Reviews

Liar by K.L. Slater

judithdcollins's review

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5.0

4.5 Stars. K. L. Slater returns following (2017) Blink and her sensational debut (2016) Safe with Me with her latest hit, LIAR a thriller with a sinister killer twist you do not see coming!

Who is the unreliable narrator?

As always, Slater keeps you in suspense until the explosive ending, which will blow you away.

Judi is a wife, mother, and doting grandmother.

Her son, David died when he was a teen (readers are kept in the dark about what actually happened to him until later in the book). She is overprotective of her family. Often to the extremes. Obsessive and controlling of her other son Ben and his sons.

Since her devoted son Ben’s wife, Louise died, she makes sure he is taken care of along with his two sons. She cleans his home, cleaned, meals are stocked and even does his laundry. She has a key. Ben adores her. Everyone looks up to Judi and she makes sure she is the "queen" of the castle.

Currently, she is going through menopause, so her emotions are all over the board. The annoying hot flashes, mood swings, and all the other annoying side effects. You know, if you have been there: Unbalanced and crazy. Plus possibly she is still grieving thinking of the son she lost.

Ben meets a mysterious new woman. Amber. However, Amber planned this chance meeting. She has an ulterior motive. As a reader, we are not quite sure. Amber has secrets. She is manipulative and quickly wraps Ben around her finger.

Amber does not like Judi. Judi does not like Amber.

This news of Ben's new girlfriend does not set too well with Judi. Immediately, the claws come out along with jealousy, revenge, and insecurities.

Each of the women starts plotting against the other. Ben takes a back seat.

Judi cannot have another woman taking over with her grandsons nor her son. On one hand as a reader, you feel for Judi and you despise Amber. However, you never fully know which one to trust until later in the book.

Judi feels like she is losing control. Some other woman is taking over her role. Amber is gaining her son’s affection and even Judi’s husband likes her and tells her to lighten up.

However, things get more serious and they plan to marry. Judi does not like Amber and has to stop this relationship before it goes any further. Ben is shutting her out. Amber is winning. Now, Judi is not the center of attention. Desperation.

Which woman will outsmart the other? Which one is more evil and devious? Murder? What secrets do they both hide? How far will each of them go to protect their family?

What happens next will blow you away!

Slater definitely knows how to spin a tale, crank up the intensity and suspense, create some evil ass characters, get your heart beating, and give an added twisty kick. She just keeps getting better.

Each and every novel provides unique surprises and twists. Your emotions will definitely switch while reading like a tennis match. All I kept thinking about: the lyrics and song, “Judy in Disguise.”

Now, I am protective of my sons and yes, we mothers of sons do not like daughter-in-laws taking over; however, Judi is over the top. Man, she has two sides.

When you finish you will have to decide which woman is more evil and sinister.

I had the pleasure of reading LIAR a while back before it was published; however, typically wait until closer to pub date to write and post my review. During the time (May-Aug) happened to be dealing with my elderly dad's illness out of state, his death, and then as executor, settling his estate.

After reading her latest, [b:The Mistake|35627101|The Mistake|K.L. Slater|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499595353s/35627101.jpg|57076217] (highly recommend), wanted to link to my review for Liar, and noticed I had not reviewed or posted. I quickly purchased the audiobook narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis to refresh myself. Highly recommend the book and the audio version. Lucy is always entertaining and a perfect match for K.L. Slater’s books!

A complex, haunting, chilling, and addictive mind-blowing psychological suspense thriller! Definitely packs a wicked punch and then some. Clever and unpredictable.

A special thank you to Bookouture for an advanced reading copy. Bookouture has created a winning lineup of talent in the psychological thriller genre!

JDCMustReadBooks

larsvassy's review

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5.0

Still one of my favorite books ever! This was the first psychological thriller I ever read and I was hooked! I thought I was time for a reread and I'm glad because I can get all the little hints that I missed the first time I read it!

iddylu's review

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3.0

Some of the plot points seemed a little disjointed
Spoiler(for example, Fiona's entire storyline could have been cut entirely and very little would have changed; she served to give even more evidence of just how pathologically desperate Judi was to feel needed, but that was pretty well proved by her relationship with Ben and her grandsons, so it wasn't strictly necessary imo)
, but overall I thought this was a clever thriller that kept me guessing almost up to the end.

joweston's review

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4.0

3.5-4 stars.

eiliux's review

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4.0

Ufff. Otro page turner. Dos mujeres compitiendo una contra la otra. Desde el principio sabes que las dos están locas, sólo es cuestión de averiguar quién lo está un poquito más. Es el segundo libro que leo este año de KL slater y los dos me han parecido suficientemente buenos.

tabbeycat123's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

emilyrj's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

sofialibrary_sofia's review against another edition

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4.0

Judi, é uma mãe e avó super dedicada, sobretudo depois do seu filho Ben ficar viúvo, não há nada mais importante para ela que o filho e os netos.
Ben entretanto apaixona-se por Amber que rapidamente começa a fazer parte do dia a dia desta família.
Mas, claro que como seria de esperar, Judi e Amber não simpatizam uma com outra e entram numa profunda obsessão e batalha familiar, que tornam esta leitura super fluída, rápida e dinâmica.

Um thriller psicológico sobre a relação entre sogra e nora que vos vai deixar completamente

nannyf's review

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4.0

I have enjoyed the author's previous books and couldn't wait to see if this one lived up to her writing in the others. I can honestly say I was not disappointed. Once again she takes the reader on a journey where nothing is as it seems. She takes us into the lives of her characters until we become invested in them. She wants us to form our own ideas as to what is going on and who is actually telling the truth, then at the last moment she turns everything on its head and shocks us.

The story is a good one, a new woman comes into the lives of a man and his sons. She worms her way into the family and starts to change things, much to the disgust of his mother who has literally looked after them all for the past few years. I honestly thought I had everything figured out but yet again I was proven very wrong.

Once I knew what had actually gone on I realised that all of the clues were there, I just didn't know it while I was reading the story.

Another very clever story from the author, and one which surely cements her place in the list of top pysychological thriller authors. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

adenise47's review

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5.0

This was a very good book! If I didn’t have to adult, I could have finished this book in a day. I was shocked at the twist at the end!! It is a must read! I would definitely recommend this book.