Thank you to Netgalley, Clare Mackintosh and Little Brown Book Group UK for my ARC of Let Me Lie. 

Title: Let Me Lie 

Author: Clare Mackintosh

Page Count: 400 Pages

Publication Date: 8th March 2018

Rating: 5*

Quote: 'Death does not suit me. I wear it like a borrowed coat; it slips off my shoulders and trails in the dirt. It is ill-fitting. Uncomfortable.' 


Summary 


Anna is devastated when both her parents commit suicide within months of each other. On the 12 month anniversary of her mother's death Anna is only just trying to piece her life back together with her partner Mark and their new baby Ella. She's not been coping all that well and things only get worse when she received a mysterious anniversary card through the post, cryptically cut out in newspaper pieces the message simply reads 'suicide? Think again.' Convinced her parents were murdered Anna begins to investigate, but somebody doesn't want her to and what starts as idle threats, soon spirals out of control.



Review


I really enjoyed I See You and I Let You Go which I read last year so I've been super excited about Let Me Lie coming out. I was very lucky to receive an ARC and it really didn't disappoint. Just like Clare's first two books, the reader is merrily led down a path of deceit, believing one thing is true, and happily lapping up the red herrings until the truth comes out and you're left reeling.
Themes of suicide and mental illness are also explored sensitively.
Clare exposes the darkness within 'normal' people, she relies on the presumptions the reader will make about who is narrating, what has been seen and the evidence which has been presented it is a truly unique way of writing in the thriller genre and I for one, absolutely love it!

Normally I need to read the first 1/4 of the book (20%) before I bond with it. However, this book had me hooked from the first couple of chapters, I was instantly eager to keep reading and I was not disappointed.
​
I stayed up late to read, went to work tired and even tried to read a couple of chapters over lunch, the plot was that intriguing.


​The book starts with being read as the first person and then moves onto the story, later on mixing it up. It really flowed and it definitely had me gripped and I am recommending it to all my friends as a must read. ​

It is mental health week next week 1st Feb and this probably a good book to highlight some issues about 20% of us could have during our lifetimes.

I absolutely loved Let me lie and did not expect any of the twists. There was the death of Anna's parents - suspected suicide - with all its twists and corners and also the loving relationship of Murray to his mentally ill wife as a parallel story. It was a complete page turner and I would definitely recommend it to all my friends!! Brilliant 5 stars!!!

Having thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous book, I Let You Go, I was thrilled to receive an advance copy through Netgalley of her latest. It did not disappoint, although I have to be honest and say I preferred I Let You Go for a couple of reasons.
The story centres on Anna, a young woman left reeling after the suicides of her parents. Now living with her former therapist and their young baby, her world is ripped apart again when she receives a card that suggests all may not be as it seems.
To go into further detail would mean divulging plot details, and I would hate to spoil this rollercoaster ride of a read for anyone. Suffice to say, there are twists and turns galore, with a host of characters all playing their part in unfolding the truth. My personal favourite was retired policeman Murray who doggedly pursues enquiries into the case, despite having his own personal issues to deal with. I'd love to see him featured again in a future book!
The author's writing ability is fluid and succinct, her police background evident in the procedural details. My only tiny criticism would be that it felt a little drawn out, and the ending – for me – was a case of over-egging the pudding. Nevertheless, a great story well told.

I am a huge fan of this authors books so did a bit of a happy dance when I found out she had a new one coming out.

The story flicks between different characters, this way we get to know more about each character. One of the characters we get to meet is Murray, a retired CID who takes it upon himself to investigate the suicides of Anna's parents. He was someone who my heart went out to. His work is a demanding and stressful one and to be honest I couldn't see how his home one was any different. He lives in constant fear of his wife Sarah taking her own life. She has had many failed attempts and every time he leaves her alone, he doesn't know if that will be the last time that he will see her alive. It was so sweet to see how much he loves her as not many people could cope with living like that. Sarah my heart went out to also. She knows the constant strain her husband is put through but obviously can't control how she feels. I think overall the author did a great job in showing what living with mental health is like and it was very much heart breaking.

Anna has been left mixed up and confused by both her parents deaths. She can't understand why both would do this and is some what angry . She struggles to get her head round it like I think anyone would. By going to the police insisting that they didn't take their own lives, she opens a whole can of worms.

As always with this author, it's hard to go to much into detail as after all this is the queen of the big twists. Let Me Lie is no different. There are a few twists and turns that will have you gasping out loud at what you are reading. A great read and am sure fans of the author won't be disappointed.

I was fortunate enough to be given the widget for Clare Mackintosh's new book "Let it lie" and it is a great read. Anna Johnson is struggling to come to terms with the fact that first her dad and then her mum committed suicide for no apparent reason. She suddenly receives a card which makes her question what really happened.

This is a great read which I flew through. A smaller character not only shared my name but also my mental health condition- BPD and I cannot praise the author highly enough for her portrayal of this often misunderstood condition.

