Reviews

The Lie by Kathryn Croft

basorexia's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

yetanothersusan's review against another edition

2.0

Five years after her husband supposedly kills a woman and himself, someone shows up to tell Mia he didn't do it. Great idea for a book except that none of the characters felt trustworthy or likeable. Mia has a boyfriend she keeps at arms' length because her faith in men was destroyed by her husband's actions? Fine, except not five years later. And if that really is the case, why have a boyfriend? And Will, the boyfriend, needed to get some self-esteem. The moping along behind Mia waiting for dropped pieces of affection grated on me. So, combine the dislike and distrust of the characters and that made the story annoying rather quickly. Sadly, this meant that the twists that might have excited me were drowned out by my easy acceptance of anything said or done by the characters. If the book had ended with them flying to the moon I wouldn't have been phased. Somewhere these characters lost all sense of plausibility and it ruined what could have been a really good read from an author I have really enjoyed.

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

deannareadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Grabs you right away

I'm a sucker for mysteries and I liked this one a lot. It was such a page turner. So easy to get into

annc's review against another edition

5.0

Great plot, great read and oh what an ending - didn’t see any of that coming!

goldenbeebookshop's review against another edition

4.0

Alternating chapters between the past and the present, with two different narrators was an effective way of building the story up to create tension and keep wondering just who is responsible for what.

Some of the characters actions and motivations were puzzling, but if you can’t suss out exactly why these people are behaving this way, then you have more effective red herrings in the end.

There were two twists in the end- one I guessed at early on in the story, and one that was a surprise. The surprise was a punch to the gut as it certainly meant wider reaching ramifications for other important people in the story.

zupa_czyta's review against another edition

4.0

Z Kathryn Croft mam relację typu love-hate: przygodę z autorką rozpoczęłam od niewydanej u nas powieści i tak mi się spodobała, że od razu rzuciłam się na "Tylko jedno kłamstwo", które było bzdurne i głupiutkie. Sięgając po "Nie ufaj nikomu" chciałam w końcu przekonać się, jak potoczy się nasza dalsza znajomość. I od razu mogę powiedzieć, że jest zdecydowanie lepiej niż w przypadku "Tylko jednego kłamstwa". Historia opowiadana jest z perspektywy dwóch kobiet: Mii, której mąż odebrał sobie życie po tym, jak bez śladu zniknęła jego studentka oraz Josie - tejże studentki. Mia jest terapeutką, która podczas jednej z sesji dowiaduje się od swojej pacjentki, że pięć lat temu Zach wcale nie popełnił samobójstwa (niespodzianka!). I teraz mamy to, co lubię najbardziej w thrillerach psychologicznych: kłamstwa, krętactwo, domysły, nie wiadomo komu ufać. Muszę zwrócić uwagę na pewien aspekt, który od razu rzucił mi się w oczy, gdy porównywałam tę powieść do "Tylko jednego kłamstwa": Croft lubi zrzucać niepoczytalność swoich bohaterek na zamroczenie alkoholowe, w "Nie ufaj nikomu" miało to jednak jakiś sens ;) Co do zakończenia - muszę przyznać, że akurat takiego rozwiązania sprawy się nie spodziewałam i autorka zręcznie mnie zmanipulowała. Polecam ten tytuł wszystkim szukającym lekkiego domestic-thrillera, który można połknąć w dwa wieczory. A ja na pewno chętne przeczytam kolejną powieść Kathryn Croft, żeby przekonać się, czy tendencja zwyżkowa się utrzyma, na razie jest 2:1 na korzyść autorki.

meggyroussel's review against another edition

4.0

What the hell did I just read?

This was the question my mind was repeating when I was blankly looking at the last page.

I am still unsure I’ve put my head around that ending twist. Or around the way each character made me feel.

Silent Lies was a title love! I mean, it’s poetic, mysterious, and contradictory, you can’t miss the appeal. So I was curious. Like a cat, I looked at my prey, I played with it, and in the end, I was the one who got eaten!!!

