This is one of these novels that’s really hard to review, lest you drop any spoilers along the way. First of all, did I enjoy it? Yes. It’s got an intriguing cast of characters. It’s also set in Woodstock, north of New York, which is one of these settings I just love in American-set novels – a small town where everyone thinks they know everyone’s business, but conversely they all have lots of secrets.

When 20-something Lucy moves to a cottage just outside of town (conveniently she’s a writer of magazine and web articles, so geographically she’s not tied down) to escape a nasty – and relentless – partner, she becomes fast friends with Vera and John, her nearest neighbours. They’re around 40 and childless. John paints, and his wife runs a gallery in town selling his work, and that of other artists. There’s also Maggie, a pensioner, and further along, Rachel, who previously rented Lucy’s new home. She had been best friends with Vera and John before something caused a sudden severing of this relationship – although Rachel still seems to have a soft spot for Vera. This, however, definitely does not seem to be reciprocated…

It’s when Lucy visits town (yes, it is the Woodstock of the famous festival, and gets by trading on it’s legendary hippy festival past and as a weekender town for New Yorkers, who are none too popular with the locals.) They, however, appear to reserve the majority of their vitriol for John and Vera – and it’s definitely not because of where they’re from… However, the new arrival becomes fast friends with her closest neighbours – indeed, the three are soon inseparable, going hiking, and sharing dinner and drinks more nights than not. She begins to regard them as her “family” (which seemed a tad foolhardy, given how her last relationship ended, but the couple are open, charming and welcoming.) She’s even warned by Maggie, her nearest neighbour, that they’re worth watching and all out for themselves – and that’s at the end of Chapter Two! But Lucy is clearly more charitable, deciding to take her neighbours as she finds them.

This is where I’m going to have to cease writing about the plot, and leave you to discover where that goes. But remember, always lurking in the background is Lucy’s abusive and controlling ex, Davis, and her fear that he’ll track her down – no matter how well she hides herself away.

I pretty much romped through this book in four big chunks (the old eyes were beginning to get gritty every night before I put it down!) The author – who has previously written YA novels, but this is her debut adult work – knows exactly how to wrongfoot you, so your alliances are forever shifting. I guess it qualifies as domestic noir, or perhaps just calling it a psychological thriller would suffice. It would make perfect reading for a long journey, or for a holiday (although it doesn’t look like many of us will be looking forward to seeing exotic locales this summer!)

It’s definitely one of the better of these sort of novels I’ve read recently, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read more than a few! The setting may also be one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much – so if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers set in small American towns, you’ll probably be a fan of it. Leah Konen has clearly had some success in the Young Adult market. With this evidence, I can see her enjoying considerable success in the adult one too.

I had a feeling from reading the synopsis that the friendship between Lucy, Vera and John would be an unhealthy one. But I wasn’t prepared for how unhealthy or how unlikeable the characters were. I did really try to like Lucy, but found that the only part of her I did like was her care of her dog, Dusty.

Woodstock was one of those areas that you find everywhere. The type of community where newcomers will never fit in. At first I thought this was why Lucy was warned to keep away from Vera and John but these thoughts diminished when I got to know more about them. Lucy does build tentative friendships with Maggie, Al and Rachel but it is her increasingly obsessional relationship with Vera and John which made me cringe. I was practically screaming at her to keep her distance but she was hooked on their way of life and their charm. You just knew that it would all go wrong.

I don’t think I have ever read a book where so many characters are so obsessed with the others. And I couldn’t work out what the appeal was. It was the type of novel where you are so fascinated by the relationship dynamic you are unprepared for how wrong their plan goes. I really did not see it coming, and I had no idea who was responsible.

It’s clever and slightly creepy. Especially when you read about Lucy’s relationship with Davis, his character sent the hairs up on the back of my neck. And the way his treatment had her check everything around her.

I always admire an author who can create unlikeable characters but who fascinates at the same time. I would definitely read more by her.

A really engrossing psychological thriller that held me under its spell from the first chapter.

In this cracking début the reader is introduced to protagonist Lucy King, who has moved to Woodstock, New York, looking for a fresh start. She meets her next-door neighbours, Vera and John, and they begin to spend a lot of their time together. Lucy fled from Brooklyn and her abusive partner, Davis, and is thrilled that she gets on so well with her new friends. However, Vera and John have problems of their own, so Lucy agrees to help them form a plan. But now, Lucy's life has become a mire of closely guarded secrets and white lies...

