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rags1709's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
ashley409's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a solid instalment to the Will Trent / Sara Linton series: I think fans of the novels will be pleased.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
another_bookgirly's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
darkereader44's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jhazen's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I just really love the Will Trent series and This is Why We Lied is no exception. It was filled with just enough suspense, romance, and adventure. The supporting characters in this novel will intrigue you and tug at your heartstrings. The ending is fairly predictable but that's ok because the book is so good.
karlyo83's review against another edition
3.0
My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am deep in this series, and I love it… but I had some issues!!!
Will and Sara have finally tied the knot, and are about to embark on their honeymoon. It is not a surprise that while they are there something gruesome happens and they stumble upon the recently murdered Mercy McAlpine.
Mercy is their host at the scenic lodge/cabins they are staying at for their honeymoon and Sara and Will are shocked to learn no one in particular seems bothered by Mercy’s brutal demise and everyone has a reason to want her dead.
Ok, so I will start with a bit of a disclaimer - this is Karin Slaughter so its brutal, there are TWs of all shapes and sizes and if you read her books then really its actually not too bad… but… if you don’t regularly read her books then be warned. I will also say this is the 12th book in the series and if you are the kind of person to go … Karly I don’t give a shit I am jumping in at 12 then go for it…but you might find some of the long lasting storyline hard to follow.
With that said… here we go. So I am a big fan of this series and its predecessor the Grant County Series as well I have read every book with these characters and I am not ashamed to say that I think I am so deep in now I have to see where its going…. However I was a bit let down by this one. It wasn’t baaad it just wasn’t up to Slaughters usual standard… IN MY OPINION… don’t shoot me if you disagree.
As per usual it is a long novel and KS does take a year and a half to get to the point BUT she always does this… its totally on brand and I guess by this point I am expecting it. I did find that there were quite a few too many descriptions of the scenery (this is one of my least fave things to read about in thrillers unless you are building ambiance… but scenery for the sake of it… lets get on with the story please) and I think there was some unnecessary recapping and meandering as I said above, its book 12 if you are jumping in at this point then thats on you as a reader, for us old fans we don’t need to be reminded of the bleeding obvious… but again it didn’t ruin it.
I will start by saying what I did really like though, I really like Faith, I think she is fast becoming my fave character of the series, shes funny and has grit and a lot of personality. I can imagine her in my minds eye and I want to meet her. I like how Slaughter writes her character and I like how she’s not perfect but shes loyal AF!
I am glad that Sara and Will finally got their shit together and got married the will they won’t they was killing me… and the Angie storyline has been done to death if you ask me. So that was a really good point for me.
I liked the flash back letters, that was one of my favourite parts of the book, they were by no means easy to read but thats what they were intended for and I liked that Mercy wrote to her son every year on the same day to give him an update… good or bad.
For me some of the things that annoyed me or irked me were the sickly over the top way Sara and Will carry on with each other. I get it they are super mad in love AND on their honeymoon but Sara calling Will my love in every other sentence was too much…. I realise this is part of their story and how they are with each other… but Will is so puppy dogged by Sara and Sara is so hyper aware that she love Will but has this power over him she shouldn’t use to her advantage… It just doesn’t feel natural. I still love them together but it felt a bit wooden in this story for me. Maybe its a me issue…
I didn’t realise when I picked this up (and it still wouldn’t have stopped me reading it) that it was a “locked room” mystery style book. I have found out two things about myself this year… I don’t like locked room mystery style books much and I really don’t like books that compare themselves to Agatha Christie, this book doesn’t do the second thing but I thought I would put it out there anyway. But the constant was it this person… was it that person… no this person has a secret they definitely killed her BUT WAIT its got to be that person… and it was a circular calamity of events to finally get to the big twist … I GET IT this is part of the charm… and red herrings about, I do get it… but KS took that too the next level with this one. It was just all a bit too many things, too many secrets and too much of everything… just chill please.
My other main gripe with this book was the sheer amount of mentions of the trails at the lodge… lets take the rope trail, no we will take widows whatever trail, or that trail etc etc… again it was a circular round and round of trails. I was sick and tired of hearing about the lodge. I get that it was supposed to be one of the main characters in and of itself but I wanted to hear more about the people and the murder and the baddies…. This is where Faith and I are besties… I ALSO hate nature like she does… so reading about mud, and stink and mosquitoes and horses… well I was over it.
