Gripping and believable storyline, lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing, highly recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was ok. I didn’t enjoy it as most of my friends. The subject matter was good but it didn’t give me the “read till the end” excitement. I didn’t like the characters and was not invested in them at all. I felt it was very predictable at the end also.

Lies Lies Lies is a brilliant domestic thriller packed with twists.

The novel is told from the alternate points of view of married couple, Simon and Daisy. I’m going to avoid any hint of possible plot spoilers in this review, as one of the things I most enjoyed about this book was the surprises and twists in the plot. It made me want to stop everything I was doing and read it in one go.

It’s clear at the outset that all is not well in their marriage and both have secrets. Adele Parks gradually builds up the flaws and problems facing both characters, and in doing so unpicks layer after layer of damage at the core of their lives. The setting is so ordinary - a couple bringing up their daughter, hanging out with their friends, going to school musical productions - that it makes everything going wrong in Daisy and Simon’s life more suspenseful and sinister. There are some shocking scenes, and then one in particular when bang, their lives will never be the same again. Then just when you think things can’t get any worse, the twists keep coming.

True to the title, at the heart of this novel is the devastating consequence of lies. Or what people think are lies and the damage done regardless. When Simon reached his rockbottom, I continually asked “what if”. It was just so sad that things turned out that way. Oh, and wait for the twist there! Adele Parks creates the atmosphere and mood of the despair and broken lives in a captivating, compassionate way. Both Simon and Daisy have plenty of undesirable qualities, yet I cared about them and empathised with their predicaments all along the way. Their past and present traumas are raw and slowly revealed as the reader gets to know them. I liked the parallels between Simon’s early life and how things turned out for Daisy, Millie and Simon.

Adele Parks has written a fantastic thriller that packs in so much. It deals with topics such as alcoholism, infertility, relationships, rape, prison, parenting, friendships, trauma, domestic abuse. I really enjoyed reading this book and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a pacy domestic thriller with lots of twists. The reason I’ve rated this 4 stars instead of 5 is because there were a few things that I found a little distracting as a reader, mostly towards the end of the book. In the Simon chapters there were a few times when Simon described how other characters were thinking and feeling when he couldn’t have known this. There were points in the book where I felt there was too much description and scene setting, and particularly where this described detail that I didn’t think characters would be thinking about given the situation they were in. The book is so well written in most parts, I felt there could be more depth to some of the character experiences where they were telling the reader too much. A satisfying ending, but at times I thought the interactions between Simon and Daisy seemed a little incongruous given what had taken place.

But overall a great read.

Adele Parks is an author whose name I know but having never read any of her books, I was intrigued to pick this one up - and to be honest I was left with rather mixed feelings. It is a book that deals with many issues - infidelity, alcoholism, infidelity, domestic abuse - and perhaps that was part of the problem, It centres on the troubled marriage between Daisy and Simon, and Simon's descent into alcoholism is well written and well dealt with. However, in attempting to deal with so many issues and throwing in endless twists and turns led to an ending that felt rather rushed in an effort to tie everything up. It was hard to like the characters and as a result, it felt like a book that whilst a perfectly good read, left me a little flat at the end.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This book for me is Adele Parks at her very best. A superb read. Lies, lies and more lies! The pages literally turn themselves as the reader becomes engrossed in the lives of Simon, Daisy and their daughter Millie. They tried for years to conceive before Millie was born, Simon is keen for a 2nd child, but is shocked by what he is told at an appointment with a fertility doctor. His world is turned upside down. He is drinking and relying on alcohol more than ever, this results in their relationship feeling the strain. A horrific accident, occurs, following a party with friends, both their lives are dramatically changed.
This story covers lots of tough topics, alcohol abuse, an abusive relationship, violence, post natal depression and rape.
There are many twists to the story, it’s very well written, continually surprising the reader right until the end.
Well done Adele Parks.!

