The Better Liar

A Novel

By: Tanen Jones

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Karissa Vacker, Kristen Sieh

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

“Jones’s sensational debut has the bones of a thriller but reads like literary fiction: lean, shrewd, and gratifyingly real.” (Entertainment Weekly)

When a woman conceals her sister’s death to claim their joint inheritance, her deception exposes a web of dangerous secrets in this addictive new thriller for fans of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn, and Paula Hawkins.

An ID Book Club Selection

Leslie Flores has the perfect life - a loving husband, a happy newborn, and a New Mexico home straight out of a magazine. She’s been the perfect daughter, too, taking care of her ailing father in his final days. But Leslie has a dark secret - and it’s an expensive secret to keep. When she discovers she won’t receive a penny of her inheritance unless she finds her estranged sister, Robin, she sets out to track her down. Instead, upon arriving at Robin’s apartment, Leslie discovers her body.

Just as Leslie begins to panic, she meets a charismatic aspiring actress named Mary who bears a striking resemblance to Robin - and has every reason to leave her past behind. The two women make a bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. Neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name.

Even as Mary begins to suspect Leslie is hiding something, and Leslie realizes the stranger living in her house has secrets of her own, Robin’s wild, troubled legacy threatens to eclipse them both. Fans of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn, and Paula Hawkins will relish this darkly addictive portrait of the ties that bind and the secrets we all keep from one another.

©2020 Tanen Jones (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A darkly complex relationship between two sisters lies at the heart of Jones’s debut psychological thriller.... A blistering debut from a promising new talent." (Kirkus Reviews)

"A taut, twisty thriller.... Jones arrives with an undeniable splash." (Publishers Weekly)

"A dark, intriguing exploration of family wounds and the fragility of identity.” (Caite Dolan-Leach, author of Dead Letters and Why We Went to the Woods)

Really gripping

Honestly didn’t like this book at first & came close to DNF’ing it but something about one of the main characters bothered me & I didn’t trust her so I kept at it and *wow* what a trip. Definitely a good thriller to pick up if you’re into one heavy on character building so you care about the plot way more in the end!

Usually, I’m able to guess at least part of the ending of psychological thrillers far in advance, including whats a false lead & what it’s meant to cover up but this one had me wrong on all accounts. It’s been years since that’s happened and I am very happy to be shocked by this one & how it ended!

5/5 stars, definitely worth a purchase.

Better than expected.

Really good. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it went to an unexpected place. The readers were great. I like different people for different characters because it makes them easier to distinguish but these were really good. I liked that with each one it pushed the story forward. Really enjoyable even if the characters were all that likable!

Toug to get into

The last 1/4 of this book was good. The rest was a little rough for me to grasp my attention and get into.

Twisty and a little too real (but in the best way)

This book covers the frustrations and angst around caretaking, adulthood, marriage, motherhood, and family—all of the situations we should love fully but that can also come with so many other emotions. It starts off a little slow but the twists are worth it!

Great suspense!

Amazing narration and great twists that keeps your attention until the very end. Fun listen!

Unrealistic

About 3/4 of the story was so interesting. Then the characters started to be so boring and even though they did many things, everything they did was disjointed and meaningless. The deep feelings didn’t hold water; not believable. The narrator was portraying characters not matching their personalities. The ending has holes and leaves you without explanation what really went on.

Loved this!!

this book keeps you on your toes! this can make a great movie in the future.

Fantastic

Best book I’ve listened to in a long time & the narration made it even better.

An incredible debut—up there with Paula Hawkins!

The characters, the writing, the twists—this was like reading the next Paula Hawkins. I can’t wait for her next book!

I’m not sure what one reviewer could have meant about this being the second book by Jones she’s listened to, since this is a debut!

Please listen!

Gripping story. Plenty of twists and turns and I was pretty close to guessing some. Sad and intriguing. Definitely a story of a dysfunctional childhood and how it affects everyone.