Lie to Me by Jess Ryder Book Review

BLURB

How can you tell the truth...if all you've ever known is a lie?

Three minutes. That's all it takes for Meredith's entire world to fall apart when she watches the videotape of her four-year-old self with Becca, the mother who abandoned her.

Meredith can't believe what her eyes have seen. Yet what if her memory has locked away the painful reality of her childhood? Can there be any truth in the strange and dangerous story her mother forced her to tell on camera?

The search for answers leads Meredith to Darkwater Pool, the scene of the murder of a young woman, Cara, over 30 years ago. What could possibly be the link between her mother and the victim?

To find the truth Meredith must search through a pas that is not her own. The problem is, she's not the only one looking...

A dark, compulsive psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Louise Jensen.


MY THOUGHTS

Lie to Me is a new psychological thriller by debut author Jess Ryder.

When Meredith finds an old video tape whilst clearing out her father’s attic, she is curious to see what it shows. Her father’s reaction to the discovery of the tape is shocking and he urges her to throw it on the fire. But Meredith is determined to see it and to find out what secrets it contains. What Meredith discovers changes her life completely and she embarks on a dangerous journey to find out the truth. Who is the girl her mother refers to in the tape? And what happened to her mother when she disappeared all those years ago?

I did enjoy this story, but I have to admit that I struggled to get into it for the first quarter of the book after the first couple of chapters. I did think that there were some places where it did go on for a little bit and I found myself skim reading a little. There were places when I would have liked for there to have been a little more dialogue. But I did find Meredith’s voice engaging which stopped me putting the book down. The second half of the book was however much more gripping, particularly when the cold case investigation of a murdered girl and Meredith’s quest for answers about what happened to her mother steps up a pace and when Isabel Dalliday, a celebrity in the theater world appears on the scene.

I really liked the characters in this book and I thought that they were well developed. I thought that Meredith’s growing relationship with Isabel was a great source of tension.

The novel is told over two time periods, focusing on Meredith’s and the police investigation in the present day and in the 1980s before the murder of a girl named Cara Travers. I also really enjoyed the scenes when the story flashed back in time; Isabel and Cara were great characters.

The ending scenes in which Jess pulled all the strands together was really well done and I thought the idea behind this was quite original. Jess racked up the tension in these scenes and I wasn’t expecting that final twist. 

Overall an enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy to review. 

Publisher; Bookouture

Publication date: 19th April 2017

Print length: 396 pages

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