I really enjoyed this book, what a great read. I couldn't put it down as I needed to know what was going to happen next, I also lhe twist. I definitely recommend this

An enjoyable read with many twists within the story. The characters are well-drawn, but in parts were rather long winded. I found the pacing rather hit and miss and found myself skipping parts where Simon especially was giving vent, in order to get on with the story.

# Lies Lies Lies # Netgally
Oh gosh where do I start. I only started this book this afternoon. I have finished at 5::6am I. Am absolutely so taken back that I actually managed to stay awake to finish it. I am in awe. Dose everyone deserve a second chance. Simon's a alcoholic a functioning one. Daisy his wife is a a book teacher. No matter what mistakes Simon's makes Daisy still thinks she can get him to see what he's doing to her. Their daughter. Until a accident happens. Things then change drastically. It's Leading up to the accident is a combination of someone having got something quite wrong. That's it's constantly at the back of Simon's a head. Which only fuels his addiction. That's when things really start to go wrong. It's brilliant book. One I definitely recommend well written with more than enough twists, Although I am only going to give it a four star rating due to the last couple of pages .. Which for me personally was a little bit of a let down because of its predictability. Definitely recommend band certainly a brilliant read

Great read. Twists and turns throughout with characters I became really invested in. Highly recommended.

Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks is a fascinating read about different relationships: marital, familial, friendship. The book also explores how these relations can unravel when secrets are exposed. There are many characters in this novel and Adele Parks' craft of storytelling comes into its own in masterfully making all these characters relevant to the plot. Alcoholism, fertility, betrayal, trust, love, are issues that bind the characters together as well as test the different relationships. There are surprises throughout the book to keep you turning the pages with more surprises at the end. This book will definitely be suitable for a book club as there are enough talking points to discuss.

Adele Parks has to be one of my favourite writers. I was really looking forward to this book and certainly didn't disappoint. One of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year.

An interesting captivating read a well written psychological thriller. In all honesty, I wasn't too impressed with the characters, but that helps the plot. Definitely a recommended read.

Lies Lies Lies, Adele Parks

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: ,Women's Fiction, Romance

Bah, Humbug. Women's Fiction – that infuriates me. Why do we insist on having such an outdated category?
Well, that's out of the way so on to the book...I loved it, though at the start I thought it was going to be just meh!

Daisy and Simon seem top have the perfect marriage, adore each other and their talented daughter Millie, both have good jobs, a nice home and long time friends that lead to a good social life. Then we see a few cracks appear, the friends have a few issues, Daisy carries a grudge against one of her college friends, kept it up for the last 15 years even though the parties have all moved on. Lucy had an affair with Daisy's sisters husband, she's now married to him and they have a child, and Daisy's sister is also happily married but for Daisy its an unforgivable breach. They all still meet, having friends in common but Daisy avoids Lucy as much as she can. For me this characterises Lucy's nature, she has strict codes of right and wrong, and is incredibly loyal. This loyalty spreads to Simon when he drinks too much, he's a functioning alcoholic and for the most part is more or less in control, always the life of the party, always a fun guy and he adores Daisy and Millie. So much so that he thinks they should have another child. It took a while for them to have Millie though, and they're older and seek medical help. After that his alcoholism really takes over his life and Daisy just doesn't know what to do. I really began to dislike Simon here even though I felt sorry for him. I sympathised with Daisy, been there, done that and its tough. You love someone but don't necessarily like what they do.
Gradually the issues get worse, until things go horribly wrong. Their lives all change irrevocably, and the secrets that have been stacking up increase, there are outright lies and untold ones, lies of omission. I so felt for everyone, and the people I least expected to help stepped up, showing the power of true friends.
You need to suspend believe a little to really get into the story, when the secrets and lies get revealed and the consequences come out, but then as they saying goes, Truth can be stranger than fiction, so who knows?

