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nancy_ahyee's review against another edition
3.0
Publisher’s description: If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do it?
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
************
Told from the alternating perspectives of Kat (starting 25 years ago and moving toward present day) and Eva, Christina McDonald’s “Behind Every Lie” does a great job of grabbing the reader and keeping things moving with the shifts between the two and the hints that get dropped along the way. I kept trying to figure out who the bad guys were even though I was pretty sure I knew who the bad guys weren’t. That’s what kept me reading.
What knocked the book down to 3 stars for me was that all of the things that happen to Eva seem like too much by the end of the book. I don’t want to give anything away because there are clearly other reviewers who felt otherwise, so I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else. That said, for me, when the situations pile on and on and on, I get to a point where I’m thinking, “Enough already,” and I just want to finish so I’m not really enjoying the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available April 1, 2020.
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
************
Told from the alternating perspectives of Kat (starting 25 years ago and moving toward present day) and Eva, Christina McDonald’s “Behind Every Lie” does a great job of grabbing the reader and keeping things moving with the shifts between the two and the hints that get dropped along the way. I kept trying to figure out who the bad guys were even though I was pretty sure I knew who the bad guys weren’t. That’s what kept me reading.
What knocked the book down to 3 stars for me was that all of the things that happen to Eva seem like too much by the end of the book. I don’t want to give anything away because there are clearly other reviewers who felt otherwise, so I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else. That said, for me, when the situations pile on and on and on, I get to a point where I’m thinking, “Enough already,” and I just want to finish so I’m not really enjoying the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available April 1, 2020.
klanca's review against another edition
4.0
A strong 4.5. I figured some stuff out otherwise it would be a 5. Fun, fast read.
tracyreadsandrambles's review against another edition
2.0
Kept my attention in most chapters but then it would lose me for some. But the story was intriguing.
hmstumfoll's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy
exhaustedmumma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
samlo_books's review against another edition
5.0
McDonald does it again. Her debut The Night Olivia Fell was spectacular. I read it in a day and ugly cried at the end. Behind Every Lie did not disappoint. I managed to control my tears at the end unlit definitely teared up and a get the need to cry in my throat. Just when you think you have this story all figured out McDonald throws in a couple twists at the end to make you realize you weren’t completely right. I devoured this story mostly in one day after briefly staring it a couple of days ago. McDonald is quickly becoming one of those authors I will compulsively buy whatever she publishes because I know I’m in for a great heartbreaking suspenseful story.
Summary: From the beginning we know that Eva Hansen's mother, Kat, has been murdered. What is less clear is who killed her and whether or not Eva was involved. This story is told in alternating perspectives from Eva's present day to Kat's past leading up to the night she was murdered. The story takes Eva from Seattle to London as she tries to unbury Kat's past to try to figure out who would have wanted to murder her mother. Along the way Eva struggles to reconstruct her memories from the night her mother was killed. However, it quickly becomes clear that not everyone wants Eva to uncover the whole truth. Eva will discover that her whole life has been built on lies, some worse than others.
Summary: From the beginning we know that Eva Hansen's mother, Kat, has been murdered. What is less clear is who killed her and whether or not Eva was involved. This story is told in alternating perspectives from Eva's present day to Kat's past leading up to the night she was murdered. The story takes Eva from Seattle to London as she tries to unbury Kat's past to try to figure out who would have wanted to murder her mother. Along the way Eva struggles to reconstruct her memories from the night her mother was killed. However, it quickly becomes clear that not everyone wants Eva to uncover the whole truth. Eva will discover that her whole life has been built on lies, some worse than others.
rmarcin's review against another edition
4.0
Eva can't remember what happened the night her mother died - her memories are all jumbled. Did she kill her mother? Why can't she remember.
This book is told in several voices -- Eva and Kat. Kat's story is mainly told 25 years earlier, but then comes to present day. Eva has had a trauma in her recent past, and due to her shame, she is untrusting and fearful.
As Eva delves into the mystery of her mother's death, many lies come to the surface, and Eva questions who she is and what is real and what isn't. She wonders if she is in danger.
I enjoyed this book, but I thought it was obvious in what was going to happen, and who the people were that were a danger. There were a few surprises, but for the most part, I was correct in my assumptions.
A well done thriller, but a bit formulaic, as it was very obvious as to what the outcome would be.
#BehindEveryLie #ChristinaMcDonald
This book is told in several voices -- Eva and Kat. Kat's story is mainly told 25 years earlier, but then comes to present day. Eva has had a trauma in her recent past, and due to her shame, she is untrusting and fearful.
As Eva delves into the mystery of her mother's death, many lies come to the surface, and Eva questions who she is and what is real and what isn't. She wonders if she is in danger.
I enjoyed this book, but I thought it was obvious in what was going to happen, and who the people were that were a danger. There were a few surprises, but for the most part, I was correct in my assumptions.
A well done thriller, but a bit formulaic, as it was very obvious as to what the outcome would be.
#BehindEveryLie #ChristinaMcDonald
beastreader's review against another edition
2.0
I am saddened by my response to this book. I loved The Night Olivia Fell. I still rave about that book when someone is looking for a recommendation. What I really liked about that book was the strong emotional mother/daughter connection. That was not really so much the case with this book. This book is more of a mystery thriller than an emotional thriller like The Night Olivia Fell.
This book is told from two alternating points of views...Eva and Kat. In the beginning the back and forth was not that smooth for me. I was just starting to get into the groove of the present and than the past would come into play. A part of this was partly because I was not a fan of Kat. I thought she was stuck up. However as I got to know Kat's story and everything that she had experienced in the past, my feelings towards her did change.
I did struggle a bit with this book. The first half of this story did go more slowly for me. The latter half was quicker in the pacing. While, I might not have enjoyed this book as much as the author's first book, I do still look forward to reading the next book from this author.
This book is told from two alternating points of views...Eva and Kat. In the beginning the back and forth was not that smooth for me. I was just starting to get into the groove of the present and than the past would come into play. A part of this was partly because I was not a fan of Kat. I thought she was stuck up. However as I got to know Kat's story and everything that she had experienced in the past, my feelings towards her did change.
I did struggle a bit with this book. The first half of this story did go more slowly for me. The latter half was quicker in the pacing. While, I might not have enjoyed this book as much as the author's first book, I do still look forward to reading the next book from this author.
hey_yall's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
I LOVED the Olivia book by this author so I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, it just didn’t meet my expectations. The book was good and had lots of twists.