story about rape. Well maybe as an author you should plan things out a little better so your story doesn't end up like this.
dmchurch's review against another edition
2.0
Emily Page survived a date rape in college and is now pregnant. So, when she moves to a small Texas town with her new sheriff husband, Michael, she hopes to put her past, including a stalker possibly associated with the reap, behind her. However, she finds the culture a bit overwhelming. She meets a group of women who have formed a club based on knowing each others secrets. But, when the queen bee, Caroline, disappears, the case becomes more threatening. Heaberlin does a great job of capturing the small town element and the interactions between the women. However, the plot was a bit thin with some unlikely coincidences such as 2 stalkers.
secre's review against another edition
3.0
All in all, I struggled with Lie Still. The plot line was too far fetched, there were way too many strings that made it difficult to follow and many of the characters were caricatures rather than realistically three dimensional characters.
There were at least three mysteries hammered together here, all of them vying for importance. The author would have been better to have one focal point with perhaps a single sub-mystery rather than muddying the waters so thoroughly.
Characters wise, the novel makes it difficult to empathise with any of them. Secrets are a huge aspect of the novel and how much different people are hiding, but so much time is spent mithering over secrets that it slows the book down and makes characters unrelatable. Additionally, many of the characters - particularly the Texan wives - could have stepped straight of Desperate Housewives.
The topic matter is dark and covers rape, abuse and the scars that are still being dealt with many years later. That is a huge part of the protagonists make up and it does make for a heavy read as well as a slow and over saturated one, even if the writing style itself reads quite well.
There were at least three mysteries hammered together here, all of them vying for importance. The author would have been better to have one focal point with perhaps a single sub-mystery rather than muddying the waters so thoroughly.
Characters wise, the novel makes it difficult to empathise with any of them. Secrets are a huge aspect of the novel and how much different people are hiding, but so much time is spent mithering over secrets that it slows the book down and makes characters unrelatable. Additionally, many of the characters - particularly the Texan wives - could have stepped straight of Desperate Housewives.
The topic matter is dark and covers rape, abuse and the scars that are still being dealt with many years later. That is a huge part of the protagonists make up and it does make for a heavy read as well as a slow and over saturated one, even if the writing style itself reads quite well.
beskarbutt's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Julia Heaberlin Is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This one really sucked me in, I read it in a day because I couldn't put it down. She is representing Wise County well.
mrsboyko's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent Book. Kept me guessing the whole time. I think this is the third book I've read by this author and they were all more than a murder mystery. Will definitely read anything else she's written.
picky_book_b1tch's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this one. I loved the cast of uniquely quirky women and the story kept me hooked. Both are a bit OTT but what else would you expect in Texas but larger than life characters with huge personalities and lives that play out like a soap opera. It was fun and just bit disturbing to read, and while it may not stick with me forever, I did love it while reading it, enough to check out more from this author.
candyflynn's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25