Not as amazing as I hoped but never the less a decent read. Feel a bit long winded and lots of build up that ultimately didn’t have a bit climax. Started off great had me hooked then it petered out a bit.

A stunning read this was the first book by Lisa Ballantyne that I have read and I loved every part of it once I started I could not put it down and every chance I got I just had to sneak a page or two.

The book focuses on two families and how an accusation of sexual abuse threatens to tear both families apart.
As you read the book you don't know who is telling the truth and this is what keeps you coming back, the writing is superb as Ballantyne captures the horror of both families that makes your gut churn.

All the characters that inhabit the world are written beautifully and are well fleshed out the pacing is just right, the book deals with a shocking allegation that some readers might find disturbing but Ballantyne handles this with expert care, Narrated by several main characters which is easy to follow as you keep getting each persons point of view.

This book reminded me of "HE SAID SHE SAID" by Erin Kelly another book along the same themes but I felt Ballantyne handle this better without all the red hearings and crazy twist endings, as the story told here was so gripping no silly shocks or twists were needed here, the book had a very satisfying end as well.

Well worth your time and hard earned cash.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Book group for the ARC.

I found this thriller compelling and difficult to put down. It is well written and well paced with twists and turns throughout. A powerful but horrifying story, it was uncomfortable to read in places with a shocking twist at the end which I didn't expect. I found the characters in the book very believable and authentic. It is a story of false accusation, relationships, trust, betrayal, family, secrets and lies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very twisted story which i loved. Complex relationships with the characters and some really hard scenes.

Its fantastic.

I couldn't finish this book, because I hated every single character in it. I think this is what the author intended, but I hate when I can only see the bad of humankind in a book, and nothing good. I also got easily confused by the many POVs and the question: What is true and what isn't?
The wave this year with all the unlikely main characters in thrillers, etc just wasn't for me. I want to trust the voice I am reading., I want to trust the characters I like.

But I think I am also a bit overthrown with the topic, that might be super interesting for some! But girls like Angela (In the end I didn't finish and don't if she lied or not) are what makes "real" victims of abuse coming out super hard and I don't want to read about this topic in such a way. I want a book where it is clear if the girl is lying about something so awful I know why the author did the story like that, because most public cases of accusing someone for sexual assault are shady and not clear, but for me this was just too hard to read about.

This was a fascinating and absorbing read which left me with many mixed emotions. Nick is happily married with two children and suddenly finds himself accused of abuse by a troubled 12 year old, Angela. The characters are very well portrayed and there are things to like and dislike about each of the main characters in the story. At times I felt quite depressed by what I was reading because I believed in them. Well written covering many facets of abuse, guilt or innocence of the parties and the life-changing lifetime effects.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Lisa Ballantyne/Little, Brown Book Group for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Liar Liar tells the story of an allegation made against a teacher and ago is telling the truth. The plot has several twists and turns as more and more is revealed about the characters.

I found this to be an easy but frustrating read. I didn’t like the way that some ends were not tied up and explained. However, the book was fast paced and I felt like I cared about the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Right from the word go, I could engage with this story. Although about a sensitive subject, it was written sympathetically without the harrowing detail.
The plot was very twisty, and through the duration of the story I couldn't make up my mind which character was the one who was abusing Angela. None of the characters in the book were particularly pleasant, so I didn't warm to any of them, which probably helped me keep a very impartial view of all concerned.
The ending was a bit of a suprise but welcomely warming.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

This book was an interesting read.
Someone is lying, but who is it?
A twisty tale full of surprises along the way,

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

The accused vs. the accuser. Nick, an actor and freelance drama teacher is the accused, while 12-year-old Angela is the accuser. But who is lying? Mud sticks, whether you're innocent or guilty...

I was drawn in to this book straight away. I warmed to Nick while I felt Angela was lying, and wanted to race through the book to see if I was right, hoping it wasn't Nick, who I trusted more. In fact, I read over half the book in one sitting! It also helped that the story is set locally to me, so I was able to picture the area well!

The story is told by more than one character, though mainly Nick and Angela, but also by Nick's wife and mother, and Angela's parents, so we get many viewpoints to help us make a decision as to who is telling the truth, and who is lying. There is a lot more to the story than meets the eye, and Angela is definitely a troubled young girl.

Sensitive and complex topics are covered within the book - pornography, rape, violence, child abuse - though I felt Lisa Ballantyne covered these well, sensitively and respectfully.

The ending was a little abrupt, hence why I've only given it four stars rather than five.

Angela is a troubled young girl. She accuses her drama teacher of molesting her. But is she telling the truth? But mud sticks anyway. This book cleverly looks at the impact of abuse on the victim and the accused. Not an easy read at time’s but nothing graphic.

