Little Liar is the story of a 12 year old girl who accuses her drama teacher of sexual assault. What follows is a multi-layered story from various points of view.

I found this book thrilling from beginning to end. I felt the subject matter was handled delicately, while the darker undertones to some of the characters was also portrayed well. There were enough twists to the story to leave me guessing until the end as to what would be revealed to be the truth and I was not disappointed.

All in all, an enjoyable read and I will certainly look out for other books by Lisa Ballantyne in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is an exceptionally well written story, dealing with a very challenging topic. IT kept me enraptured from beginning to end and I would highly recommend it.

The whole way through this book right up until the end chapters, I was going back and forth in my mind as to whether I thought Nick was guilty of these accusations. One chapter I’d be leaning towards thinking him innocent, and then in the next chapter some new information would come to light that would make me question my initial thoughts.

The book switches back and forth between Nick, Angela, and those closest to them. This was such an interesting way to read the book as not only do we see how Nick and Angela are affected by what’s happening, but we also get to see how Nick’s wife, Angela’s mum and dad, and even Nick’s parents are dealing with things.

Accusations of this kind have far reaching and long lasting effects. I really empathised with all the characters at some point or another throughout the story. They might not be the most likeable, but they are authentic. This was an intricately written book which weaves together multiple characters perspectives with a surprise twist at the end. If you like to be kept guessing until the very end then this book is for you.

I got this book from Net Galley & Piatkus publisher in exchange for a fair review.
Captivating and written in a very intelligent way. I didn’t like any of the characters for at least half of the book but I kept reading. I just had to know what happened next. I think because the story is not easy to tell and the characters were actually believable. The story has two sides and two sides had to be heard in this molestation accusation. We see the struggle of both: accuser (teenage Angela) and accused (the local school art teacher Nick). Only nothing is just black & white. Once the ball is in the action, everything for everyone changes forever. And everyone is coping the problems with the different way, not always right, not always fair. Taking sides is not easy. The twists show that there is never one clear view, we tend to hide some things, we don’t now people we are living with.
The book is brilliant in showing how our characters are not perfect.

This was a particularly harrowing story that kept me gripped from start to finish. Nick, an actor who when resting takes drama workshops into schools, was accused of molesting one of his students, a troubled 12 year old called Angela. The book follows their separate stories and looks at how one event could have catastrophic consequences for two families. Throughout the story I really battled with empathy, there were times I felt particularly empathetic towards Nick or Angela, but then something would happen which would make me feel significantly less empathy. The story also looks at the situation from the point of view of Nick’s wife Marina, and Angela’s parents Stephen, a police officer, and Donna who has a fractured relationship with her daughter.

There is a twist in the story, which I must admit I had mildly contemplated and then dismissed, before I reached the actual twist, so it came as a shock because I had dismissed it earlier. It was a fitting conclusion to the story, and I was impressed by the story progression. It was a difficult subject matter, that raised a whole gamut in emotions as I read the book, but in spite of the subject matter I really enjoyed it.

Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Little Liar

This is an emotionally charged and thought provoking read that I highly recommend.

Little Liar is a great book, it’s hard to review without giving much away but it’s basically a book based on the allegations of sexual abuse made by Angela about her drama teacher Nick.

Told from the viewpoint of both parties involved, rest assured you’re in for a fantastically emotional read that you won’t want to put down. What makes it all the more chilling is how easily a situation like this could arise in real life. Four shiny stars.

This can be an uncomfortable read at times and it blurs the boundaries between what we think of as innocent and guilty. The accuser is an innocent child but she has serious issues with behaviour and has obviously lied by accusing her drama teacher of sexual assault. The accused is obviously innocent but as the book progresses we find out that his behaviour is not exactly pure. This makes it very difficult for his wife to determine what has actually happened.

It is interesting to hear the different perspectives (accuser, accused, mother of accuser, wife of accused, father of accuser) and see how an allegation can have long lasting impacts on all concerned.

I did guess the twist quite a bit before the end but this did not affect my enjoyment of the book (although enjoyment seems like the wrong word!).

Definitely provides food for thought.

The plot of this book is not a unique one. Schoolgirl accuses man of sexual abuse. He claims innocence. But who is telling the truth? What the author does differently, however, is a deep dive into both central characters at their very core. There was no real twist per se in this story but I enjoyed the exploration of the characters as the plot progressed. I did guess what the main 'surprise' of the story was but Lisa writes so incredibly well that it was an enjoyable read anyway (despite the subject matter!) and I'll be interested to see what she comes up with next.

I’m slightly disappointed by how predictable the book was. Nothing surprised me; it was pretty obvious “who did it and who did not”. :(
Plus the reaction of one of the main characters when the truth came out.... The words of explanation... Their excuse... I would have given this book 3 stars, but because of that one “reaction” I can’t give more than 2.

I didn't like the beginning of the book. Somehow it didn't make me excited. I think both of the family is very cliche.

A strong story- difficult subject matter to read and I can imagine for write too- but a powerful impactful story that will stay with me for a long time.

Thrilling from start to finish. It showes you how lies can spiral out of control and effect more than one person. The ending was a complete surpirse for me which was nice. I read it in 3 days it was that good.

This is a well written novel but it was not easy to get into because the majority of characters were so unlikeable. Two families are scarred by lies and secrets and a damaged 12 year old is at the centre. I was not rooting for any of the adu.lts and do not want to add any spoilers but I could see who the main perpetrator was almost from the start. Good writing but a depressing read.

When out-of-work actor Nick Dean takes a job teaching creative arts at a nearby school, he couldn't possibly have foretold the dramatic events that would take place outside his classroom.

