Cover Image: The Lies We Tell

The Lies We Tell

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When Tabitha, Miriam's teenage daughter goes missing, she doesn't panic. Miriam has seen Tabitha knocking about after skipping school before but the whole thing soon turns more sinister when Tabitha doesn't return home. Miriam has her reasons for holding back the news of the disappearance from her famous film director husband, who works out in the US more than he is home. When she finally has to involve the police a leak to the press soon escalates onto front page news. Now Miriam has to explain why she hadn't told him. Miriam brings in PI Madison Attallee to help find her daughter knowing that it could mean the end of her marriage.
As the story is told from many characters it soon becomes apparent that everyone has something to hide. This is a very dodgy house of cards which is so very fragile that it could come tumbling down at any point. The story drops back to when Miriam was a young girl trying to fit in at home. Her mum and her and her step-dad and his son.
I love a story with timelines, one in the past and one present day, you just know that when they come together that there is going to be something big but I wasn't expecting the outcome that I got. I hadn't thought big enough, I hadn't thought it could be so crushing and so unthinkable. This turned this book from an OMG read to mind-blowing. I was thrown into attack mode as my rage built as I read and re-read.
The reasons that I couldn't connect with certain characters began to make sense and how I felt about others changed. This is a read with a fantastic build and superb conclusion.
Many thanks to NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

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I finished reading this book a few minutes ago, and I am trembling, quite unable to type this review. This was everything which thrilled me but scared me equally to my core. The secrets that spilled out were horrifying and evil; it showed me how truly dark some humans could be.

Niki Mackay is a brilliant writer who took me down the road of this slow burn thriller where I was introduced to radio presenter Miriam and her film director husband Nick and their routine life when their daughter Tabitha who went missing. Police and investigator Madison were called to find her daughter.

I assumed this book would be a routine thriller with a missing child arc. I glided happily down the pathway till the first twist hit me, I was delighted. When the pathway got way twisted, the thrills became darker, yet I couldn't stop reading even when I knew I was going into nightmarish area. The power of this story kept me hooked. I could guess the major twist, but that didn't stop me from reading this book.

Three POVs, two timelines, dark twists and perversions, and a prose that kept taking me deeper into this literary quicksand made this book a standout thriller, something which will remain with me for a long time.

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I haven’t read the first book in this series and although I assume it gives more insight into the character of Madison, it isn’t necessary to read it before this one.

So Miriam has a problem. Her daughter is missing, police aren’t too interested as she is 17 years old, her husband is famous and she’s hiding a huge secret. The only option she can find is to call upon Madison Attallee – private investigator to help before her secret is out.

Despite being a slow burner I was hooked from the start. Most of all I love that the main protagonists are both strong, intelligent but flawed females. For me, this made the characters both relatable and fascinating. Neither were overly likable at times but for some reason it was impossible not to empathise and feel what each was going through. The more details emerge, the more we learn about each woman.

Written in short chapters that are told from Madison or Miriam’s perspective the reader is given small snapshots into their past and current lives. Dispersed throughout are chapters from the past voiced by a character named Ruby who initially has no bearing on the situation. As the narrative unfolds and we learn more about Madison’s past, the more twists begin to unfold. Each chapter provides a glimpse of insight into events and information but it’s only when the pieces begin to slide together that the clever storytelling becomes apparent.

A brilliant slow burner suspense novel with two female protagonists and a cleverly written plot. Brilliant!

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4.5 stars
What a gripping story!

I loved everything in this book, from the writing style to the built up in anticipation for the next scenes , the characters that very well crafted and let’s be honest, which mother won’t do anything to find their daughter and save her marriage.

There are so many twists and turns that kept me wondering at every point what will really happen next, I thought I seen it coming but nope, nothing of that.

I enjoyed the slow burn and the steps that the investigation took to solve this mystery.

I did liked that the story was told in more POV as I could read both women voices while reading their respective chapters.

Overall was a very good slow burn book with everything that I love in my mystery books.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review to NetGalley and the publisher.

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I loved I, Witness, the first book in the Madison Attalee, Private Eye series. The Lies We tell can be read perfectly well as a stand- alone though, without having read the first book. Madison Attalee is an ex-cop turned Private Investigator. The firm is doing well after their first case garnered positive publicity and that’s an impetus that Madison is trying to hold on to.

Divorced with a teenage daughter, Molly, Madison is in a fairly new relationship with Peter, a detective whom she first met when both were cops. A recovering alcoholic, Madison is also trying to give up smoking, a combination which isn’t adding to her sense of humour.

Miriam Jackson is a radio presenter. Married to Nick, a director of Hollywood Rom-coms, they are parents to Tabitha, a bright 16 year old. Nick is often in L.A. making his movies, but the couple have a good relationship and Miriam is content with her life.

Then Tabitha goes missing and Miriam can’t get the police to treat her disappearance seriously. Unbeknownst to her mother, Tabitha hasn’t been to school for several days and when she checks, many of her clothes are missing. The police think she has run away and will come back. Miriam is distraught and consumed with guilt, because she was with someone she shouldn’t have been when Tabitha failed to come home from a stay with a girlfriend. She’s hoping that Tabitha will be home before she has to tell Nick that their daughter was ever missing. Peter is the detective she sees and he refers her to Madison.