A horrific read.

Angela Furness, aged twelve, had done exceptionally well throughout junior school. However, this all changed when she moved to upper school. She got into serious fights with other pupils. Became sullen and disrespectful towards her mother, Donna but still very attached to her father, Stephen.

She tried to commit suicide and was only saved because of Donna reaching her in time. Then finally the truth comes out, she’s pregnant.

Nicolas Dean and his wife Marina are enjoying a quiet Friday evening with their two children when their world is shattered by two detectives at the front door. They arrest Nick as Angela has named him as the man who has been abusing her. Nick knows that he is innocent but has no way of proving his innocence.

I must give credit to Lisa Ballantyne for writing an excellent novel that moves at a fast pace. The protagonists of the story, Angela, Donna, Nick and Marina with other characters like Stephen, Angela's father and Nick's two children make this a compelling and challenging subject to read.

The subject of paedophilia and/or incest disturbs me to the point of wanting to scream "stop, no more" and that's how I felt. I had a clenched jaw reading that this little girl, just twelve, had been subjected to the worst abuse possible. I felt her mother's pain. I sympathised with Nick and Marina's suffering and was appalled to find out the identity of the real perpetrator.

My comment to other readers would be that if they have been subjected to this type of crime, then maybe it would not be a good idea to read the book. PTSD can quickly return to haunt you.


Bluebell

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I don’t normally read books like this but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.. its an eye opener as mud sticks and can ruin your life when your innocent. It was a real page turner from the start and a great unexpected twist at the end. The first book I’ve read by this author, and I’ll be keeping my eye open in the future for more books.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this

A story of a teacher being accused by a student of sexual abuse. Scary! From what we read, Nick Dean is a normal married 30 something guy in a loving relationship with lovely kids. He's the main carer for his kids as his wife has a high powered job, and actor Nick is establishing his business working in schools. Until one Friday night the police appear at his door and tell him he has been accused of sexually assaulting a 12 year old pupil. What the author leads us to is a troubled girl, Angela, who has changed dramatically from starting secondary school. But what has caused this? Her parents' marriage breakup? She rebels against her mother, gets into trouble at school, and seems closer to her police officer dad. There seemed to be more to this. Nick's life is turned upside down, he's not allowed unsupervised contact with his children while the cloud of suspicion is hanging over him, his wife's career may be affected. But something has clearly happened to Angela. I had my suspicions as I read, but was still shocked by the outcome. A scary example for those working with children of how mud can stick and one accusation can change the course of several lives. I raced through this. #netgalley #littleliar

Little Liar is a timely book, coming just at the point where we are debating the issue of police and defence counsel being able to trawl the phone data and social media of people (usually women) who have made a sexual abuse complaint.

This is a well told tale of accusation and denial. Nick is a much liked actor/school drama teacher teacher who has a loving wife and two children. Theirs is a house full of love and laughter.

Then one day that life is shattered and Nick is accused of sexual assault by Angela, a 13 year old student. As the police, social services and inevitably, the tabloids and social media all come into play, the reader is left to wonder who is telling the truth.

Lisa Ballantyne beautifully prepares the way for us to really like Nick and hope that what Angela says just can’t be true. And yet Angela has very clearly been the subject of sexual abuse and she is an angry and distressed young girl.

Ballantyne cleverly had me rethinking my view time and time again as she unravelled yet more aspects of her plot and I thought that the dialogue and characterisation was beautifully done. She explores the issues really well and makes the reader desperate to know who is telling the truth and who is lying. Though there is more than one kind of truth, as the book makes clear.

I really enjoyed this book and it played on my mind until I finished it. The story is narrated by different characters perspectives but is easy to follow with an unexpected twist.

This was definitely an interesting and different take on sexual assault when the accused is actually innocent.
It was definitely a thought provoking book that makes you turn the pages, and there are twists I wasn't expecting.

Overall, I thought it was well written and accomplished.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

The accused

While Nick Dean is enjoying an evening at home with his family, he is blissfully unaware that one of his pupils has just placed an allegation of abuse against him - and that Nick's imminent arrest will see the start of everything he knows and loves disintegrating around him.

Because, mud sticks, right? No matter if you're innocent or guilty.

The accuser

When Angela Furness decides that enough is enough - she hates her parents, hates her friends and, most of all, despises what has recently happened at school - she does the only thing she knows will get her attention: calls the police. But Angela is unaware that the shocking story she is about to tell will see her life begin to topple.

Because, once you've said what you've said, there's no way back, right? No matter if you're innocent or guilty.

