The Lies You Told by Harriet Tyce

Published: August 20th, 2020
Publisher: Wildfire
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction, Domestic Thriller

Welcome to my stop on the tour for this sizzling thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for the invitation to take part and Wildfire for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

Shocking, dark, addictive – THE LIES YOU TOLD is the compulsive new thriller from Harriet Tyce, best selling author of BLOOD ORANGE.

Can you tell the truth from the lies?

Sadie loves her daughter and will do anything to keep her safe.

She can’t tell her why they had to leave home so quickly – or why Robin’s father won’t be coming with them to London.

She can’t tell her why she hates being back in her dead mother’s house, with its ivy-covered walls and its poisonous memories.

And she can’t tell her the truth about the school Robin’s set to start at – a school that doesn’t welcome newcomers.
Sadie just wants to get their lives back on track.

But even lies with the best intentions can have deadly consequences…

‘I read The Lies You Told in two days, barely able to turn the pages fast enough. It’s spare and taut, the sense of wrongness building in chilling, skilfully written layers, with a jaw dropping last line twist’ Lisa Jewell, #1 bestselling author

‘I adored Blood Orange and therefore could not wait to get my hands on The Lies You Told. It is a triumphant encore, every bit as intriguing, well-written and addictive as its predecessor’ Sara Collins, award-winning author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton

‘An absolute page turner with a twist you’ll read twice because you can’t believe you missed it’ John Marrs, author of What Lies Between Us

MY REVIEW:

“Can you tell the truth from the lies? “

Chilling, addictive and surprising, The Lies You Told is a sizzling domestic thriller that I had me hooked from beginning to end. The author had me transfixed, unable to put the book down to sleep like I should and spent every minute I wasn’t reading thinking about it.

Sadie was a great protagonist. She was likeable and relatable, trying to stay strong and hold it all together while feeling like she is falling apart on the inside. She has a lot to deal with: her marriage ending, moving back from another country, unwelcoming parents at her daughter’s new school, and the toxic legacy of her late mother that haunts the walls of their home. But she is determined to build a new life for herself and her daughter, and I was rooting for her to succeed.

But that isn’t the whole story. This is an intricate and layered novel with a creeping malice that lingers in the air and seeps from the pages, casting a shadow of foreboding and suspense. In short chapters written in italics, the story flashes forward to a Sunday yet to come. At first Sadie is telling herself not to worry, that Robin is safe, slowly escalating in tension until part two, when we finally arrive at that Sunday and follow the heart-stopping events as they happen.

This was my first time reading anything by Tyce, and she lived up to all the great things I’ve heard. She tackles a wide range of topics such as domestic violence, toxic families, parental pressure, bullying and grooming, crafting a tense, twisty page-turner with a chilling edge. The story is skillfully plotted and filled with compelling characters that enrich the suspense.

Darkly atmospheric and utterly riveting, this kept me guessing right up until the jaw-dropping finale. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological fiction.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Harriet Tyce was born and grew up in Edinburgh. She did a degree in English Literature at Oxford University before a law conversion course at City University, following which she was a criminal barrister for nearly ten years.

Having escaped law and early motherhood, she started writing, and recently completed the MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. Blood Orange is her first novel, and The Lies You Told will be published in August 2020.

She lives in north London with her husband and children, and two rather demanding pets, a cat and a dog.

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