One White Lie is a heart-pounding thriller with a myriad of unexpected twists. Breathtakingly paced, the menace, threats and tense atmosphere all come across very strongly in this wicked and complex plot. As doubts are cast one after another, I struggled to keep up with all of the misdirections as my mind swung from differing scenarios then back again. High in shock value, One White Lie is an extremely good read with some excellent characterisation by Leah Konen. A stunning début that is well worth a look for lovers of the genre.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin UK - Michael Joseph via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

One White Lie is a 2.5 🌟 rounded up for me.
This book took a lot of determination to stick with it, things don’t really start happening until about halfway through the book which was a big minus for me. The characters were all unlikeable and that didn’t help either, this could have been because I felt a lot of the time the book felt rushed, I think if the characters had been explained and developed more in this way I would have seen more depth to the characters and maybe liked a couple. The book did pick up after halfway and was an ok who dunnit, it was described in the blurb as being full of twists but this only really happened towards the end.
Give it a try there are a lot of good reviews out there for this book but it wasn’t for me but that’s not to say you’d not like it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK, Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy King, our lead character, is certainly an all-consuming perspective to read from. You are thrown straight into the immediacy of her situation and the pace continues to ebb and flow as she fluctuates between feeling relatively settled and panicked. Despite the growing extremities of her experiences Konen ensures to never compromise the relatability of her lead character and you truly feel both for and with her. I’m quite an emotionally detached reader, however, due to the combination of reading from Lucy’s perspective and Konen’s direct writing style, getting immediately to the emotional point, I was certainly feeling the panic and stress from the page. Specifically, Lucy’s feelings of frustration, hitting a brick wall, whilst speaking to those simultaneously protecting and interrogating her became increasingly relatable especially within a narrative entwining her experiences from an abusive relationship and being at the heart of a police investigation.

As I’ve alluded to above, Konen tackles the immense task of writing a psychological thriller from the first-person perspective. Based on most thrillers I’ve read recently this is traditionally achieved when the lead character is writing a letter reflecting on the events which lead to their current circumstances or convincing a legal or familial figure to believe them. Konen, on the other hand, goes straight into the mind of her character and you read the events as she experiences them. This can be hit or miss, but in this case, it is certainly a hit. For example, this style allows for observations which result in red-herrings, or they’re generally nowhere near as important as I expected them to be, whilst the reveals simultaneously fulfil their role of altering your assumptions. However, these reveals are never ridiculous and vitally do not compromise the histories and facts of the characters. Apologies for being vague but if anyone is reading this after having read the book, I hope you know who I’m referring to!

The plot and pacing of One White Lie throw everything at you. However, I cannot deny how gripped I was by the plot and my curiosity to see the resolution. By pacing the narrative across short chapters and collating many of the reveals towards the end Konen achieves a classic level of suspense whilst Lucy’s private aims, investigations and interactions with the rest of the cast add to the intrigue of the interludes between the dramatic episodes. Specifically, John and Vera Abernathy immediately grip the reader with their friendly, supportive and open impression as they grip Lucy on her arrival in the small town from Brooklyn. The friendships between the three, especially Lucy and Vera, certainly forms the centre of this narrative, but Konen certainly does not neglect similarly intriguing characters in Maggie, Rachel and Al. However, as the initial impressions of these characters, and the later solidarity in their relationships, are the basis of this narrative I would have liked to have seen more bonding, between the central three especially, on the page. We see their first few nights hanging out before a relatively significant period of bonding passes within a sentence and I would not have complained about reading a longer book to just solidify that investment in the original relationship dynamic.

I also left the book with the curious impression that I significantly prefer the American title. One White Lie was originally published as All the Broken People. As my primary impression of this book was intrigue towards the characters, constantly wanting to know more about them and their relationships I prefer this original character-focused title rather than the more plot-based UK title.

If you’re looking for an intriguingly dark, character-driven psychological thriller I would recommend checking out One White Lie. I also came away having been reminded of Dead To Me the highly popular Netflix original series due to the central female friendship and its complication equally due to the men and murder surrounding them.

One White Lie‘One White Lie’ is Leah Konen’s debut novel.

Imagine you’ve finally escaped the worst relationship of your life, running away with only a suitcase and a black eye. Imagine your new next-door neighbours are the friends you so desperately needed – fun, kind, empathetic, very much in love. Imagine they’re in trouble. That someone is telling lies about them, threatening their livelihoods – and even their lives. Imagine your ex is coming for you. If your new best friends needed you to tell one small lie, and all of these problems would disappear, you’d do it . . . wouldn’t you? It’s only one small lie, until someone turns up dead.

I curled up during the week with this book and within three hours, I had the whole lot consumed.

The story is seen through the narrative of Lucy who has escaped New York to get away from her abusive and controlling boyfriend Davis. She moves to a quiet and small town with only her dog called Dusty for company. It’s there, that she befriends her new neighbours, husband and wife called John and Vera who Lucy confides in about running away and in turn they confide in her. One day, John is murdered and Lucy finds herself caught up in a web of drama and danger.

