A review by kbranfield
Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

4.0

4.5 stars.

Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay is a deliciously clever domestic mystery.

Jane Baxter and Marie Gregory have been best friends for eighteen years. Meeting at age eleven, they were inseparable until they went to different universities.  They remained close throughout uni and became roommates once they began working.  But now Jane feels her friendship with Marnie slipping away as her best friend's romance with Charles Smith become more serious.  She knows if she is completely honest about how much she despises Charles she will lose Marnie forever. So Jane begins spinning a web of lies as she does whatever it takes to hold onto the friendship that means so much to her.

Jane is the chatty narrator of this disturbing tale of obsessive friendship. She has survived a stunning tragedy but she is unhealthily clinging to her friendship with Marnie. She and Marnie are complete opposites with Jane being morose, miserable in her career and devious. Marnie is light and  happy with a  very successful food blogging career.  With a conversational tone, Jane tries to be honest as she recounts each of the seven lies she told her best friend.

Seven Lies is a mesmerizing mystery  with a unique storyline and unreliable narrator. The characters are well-drawn and a few are deeply flawed with questionable moral compasses. Jane is a conniving woman whose dark side is well hidden beneath her pleasant, biddable exterior. Marnie is a wonderful woman who has no idea what Jane will do to preserve their friendship.  Elizabeth Kay brings this unputdownable domestic mystery to a twist-filled conclusion. A brilliant debut that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to readers of the genre.