A gripping read, full of unexpected events and turns, and a fabulous story. The characters felt very real though in my head, their actions very true to form. I guess I thought of them very much as “Boden Catalogue” families. UK readers will understand that, the Middle classes, university, property owning families. I'm making that point as a fact not a criticism, its just a type of family, as real as the landed gentry type and the families that never get beyond renting homes, where a stable job is an aspiration. Adele herself makes the point that Simon isn't the typical prisoner, and sadly she's right in that some people seem almost destined for a life or crime. The prison section, prison life, how easy it is to become accepting, institutionalised, how the hierarchy of people like the Dales who run the prisoners and some of the guards, even though they are prisoners themselves was very realistic. She's celalry researched the prison rules for visitors etc, I learned a lot I didn't know about visiting rules. I find when authors do that research it leads to a much better reading experience for me, that I can enjoy the realism of the events more, feeling that this is the way life, and in this case prison life, works.

Stars: Five, a brilliant read, very emotional, very well put together, turning my feelings about characters completely upside down. The ending – a little hard to believe but for me it was what I wanted so I'm happy even if its a little stretching credulity.

Arc via Netgalley

I have enjoyed Adele Parks previous books but I really struggled with this one. I didn't like any of the characters and wished they would start thinking sensibly. The victim was of course the young bright young girl whoreally didn't have a chance.

Oh My Goodness, what a super ‘on the edge of your seat’ read!

This is the first book I have read by Adele Parks and I look forward to reading more of her work. This book based around a family - Simon, Daisy and their lovely daughter Millie. Very interesting characters, lots of twists and a great plot. Just when I thought I knew where the story line was going I was completely thrown with a new unexpected twist! Very cleverly written with such detail and you can tell that a lot has research has gone into all the issues addressed in the book. Adele Parks is such a talented writer - you get so immersed in the story and want to know what happens next. It is very hard to put down, a very gripping and captivating read. I think this would make a great film! If you love reading psychological thrillers then this is definitely one for you to read!

I loved I Invited Her In by Adele Parks so I was very excited to read her newest release.

Simon and Daisy are married with a six year old daughter called Millie. The story follows their relationship, the lies that each of them are telling and how everything comes out. It's so well written and at times you aren't sure what the truth actually is.

There are so many great topics covered - infertility, alcoholism and controlling relationships, to name a few. The ending where we find out the absolute truth shocked me and I'm still not sure what I think about it!

Daisy and Simon are happy together except when Simon drinks, he is an alcoholic. They spent many years trying to conceive with many failed IVF attempts before Millie was conceived. They both adore Millie. Simon is desperate for another child, Daisy is unsure.
A chance comment from the Dr changes everything. Simon starts drinking even more heavily and everything spirals out of control and their worlds come crashing down.

The story revolves around the aftermath and when the truth comes out things are never what they seem. A fantastic read with an ending I didn’t see coming.

I have read Adele Parks before and always enjoyed them as I did this one. Daisy and Simon led very difficult lives due to his drinking and infertility issues. She seemed to accept the drinking situation without too much drama although I guess that is what would happen in a situation like this. I felt her friends could have been more in tune with her problems and I feel they could have been more helpful as they just stood in the background. I don’t know anything really about people who drink to excess and maybe this is a idealist view on my part. I felt that Darryl’s character was challenging and would have thought that his sadistic character should have shown earlier at University but we can all keep our true selves under wrap and one lie leads to another. There were several twists in this book which made the reading of it interesting and the ending of the book was a surprise, a pleasant one must say. I have read some of the reviews on Amazon and wonder whether I was reading the same book. I felt it was definitely worth a read and a book I would recommend to friends

A really good read again from Adale Perks plenty of interesting characters and lots of twists in the plot The story revolves around an alcoholic husband and when a terrible accident happened things can never be the same again but things are not always as they seem There are lots of secrets that have to be uncovered before the truth comes out and the horrific memories are finally revealed

Absolutely loved this. Wasnt exactly what I expected but thoroughly enjoyed it and have been raving about it to whoever will listen! My full review is going up later this week on the blog.