The Better Liar

By: Tanen Jones

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Karissa Vacker, Kristen Sieh

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Smart, sinister, and utterly engrossing - this debut delivers." (Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times best-selling author of Never Have I Ever)

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.

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2020 by Entertainment Weekly • New York Post • Lit Hub • Crime Reads • E! News • BookRiot • PopSugar • Hello Giggles 

"Like most of the dead, I want to be remembered."

Robin Voigt is dead. If her sister Leslie had arrived at her cramped Las Vegas apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father, even as she began building a family of her own. But when their father passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together - or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. And unbeknownst to anyone, even her husband, Leslie needs it desperately.

When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin - and has every reason to leave her past behind - the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin's half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will be 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, babysitting her newborn son, and charming her husband has secrets of her own, Robin's wild, troubled legacy threatens to eclipse them both.

An electric, twisted portrait of sisterhood and the ties that bind, The Better Liar is a stunning debut with a heart-stopping, twist-after-twist finale that will beg the question: How far would you go to get what's yours?

Praise for The Better Liar

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

"Jones’s debut novel is clever, absorbing, and full of red herrings.... A stunning twist ending will leave readers waiting to see what Jones will give them next." (Booklist starred review)

©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)

"I can hardly believe The Better Liar is a debut novel - it has three unreliable narrators and a twisty plot, and it dives deep into complicated family relationships." (Jennifer Hillier, author of Jar of Hearts, ITW Thriller Award winner)

Wow!!!

I really didn't think I was going to enjoy this as it took a lil bit for me to get to the "meat" of the story but, WOW, This was one of those books that you thought you had it figured out and then BAM!! You're totally left with your mouth hanging open. I'm not ashamed to admit I totally put things off just to finish this in one sitting! Looking forward to what's next from this author!!

6 people found this helpful

Really like this one!

I didn't guess how it would end. I'm usually pretty good at that. It was a story filled w/ plot twists and bends leaving you never quite sure what was going to happen next. It kept my interest while listening. Worth purchasing.

3 people found this helpful

That Author’s Note 😭

One of the twists in this book was really obvious, but there were also a lot of things that weren’t.

That author’s note is the real deal though. What a serious issue to shed some light on. Well done.

2 people found this helpful

Held my attention every second!

This book (especially as a debut novel) is fantastic, and the narration only makes it better! My only issue with this story was the parts that are hard to believe possible, but it was definitely a page turner that held my attention, and that's not easy! I look forward to more from this author

1 person found this helpful

Mental illness and music

Ms. Jones is a good writer and you really get to know the characters, deepest, darkest thoughts. And the characters usually are, quite entertaining.
This is the second novel I've listened to by this author and I see a trend. She seems to be fascinated with women's mental illness. The stories have a lot references to music, I mean, a lot, I found myself stopping so, i could find some of the music metioned.
I enjoy her writing but, I have yet to really like ANYONE in her novels, especially the women; their either, delusional, or just evil. Lastly, the authors note and the end well, it reminds me of the Nancy charin thus story, a great deal of compassion but, just statistics and what she was told.
If you have to go over statistics and analyze to the bare bone, whether, or not to have children; chances are, "you shouldn't ". I suffer from clinical depression, and I have for many years, and I'm also a woman of color. I have 2 children and I've NEVER felt anything but, love, in fact; they brought me the greatest happiness in my life, they wrre sometimes a reprieve from sadness.
Your books, end with no resolutions, the characters end up just as disturbed, or worse. These stories are too depressing and perhaps the author suffers from mental illness.

2 people found this helpful

AMAZING!!

As a lover of suspenseful books, I must say, this is right up there with my top rated!!

Horrible characters without any redeeming qualities

Rarely have I read a story that lacks a character with any redeeming qualities. This one is it. There isn’t a single character in the entire book that is likable or relatable. The story had some interesting ideas but they were poorly played out and left too much open at the end. So disappointing. Trying to tie PPD to this woman is irresponsible. She was a sociopath from way before she had a baby and treated everyone around her as disposable. Women with PPD suffer this as a drastic change in personality after birth. The authors note at the end throwing racism in was a desperate attempt to appear woke and give this novel some greater purpose that it clearly lacked while reading.

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!

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.

New story line

This is a story line like I’ve never heard before. It’s made all that much powerful by the author’s comments at the end.