Jane and Marnie were childhood friends. Then Marnie fell in love... This is the beginning of Jane's lies as, on the face of things she embraces her friend's happiness, but deep down, she loathes her friend's choice of partner... As we all know, one lie begets another, and another. Turning the friendship toxic. This book is Jane's confession, her side of the story, but is it the truth, or just the truth as she sees it...?
There was so much good in this book and I did enjoy the journey it took me on -love a good dysfunctional relationship - but there were parts of it that didn't quite hit the right spot for me. Nearly, but not quite. That said, I did pretty much read all the way through in only a few sittings as I did need to know what was happening and how things would ultimately turn out for all.
Yes, it did turn out to be a tad on the predictable side, but not all was obvious. It also covers quite a multitude of topics, maybe too many so that what is included is well handled but feels a tad diluted in amongst everything else that is going on.
Characterisation is on the whole good. As other have said, the female characters come across better than the male ones, but that might be the author's intention as the focus really need to remain on the two main female leads. But I think that the balance has not quite been met here.
It's delicious, car crash reading. It's creepy and suspenseful, often shocking, and, although you are somewhat repulsed by some of what is going on, you are powerless to look away. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

As an debut novel, Lizzie has done a sterling job in keeping the reader engaged in her fascinating web of lies.

My only caveat was I wish the protagonist's name had not been Jane, since it's so ordinary, and she was never that.

A tale of intrigue, of obsession, of envy, of murder.... or was it? A novel of sadness, and despair, and loss.

A very enjoyable few hours spent in chaos, and contrivance; a decent opening salvo for a novice novelist who leads her readers down a path of psychological complexity.

A dark, atmospheric book narrated by Jane Black who inhabits a strange lonely world with just one best friend Marnie. The story evolves through her lies.

At times it was an uncomfortable read with a couple of bizarre lies covering Jane's behaviour. I am still not sure if I enjoyed it enough to give it 4 stars, although the whole book was well written.

Jane's sad world also includes her eating disorder sister and a mother with dementia. Should I have felt sorry for Jane?

I am sure that Jane would have had more friends,but was obsessed with Marnie, including having dinner with her EVERY Friday night. This I found unrealistic.

Thanks to Net Galley and Little Brown Book Group for the chance to read and review.

I liked this. Well-written thrillers are my favourite genres, particularly where the main character is unlikeable. I thought this was done well. It's dark and twisty - about obsession and possession. I enjoyed the structure of seven lies, a section for each lie.

Jane and Marie have been best friends since starting secondary school. They remained vert close during Jane’s short marriage and during Marie’s relationship with Charles – maybe obsessively close.
Jane narrates this confessional book – we learn early on that she did not mean to kill Charles and we also learn she tells seven lies.
I am rather ambivalent about this book, I did not love it but I enjoyed parts of it. The characters lives and backgrounds were drip fed and as the story progressed I found I did not connect with or like any of them.
If you enjoy a slow build up and dramatic ending then this is a read for you.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed it but for me it didn't maybe live up to the hype around it. Its a thriller about friendship focusing on the relationship between Jane and her best friend Marnie. Each chapter is told as a different lie which I thought was a unique take . I didn't warm to Jane , I found her self centered, manipulative , selfish and generally not nice which is maybe why I struggled a bit with the book. The author also touches on modern day issues such as depression, grief and mental illnesses. Its a well written story however this had to be read on an app other than Kindle which I didn't like .

'This is Jane's opportunity to tell the truth, the question is:
Do you believe her?'

This book is excellent. I'd heard the hype about it so was excited to get a copy to review. I enjoyed the premise of the book being set around seven lies which Jane tells her friend Marnie. Jane and Marnie have been inseparable since childhood and we see the relationship from Jane's point of view and how she struggles when Marnie falls in love and marries Charles. Exciting events happen early on in the novel and the pace is good, and I couldn't wait to see what happened. The ending is clever and surprising and I love the way everything led to this point. Above all, I loved the author's assured voice and she's one of those authors whose future books I will look forward to.

Seven Lies is a story ultimately of Jane's confession and a narration of telling the truth. But the book is called seven lies and that is exactly what the story tells the tale of... Lies
The seven lies that Jane tells her bestest friend in the whole world.
Jane reveals the seven lies and it is only then we begin to understand more about her life. As we were all told as children, one lie leads to another so... when Marnie asks Jane if she likes her new boyfriend - Jane tells her first lie. If she had been honest maybe things would be different and he would still be alive to tell a tale.
Lots of great creepy moments that would translate into a great movie. The female characters are fantastic, I feel that the male characters needed a little more depth to them.
Great twists and turns and a few held breath moments. A story of friendships and how they develop over the decades of life together, how dynamics change when friends become married and have children. How a best friend can be your Mum and Dad and whole family rolled into one and then a husband comes along and changes that relationship...

A well written debut novel, touches on obsession, grief and jealousy great narration from Jane. Some missing depth in the other characters. A quick and easy paced book that moved along at a great pace. Great for a beach read, a long train journey or sat curled up while the rain pours down over a weekend. I will watch Elizabeth Kay with interest. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

Seven Lies is a solid thriller about friendship and the intentional lies that threaten to tear their lives apart. Jane and Marnie have been best friends since they were eleven years old. The two get married while in their twenties continuing their friendship while starting their separate lives with their husbands. The issue is Jane never liked Marnie's husband. And Jane needs Marnie. So Jane tells seven lies.

The twists are unpredictable. Readers who enjoy thrillers about toxic friendships will love Seven Lies. Be sure to check out Seven Lies today!

