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claudia_fosca 's review for:
The Five Year Lie
by Sarina Bowen
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes
The Five Year Lie is Sarina Bowen’s first thriller, but it doesn’t seem like it. Or at least it makes me wish it wasn’t so I could go and read every single one. Like yesterday! But hopefully she will not stop at two. There’s at least another one coming next year and I cannot wait!
But first things first. I loved The Five Year Lie, and I think it’s almost perfect. The setup is genius: getting an alarming text from your dead ex boyfriend. And make it a secret ex boyfriend to make it even better. Everything that happens starts there. And the way the story unfolds is perfectly paced and beautifully crafted. It’s told in two timelines: the present and five years ago. I think that style can sometimes be annoying, but the story flows perfectly intertwining both timelines, so it worked for me.
I don’t know if people actually skip prologues, but don’t skip this one. It’s the perfect cliffhanger that will make the book impossible to put down until you reach the end. I just didn’t want to stop reading. The mystery slowly starts to evolve, getting progressively more complicated and enthralling until you find all the answers in a very satisfying ending. And the way the characters are written will make you emotionally invested in them. You cannot help but wanting them to stay safe. It’s nerve wracking.
I think the tech and cybersecurity aspects in this story make it even more fascinating, relevant, and thought provoking. It makes you think about the importance of privacy; how willing people are to give it up without a second thought, and how easily cutting-edge technology can be manipulated in a potentially dangerous way. It’s scary.
The Five Year Lie blends—in an outstanding way—a very succesful domestic thriller with a great love story. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and completely invested in the fate of these characters. I had a great time reading it, and it will definitely be one of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend it.