What a bloody rollercoaster Let Me Lie is.
It's a year since Anna Johnson's mother committed suicide, just a few short months after, and in the exact same way, Anna's father, Tom, had taken his life too. Both choosing to jump off the cliff at a local suicide spot.
Anna is now living with her boyfriend and their baby daughter and she is emotionally scared. Every day she is experiencing things that she thought she would have her mother there to support her through and she is slowly falling apart. Becoming convinced that her mother didn't kill herself, Anna starts urging the police to investigate, but as they do, Anna starts to question everyone and everything.
That's all I can say about the storyline, other than it's bloody brilliant.
You need to read it!
As the past meets the present, Mackintosh weaves a web of lies and deceit so delicate and intriguing that you will find it impossible to put down, you will loose sleep but you won't care a dot because it's so worth it to be left breathless by the sheer brilliance of Mackintosh's writing.
I had too many jaw dropping moments to remember through this one, and let me tell you, pre-order it now, this is one you do not want to miss.

It messed with my head. It destroyed my fingernails. It left me an emotional wreck. Another brilliant read from Clare. I couldn't put it down

I feel really bad. I loved this authors first book and was very fond of her 2nd but I have so many problems with this one - not to do with the writing obviously she can write - and not even with the addictive quality it's not like I threw it aside, I wanted to know what happened - but I found the plot and execution disappointing considering it came from such an obviously talented author so rather than my *rating reflecting the writing quality this is ALL about everything else.

There are so many generic twists in this book which obviously I can't say as I'll spoil it for others but it's almost like it's had the kitchen sink thrown at it in an attempt to find that book moment or to make it interesting. It starts with an intriguing opening - an anonymous letter suggesting that the suicide of Anna's parents may not be all that it seems - but then descends from there into a terribly convoluted mish mash of reveals, some very annoying plot device behaviour from Anna to allow the "tension" to go on a little , some blatant foreshadowing that allowed another twist that has been used to great effect by better stories and is now nowhere anything near new, followed by another one that was, at that point, almost the one that DID make me just kill the damn thing but it's CLARE MACKINTOSH and I LOVE HER so I thought it would be saved. Then came the end the "hidden bad guy" reveal and I just gave up pretending I could love it and let myself hate it.

The relationship between Murray and Sarah is the shining light in Let Me Lie. If the book had been about them....but....

Too many twists none of them particularly hard to predict and no real connection to any of the characters beyond the two I mentioned just now.

I hate this book. I'M SO SORRY.

:(

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Clare Mackintosh's debut book I Let You Go and even now, years after reading it - still think OMG what a twist, so you can imagine my delight to receive an early copy of her 3rd standalone psychological thriller Let Me Lie from her publishers.

Let Me Lie is a very twisty, twisted and dark thriller which had me gripped from the first page to the last.  The main character Anna Johnson is struggling to cope with the double suicide of her parents a year ago, a new born baby and a new relationship with her partner, when she receives a card on the anniversary of her mother's suicide which hints that all is not as it seems.

With several narrators, the story is split into 3 parts and each part does have the trademark Mackintosh OMG moment.  All of the characters are well developed and plausible, but certainly not likeable.  I particularly loved Murray, the retired policeman/civilian desk officer who decides to investigate in his own time and had the most emotional and heartbreaking back story.

If you enjoy your psychological thrillers full of twists, OMG moments, unlikeable characters, unreliable narrators, secrets and lies then you will enjoy this book.

A year after her mother’s suicide, Anna Johnson receives a cruelly teasing anniversary card that casts doubt in her mind that the Coroner’s verdict of suicide is correct. She is sure her mother Caroline was murdered, so she heads off to the local police station to report what she thinks is a crime. There she meets Murray, a retired police detective who is working at the station as a civilian support officer. He is intrigued by the case when he learns that a few months before Caroline had died, her husband had committed the self same act in the exact same location. It looked like her mother’s was a copycat suicide.
Anna has struggled to accept both suicide verdicts. Her parents were not the kind of people to take that course. She is still grieving their loss and very angry with them, leaving her to cope alone. She is now the mother of a newborn daughter and she is exhausted, her emotions are heightened and she needs help. She is so relieved that Murray is going to take it further and maybe reopen the investigations. Murray knows that he should hand the case over to the CID department as he no longer carries a warrant card but he promises himself that he will do that if he can uncover any fresh evidence that will ensure the case is viable.
When the investigations start Anna is gravely unsettled by what Murray discovers, but so is someone else and Anna finds herself, her partner Mark and their daughter in mortal danger. As the mystery deepens a thrilling car chase through the countryside will set your heart racing and your pulse throbbing with fear. I was totally shocked by the stunning twist at the end of the novel and so admired the exciting and well informed story line.
Clare Mackintosh has first-hand experience of crime procedures from her career vantage as a police investigative officer, work she did before she became a popular published author. She has an excellent back catalogue of crime driven psychological thrillers, all stand alone novels, so if you have never read any of her novels before, this would certainly be a fantastic one to start with. I’ve read them all, and I really loved this one. Her characters are brilliant and this story is told from various points of view. The parallel thread, the story of Murray and his fragile wife was a fantastic story in its own right.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Sphere for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. I can recommend this as a very good read, tense and full of excitement. It’s a 9/10 from me, a well deserved 4* review.