Married to Marina, with two adorable children, Luca and Ava, life is good. Until the police come to the family home, that is. One of Nick's students, Angela Furness, has accused him of sexually assaulting her. Of course, Nick denies the allegation. However, mud sticks and it isn't long before his reputation is in tatters. For the Dean family, life as they know it is over. But is Nick lying, or is Angela? Over the course of the novel, we're about to find out.

Told through chapters that alternate beween Nick and Angela, readers are given both sides of the story. Through Nick's eyes we get to see what it may be like to be accused of such a crime and the repercussions not just for the accused but for their family, too. With the police, child protective services and social services all forced to act, and with the media and social media dragging him over hot coals before he's been formally charged with a crime, Nick's life comes under close scrutiny and is no longer his own. Assuming the role of devoted wife, Marina initially stands by her man, defending him to anyone questioning his innocence. But when Nick's solictor tells them the police have found something on Nick's computer, Marina's furious and her faith in her husband starts to waver. Could there be some truth to the allegation afterall?

In Angela we're introduced to a brilliant unreliable narrator. The twelve-year-old-child of divorced parents, Angela lives with her mother, Donna, and sees her father at weekends. When Angela is suspended from school for fighting with another girl, Donna's frustrated at having to leave work to collect her. It isn't the first time she's been called to the school because of Angela's behaviour. When the two of them arrive home, inevitably an argument enuses and it isn't long before mother and daughter start hurling accusations and insults at one another. Volatile and violent, Angela's clearly a troubled girl but as I got to know her character, I didn't know what to think. Something's making Angela miserable, that much is obvious. But did Nick really sexually assault her, or is she making the whole thing up for attention? Her classmates seem to think so.

The 'he said / she said' aspect of Little Liar makes for compelling reading and throughout the novel I found myself changing my mind about who was lying and who was telling the truth. Nick's portrayed as a kind, gentle family man and I couldn't help but hope for a good outcome for him and his family. But I felt empathy for Angela, too. It's to the author's credit that I became so invested in her characters, reading long into the night in order to find out their fate.

I must also commend Lisa Ballantyne for writing a compelling novel that also made me stop and think long after I'd turned the last page. While Little Liar is a work of fiction, in real life the media loves to sensationalise similar stories; the public acting judge and jury, assuming guilt before a suspect is charged and all the facts are known. There's no smoke without fire, as the saying goes. But where the allegation proves to be unfounded, irreperable damage has already been done and the repercussions for both parties are long-lasting. As humans we're quick to judge - and we don't always get it right.

With revelations being drip-fed throughout, each making readers second guess what they think they know, Little Liar is a wonderfully written page-turner that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This was a gripping but harrowing rollercoaster ride. Based on a statement by a thirteen year old girl, two families lives are turned upside down. The author writes from several different characters point of view, revealing the ricochet effect one truth or lie can have on so many lives. The truth comes out eventually of course, but we are left twisting and turning not knowing who to believe. A book I kept wanting to return to!
Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy.

#littleliar #lisaballantyne #netgalley

Lisa Ballantyne
Oh my gosh, what a rollercoaster of feelings and emotions.
I wanted to stop and start this book time and time again.
I felt every emotions from each character.
The story line about a drama teacher that has been accused of sexuality assaulted one of his pupils goes out off hand, even his wife and family goes to doubt him.
I was completed hooked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, highly recommend, a tough subject to write sbout, but well written and very compelling storyline. Intriguing and made me want to read more to find out about who was telling the truth.

I read this book feeling quite unsettled. Can we be innocent yet guilty at the same time? If we fantasize about a crime, does that make us capable of even criminals? The story (no spoilers) was thought-provoking, challenging and a compulsive read. I wasn't sure I liked some of the characters and understood how this can cloud out judgement of others.

Little Liar makes for tough reading, telling, as it does, the story of a twelve-year-old girl who has accused her drama tutor of sexually assaulting her. I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of a novel focusing on a man wrongly accused of this type of crime, given that so few rapes/sexual assaults are convicted and I believe that false accusations are a fairly minor issue in comparison. However, without giving away the plot, I feel that the author handled this issue well, and I was satisfied with the ending.

I enjoyed the different perspectives offered - that of the young girl, Angela, both of her parents, the accused, Nick, and his wife. The novel offers an interesting take on the ripple effects of an accusation like this, and I feel that the author delved deeply into the knock-on effects of all the people connected to both the accused and the accuser.

This is the first thing I have read by Lisa Ballantyne but I don't think it will be the last.

This novels deals with a difficult subject, namely accusations of sexual assault on a 13 year old girl by a grown man. It is tough and harrowing subject and I will say that when Nick was arrested near the beginning of the book I nearly didn't carry on. Not because it wasn't good writing but because it inspired such conflicted feelings in me that I really had to think about whether I wanted to know tackle this subject or not. In the end the truly great writing kept me going and I finished the book in just 4 days.

This book really highlights I think how the system is pretty broken. Both the accused and the accuser are thoroughly let down by it and despite believing that we should always believe women I do actually think that both parties should be given anonymity until such time as formal charges are made.

The only part of the book that I didn't like was the way it dealt with the viewing of porn. It portrayed it as something only men do, which is absolutely not true, and also equated rape fantasies with pedophilia for which there is absolutely no evidence. I felt like the author missed the opportunity to deal with that subject in a much more enlightened way. After all rape fantasies are actually something that women report as being their fantasy as much as men do.

In summery, this is excellent writing, that tackled a really tough subject overall very well indeed but that I think for some people, especially those who have maybe experienced the reporting of sexual assault or family centred assault this book maybe just too much for them.