A review by thegeekybibliophile
Silent Lies by Kathryn Croft
4.0
Five years ago, Mia Hamilton’s husband, Zach, committed suicide. On the same night, Josie Carpenter, disappeared and was thought to have been murdered by her university teacher—Zach Hamilton. The coincidence of Josie’s disappearance and Zach’s suicide happening on the same night had everyone convinced Zach murdered Josie and disposed of her body before committing suicide. Josie’s body was never found and there was no absolute proof Zach murdered her, but the discovery of his corpse in Josie’s flat was enough for most people to believe it.
Five years later Mia is a counselor and in love with a man named Will, whom both she and her daughter, Freya, adore. Mia is starting to feel she can put the past behind her when she meets a new client named Alison who drops a bombshell during her first counseling session—saying Zach didn’t kill himself, only to deny having said it moments later.
Desperate for answers yet unsure if Alison can be trusted, Mia is determined to find out what Alison knows, and if she’s telling the truth. As she learns more about Alison, she questions her agenda and fears for her own safety—but she can’t stop until she finds out what Alison knows about the night Josie disappeared and Zach died.
Full of secrets, deceptions, and jaw-dropping plot twists, Silent Lies is guaranteed to keep you reading through the wee hours of the night. The story is told from the perspectives of Mia (in the present) and Josie (five years ago) in alternating chapters. While both perspectives are interesting, I found myself far more captivated by Josie’s tale. She went through something truly horrific in her past, and to see the way she coped with that—let alone, everything else she faced in her everyday life—was simply fascinating to me. Through her interactions with Zach, we see the sort of person he was, and even get glimpses of the way Mia was in the past in the rare moments he talks about her. The more I learned about Josie, the more theories I had about that fateful night, and her role in it.
Alison—who features in both perspectives—definitely kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I had her all figured out, something would happen to change my mind. She is definitely a complex character who constantly gives you a feeling of unease every time she shows up.
I can’t say why, of course, but the ending totally blew my mind! I was so shocked, I actually had to reread several paragraphs to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong. Just… WOW.
If you love psychological thrillers, you definitely need to add this one to your TBR pile!
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.
Five years later Mia is a counselor and in love with a man named Will, whom both she and her daughter, Freya, adore. Mia is starting to feel she can put the past behind her when she meets a new client named Alison who drops a bombshell during her first counseling session—saying Zach didn’t kill himself, only to deny having said it moments later.
Desperate for answers yet unsure if Alison can be trusted, Mia is determined to find out what Alison knows, and if she’s telling the truth. As she learns more about Alison, she questions her agenda and fears for her own safety—but she can’t stop until she finds out what Alison knows about the night Josie disappeared and Zach died.
Full of secrets, deceptions, and jaw-dropping plot twists, Silent Lies is guaranteed to keep you reading through the wee hours of the night. The story is told from the perspectives of Mia (in the present) and Josie (five years ago) in alternating chapters. While both perspectives are interesting, I found myself far more captivated by Josie’s tale. She went through something truly horrific in her past, and to see the way she coped with that—let alone, everything else she faced in her everyday life—was simply fascinating to me. Through her interactions with Zach, we see the sort of person he was, and even get glimpses of the way Mia was in the past in the rare moments he talks about her. The more I learned about Josie, the more theories I had about that fateful night, and her role in it.
Alison—who features in both perspectives—definitely kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I had her all figured out, something would happen to change my mind. She is definitely a complex character who constantly gives you a feeling of unease every time she shows up.
I can’t say why, of course, but the ending totally blew my mind! I was so shocked, I actually had to reread several paragraphs to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong. Just… WOW.
If you love psychological thrillers, you definitely need to add this one to your TBR pile!
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.