Jane and Marnie have been friends since school. They have shared everything for as long as they’ve known each other, they know each others deepest secrets, and are completely inseparable. That is until Marnie falls in love. Jane hates Marnie’s husband, but she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend that, and it becomes her first lie. The first is only the beginning. This is Jane’s truth.

It’s hard knowing where to start with this review. Normally I’d have an overview of how much I enjoyed the read, but I really don’t think enjoy is the right word here. The book was awesome, hence the 5🌟 rating, but it made for very uncomfortable reading.

From very early on I felt myself start to seethe with dislike and contempt for Jane. I couldn’t put my finger on why at the start of the book, just a feeling that she was unreliable and not a nice person. As the book progresses and we learn more about her character these feelings intensify. She tells her truth in such a way that she is constantly trying to garner sympathy, and to justify her actions by blaming others. She is overwhelmingly self centred, despite criticising others for that same trait, she’s obsessive and manipulative, and generally not a likeable character.

For the majority of the book you know as a reader that we are building towards a crescendo, that something bad is coming, but I was unprepared for what that was. The last few chapters blindsided me completely. I thought the ending tied things together really well, especially when it becomes clear who Jane is confessing her truth to. I thought the ending and how it came about was well written and believable, especially in the context of the rest of the book.

This has been one of my favourites so far this year, one I didn’t want to put down despite it making my skin crawl. Jane is exceptionally well developed, it’s been a while since I have had such strong feelings towards a character. I’m not sure what category I’d class this as, it’s not really a thriller as such, but not really a family drama/saga either. Whatever you want to describe it as it’s a great book and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and Sphere for an arc in exchange for an honest review

If this was a school report card, it would read 'unfulfilled potential'. Sadly it was a classic case of a promising synopsis that oversold an underwhelming book. The characters are mainly weak stereotypes, and the plot itself rapidly veers between the bizarre and the ridiculous. There are some strong elements to it, sure, but on the whole it wasn't particularly impressive, and it's not one I would recommend.

This book is a curious one. It certainly cannot be described as a thriller as it doesn't contain any of the components, as there is no suspense in the plot to pull it through. This is the exploration of a disturbed individual who as the title suggests tells lies. The book uses a sort of stream of conciousness approach and is very chatty in its approach but you as the reader ultimately discover that you are not the intended recipient of the information. The only place where there is any jeopardy is in the final section. The premise of the book sounds exciting but the book really isn't, there is a slow drip feed of plot, I also found myself needing to re-read some parts of the dialogue as I lost the sense of meaning.
The author clearly has a good idea here but the execution leaves much to be desired. I will say that this book is definitely intended for a female audience so perhaps I have missed some of the nuance here but the lead character Jane has no redeeming features.

#SevenLies #NetGalley

Not able to download to kindle so not able to review Normally there is a kindle download option but not this time and i also could not read it on my computer

Thank you NetGalley and Little,Brown Book Group UK for the chance to read this book.
The story is easy to follow and each chapter is a different lie. The idea was good but for me it didn’t deliver. I got bored before I got half way through and found it a bit of a slog to read.
The by the time you get to the seventh lie I’d given up all hope to be honest. The ending was extremely disappointing too. The book really didn’t’ live up to expectations and after all the hype around this I was extremely disappointed as I was really looking forward to reading it.
I am sure there are some people who will like this but not me.

Seven Lies

This book explores the fine line between friendship, when it starts to border on obsession, and how far would you go to keep your best friend close.

The focus of the story is the relationship between Jane and her best friend Marnie. Jane is the narrator of the the story retelling the seven lies she told to Marnie before and after the death of her husband, Charlie. This story is about the why rather than the who as you know who has died from early on. This is a reflective story so their isn’t an intensity or urgency about the story. Having said that that doesn’t mean that it is not chilling and it is no less a psychological thriller because of it. The quality of the story is in the narration and build up of the main characters. It does start off quite slow but the story gradually builds alongside the development of the characters.

I started thinking I’m not enjoying this book
and really not getting into it because it’s not as fast paced as many contemporary books but then I stopped myself and thought I just need to slow down and take time to appreciate a different style of writing and psychological thriller and at that point I started enjoying it and appreciating the complexities of Jane’s character and her relationship with Marnie.

This book to me is reminiscent of Strangers on The Train by Patricia Highsmith and Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson as it focuses on the characters and their motives. However this story for me lacked the hook that keeps you reading and needing to know what happens.

I'm sad to say that after the excitement of receiving this book (the premise sounded right up my street) I was just left feeling 'meh'.

In all honesty I found it laborious , there were so many observations that really weren't needed, it just seemed to go on and on without actually getting anywhere and when it finally did get to its final destination it was rushed through in the blink of an eye!

A dark novel with some twists and turns with the positive being it's an original storyline but just not for me.

I think this is definitely going to be a marmite book... you'll either love it or hate it!

2* based on the fact it's original.

With thanks to netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sphere and Little Brown Group UK for my copy of this book.
This was a great psychological thriller - really creepy and chilling, with excellent characters and a thought-provoking storyline. I thought it was brilliant.

Sorry I cannot read this book and give feedback as I cannot download it to my kindle. So I have set it to 3 stars.

Seven Lies is a readable domestic thriller based on the friendship between two women, Jane and Marnie. The second person narration by the admitted liar Jane made it feel very confessional as the story develops and the stakes become higher.

It was a quick and easy read that clipped along at a good pace, possibly slightly at the expense of characterisation and description. I enjoyed it most of the way through but found the ending a little bit... I don't know, meh?

A recommended quick beach read: entertaining and lightweight, considering the themes of grief and eating disorders!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

This was a really interesting premise; Jane has told 7 lies and as each lie is revealed we learn more about Jane's life and her story... but it just wasn't tight enough or memorable enough for me. I feel like i will forget this book in a a few weeks.