I loved Barbara Copperthwaite's "Her Last Secret", so I was looking forward to reading this book. The plot was interesting. A mother searches for answers on what had happened to her 13-year old daughter who was beaten and left for dead in the marshes. As Melanie and an old friend do their own investigation, she starts pointing finger and blame on different people in the village. 

I did not like the writing style in this book. Most of the chapters were told from mom's point of view, but she would talk to her daughter Beth, like she was with her instead of lying in a hospital bed. And to make matters worse, I did not like any of the characters. The mom was especially annoying. I skimmed through some of the chapters because there were too many unnecessary boring details. I was hoping for some big twist at the end but once we found out what had happened to Beth, the story shifted gear and it didn't segued smoothly into the next story. There was no big shock at the end. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Barbara Copperthwaite for a copy of "The Darkest Lies" in exchange of an honest review.

Bookouture and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Darkest Lies. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

After a teenager goes missing, the police and her family must quickly piece together the girl's movements. When the truth is uncovered, will the secrets revealed tear apart a family?

I am usually a huge fan of thrillers and suspense, but I could not connect with either the story or its characters. Classified as a psychological thriller, though it barely had the attributes that I would associate with the genre, The Darkest Lies is just the story of twisted relationships and promises broken. I did not find the story to be all that realistic, nor did I like the storytelling aspect. The "this is what happened to you" plot is really just a way for an author to tell the whole story instead of showing what transpired. Overall, I was underwhelmed by the psychological aspects and was disappointed in the storytelling. For these reasons, I would not recommend The Darkest Lies to other readers.

Great story by Barbara Copperthwaite.  Great plot, characters and really keeps you guessing to the very end.

Not my favorite book ever. I struggled with another book by this author because the writing is juvenile and doesn't create a desire to read more.

I loved this book! It was gripping from the very beginning - I just wanted to know what happened so I stayed up most of the night to get it finished! I loved the way it was written and never really felt like I could trust Melanie fully which made it even more exciting. She wasn't in the right frame of mind so it would have been easy for her to see things differently. I really enjoyed the ending too - I can't wait to read something else by Barbara Copperthwaite.

I'm not saying anything more than...OMG,what a totally unexpected ending, absolutely jaw-dropping,I did not see that coming.

I really struggled with this book and tried to finish it several times. I didn't like the writing style and the characters had no depths. This one wasn't for me.

This is a compelling story, nicely written, but a little too melodramatic for my taste.

It is a parent's worse nightmare. You think you know your child, you think you can protect them, then the unimaginable happens...

Beth Oak is almost fourteen.  She lives in a Lincolnshire village with her mother, Melanie, and her father, Jacob.  Oh, and their russet spaniel, Wiggins.  They are the happiest of families. Until...

Beth tells her Mum that she is staying overnight at her friend Chloe's house. Melanie walks with Beth to the end of her friend's road, then turns back toward home.  The next morning Melanie discovers that Beth never went to Chloe's at all.  She is missing! Panic stricken, the frantic parents call the police, who after a search find Beth, floating in the fens, injured, hypothermic, and near death.

Beth is rushed to hospital where she is put into an induced coma.  Then Melanie's real trial begins. Unable to watch her much-loved only daughter in such a state, with wires and tubes snaking from her young body, and dissatisfied with the progress the police are making, Melanie decides to discover who has harmed her daughter. She enlists the 'help' of an old school chum, Glenn Baker. She can talk to Glenn. He is a good listener, he seems to understand. She doesn't want to talk to her husband Jacob because she feels he already has enough on his plate.  He has his own distress over Beth's condition, and he has to work every day as well as spend his nights at the hospital.

As days turn into weeks, with no improvement in Beth's condition, Melanie turns to Glenn more and more.  Also, she turns to the comfort and oblivion of alcohol.  So much so that her family feels compelled to intervene.

In the evenings, Melanie and Jacob sit by Beth's bedside trying to will Beth back. They attempt sensory stimulation, trying to rouse Beth with music, smells, and other stimuli.

"We had tempted fate with our happiness."

Days find Melanie increasingly out of control. She is desperate to find the person who hurt Beth, and she accuses many of her fellow villagers.  They on the other hand, are harbouring their own secrets.

The cold and windy Lincolnshire fens were almost a character unto themselves. I was chilled just reading about it.  This county is a setting close to my heart, as my own mother (a war-bride) was born in Boston, Lincolnshire.

The story was told via three different points of view.  Melanie's (told in the second person), Beth's (during the time preceding her attack), and that of an unidentified manipulative psychopath. This third POV was of a person who is harbouring a compulsive blood-lust.

To be perfectly honest, I was not a fan of the way the book was written in the second person.  I found it off-putting that Melanie was 'speaking' to Beth throughout the narrative.  Kudos to the author though, as I imagine it must have been very difficult to maintain the second person throughout. Also, I had a real hard time liking Melanie most of the time. It bugged me that I didn't like her more.  Poor thing had suffered an immense trauma, who am I to judge her coping skills?

