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lisa_setepenre's review
5.0
With Lie Still, I've read all of Julia Heaberlin's books currently published and this is another edge-of-your-seat thriller from this author. I'd been worried that after I'd found [b:Playing Dead|13147826|Playing Dead|Julia Heaberlin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333577685s/13147826.jpg|18325471] to be a disappointment, that Lie Still would prove to be another disappointment. But I've come to the conclusion that Lie Still is Heaberlin's most fulfilling work.
Not only is Lie Still a breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat thriller, but it works better for me than Playing Dead. The characters feel both real and ambiguous – with a few exceptions, you don't know who is trustworthy and who is not, and you feel for Emily, trapped in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers and secrets.
Despite reading this in less than 24 hours, I was able to understand everything that went on and the mysteries intrigued me and kept me guessing. I finished Lie Still feeling very satisfied with the way these mysteries had been resolved and felt they had been firmly resolved. I didn't want for more details or resolution.
There is a deeper layer to Lie Still, that talks about rape, gender, secrets and social status. It was handled sensitively and at no point felt gratuitous. Personally, I think this message needs to be told and heard.
All up, Lie Still was a supremely satisfying read and in my opinion Heaberlin's best work yet.
Not only is Lie Still a breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat thriller, but it works better for me than Playing Dead. The characters feel both real and ambiguous – with a few exceptions, you don't know who is trustworthy and who is not, and you feel for Emily, trapped in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers and secrets.
Despite reading this in less than 24 hours, I was able to understand everything that went on and the mysteries intrigued me and kept me guessing. I finished Lie Still feeling very satisfied with the way these mysteries had been resolved and felt they had been firmly resolved. I didn't want for more details or resolution.
There is a deeper layer to Lie Still, that talks about rape, gender, secrets and social status. It was handled sensitively and at no point felt gratuitous. Personally, I think this message needs to be told and heard.
All up, Lie Still was a supremely satisfying read and in my opinion Heaberlin's best work yet.
cmocker's review against another edition
4.0
I received Lie Still in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed some aspects of this book and not others. There were definitely many twists and turns, but at times it seemed a little forced. And the narrator, Emily, drove me crazy throughout much of the book. I kept screaming at her throughout the book because she did not act like a pregnant woman who has had such a hard time keeping a pregnancy. Ultimately, the book kept my attention and of course, I wanted to know how the storyline would be resolved. I finished the book in a few days, so I guess I would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a slightly wacky psychological thriller.
cmocker's review
4.0
I received Lie Still in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed some aspects of this book and not others. There were definitely many twists and turns, but at times it seemed a little forced. And the narrator, Emily, drove me crazy throughout much of the book. I kept screaming at her throughout the book because she did not act like a pregnant woman who has had such a hard time keeping a pregnancy. Ultimately, the book kept my attention and of course, I wanted to know how the storyline would be resolved. I finished the book in a few days, so I guess I would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a slightly wacky psychological thriller.
triciab04's review
3.0
Yay!!! This was a first-reads giveaway winner for me!!
You know I really enjoyed the first half of Lie Still. I thought Emily had a very troubling, yet interesting life, which only seemed to increase once she moved to Texas. The Texan ladies in this book were laughable, I'm not from the south so I don't really know how it all works down there, but these ladies were every cliche I ever heard rolled into some VERY desperate housewives!! I really thought they were all so over the top that it was hilarious.
About halfway through or so I felt like the plot was getting so big I found myself struggling to keep up with it all. By the end I was a little lost. I guess I was hoping that everything would all tie together neatly, but that's not really how it happened. There were a few unanswered questions that you really have no other choice but to go along with Emily's assumptions of what happened. I feel like maybe the author branched out a little too much in the things that were going on. I felt like at least the deal with her parent's killer's parole and all that probably wasn't an essential part to this particular tale, and just added more background noise to an already packed story.
Anyways, the mystery was actually pretty great. I really was blindsided by the outcome. I did enjoy the story, but I think it could have been even greater if the plot was a little more condensed. I was still super happy to win this book, it's almost like hitting the lottery, right??!? I always get super excited when I win something! It was an enjoyable read, and I'll probably pass it along to a friend to enjoy next.
You know I really enjoyed the first half of Lie Still. I thought Emily had a very troubling, yet interesting life, which only seemed to increase once she moved to Texas. The Texan ladies in this book were laughable, I'm not from the south so I don't really know how it all works down there, but these ladies were every cliche I ever heard rolled into some VERY desperate housewives!! I really thought they were all so over the top that it was hilarious.
