The Darkest Lies

A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Shocking Twist

By: Barbara Copperthwaite

Narrated by: Alison Campbell

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

A mother desperate for the truth. A daughter hiding a terrible secret.

Melanie Oak appeared to have the perfect life. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Jacob, the couple live with their beautiful, loving, teenage daughter, Beth, in a pretty village. Nothing can shake her happiness - until the day that Beth goes missing, and is discovered beaten almost to the point of death, her broken body lying in a freezing creek on the marshes near their home. Consumed with grief, Melanie is determined to find her daughter's attacker. Someone in the village must have seen something. Why won't they talk?

As Melanie tries to piece together what happened to Beth, she discovers that her innocent teenager has been harboring some dark secrets of her own. The truth may lie closer to home and put Melanie's life in terrible danger.

A completely gripping psychological thriller with a twist you won't see coming. Fans of The Girl on the Train, The Sister and Before I Let You In will be captivated.

©2017 Barbara Copperthwaite (P)2017 Bookouture

I wish I loved this book!

This book wasn't horrible but the narrator was. I found myself skipping chapters just so I could finish the book because I couldn't handle the narrator! Every word she spoke, unless she was speaking for another character, sounded as if she was asking a question. Her voice made the book drag on as if it would never end. The book would have been much better if it was read by someone else. The storyline was good and the ending was pretty good too.

Still waiting on the twist

The narrator is awful, she pronounces words like a child learning to read, with no emotion besides distressed mother. I'm still wondering what this twist is?

super psychological drama

If you can get past the narrator for the first hour os so she actually improves and by the end of the book you might actually reckon she was reasonable.....well, anyway, this was the effect that she/the book had on me. She tended to over articulate everything and sounded like she was reading to a class of kindy kiddies and sometimes her intonations were not correct in a sentence or two, or three - if you get my meaning. However, once you overcome the narrator - if you can - the book was excellent. All written in the first person I found it riveting right to the excellent ending which I must admit, I did not see coming. Well done, Barbara Copperthwaite, I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of yours.

Slow paced, weird POVs, insipid characters

This story did not resonate with me because I didn’t like the writing style and because I couldn’t develop a strong interest in any of the characters, and the story just didn’t hold my interest.
The author employs a clunky multiple point-of-view style to tell the story using one of my very least favorite POV styles as the main one: a sort of first and second person mix where the second person is not YOU the reader but YOU, another character. So mom is saying, ‘Beth, we looked for you but you were gone, weren’t you, Beth?’ (Interspersed are tiny parts told from the bad guy’s POV and then Beth’s own story). This is probably a personal preference but it really bugged me.
In addition, I found the characters insipid and too many aspects of the plot were just pushed past the point of fictional unbelievability. The parents came across as too naive and so did Beth, even for small town residents. When characters are pushed too far past the mark, it makes me disconnect from the story. The narration was good, but it could not save the book for me.

GREAT STORY damaged by a LOUSY performance!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story is compelling but the narrator of this audio book is as interesting as cardboard! She over enunciates words to the point that she sounds mentally challenged, or as if she is a robot.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No, but it was interesting to see where the story was going.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Alison Campbell?

A rock would have done a better job of narrating this work.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes!

Wow- great psychological mystery!

Well done all around by this talented author and narrator! The story, characters, unexpected twists, obvious background research done by this author all came together in this very clever novel. Thanks to the author and narrator for a very interesting and engaging experience.

Spine-tingling thriller!

Be sure to set aside a week-end for this non-stop thriller. Twists and turns right up to the final chapter! SW, Fort Bragg

I was incapable of accomplishing anything until I finished this story.

I normally love audiobooks most for my ability to multitask while I listen. Never have I been so incapable of stopping when I know I should be doing other things.
I was so irritated at times with Mel for being so clueless but as a young widow of a sudden and traumatic loss I could understand her cluelessness as well. I found myself yelling out loud at characters in this book.
I loved the twists and when I first began listening I wished for two narrators, however long before the end I came to appreciate the narra

Excellent Story! Listen on 1.25 or 1.5

Those Who Knew Her is an excellent thriller, and I was very pleased with the story, which I ate up voraciously. The narration is very off-putting at first, and I would strongly suggest that you speed the narration to 1.25 or 1.5, or you may get frustrated. It's worth getting past the narration, and it sounds okay at the faster speeds.

The perfect family, mom, dad, beautiful teen girl and dog, live in a little village in England where everyone knows one another. When Beth, the teen daughter, goes missing, the support pours in from the villagers. When Beth is found, close to dead, her mother takes matters in her own hands and tries to find out what happened to her daughter, who is on life support.

It turns out, the town's people aren't as supportive as it seems, and there are so many secrets and lies hidden behind layers of people who say they know nothing about Beth's tragic circumstances.

Those Who Knew Her is a fast paced thriller with with lots of twists and turns, and a story that sucks the listener in and roots for the protagonist. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially lovers of psychological thrillers.

-Wendi

Predictable and Annoying

Difficult to distinguish what about the story annoyed me from the annoying performance of the reader who places heavy emphasis on trivial sentences. While some details weren't what I expected, I knew from way too early who the evil person was. The protagonist' naïveté and her self absorption are irritating. She doesn't care how much pain she inflicts on others because what happened to her is far more important than what happens to almost anyone else, including her husband. A waste of many hours.

Wow.. Thrilled and Chilled in equal measures

Well, what can I say? This is the first book by Barbara Copperthwaite I have read and I can say it was incredible.
The storyline is flawless, told from a Mothers point of view, a Mother who is desperate yet unfailing in her quest to uncover the truth behind a horrific attack on her teenage daughter Beth.
As the chillingly realistic tale unfolds the reader is only left to gasp out loud.
The ending, oh my days, the ending, as terrifying as it is, made me want to punch the air in triumph.
I absolutely LOVED this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.

nearly returned this book

After the 3rd chapter i was going to return this book and read it on kindle because the narration was appalling . Before doing so i turned up the speed of the narration . This just about made listening bearable . Doesnt anyone check these narrators work ? spoilt my enjoyment of this book.

Don't waste your credit

This is a pretty dire book I'm sorry to say. The narration was terrible, monotone and virtually expressionless. I must say the diction was good though. I would have returned it except I have returned a few books lately and was embarrassed to do it again.

Wow!

Could not put this book down. Incredible twists and turns! Would thoroughly recommend this book to all that love a dark tale.

it definitely kept me interested

i enjoyed this audio I looked forward to each chapter. i will buy more by the same writer

unexpected!

Would you listen to The Darkest Lies again? Why?

yes, great twist at the end

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Darkest Lies?

Finding out who the attacker was

Any additional comments?

At first i found the narrator's slow speech a bit like a teacher reading to a year 1 class. I thought it was obvious who was the attacker and was starting to get annoyed with the mother for not realising it herself. Keep reading because it is not what you expect ........

The darkest lies

This was an excellent tale and the Fen landscape was a great stage set for the action. Characterisation was believable and beautifully crafted. Very much enjoyed this realistic peak into a mother's love.

Great story line

So very different to what I've read before my only criticism is the recording in between chapters you could alway tell one chapter was finishing and and new one was between thought it seemed a little unprofessional but great story line love it

Reading

Hi. I am afraid the narration was impossible to listen to. Intonation, voice and pronunciation intolerable. Shame as I couldn't get into the book because of it.

Awful Narrator

The story was good but the whole experience was ruined by the flat monotone of reading by the narrator.