AD #gifted
If you like tense, gripping thrillers, then The Lies She told is 100% for you. It’s going to be really tricky to write a spoiler-free review for this book, but I am going to give it my best shot!
My review
Wow! Where to start? April has started strong and this book will be seriously hard to beat. I love a good thriller and this one absolutely kept me guessing. There was so much to take in. Really strong characters and such an all-encompassing storyline.
To begin with, I didn’t really find the main protagonist, Karly, very likeable – perhaps that was by design, but I just didn’t warm to her at all. As the story unfolded however, I found myself pulled in all directions. This book is impossible to second guess – you really don’t know what will happen next.
Fast paced, with each chapter “narrated” by different characters alternately, I really couldn’t put this one down at all. At one point, seeing the next chapter headed with “One Year Earlier”, I actually said “NOOOOOOOO” out loud! This was NOT the time for a flashback!
It all worked out though, everything interlaced perfectly. Paula Johnston is an incredible, contemporary writer and this is an absolutely outstanding debut novel. Very surprised to discover this was a first book – it has the feel of a very experienced, seasoned story weaver. I would be really keen to read anything else written by this author based on The Lies She Told, which I loved. Very strong contender for book of the month already.
5/5
Get your copy here (affiliate link)
The book
Karly Winters has waited ten long years to have the man of her dreams, the handsome but duplicitous Jacob Cruthers. From her home in Glasgow she pines for the Londoner who casually keeps her dangling, never with a thought of giving her what she wants and never with any intention of leaving his wife.
For her part, Karly has no intention of being second best any longer and she hatches an artful plan of devious intent that she is certain will work in her favor. Now, embarking on her dangerous game of high stakes, she is all too aware that someone is likely to get hurt. But for the winner, the prize will be incalculable.
But Karly hasn’t reckoned for new and equally underhanded forces that are at work. Lurking in the shadows are others, with their own agendas to follow and equally ruthless in their objectives.
With various factions hurtling towards a confrontation that none of them saw coming, someone is going to pay the price of infatuation.
The author
Paula Johnston is a writer from Scotland in her late twenties, who put her principles above her chosen career path and opted to walk away from her course in journalism to protect them. She went on to have a successful career in retail management, but after being diagnosed with a chronic illness in her late twenties, Paula now focuses her time on helping other writers with editing, branding, cover designs and logos.
Having always worked around people, Paula Johnston has a fierce and keen ability to not only read those who stand before her, but cut to the core of their true intentions. Spoiler alert – they are not always as they appear.
This fascination with the human psyche now crosses over into her debut novel, ‘The Lies She Told’, a totally immersive psychological thriller that proves every prize has a price – especially desire.
Paula lives just outside Glasgow, with her partner and their cats and is currently studying Psychology. In her free time, she likes to read, spend quality time with friends and family and discover interesting new places.
My thanks to Paula Johnston and Love Books Tours, for my #gifted copy and the opportunity to take part in the tour.
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