This is a story of secrets, lies, manipulation and human weakness. It illuminates the inherent selfishness of most people.

Despite my reservations about Melanie's character, I did really enjoy this thriller.  The atmospheric setting, the overall storyline, were engaging and compelling. The novel was written in short chapters, which I find really moves the plot along at a good pace. Although I guessed the identity of the person who represented the third point of view, this did not at all spoil the book for me.  There was an astounding plot twist that I didn't see coming, and the ending?  It was brilliant!

Really enjoyed this crime thriller. Great cast of characters and a gripping and entertaining plot with enough twists and surprises to keep this reader guessing. I Couldn't put it down.

Lots of secrets and lies abound in this mystery thriller as Melanie Oak and her husband Jacobs teenage daughter Beth goes missing and is then found near death in the marshes near their home.

As Beth lies in a hospital bed in a coma, Melanie and the police struggle to find out what happened and try to piece together the mystery surrounding her. Everyone has secrets, everyone is lying and we have to read between them both to find the truth.

Was an alright read, worked it out pretty early on but this is the sort of book I read a lot so I kinda know what will end up happening.

I have another book my this author to read so we'll see how that goes.

*Huge thanks to Barbara Copperthwaite, Bookouture and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

Every parent’s greatest fear is that something terrible with happen to their child, and in The Darkest Lies, this becomes reality for Jacob and Melanie Oak when their daughter, Beth, goes missing. Their nightmare is only just beginning, however, because when Beth is found, she has been beaten nearly to death. Melanie is determined to find out who hurt her daughter, not realizing her search is putting her own life in jeopardy.

What an intense read this was! It kept me guessing from start to finish, and I think I suspected pretty much everyone that was mentioned in the story, except Melanie. Copperthwaite did an excellent job of making everyone seem guilty at one point or another in this fast-paced thriller. I’m happy to report that I didn’t have a clue about the attacker’s identity until it was revealed. And what a reveal it was! I never saw it coming… totally blew me away!

This is the first novel I’ve read by Copperthwaite, but it definitely won’t be the last! Definitely recommending this one… such a great read!

Loved it!  This book had everything I look for in a good read, plot twists galore and characters that have depth and at times you just want to shake them. I was glued to this book and as I neared the end I didn't want it to end! A story of friendship, family, betrayal and secrets, what more could you want! I don't regret picking this book up at all.

I found this book so dull to get into that it held no suspense for me at all.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity of having discovered a new voice in the crime fiction arena! I've read a lot about Ms Copperthwaite's books, and were honestly not disappointed!
Melanie's daughter Beth disappears, but is then found assaulted.  Melanie's goes on a quest to find the culprit herself, because the police doesn't really take it seriously.
I must say, I suspected everybody from page 1 to almost the end..... And still I was surprised at who the bad guy was!
Well done, and worth the effort!

The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaite 
Publisher: Bookouture

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the ebook ARC of The Darkest Lies by author Barbara Copperthwaite.

Beth Oak,13, has a normal life,happily married parents, Melanie & Jacob, who were childhood sweethearts. Beth’s best friends name is Chloe, and she asks her mom if she can sleepover at her house. When he mom drops her off down the road, Beth secretly sneaks away. 
When Melanie calls Chloe’s mom, Ursula in the morning to see if Beth wants to go to the store with her, Ursula hadn’t even seen Beth. Melanie’s worst nightmare has become a reality, when she realizes she doesn’t know where her daughter is. Her and Jacob call the police to report Beth missing. 
The police begin a search to look for Beth. She is found left for the dead on the Lincolnshire marshes, wearing nothing she was when she had left the house. 
Melanie is desperate for answers trying to find out what has happened to her daughter, who is now in a coma at the hospital. Melanie starts investigating what happened that night. Being in a small village someone must have saw or heard something. 
She starts working with an old friend, Glenn to find out what is going on, he tells Melanie he knows what she is going through as his ex, Marcie is keeping his daughter from him. Being so helpful, Melanie decides to contact Glenn’s ex and try to get her to let him see his daughter, but she tells Melanie that they do not have any children. Why did Glenn lie to Melanie about him losing a child?
Will the police discover what happened to Beth and arrest her attacker? Will Melanie get in the way of their investigation? Will Beth wake up from her coma?

I rate this book 4 stars. It was a very good book. I am not completely sure how I like the style of the writing. I did have very high emotions of what Melanie was going through, being a mother myself. The book also had me constantly guessing a few of the characters throughout the novel of who had hurt Beth.
The novel was written as if Melanie was speaking to her daughter, Beth. Some of the chapters were of Beth, telling what was happening the night she was attacked and of leading up to the attack as well. I definitely would recommend reading this book!

I"m really torn about this book.  I typically like everything from Bookouture and while this one wasn't bad.. there's just something that didn't quite click for me.  I love the short short chapters that keep you moving at a good pace but for some reason I couldn't quite connect to the characters within this story.  I feel maybe it was a mood read and I wasn't in the right place.  May have to revisit... maybe.