I did like the book but I didn’t love it… it definitely wasn’t the strongest in the series by a long shot and while I would still recommend to fans of the series I was a bit let down. It was under 500 pages which is a wow factor for KS but it still felt like it was 800 and I still think it was 100 too long… thats just my opinion. I am sure those of you who love this series will love this one too and I am sure you will all do a bit raspberry in my direction and honestly I hope you do love it… maybe the locked room style was what did me in…
I am going to go into minor spoilers so don’t read further if the TWs I am going to mention will spoil the story for you…
I am also a bit disturbed by the amount of incest that KS puts in her books, this is a common thread and maybe its that part of the country and its actually wide spread or maybe its a shock factor thing… but I honestly am super grossed out by it. Again I realise this is the point of putting it in a thriller but it was jammed in there alongside every other shocking thing and I just don’t think it was necessary OR if you think it was then it needed to be alluded to along the way… so we can prepare… there wasn’t enough warning for this…
Again, the amount of r@pe in these books is horrendous and I realise its a very real very horrific issue that absolutely has a place in thrillers, but I felt that in this book they were thrown in for shock value as well. When we get to Gabbie’s storyline I was open mouthed at the BAM THIS HAPPENED and we wont mention it again… there was no real lead in… and then it was THIS HAPPENED, THIS IS HOW IT WAS DEALT WITH and then nothing… without completely spoiling the book I can’t say more… and maybe its just me but I feel like while these things are definitely part of thrillers it can be handled a little more tactfully in places… and if its not then there has to be more to the story than just shock. I do not think I have read a single KS book without r@pe and usually multiples… I am not saying we shouldn’t put it in thrillers it just seem really over the top in these novels.
Minor spoilers over…
Either way for all my ranting I am glad I read it… I liked it…didn’t love it and I look forward to the next one.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Karin Slaughter and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.
Will and Sara have finally tied the knot, and are about to embark on their honeymoon. It is not a surprise that while they are there something gruesome happens and they stumble upon the recently murdered Mercy McAlpine.
Mercy is their host at the scenic lodge/cabins they are staying at for their honeymoon and Sara and Will are shocked to learn no one in particular seems bothered by Mercy’s brutal demise and everyone has a reason to want her dead.
Ok, so I will start with a bit of a disclaimer - this is Karin Slaughter so its brutal, there are TWs of all shapes and sizes and if you read her books then really its actually not too bad… but… if you don’t regularly read her books then be warned. I will also say this is the 12th book in the series and if you are the kind of person to go … Karly I don’t give a shit I am jumping in at 12 then go for it…but you might find some of the long lasting storyline hard to follow.
With that said… here we go. So I am a big fan of this series and its predecessor the Grant County Series as well I have read every book with these characters and I am not ashamed to say that I think I am so deep in now I have to see where its going…. However I was a bit let down by this one. It wasn’t baaad it just wasn’t up to Slaughters usual standard… IN MY OPINION… don’t shoot me if you disagree.
As per usual it is a long novel and KS does take a year and a half to get to the point BUT she always does this… its totally on brand and I guess by this point I am expecting it. I did find that there were quite a few too many descriptions of the scenery (this is one of my least fave things to read about in thrillers unless you are building ambiance… but scenery for the sake of it… lets get on with the story please) and I think there was some unnecessary recapping and meandering as I said above, its book 12 if you are jumping in at this point then thats on you as a reader, for us old fans we don’t need to be reminded of the bleeding obvious… but again it didn’t ruin it.
I will start by saying what I did really like though, I really like Faith, I think she is fast becoming my fave character of the series, shes funny and has grit and a lot of personality. I can imagine her in my minds eye and I want to meet her. I like how Slaughter writes her character and I like how she’s not perfect but shes loyal AF!
I am glad that Sara and Will finally got their shit together and got married the will they won’t they was killing me… and the Angie storyline has been done to death if you ask me. So that was a really good point for me.
I liked the flash back letters, that was one of my favourite parts of the book, they were by no means easy to read but thats what they were intended for and I liked that Mercy wrote to her son every year on the same day to give him an update… good or bad.
For me some of the things that annoyed me or irked me were the sickly over the top way Sara and Will carry on with each other. I get it they are super mad in love AND on their honeymoon but Sara calling Will my love in every other sentence was too much…. I realise this is part of their story and how they are with each other… but Will is so puppy dogged by Sara and Sara is so hyper aware that she love Will but has this power over him she shouldn’t use to her advantage… It just doesn’t feel natural. I still love them together but it felt a bit wooden in this story for me. Maybe its a me issue…
I didn’t realise when I picked this up (and it still wouldn’t have stopped me reading it) that it was a “locked room” mystery style book. I have found out two things about myself this year… I don’t like locked room mystery style books much and I really don’t like books that compare themselves to Agatha Christie, this book doesn’t do the second thing but I thought I would put it out there anyway. But the constant was it this person… was it that person… no this person has a secret they definitely killed her BUT WAIT its got to be that person… and it was a circular calamity of events to finally get to the big twist … I GET IT this is part of the charm… and red herrings about, I do get it… but KS took that too the next level with this one. It was just all a bit too many things, too many secrets and too much of everything… just chill please.
My other main gripe with this book was the sheer amount of mentions of the trails at the lodge… lets take the rope trail, no we will take widows whatever trail, or that trail etc etc… again it was a circular round and round of trails. I was sick and tired of hearing about the lodge. I get that it was supposed to be one of the main characters in and of itself but I wanted to hear more about the people and the murder and the baddies…. This is where Faith and I are besties… I ALSO hate nature like she does… so reading about mud, and stink and mosquitoes and horses… well I was over it.
