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cheekylaydee's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting twist on the issues of PTSD when a writer blends fiction with fact, unwittingly getting confused between the two. Very interesting.
missbaughn's review against another edition
4.0
Once you realize that it’s her and then the book she is writing it’s great! A well written mystery in my opinion. I got really in to it
staceeyt's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
"Sometimes the truth is darker than fiction.
Liza Jones has thirty days to write the thriller that could put her back on the bestseller list. In the meantime, she’s struggling to start a family with her husband, who is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. With stresses weighing down in both her professional and her personal life, Liza escapes into writing her latest heroine.
Beth is a new mother who suspects her husband is cheating on her while she’s home alone providing for their newborn. Angry and betrayed, Beth sets out to catch him in the act and make him pay for shattering the illusion of their perfect life. But before she realizes it, she’s tossing the body of her husband’s mistress into the river.
Then the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. Nick’s body is dragged from the Hudson and Liza’s husband is arrested for his murder. Before her deadline is up, Liza will have to face up to the truths about the people around her, including herself. If she doesn’t, the end of her heroine’s story could be the end of her own. "
After seeing some of the reviews for Lies She Told, I think I've been reading a completely different book to everyone else. I'm clearly in the minority here, but I don't know how people didn't work out the plot almost immediately. This book is so predictable and I knew what was going to happen almost straight away - not ideal for a thriller.
Don't get me wrong, this book is incredibly fast-paced and makes for a very quick read, but it just didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. I did enjoy the format and I liked the idea of following Liza's novel alongside our story.
One of my main issues (which I guess could be classed as a spoiler) is that sexuality and mental health are still being used as plot twists. It is something that really winds me up. I just don't see the need for it and for me, is a really two-dimensional plot device.
I wanted to love this, especially after the glowing reviews, but it just left a sour taste in my mouth.
2/5stars.
"Sometimes the truth is darker than fiction.
Liza Jones has thirty days to write the thriller that could put her back on the bestseller list. In the meantime, she’s struggling to start a family with her husband, who is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. With stresses weighing down in both her professional and her personal life, Liza escapes into writing her latest heroine.
Beth is a new mother who suspects her husband is cheating on her while she’s home alone providing for their newborn. Angry and betrayed, Beth sets out to catch him in the act and make him pay for shattering the illusion of their perfect life. But before she realizes it, she’s tossing the body of her husband’s mistress into the river.
Then the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. Nick’s body is dragged from the Hudson and Liza’s husband is arrested for his murder. Before her deadline is up, Liza will have to face up to the truths about the people around her, including herself. If she doesn’t, the end of her heroine’s story could be the end of her own. "
After seeing some of the reviews for Lies She Told, I think I've been reading a completely different book to everyone else. I'm clearly in the minority here, but I don't know how people didn't work out the plot almost immediately. This book is so predictable and I knew what was going to happen almost straight away - not ideal for a thriller.
Don't get me wrong, this book is incredibly fast-paced and makes for a very quick read, but it just didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. I did enjoy the format and I liked the idea of following Liza's novel alongside our story.
One of my main issues (which I guess could be classed as a spoiler) is that sexuality and mental health are still being used as plot twists. It is something that really winds me up. I just don't see the need for it and for me, is a really two-dimensional plot device.
I wanted to love this, especially after the glowing reviews, but it just left a sour taste in my mouth.
2/5stars.
cmbarowsky's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Lies She Told is a suspenseful, fast-paced novel. Liza is an author, struggling to keep her career afloat while simultaneously facing the struggles of infertility. The disappearance of her husband's law partner adds a fierce amount of tension and stress to her already-full plate. Liza tries to escape reality by burying herself into her work, but where do the lines of fact and fantasy blur?
Holahan's writing was fluid and superb. The sensory imagery enveloped me in Brooklyn, New York. I wandered through the streets, peeked through the Italian restaurant window, went to the French speakeasy. I sat in a gown with my feet in stirrups in the clinic. The details were exquisite - I envisioned myself in those places. Holahan's talent also stretched into the details of her characters. Their emotions and facial expressions were prominent throughout the novel.
Themes I noticed as I read Lies She Told include betrayal and trauma. Liza experienced a traumatic childhood, molding her into a fragile, depressed adult. She thinks her feelings of depression are normal, that her mood swings are associated with hormone treatment, but could it be something deeper? She soon realizes she has blocks of memory loss and it could be deeply rooted with trauma. The betrayal of Beth's husband (Liza's fictional character) also seeps into Liza's life. Is she being paranoid or is her husband actually being unfaithful? Every page, every paragraph had me grappling for information - something to distinguish between Liza's novel and her life.