Another gem from Barbara Copperthwaite. "The Last Secret" was enthralling which prompted me to read this one. Melanie and Jacob Oak discover their teenage daughter Beth is missing. I felt deep compassion for the blameless Melanie at this early stage. Try as I might I could not like Melanie. Not a nice person. She was so shallow, needy, pathetic and had no dignity. She was arrogant enough to think she was better than the police. Even making allowances for her situation she was a pain in the neck. Adults behaving badly. I'm no advocate of drugs but a temporary course of happy pills might have been preferable to double vodka's!  However I did think these character traits were intentional to progress the plot well. She upset everyone, suspected everyone and challenged them in her quest to make clumsy attempts at detective work. The villagers were a motley crew and I found myself jumping from suspect to suspect. They all seemed to have compelling motives or sly characters. Loved it. A dynamic ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture. I shall post this on Amazon and my blog.

If you enjoy the kind of pychological thriller which will draw you in fromthe very beginning, laying a foundation of mystery and intrigue, building layer upon layer of mystery and slow building tension and discovery and infused at just the right moments  with a startling revelation or heart-stopping, perhaps every heart-breaking, pause, then Her Last Secret may well be the book for you.

Called to the scene of a possible shooting on Christmas day Chief Inspector Paul Ogundele could not possibly be prepared for what he will find when entering the Thomas's home. As a reader you are not privy to the full information straight away, and it is this small fact, this rather important omission, which guarantees that you will want to keep reading, so uncover, just as the police will, what has occured on that fateful morning.

Much of the book is based around the days leading up to Christmas day, in setting the scene for what the police have yet to discover, the whole book taking place over a period of just eight days. In that time, Barbara Copperthwaite sets out to paint a picture of a family, of their highs and their lows, and to capture the imagination of the reader. Oh and what a magnificent job she does. This is no ordinary family and this is no idyllic setting, no matter what the neighbours may believe. For like every family, the Thomas's are suffer more than their share of problems. On one hand you have teh teenage anger directed from duaghter Ruby toward her parents. In the other you have little 'Mouse', Ruby's younger sister, Amber, a child so quiet, so introverted that it is easy to forget she is there.

And then you have the parents. Ben and Dominique. Outwardly perfect. Inwardly both nursing their own demons. Dominque is paranoid, nervous, Ben overbearing and cock-sure. Neither makes a particularly sympathetic protagonist. Barbara Copperthwaite has done a superb job here of keeping them on just the wrong side of likeable, their character flaws irking somewhat, although Ben's are far more obvious and probably unforgivable than Dom's. Even Ruby is hard to like initially but as you learn more about what is driving her, what is tormenting her, the sympathy begins to build. If there is a true victim in this story, other than Amber, then it is Ruby.

I don't want to go too far into the story or the plot as I feel it may give away potential spoilers and I truly believe this is a book you need to read for yourselves, that the slow reveal, the gradual build of the story, is the true value of the book. With each page turn, I could sense I was taking a step closer to the inevitable. Yet, while the conclusion of the story had been served to the reader from the start, the path which led us there was still full of twists and turns, peppered with half truths and misdirection. 

I love the way in which the characters have been developed throughout the book. The author has a real knack for creating belieavable protagonists and then pushing them to their absolute limits. Each of the main players in this book goes on a tumultuous journey, is forced to a point of self realisation with tragic consequences. There is one really moving scene at the end of the book, where one character makes the ultimate sacrifice for one they love which is both moving and heartbreaking, a sad but poingnant moment on which to end the story. And yet... there is one more moment, one last turn of the screw and one last confession to be heard. It is quite simply, fabulous.

As well as being great entertainment, the book does contain a serious message too. Touching upon the darker side of the internet and cyber-bullying, the story may well resonate with many teenagers and young adults, even some parents who may have seen their children suffer. Noticing a change in someones persona, not stopping to really consider why... Well, maybe, just maybe, this book will finally make you stop and think. Laughter is a more socially aceeptable way to hide tears, and anger a way to conceal fear. And sometimes, behind them both lurks the darkest secret of them all.

The Darkest Lies is a very cleverly-written novel, following a mother's quest to find out exactly what happened to her daughter, after she is found beaten and left for dead. What follows is a lot of secrets and a village full of people who all seem to have something to hide. Mother turns detective to try and uncover exactly what has happened.

I found this book to be gripping from the start, with Copperthwaite's writing so brilliant cleverly that she built up the intrigue and made me suspicious of anyone and everyone. I was kept guessing until the big twist came, and was pleased to find that it was certainly NOT what I had predicted. The only thing that let this book down is the fact that things seemed to go a little TOO far-fetched after the twist. Had it been left at the first major twist, it would have been a great ending, but with further twists it just seemed a little over the top. However, for fans of psychological thrillers I would highly recommend this, as long as you can deal with a plot that in places seems a little far-fetched.