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A review by popgoesbitty
The Lies You Told by Harriet Tyce
4.0
TWs: grooming, rape, murder involving children
I have to give this novel 3.5/5 stars (rounded up to a 4) because I love Harriet Tyce's writing so much, but this was a relatively weak follow up to her debut Blood Orange. Blood Orange is in my top 5 thrillers of all time and the only one I'll speak in the same sentence as Gone Girl. Therefore I was really looking forward to reading this one.
A lot of the novel had a lot of potential but fell short when it started to matter. An example of this is the plot breaks (the italicized chapters sprinkled throughout the first 80% of the book). These were really intriguing and I had a ton of interesting theories as to who was speaking and what was happening. It turned out to be the least interesting part of the entire book.
Then there was the resolution(s). Everything tied up in WAY too nice of a bow for a dark Harriet Tyce thriller. I found myself shaking my Kindle asking, "why...WHY?" as the novel's events began to conclude. There was so much opportunity for this book to become majorly f*cked up, in a good way, and none of it delivered.
And yet, here I am giving it 4 stars! All of the above considered, it was still very much a Harriet Tyce read. The pages turned themselves. The characters were frustrating, flawed, and juicy. Personally, I read thrillers more for the journey than the ending, and this one was just fun. Definitely pick this one up (and Blood Orange!) if you want a fun, binge-y book. Just don't expect the masterpiece plot complexity of a Gillian Flynn novel.
I have to give this novel 3.5/5 stars (rounded up to a 4) because I love Harriet Tyce's writing so much, but this was a relatively weak follow up to her debut Blood Orange. Blood Orange is in my top 5 thrillers of all time and the only one I'll speak in the same sentence as Gone Girl. Therefore I was really looking forward to reading this one.
A lot of the novel had a lot of potential but fell short when it started to matter. An example of this is the plot breaks (the italicized chapters sprinkled throughout the first 80% of the book). These were really intriguing and I had a ton of interesting theories as to who was speaking and what was happening.
Spoiler
The fact it ended up simply being the narrator, falling into the course of the main plot arch, was weak sauce. Worse than weak sauce. It was like...nothing sauce.Then there was the resolution(s). Everything tied up in WAY too nice of a bow for a dark Harriet Tyce thriller. I found myself shaking my Kindle asking, "why...WHY?" as the novel's events began to conclude. There was so much opportunity for this book to become majorly f*cked up, in a good way, and none of it delivered.
And yet, here I am giving it 4 stars! All of the above considered, it was still very much a Harriet Tyce read. The pages turned themselves. The characters were frustrating, flawed, and juicy. Personally, I read thrillers more for the journey than the ending, and this one was just fun. Definitely pick this one up (and Blood Orange!) if you want a fun, binge-y book. Just don't expect the masterpiece plot complexity of a Gillian Flynn novel.