The majority of this book was so enjoyable. It's been a long time since I have devoured a book the way I did with Lies She Told. However, everything is bound to have flaws. At first, I really enjoyed the uniqueness of alternating perspectives, between Liza and her fictional character. Unfortunately, there were instances I became frustrated. I didn't want to read about Beth and her fictional drama. I wanted to dive back into Liza's story and discover the truth about Nick.
Lies She Told had me on the edge of my seat, flipping through pages hungrily. I loved this book!
Lies She Told is a suspenseful, fast-paced novel. Liza is an author, struggling to keep her career afloat while simultaneously facing the struggles of infertility. The disappearance of her husband's law partner adds a fierce amount of tension and stress to her already-full plate. Liza tries to escape reality by burying herself into her work, but where do the lines of fact and fantasy blur?
Holahan's writing was fluid and superb. The sensory imagery enveloped me in Brooklyn, New York. I wandered through the streets, peeked through the Italian restaurant window, went to the French speakeasy. I sat in a gown with my feet in stirrups in the clinic. The details were exquisite - I envisioned myself in those places. Holahan's talent also stretched into the details of her characters. Their emotions and facial expressions were prominent throughout the novel.
Themes I noticed as I read Lies She Told include betrayal and trauma. Liza experienced a traumatic childhood, molding her into a fragile, depressed adult. She thinks her feelings of depression are normal, that her mood swings are associated with hormone treatment, but could it be something deeper? She soon realizes she has blocks of memory loss and it could be deeply rooted with trauma. The betrayal of Beth's husband (Liza's fictional character) also seeps into Liza's life. Is she being paranoid or is her husband actually being unfaithful? Every page, every paragraph had me grappling for information - something to distinguish between Liza's novel and her life.
The majority of this book was so enjoyable. It's been a long time since I have devoured a book the way I did with Lies She Told. However, everything is bound to have flaws. At first, I really enjoyed the uniqueness of alternating perspectives, between Liza and her fictional character. Unfortunately, there were instances I became frustrated. I didn't want to read about Beth and her fictional drama. I wanted to dive back into Liza's story and discover the truth about Nick.
Lies She Told had me on the edge of my seat, flipping through pages hungrily. I loved this book!
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan is a dark and twisty mind-bending thriller with more than one unreliable narrator.
On almost every page, this imaginative psychological thriller forces the reader to reconsider what is real. A book within a book when the lines of fact and fiction are blurred.
“The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.” — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Notebook H
Manhattan author Liza, (of romantic suspense) is under extreme pressure with her upcoming novel.
Trevor, a forty-two-year-old (editor) is telling a thirty-five-year-old woman in the middle of her target audience demographic, what her peers want in the sack. He thinks he knows trends.
Alternating between Liza’s POV in the real world, and Beth (the protagonist) in Liza’s novel. Needless to say, both these ladies lives are complex.
"Blurring fact and fantasy is my trade. I am a con artist. A prevaricator. I make up stories." So why does he think this one is real?
David Jacobson, husband of twelve years. Nick Landau, David’s law partner is missing. Nick never liked Liza.
Liza and David have been unable to conceive. Both the anxiety of this plus her writing deadlines push her to get lost in her characters. Their marriage is strained.
. . . She does not invent her characters. She steals them from her surroundings. To be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day she robs herself blind.
"It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place." —Henry Louis Mencken, A Little Book in C Major
As the pressure of the deadlines mount, Liza becomes immersed in her heroine. Unfaithful? Murder?
Is she writing about her own life?
Beth has a new baby and her husband, Jake is a prosecutor. He is cheating, while she is home taking care of the baby. The sexy officer, Colleen. The psychiatrist, Tyler, and an old friend.
Will both stories lead to murder? The lines are blurred.
Who is telling the truth? Who is not? Two stories intertwined.
The author cleverly draws readers into a world where truth blends with delusion, plus more. . .
Dark, twisty, and sinister grip-lit. The author keeps the reader on its toes while switching from fact and fiction while questioning every move.
Chilling, unique, intriguing, and disturbing, LIES SHE TOLD, will keep readers turning the pages. With all the books about LIES these days, this one definitely takes a distinctive spin.
