The Lies You Told

By: Harriet Tyce

Narrated by: Sarah Durham

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed author of Blood Orange, a dark new psychological thriller about the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect family - and the perfect murder.

In the playground it's the law of the jungle

But at the school gate, there are no rules at all....

When Sadie Roper moves back to London, she's determined to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. First, she needs to get her daughter settled into a new school - one of the most exclusive in the city. Next, she's going to get back the high-flying criminal barrister career she sacrificed for marriage 10 years earlier. But nothing goes quite as planned. The school is not very welcoming newcomers, her daughter hasn't made any friends yet and the other mothers are as fiercely competitive as their children. Sadie immediately finds herself on the outside as she navigates the fraught politics of the school gate.

But the tide starts to turn as Sadie begins to work on a scandalous, high-profile case that's the perfect opportunity to prove herself again, even though a dangerous flirtation threatens to cloud her professional judgment. And when Liza, queen of the school moms, befriends Sadie, she draws her into the heart of the world from which she was previously excluded. Soon Sadie and her family start to thrive, but does this close new friendship prevent her from seeing the truth? Sadie may be keeping her friends close, but what she doesn't know is that her enemies are closer still....

Dark, addictive and compelling, The Lies You Told is a compulsive psychological thriller from a master storyteller.

"An extremely well-written and unsettling novel...Full of intrigue and menace, it creeps up on you until that final explosive twist. A great read." (Alex Michaelides, number one New York Times author of The Silent Patient)

"I read The Lies You Told in two days, barely able to turn the pages fast enough. It's spare and taut, the sense of wrongness building in chilling, skillfully written layers, with a jaw dropping last-line twist." (Lisa Jewell, New York Times best-selling author of The Family Upstairs)

©2020 Harriet Tyce (P)2020 Grand Central Publishing

So close to being a really good book

Some reviewers said there were too many storylines and too many characters to keep up with .I enjoyed that part of the book, but... there were so many times in the book that I wondered if someone was dreaming or just imagining, but never got the answer. Also, there were so few likable characters that it would be hard for me to give it more than 3.5 or 4 tops.

Keeps you guessing until the very end

I am incredibly confused by the reviewer that said the story was predictable. This thriller kept me guessing until the very end. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, Harriet turns you upside down on your head! The writing makes you feel like you are inside Sadie’s head and the narrator is also fantastic. Once I started listening, I could not stop. Pick this one up, you won’t regret it.

Hot mess

No one has this much drama going on in their life... Husband kicks you out of the house, frantic overseas relocation, horrid childhood and hateful mother, parent teacher organization from hell, pedophile client making advances, husband involved in ponzi scheme takedown, daughter's 11 year old friend in a coma due to overdose administered by her mom, daughter kidnapped...just to name a few!

Overall it was just OK, the outcome was predictable despite the excessive plot points. The narrator did an awesome job.

Page turner

I couldn’t put this book down. It is a really good read/listen. Hoping the author has written others.

Just BUY it

this book sat in my wishlist for weeks... absolutely LOVED it. Easy to follow and addicting... a definite page turner!

Finally, a thriller that I'd recommend

This was a fast-paced, engaging suspense novel with interesting characters. That said, there were a few times that the storyline didn't make sense to me. For example, I was bewildered by Sadie Roper's extreme reaction after her meeting with a client to rehearse his testimony. Are standards for defense lawyers radically different in the UK and USA? Overall, however, this was an enjoyable page-turner that I finished in a couple of days.

It’s hard to find good friends 😳

I got into this for a while, but it’s somewhat predictable and her luck is SO BAD it’s painful. I did like the ending, even if I could see if coming like a 🚂 blasting it’s horn. The complexity of the case she was working made it more interesting. The narrator was great, My petty complaint is this: Why do PTA moms have to be such Bi?!$& in every psychological or domestic thriller 🤣?! Talk about stereotypical... I’ve been a part of 2 schools and 2 PTA organizations, and yes there have been some jerks here and there, but overall, NOTHING like this. I was cringing through every encounter. Lower income schools really need and rely on PTA for planning, communication and funding. I hate that we get such a nasty rap!

Great Story

This is quite a twisty-turn, unpredictable journey! I won’t spoil your fun with any spoilers, but fair warning to you closet sleuths, you probably won’t be able to crack this one.

Don’t waste your credit

This book is not only slow but doesn’t make sense and many many plot lines aren’t complete. The story was shallow and incomplete. Do not waste your credit.