About halfway through or so I felt like the plot was getting so big I found myself struggling to keep up with it all. By the end I was a little lost. I guess I was hoping that everything would all tie together neatly, but that's not really how it happened. There were a few unanswered questions that you really have no other choice but to go along with Emily's assumptions of what happened. I feel like maybe the author branched out a little too much in the things that were going on. I felt like at least the deal with her parent's killer's parole and all that probably wasn't an essential part to this particular tale, and just added more background noise to an already packed story.
Anyways, the mystery was actually pretty great. I really was blindsided by the outcome. I did enjoy the story, but I think it could have been even greater if the plot was a little more condensed. I was still super happy to win this book, it's almost like hitting the lottery, right??!? I always get super excited when I win something! It was an enjoyable read, and I'll probably pass it along to a friend to enjoy next.
audiblybooked's review against another edition
2.0
I loved this author's other thriller but the main character in this one revolted me with her constant slut shaming and fat shaming. I understand that not all characters are likable, nor do I normally require them to be, but I felt like I was being asked to be sympathetic to this character but found it difficult when she was such a nasty individual. My feelings about this character have probably colored my overall impression of the story but I felt that the writing in Lie Still was no where near as strong as in Black Eyed Susans. I felt that all of the characters were too cliche and none of them likable. I found it impossible to connect with the story or the characters. On a positive note, The audio narration was excellent.
rebleejen's review against another edition
3.0
This book held my interest but didn't satisfy me because I expected all these plot threads to somehow tie together in the end, but it turned out they were all...just separate plots. Maybe that's on me. But I was also kind of hoping there'd be more dark-side-of-suburbia action. Probably also on me.
jessies's review against another edition
3.0
Emily's life has been marked by tragedy. She was raped in College and her parents died soon after. She is now married to Mike, an ex ATF agent and has just moved to Clairmont Texas where Mike has accepted a job as police chief. In Clairmont Emily meets a group of women led by the enigmatic Caroline. The town of Clairmont is full of secrets. When Caroline disappears, Emily is thrown into the mystery as well.
Overall this is an entertaining read and Emily is an engaging narrator. The plot is convoluted. The author sets up a few unrelated mysteries, such as Emily's stalker that seem completely unrelated to Caroline's disappearance. These multiple plot strands dissipate the impact of the ending. I thought there was a lot of build up without the big payoff.
Overall this is an entertaining read and Emily is an engaging narrator. The plot is convoluted. The author sets up a few unrelated mysteries, such as Emily's stalker that seem completely unrelated to Caroline's disappearance. These multiple plot strands dissipate the impact of the ending. I thought there was a lot of build up without the big payoff.
theas1a4f5's review against another edition
4.0
Emily is married to a former ATF agent turned small town TX police chief and finally pregnant. But Emily has some painful secrets in her past and moving to TX stirs them up.
This book was a wild suspenseful ride there was the pregnant woman who drank, the gun toting ex beauty queen, the cheating husband, the lying dowager who gathered intel on her friends and blackmailed them with secrets, secret little girls on groups, mac-mansions,etc yup welcome to Texas. Then there is the waif with the body scars and no furniture, the serial killer son or it is the husband, a murder, blackmail notes to Emily, the threat of her long ago rape and still being haunted by that and never knowing who is stalking her or who killed her rapist.
The author tied the sub plots together nicely and kept the action going. This kept me up for a couple of days. I really liked Emily she was gusty and tenacious but vulnerable and caring at the same time and you wanted her and her husband to really work it out and have a good ending.
This book was a wild suspenseful ride there was the pregnant woman who drank, the gun toting ex beauty queen, the cheating husband, the lying dowager who gathered intel on her friends and blackmailed them with secrets, secret little girls on groups, mac-mansions,etc yup welcome to Texas. Then there is the waif with the body scars and no furniture, the serial killer son or it is the husband, a murder, blackmail notes to Emily, the threat of her long ago rape and still being haunted by that and never knowing who is stalking her or who killed her rapist.
The author tied the sub plots together nicely and kept the action going. This kept me up for a couple of days. I really liked Emily she was gusty and tenacious but vulnerable and caring at the same time and you wanted her and her husband to really work it out and have a good ending.
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