Reviews with content warning for Violence - This is Why We Lied

I'm writing this immediately after finishing. So maybe it's going to be a bit biased because I still feel completely devastated by that ending

This is Why We Lied is a Good Book. It's a Solid Book. It's truly a 4 star book ...for me, personally. It seems like a lot of people really love this book, and I think a part of that is also part of why it didn't fully click for me, which is the fact that this is book 12 in a series. Book 12?!?!?!?

The beginning of this book is really... I'm not sure if "slow" is the right term so much as, it goes over a lot of details that I struggle to care about. The thing is like... I'm sure this book, seeing the main leads go on their honeymoon, is very very satisfying for people who have read the whole series and watched them develop. It just... focuses a lot, too much for my tastes, on "isn't it so nice that these characters you may not know anything about are in love". It's very very very overly sappy and fanservicey before we get into the meat of things. That's pretty minor, though, but it drags at the start... Another thing is that this books writing style really didn't stand out to me one bit, which disappointed me and probably made it a bit hard to feel motivated to read it, but that's solidly personal preference.

It's good, though. I'm a sucker for closed area murder mysteries, I'm a sucker for family drama, all the good things in the synopsis that made me pick up the book were very very much there. I liked the characters a lot overall, in spite of the fact I didn't have a preconceived attachment to them. Although I do kind of agree that the culprit is easy to guess early on, it leads you down a lot of different pathways. Not in a "purposefully twisty to get a shock reaction" way, but genuinely unraveling a complex mystery, one completely mundane and grounded but horrifying and interesting.

That's the thing, though... This book is not for the faint of heart. God. Not even a little. It's INSANELY dark, consistently, throughout the entire book. I mean... the whole book centers around the life of a woman who went through almost every type of abuse imaginable, who truly had no one she could trust to not hurt her, no one she could rely on. (That's another thing I like, as well, getting the victim's POV and fully fleshing her out...) And just when you think you've heard the worst of it, it gets even worse. It's not shock value. Most of it is talked about in past tense, and when it is depicted, it only serves to showcase the true severity of the situation, the deep pain that it causes the victim. It felt very true to the reality of extreme familial abuse. It's just really that horrifying. The final reveal made me nauseous, and then start crying, and there's almost nothing that makes me uncomfortable in written text but it was just so harrowing, so real that I couldn't help but feel ruined by it.

So, like... Do I recommend this book? ...I recommend a good read-through of the content warnings first. And then, yeah.

Content Warnings

shesflippinpages's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

lisettemarie's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense

4.25

Content Warnings

clak5686's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

Another great entry in this compelling series. Will Trent, Dr. Sara Linton, Faith Mitchell and their boss, Amanda, are at their best. We get a "locked room" type murder. We see the sad lives that some live. Some of it is hard to read for me because it is so far out of my experience. Perhaps that makes it more real. This plot is tightly woven. I did not guess who the murderer was before it was revealed. I would highly recommend this book. I think it is best enjoyed if you have read the series.

Content Warnings

keywork1331's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

With the crossover into Will’s past, I really hoped to see some familiar faces resurface. I was a little disappointed when this didn’t happen. Also, I knew very quickly who was responsible for the murder of Mercy McAlpine. However, the full reveal for the motive and other events that transpired in the story were quite a genuinely disturbing surprise. Overall, a solid work, but perhaps not destined to become a favorite.

Content Warnings

kterbush's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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ealehman's review

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challenging 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Another beautiful but harrowing tale by Karin Slaughter. The depth of pain and secrets unraveled in this new Will Trent installment are a sucker punch as they shed light on the vilest of humanity.

Content Warnings

eulenesther's review against another edition

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dark tense 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? Yes

2.75

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