I did like the book but I didn’t love it… it definitely wasn’t the strongest in the series by a long shot and while I would still recommend to fans of the series I was a bit let down. It was under 500 pages which is a wow factor for KS but it still felt like it was 800 and I still think it was 100 too long… thats just my opinion. I am sure those of you who love this series will love this one too and I am sure you will all do a bit raspberry in my direction and honestly I hope you do love it… maybe the locked room style was what did me in…
I am going to go into minor spoilers so don’t read further if the TWs I am going to mention will spoil the story for you…
I am also a bit disturbed by the amount of incest that KS puts in her books, this is a common thread and maybe its that part of the country and its actually wide spread or maybe its a shock factor thing… but I honestly am super grossed out by it. Again I realise this is the point of putting it in a thriller but it was jammed in there alongside every other shocking thing and I just don’t think it was necessary OR if you think it was then it needed to be alluded to along the way… so we can prepare… there wasn’t enough warning for this…
Again, the amount of r@pe in these books is horrendous and I realise its a very real very horrific issue that absolutely has a place in thrillers, but I felt that in this book they were thrown in for shock value as well. When we get to Gabbie’s storyline I was open mouthed at the BAM THIS HAPPENED and we wont mention it again… there was no real lead in… and then it was THIS HAPPENED, THIS IS HOW IT WAS DEALT WITH and then nothing… without completely spoiling the book I can’t say more… and maybe its just me but I feel like while these things are definitely part of thrillers it can be handled a little more tactfully in places… and if its not then there has to be more to the story than just shock. I do not think I have read a single KS book without r@pe and usually multiples… I am not saying we shouldn’t put it in thrillers it just seem really over the top in these novels.
Minor spoilers over…
Either way for all my ranting I am glad I read it… I liked it…didn’t love it and I look forward to the next one.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Karin Slaughter and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.
trusselltales's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ginandbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thanks so much to Netgalley UK and Harper Collins books for the chance to read an early copy of of this one. I'm a big Karin Slaughter fan, so this was a huge privilege and very exciting for me!
I'm going to do my best to avoid all spoilers...
Will and Sara are finally on their honeymoon! Will had surprised Sara with a remote mountain lodge, part of a complex where he longed to go as a child. A two hour hike to get there wasn't quite what Sara had in mind...
On meeting the other couples at this exclusive retreat, it would seem that everyone has a secret of some sort to hide, particularly the family running the retreat. Soon, Will and Sara find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation - not what they'd planned for on their honeymoon.
We welcome back stalwart characters Faith and Amanda as well as meeting some quirky new folks along the way. The complex itself is a character in its own right and provides a stunning backdrop to the story.
There were many unexpected twists and turns throughout the book and, after a while, it felt as though it was never going to stop! Also, some of the characters were deeply unlikeable and in some cases it made it difficult to care about that happened to them. I also wanted the main perpetrators to get more of what should have been coming to them than they did, hence my rating of 3 stars.
I've read all the books in the series, and just because I was a little disappointed in this one does not mean I won't be looking forward to the next.
I'm going to do my best to avoid all spoilers...
Will and Sara are finally on their honeymoon! Will had surprised Sara with a remote mountain lodge, part of a complex where he longed to go as a child. A two hour hike to get there wasn't quite what Sara had in mind...
On meeting the other couples at this exclusive retreat, it would seem that everyone has a secret of some sort to hide, particularly the family running the retreat. Soon, Will and Sara find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation - not what they'd planned for on their honeymoon.
We welcome back stalwart characters Faith and Amanda as well as meeting some quirky new folks along the way. The complex itself is a character in its own right and provides a stunning backdrop to the story.
There were many unexpected twists and turns throughout the book and, after a while, it felt as though it was never going to stop! Also, some of the characters were deeply unlikeable and in some cases it made it difficult to care about that happened to them. I also wanted the main perpetrators to get more of what should have been coming to them than they did, hence my rating of 3 stars.
I've read all the books in the series, and just because I was a little disappointed in this one does not mean I won't be looking forward to the next.
katie_liz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The ‘And Then There Were None’ style premise drew me immediately to this book. However Karin Slaughter elevates the locked room trope, plunging readers into an isolated mountain retreat, the scene of a brutal murder, with a family and guests so twisted my head was spinning.
Immersed the action within the first few chapters, my heart was pounding from the start, and as a result I’m writing this review on the wrong side of midnight! This was such a fast paced read, with exceptional character development and a truly gripping plot.
Usually I can’t wait to get to the pay off at the end of a mystery, but I had such a great time in the very tangled threads of this story, I didn’t want it to end. I loved that I could feel clever about picking up clues and anticipating certain plot points, whilst still being shocked by the ending.
Thank you Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.