A special thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an early reading digital copy.
I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Amy McFadden and Lisa Larsen, for a captivating performance.
JDCMustReadBooks
On almost every page, this imaginative psychological thriller forces the reader to reconsider what is real. A book within a book when the lines of fact and fiction are blurred.
“The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.” — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Notebook H
Manhattan author Liza, (of romantic suspense) is under extreme pressure with her upcoming novel.
Trevor, a forty-two-year-old (editor) is telling a thirty-five-year-old woman in the middle of her target audience demographic, what her peers want in the sack. He thinks he knows trends.
Alternating between Liza’s POV in the real world, and Beth (the protagonist) in Liza’s novel. Needless to say, both these ladies lives are complex.
"Blurring fact and fantasy is my trade. I am a con artist. A prevaricator. I make up stories." So why does he think this one is real?
David Jacobson, husband of twelve years. Nick Landau, David’s law partner is missing. Nick never liked Liza.
Liza and David have been unable to conceive. Both the anxiety of this plus her writing deadlines push her to get lost in her characters. Their marriage is strained.
. . . She does not invent her characters. She steals them from her surroundings. To be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day she robs herself blind.
"It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place." —Henry Louis Mencken, A Little Book in C Major
As the pressure of the deadlines mount, Liza becomes immersed in her heroine. Unfaithful? Murder?
Is she writing about her own life?
Beth has a new baby and her husband, Jake is a prosecutor. He is cheating, while she is home taking care of the baby. The sexy officer, Colleen. The psychiatrist, Tyler, and an old friend.
Will both stories lead to murder? The lines are blurred.
Who is telling the truth? Who is not? Two stories intertwined.
The author cleverly draws readers into a world where truth blends with delusion, plus more. . .
Dark, twisty, and sinister grip-lit. The author keeps the reader on its toes while switching from fact and fiction while questioning every move.
Chilling, unique, intriguing, and disturbing, LIES SHE TOLD, will keep readers turning the pages. With all the books about LIES these days, this one definitely takes a distinctive spin.
A special thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an early reading digital copy.
I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Amy McFadden and Lisa Larsen, for a captivating performance.
JDCMustReadBooks
courtneygrenada's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun read. I loved the concept— life blurring with fiction in a troubled author’s mind; murder-mystery novel inception, so to speak.
The parallel storylines moved at a fast pace, & the rate at which characters seemed to jump to major (life-altering) conclusions with very little supporting evidence was a little annoying, but all in all this was a great vacation thriller for me.
The parallel storylines moved at a fast pace, & the rate at which characters seemed to jump to major (life-altering) conclusions with very little supporting evidence was a little annoying, but all in all this was a great vacation thriller for me.
mmc6661's review against another edition
4.0
Lies She Told is a page turning suspense at it's best!
Liza Jones is a writer and a wife who is trying to conceive her first child. She is under a lot of pressure with the deadline of her book approaching. Along with this stress her husband's best friend and business partner is missing and presumed dead. Liza knows all about mysteries. In fact she is writing a mystery that seems to coincide with her life in many ways.
As the story alternates between Liza and Beth, the main character in her latest novel, we careen back and forth between what is real and what is imagined and we have to ask ourselves who is Beth really? And what is Liza hiding? Does she even know?
A thriller full of murder, lies and buried secrets. I will be watching for Holahan's next read!
Liza Jones is a writer and a wife who is trying to conceive her first child. She is under a lot of pressure with the deadline of her book approaching. Along with this stress her husband's best friend and business partner is missing and presumed dead. Liza knows all about mysteries. In fact she is writing a mystery that seems to coincide with her life in many ways.
As the story alternates between Liza and Beth, the main character in her latest novel, we careen back and forth between what is real and what is imagined and we have to ask ourselves who is Beth really? And what is Liza hiding? Does she even know?
A thriller full of murder, lies and buried secrets. I will be watching for Holahan's next read!
littletaiko's review against another edition
1.0
The positives first, it was a library book so at least I didn't spend any money on this book. It did keep me reading even though I was rolling my eyes quite frequently at the characters actions. The setup of this book was intriguing: a struggling author is working on her next novel and and the lines between fiction and reality start to become blurred. This would have worked if any of the characters actually acted in a way that made some semblance of sense. Instead, they jump to conclusions at an astounding rate and make really bad decisions.