This story follows two families, that of the accused and the accuser. Nick, the accused, is a happily married man, a father of two young children and teaches drama at the local secondary school, Angela, the accuser, is a twelve year old student at the school where Nick teaches, her parents are separated and she feels the world is against her, when she accuses Nick of sexually assaulting her she doesn't realise what the consequences will be to either of their families, but who is telling the truth and will either of their lives ever be the same again?

This is the first book I've read by this author and, though it is a very harrowing subject, I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know who was telling the truth, I liked how she told the story from the viewpoints of many characters throughout the book and I certainly didn't expect that final twist. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I'd like to thank Little Brown Book Group, Piatkus and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Amazon & Goodreads

Written by Lisa Ballantyne — Here’s an author who has already made waves with her work. Lisa Ballantyne’s debut The Guilty One was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2014 and has since been translated into nearly 30 languages, while her second book, Redemption Road, also hit the bestsellers’ list.

Little Liar is another standalone and it hits hard – literally – from the very first page. In the playground of a Croydon secondary school, two lower school girls are having a no-holds-barred fight, egged on by their fellow pupils. Angela has the upper hand over Jasmine, and as the pair are finally pulled apart by members of staff, she is gleefully clutching a handful of her opponent’s hair. It’s the final straw for the head teacher, who suspends the 12-year-old for bullying behaviour and violence towards Jasmine.

The fight, and her nonchalant reaction to it, are the first signs that something’s amiss with young Angela. This is no run-of-the-mill pre-teen. She’s overweight, stroppy (with her mother at least) and she wants to die. No wonder her next move is to try to commit suicide by taking an overdose of aspirin. Angela used to be a sweet little girl, so what’s changed her so dramatically?

In a London suburb, a young family is getting ready for Friday night at home. In the kitchen, mother Marina is making her trademark paella, while dad Nick is upstairs, bathing their two children, Luca who is six and four-year-old Ava. The happily domesticated scene is about to be shattered by a knock on the door. It’s the police, and they arrest Nick on suspicion of sexual assault on a young girl. Nick is a former TV actor who now runs his own business, called ACTUp, which runs drama workshops at schools and for companies, and the assault is alleged to have taken place at a school in Croydon.

It soon becomes clear that his accuser is Angela, and while Nick vehemently denies any wrongdoing, there’s a niggling suspicion that he’s hiding something. Meanwhile, after her failed suicide attempt, we start to get the feeling that Angela isn’t as cut and dried a character as we first assumed either…

The scene is set for a story that could have stepped right out of the pages of the tabloid newspapers, so keyed into the current psyche is it. This is #MeToo, on a wholly believable, down to earth level. An innocent young girl has been violated, while a minor celebrity must step into the media spotlight and face trial by Twitter and Facebook. No smoke without fire, right?

Prepare for some protracted reading sessions as you desperately try to sort out the truth from the bare faced lies in this densely plotted tale. The deeper in we are drawn, the more the stories of Nick’s wife Marina and Angela’s mother Donna come into play – and both women have a vitally important central role in what lies ahead. They are both convinced that the stories they’re being told are true… until, bit by bit, snippets are revealed which begin to put an entirely different slant on things. Think you can guess the outcome? You may as well toss a coin or start pulling the petals off daisies, chanting ‘he did it, he didn’t do it’.

This is the first time I’ve read a Lisa Ballantyne book and I now have her pegged as a sneaky so and so who delights in putting her readers off balance. It’s a most enjoyable experience and one I’d recommend to those who love cleverly crafted psychological thrillers with a wicked twist or two.

For more crime fiction centred on teenagers, try The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood or 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough.

Piatkus
Print/Kindle/iBook
£6.99

CFL Rating: 4 Stars

The story about out of work actor Nick who is teaching drama at a school, where out of the blue one Friday night he has a knock at the door, it’s the police and he is arrested for sexually assaulting one of his pupils. The pupil is a very angry disturbed young girl called Angela.

For me I felt the story was predictable but the book title is the big clue. I also found it a little clumsy at times, as there were little red herrings / flags thrown in I am supposing to try and throw you off track, but are just left. And a couple of times story departs for a quick detour.

After the bulk of the book being accused, it was a little light on evidence and the end skated quickly on the whys and whats, which felt rather strange and rushed. Having said this, I really found the authors style of writing an easy read. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the book as I don’t think it’s easy to enjoy a book with such a dark delicate storyline, but it definitely delivered on evoking the emotions of all involved in such a volatile situation.

I was given this copy by Netgalley in exchange for this fair review. Thanks to them and the author.
I give this 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4)