Fast paced, with unreliable characters and an almighty twist, this book had the makings of a great thriller, that didn’t disappoint at all. Lucy is an interesting character, who’s fled her abusive boyfriend and is trying to make a better life for herself. The story features flashbacks to the abuse, giving the reader an insight to what she was running away from. Vera and John are an interesting couple, even though they have taken Lucy under their wings and have become firm friends, they’re not liked in the town and this makes for gripping reader as the reader is left to wonder what is wrong with the pair to have a town turn against them.

The story flows at a pace that really keeps the reader engaged with clever twists and dialogue that really hooked me in. I found the flashbacks to be particularly interesting as they really set the tone for the story.

For debut, I thought it was a gripping page turner that was addictive from start to finish. With drama and suspense from the first moment that Lucy arrives in the sleepy town to the climatic final page, ‘One White Lie’ is a tense and atmospheric story that has all the elements to make it the perfect psychological thriller.

You can buy ‘One White Lie’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops.

An easy quick read that hasn’t got too many negatives or unfortunately too many positives either. I read it in just a few long sessions to pass a weary weekend weather wise and it did the trick.
Maybe too many twists and turns in the plot but I did want to know what happened in the end and that’s surely what a book is supposed to make you want.
Main characters fairly unlikeable and whilst I can often live with that it didn’t help with this book.

One White Lie by Leah Konen is a 4 star read. (In the USA it’s called All The Broken People)
Lucy is escaping an abusive relationship, she does everything she can to cut all ties with her ex so she won’t be found by him. She moves to a small village and meets her new neighbours Vera and John, they seem really nice to Lucy so when she hears rumours about John she doesn’t believe them, when she’s asked to participate in a lie about John she agrees but she doesn’t know how wrong things can go.
There’s lots of twists and turns in this book, some fast paced action but also some over telling, the characters weren’t always likeable but the story was good.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Oh wow! What an exceptional read, this is everything that I want to read in a psychological thriller.

Lucy has managed to escape her abusive ex, she has cut all ties with him, abandoned all ties with social media and has even got a new SIM card for her phone. A fresh start is exactly what her and Dusty her dog needs. When she arrives to her new village she instantly makes some new friends, a couple Vera and John, these are exactly what she needs in her life, they grow to be her comfort blanket, her stability, her new family, people she can truly depends on...or can she? You would do anything for family wouldn’t you? Even fake a death? The three of them hatch a plan and it all goes horribly wrong. Who will come out on top? Who will get the blame? Are people who you think they are? Or has Lucy just got herself into a big mess?

Psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genres and ‘One White Lie’ has just got straight to the to, definitely one of the best ones I have read in a long time! I couldn’t put it down, I didn’t want to put it down. Definitely a 5* from me.
GRIPPING. COMPELLING. INTRIGUING. EDGE OF YOUR SEAT. FAST PACED. TWISTY.
Everything you need for a cracking psychological thriller.

Did not engage with this book at all. Very slow paced and predictable. Really struggled to get to the end. Sorry just not for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I didn't like this book and the further I got the harder it became to finish. I found the main character disappointing, I wanted to shake her. She had an attitude of 'poor me' which after a while grated. Most of her problems were of her own making to be honest. Maybe this was the intention of the author to make the reader dislike the person. I liked the plot I must admit and finished the book as I wanted to find out what happened, but in places it was a bit slow.

My thanks to Penguin U.K. Michael Joseph for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘One White Lie’ by Leah Konen in exchange for an honest review. It is currently available in ebook and audiobook editions and will be released in hardback on 23 July.

In the USA it was released under the title ‘All the Broken People’.

Lucy King has finally escaped from an abusive relationship, running away with a badly bruised face, a suitcase, and her beloved little dog, Dusty. She is renting a pretty cottage in Woodstock, New York. She is soon drawn to her new next-door neighbours as Vera and John are fun, kind and empathetic.

Lucy soon learns that they are facing serious trouble. Someone in town is apparently spreading lies and threatening a lawsuit that could ruin them. Meanwhile, Lucy is very concerned that her controlling ex, Davis, is coming for her. She is jumpy and begins to think that things are being moved about in her house.

When her new besties suggest a solution to their problems that will require Lucy to tell a small lie, she agrees. Then someone turns up dead and everything, including her lie, potentially could be exposed.

I won’t say more in order to avoid spoiler territory but seriously- a small lie, a white lie? I would class it as a whopping big lie!

As expected with contemporary psychological thrillers this novel had plenty of surprises - though I did feel by the final page as if I had whiplash from all the twists. These days it seems many psychological thrillers are trying to outdo each other in achieving the maximum twists. Yet I often feel that less is more.