Maddie’s race to find Tabitha becomes intensified when she realises what is underneath this seemingly ordinary teenage behaviour.Told in the characters’ various voices, The Lies We Tell is a strong and uncompromising story which lays bare the horrible world of child exploitation.

Pacy and propulsive, Niki McKay keeps readers guessing as Madison and her team, Emma and Claudia, seek out the information leading to Tabitha’s disappearance.

Running through this contemporary narration is the story of Ruby Williams, dating back to 1994, who died in her brother’s arms.

Moving easily through a dual timeline, McKay cleverly weaves a tale of tragic circumstances where poverty and vulnerability combine with addiction to create difficult family situations where abuse prevails from generation to generation. Combined with a dark story highlighting that there are always those who will seek to take advantage of those at their lowest ebb and exploit them for financial gain, she has written a compelling story that shows that irrespective of class, scum will always rise to the surface.

What grasped me though, was the fact that this kind of exploitation surrounds us. It can happen to anyone and there are always going to be predators who look for an opportunity to take advantage of any vulnerability. You may never know who the predator is and where their prey will come from.

Verdict: The Lies We Tell is disturbing, chilling and well plotted fiction. I don’t think this is going to be the case that allows Madison to give up the fags…

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This is a great read and I hope there will be more to come about Private Investigator Madison Attallee.
Miriam has a great life - a successful radio career, a very well off husband and a teenage daughter.
She bumps into an old friend one day and is tempted to see more of him as her life has lost its excitement.
The day after she gives in, she realises her daughter is missing and feels such guilt at what she was doing, that she doesn’t tell her husband that Tabitha is missing. He’s working away which makes it easier but soon events get out of control.
Maddison is employed to help find Tabitha but as she digs deeper, she doesn’t like what she finds.
This is a great detective thriller with some great twists to keep you on your toes.
Thanks to Orion and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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Really enjoyed this Private Investigator novel. Very intriguing read from first page until the last as you discover the mistakes and secrets that Miriam is keeping from her successful husband.

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This is a great read and I’m looking forward to reading the authors previous book.

Miriam Jackson has the perfect life. She’s a famous radio presenter and is married to a film director. She will do anything to keep her perfect life so when her daughter goes missing she hires a private investigator.

This is a great read that had me gripped from start to finish. Definitely an author to keep your eye out for.

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The Lies We Tell follows famous radio presenter Miriam whose daughter goes missing, and so she turns to private investigator Madison for help. Miriam's husband works abroad and she makes the decision not to inform him straight away, hoping their daughter returns before she has to admit to her whereabouts when it all began.

I absolutely flew through this one. The story line was gripping from start to finish and I constantly wanted to keep turning pages until all my questions were answered.

Even though Miriam's life is so far from my own, I couldn't help but empathise with her. She was far from perfect and made some horrible mistakes and misjudgements but she was a very likeable character. Madison's character was also really likeable as she had such caring and determined ways. Don't get me wrong, there were defiantly some unlikable characters in this book, but I will let you discover those yourself.

Considering this is only Mackay's second novel, I was delighted at how well written it was. It flowed incredibly well and I was deep in chapters before I even had time for tea.

The Lies We Tell is full of suspense as well as all the what, where and why's, and I would highly recommend this fans of fast paced mystery thrillers.

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Miriam is married to a famous film producer Nick,who spends most of his time in the USA. She is successful herself having a show on a radio station and so the pair are seen as local celebrities. Her first love was Ben who she bumped into again a few weeks ago which brought back memories of when they were young and of his step sister Ruby who sadly died at a rave. Miriam’s daughter Tabitha has gone missing- something she has done once before and someone at the police station told the press and because of the couples fame the press went mad. This time she is not staying at her friends, and she has skipped school despite Miriam having seen in in her uniform for the appropriate days. Miriam reports it to the police but also hires a private investigator, Madison, in order to get things moving along quicker. We are told the story from several characters viewpoints and also from that of Ruby in 1994. There are two stories interwoven. That of Tabitha having gone missing and Ruby’s story from the past. One to keep you turning the pages and a few surprises along the way. A well written crime novel that had me gripped.
For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog
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The Lies We Tell was a gripping thriller from the very first page to the very last page. I couldn't put it down. I don't usually read private investigator story, but the writing and the story just made me want to keep reading.

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The Lies We Tell by Niki Mackay 🖤
Thanks @nikimackaywriter @orionbooks @netgalley for my ARC
Publication date 27th June 2019
‘My daughter is missing. My husband can never know’. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Wow. What a book. This was read in nearly one sitting. If only life hadn’t got in the way 😊. Miriam’s seemingly perfect life is in turmoil when her teenage daughter disappears on the night she spends with another man. Miriam is torn. She cannot tell her husband for fear of ruining her family’s lives. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This was a fantastic story and although I could not relate or condemn what Miriam had done I could sympathise. The story is told on alternating chapters showing Miriam’s past and present and we get to see a clearer picture of why she is in the situation she is. The story covers some dark subject matter but is done with such great skill and expertness that it was easy enough to read. I don’t want to say too much in fear of spoilers but I would highly recommend for fans of fast paced psychological thrillers xx

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