Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Good Lie

I went into this expecting.. something and then just abhorred the MC.

CW: rape, violence, torture, emotional violence

The perspective changes were weird and annoying (who switches between one first person pov and two to five third person povs? why not stick with the third person in any case? i don’t get it). There’s some mildly concerning fascination with boobs - women about their own, sons about their mom’s boobs, predator boobs. There’s a boob for everyone.

The initial twist in the story was good, but I couldn’t get into how it played out with Robert.

All in all, I think I’ve read washing labels with more riveting writing.

Content Warnings

mellowbread's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This got me hooked for a week before I finally sat down and finished it in one go. CSI and Criminal Minds were two of my frequently watched shows, and I'm a Psychology student, so I really enjoyed the deep dive into the psychology of killers. I think the author is good at hooking you in, leaving clues to keep you guessing, and even the side characters are well-described. Definitely read the content warnings beforehand, because this book covers a range of darker topics that I was sometimes unprepared for.

I would've rated it higher if not for certain things that happened closer to the ending. Like I said, I'm a Psychology student, and some of the actions that Gwen (the main character) took struck me as really unethical and improper. I couldn't really relate to her because of this.

Like, just because your potential love interest is handsome, mysterious, and has a deep dark secret, she can just drop everything? And what about the fact that it gets revealed that he knew about who the killer was all along, and was manipulating her? There were so many red flags in this relationship that irritated me.

Even with the interesting plot, I still can't get over these things. Nonetheless, A Good Lie was still an enjoyable book because it gets you thinking about how well you really know a person and how far you would go for certain people.

Content Warnings

david_slack110507's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Bruh...

This must be one of my favourite books I've read since I began my journey into horror and thrillers. This book has surprisingly raw brutality that I wasn't expecting from it yet didn't deter me from continuing to read it, and I didn't expect it to cover such dark and explicit topics. I would definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings for this just in case because it does not shy away from some more mature and possibly sensitive topics to some readers.

I absolutely loved the more psychological aspects of the book as well as the discussions of the crime using said psychology, it made me a lot more interested and gave a more unique view to the traditional thriller book. I would have liked more discussion on Scott's feelings and mental health after his predicament, but I understand that it would have dragged on the story and caused a disruption in the fast pacing of this book.

"William S. Burroughs once said that no one owns life, but anyone who can lift a frying pan can create death. He was right. Killing is the easy part. The act of living-of finding happiness in life-that's the hard part"

Content Warnings

More...