I really didn’t like Lucy at all. I tried to be sensitive to her situation but she was so ridiculously needy and as a result much of her behaviour annoyed me. While certainly Vera and John were friendly, Lucy’s need to be insta-BFFs felt cloying and immature. Add to this her constant paranoia about Davis.

Yes, I know she was fleeing the worse relationship in the history of bad relationships but she seemed to be embracing the drama of her situation rather than seek real safety; including a refusal to report her suspicions to the local police.

At one point she reflects: “I had skeletons too, plenty of them. We were linked, the three of us, by our torrid backstories. There was a reason we’d met, and I knew it maybe better than they did.” ‘Torrid backstories’ was a red flag for me.

These reservations shouldn’t suggest that this isn’t enjoyable or a page-turner because it is. I finished it in a couple of sittings. I will admit that I was constantly worried about Dusty. An unlikeable narrator fair enough I can deal with but that adorable doggie needed to remain safe.

So it’s a middle of the road, okay read for me.

One White Lie by Leah Konen
Lucy is on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend. She has been manipulated by him for a number of years and finally decides to break away from him. This however also means leaving behind her best Friend, Ellie, as she is his sister. She changes her phone reduces her online presence and uses an untraceable IP address even so she is terrified she will be discovered.
On arrival in Woodstock she makes friends with her neighbours Vera and John but then she starts to her rumours that he has been responsible for corrupting a young girl. She does not believe this can be true but when they suggest faking his John’s death to escape the rumours and the threat of a lawsuit she decides to escape with them. Throughout the story you think you have worked out who the victims are and who are the people not to be trusted but your ideas are constantly overturned. The characters are not very likeable and I did not really feel invested in their stories. I wanted to find out what happened but I did not find it a gripping read. To me it felt as if there were too many variations on what had happened and I felt that the relationships too quickly became one of dependency.
I quite enjoyed the story but it was not a “must read” for me. I would like to thank the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

First and foremost I am pleased I did not read the synopsis for this title before reading it ... I would argue that it was not one white lie!! I read most of this book in one sitting because I could not put it down - it was a definite page turner and I was desperate to know what was going to happen next. There were definitely many twists and turns in the plot and Lucy was running from enough problems of her own.
I was confused by the close relationships which were forged between characters so quickly - it all seemed rather intense to me.
The last 6 percent of the title did not work for me at all. The rest of it was a definite 4* for me but it failed to deliver at the end for me sadly. Still worth a read though.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Leah Konen/Penguin UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh this is a great read that well and truly had me hooked.
Lucy has left her boyfriend and is starting again in a remote village with her dog, Dusty.
It’s a quiet place but she soon meets neighbours, Vera and John and becomes close friends.
Lucy is soon asked to help them with something but it will change her life forever.
Things start to spiral out of control and secrets and lies are exposed.
There are lives in danger and Lucy starts to panic as her life is crumbling around her.
This is a gripping thriller that certainly has plenty of action.
Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

DNF : 12%
I WAS looking forward to reading this after reading several 4 & 5 star reviews
Unfortunately this book was unreadable due to the formatting errors. The words were broken up over lines and even pages and were interspersed with numbers. Also whole pages were just full of numbers.
Thanks to netgalley & the publishers for this copy & my apologies for not being able to submit a better review.

After leaving her abusive ex, Lucy is now ready to start a new life for herself. She is now living in a new area and she's soon befriended with her closest neighbours, Vera and John. They are soon spending their evenings together. when Lucy discovers her new friends need a little help with something, how can she say no. But it all goes tragically wrong.

This is a fast paced read that's full of twist and turns. It will play. The story is told from Lucy's perspective. You could sense her fear and confusion. The characters are complex, interesting but not very likeable. There are some parts that are unbelievable and the story went on a little longer than necessary. You will be kept guessing throughout The story is well written with a steady pace and it's packed full of secrets and lies.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK -Michael Joseph and the author Leah Konen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

One White Lie is a book that grabs your attention from the first chapter .A very tense ,gripping and powerful thriller that has many twists and turns ,just when I thought I had it all figured out something happens to tear my theory apart and keep me wondering !I also loved the fact that this book has a proper ending so many don't .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

A good read with some good plot ideas. There were some good twists in this story but in places it was predictable and dull,

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

It took me a little while to get into this as I couldn’t fully understand how Lucy, having escaped an abusive relationship which left her with trust issues, would in a very short space become so tightly intertwined with her new neighbours Vera and John. Once I got past that though the story really kept me in my toes, it really plays with you head wondering what is real and what isn’t and just who can you trust. I didn’t find Lucy an easy character and Vera seems quite a complex character however that worked well for the purpose of the story. The fact it was told purely from Lucy’s perspective worked exceptionally well as you could sense her confusion and fear and as a reader you’re in the dark as much as she is. This is definitely a story with many layers and will keep you second guessing.