Okay, enough ramblings, more details!

Are you looking for some amazing characterization? Because this book is filled with some of the best (or worst!) protagonists I’ve ever met!

People are never what they seem.

Mia, our widow, mother, therapist. I can’t say I warmed to her despite the image she reflected. Something was always off. I would think her cold, and then she’d do or say something selfless or regarding her daughter and I’d see her as the poor woman trying to go on with her life. But then, her therapist and grounded side would make me wonder why she would help a stranger.

It’s difficult when death means you end up in the arms of someone else.

I couldn’t make up my mind about her. I still can’t! The grief of a woman who lost the man of her life was real and painful, I believe those were my favorite moments spent in her company. Imagining the loss, the doubt, the pain, and the aftermath of a disaster falling on you as a burden you’ll forever carry was enough to keep her on my good side.

Alison. Wow, what a character. There is no way I can fully explain what happened between us. We went through phases with each chapter. I was worried, I was full of doubts and questions about someone knocking on your door to destroy your life one more time, voluntarily or not! One page, she was the fragile woman I thought needed protection, the next she was the weirdest character you could find. Nothing made sense and I loved it!

There are other important characters in Silent Lies, even if they are dead. I did not like any of them. I did not hate any of them. I felt like a spectator in a dark Greek tragedy. This read is cathartic and so powerful in the way it makes you look at everything single detail of life differently, and it makes you feel the need to understand, to feel the same emotion to try and play the “What would I do?” game.

I, as a reader, was a photograph picking the best angle. But there is no best angle here. It takes a comprehensive and expert exploration of the human mind to come up with so many threads, so many stories, so many worlds and to make them collide to create one of my favorite endings ever! I need to thank the author for keeping me on my toes about EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this book!

Doesn’t true freedom mean having no desires? Not wanting anything other than what we need to live?

The writing was different from everything I’ve read so far. It felt very simple at first sight, but each sentence was carefully chosen to let you in on some absolutely dark minds. I need to applaud again the tension coming from the people themselves rather than the action or words.

You’ve probably guessed by now; this is a character-driven thriller. They talked to me, they gave me the creeps, they jumped out of the pages to meet me, and I’m glad I opened the door. Sort of. I’m still freaked out!

We bear the scars of our past, permanent tattoos carved onto our skin, whoever we are.

Slow-paced creepy stories lovers, get a copy right now! Silent Lies is a perfectly written, compelling web made of truths and lies, an addictive puzzle bound to stay with you!

fionayule's review against another edition

3.0

I do love a good thriller which this seemed to be.

And it kicks starts well in the middle, then the time line and narrator flits between the past and the present.
Zach the errant husband who cheated on his wife with a University Student, Josie, and is found dead in her flat after killing Josie.

Mia, narrator, bewildered wife who is left to pick up the pieces after her husband’s death, with her small child.
Josie, narrator, student and love interest.

Will – Mia’s new partner but I had no idea what he added to the book apart from to take her daughter to the park.

Alison – Josie’s former flatmate who appear to know more about Zach’s death than anyone else.

I really wanted to like this book but I realised about half way through that I didn’t like Josie and really didn’t care what had happened to her.

I am giving it 3 stars as I was surprised at the end, and it is a good twist, but as I said but otherwise this book didn't really stand out for me.

kelly8214's review against another edition

5.0

The usual page turner with a twist. Would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read that they can't put down.

alliekyyz's review against another edition

4.0

This was a pretty good suspenseful thriller. It had alternating perspectives of a wide array of unreliable narrators and definitely keeps you guessing. There is also a huge twist at the end of the book that I didn't see coming at all, I'm not sure how I feel about the twist at the end, part of me feels like it was done in an effort to wrap things up quickly, and it certainly left some unanswered questions. I feel like there was a lot of backstory provided on Josie's life and upbringing and we never really go to see what happened with all of that.

Otherwise, the story was an engaging read that I raced through fairly quickly.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Kathryn Croft for the opportunity to read Silent Lies.