4.5 stars

Lucy King, a journalist, is escaping her abusive, controlling boyfriend Davis and rents a cabin just outside Woodstock in the Catskills, she needs to stay under the radar. She becomes very good friends with her neighbours John and Vera whom she grows to rely on and they share some fun times. However, the couple have some problems with the residents of Woodstock and she agrees to help them to resolve them and they hatch a plan. This is now yet another white lie among many that Lucy is guarding and when the plan goes badly and tragically wrong, lie piles upon lie until it is of Everest proportions. Lucy is now in dangerous territory which nearly costs her everything she has kept under control and she ends up fighting for her life and liberty. The story is told by Lucy.

This is a nail biter, eye popper, jaw dropper, heart pounder chiller of a thriller from Leah Conen with so many unexpected twists my head spins. Lucy’s friendship with John and Vera leads to so much danger it is breathtaking in its pace. The mystery of Lucy and the menace of threats around her comes across very strongly in this fast paced plot. As the situation escalates which results in murders, the story becomes supremely twisty as you have no idea who is guilty or innocent, doubts are cast, suspicion grows and just as you think it’s resolved, there’s another revelation and you are constantly playing catch up! However, as the killer is unmasked I can’t help but feel that it is one twist too many and I didn’t entirely buy into the motive. However, then there’s more....and I do think the ending is very powerful

Overall, this is a well written, fast paced story with a good plot. There are plenty of shocks to grip you, the characters are well portrayed but not very likeable (except Dusty the dog who is adorable!) there’s tension aplenty, it’s creepy and scary at times, you feel Lucy’s worry and fear of Davis and the truth catching up with her is unsettling to say the least. Highly recommended to fans of this genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin, Michael Joseph for the ARC.

Had never heard of this author before. But will be looking for her in the future. The book was great. It was exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so tense and thrilling. I could feel my heart racing. Great plot. Very well written.

I really enjoyed Leah Konen's One White Lie. It felt like I couldn't read through the pages fast enough, because I was dying to see what would happen next.

Lucy escapes an abusive relationship and relocates to a small town with her dog Dusty. She forms what, admittedly, is a strangely intense relationship with her new next-door neighbors Vera and John. As it turns out, Vera and John have an unsettling past of their own and are also looking for an escape. The three friends seem to have things all planned out, but then someone ends up dead.

Throw in another neighbor, Maggie; the former renter of Lucy's current cottage, Rachel; the overly friendly and curious waitress, Al; and Lucy's abusive, stalker ex-boyfriend, Davis, and the reader doesn't know whom to trust.

Lucy isn't the greatest judge of character, makes a few bad choices, and seems to overlook some crucial details when trying to figure out what is happening; but that's all forgiveable.

This book is so fast-paced and good. Thank you to NetGalleygalley, Penguin UK Publishing, and Leah Konen for an advance copy of this book and exchange for my honest review.

Lucy leaves New York to escape a toxic and abusive relationship. She rents a cottage in Woodstock and finds herself drawn into a close and intense relationship with her neighbours John and Vera. John and Vera have troubles of their own and are being ostracised for something that John is being accused of but didn’t do. When they ask Lucy to tell a lie to help them out of the situation, she agrees but things soon escalate out of control and someone ends up dead.
This is a gripping story with loads of blind alleys and twists that really will keep you guessing to the end. I loved it.

At first I really struggled to get into this book, I found it quite slow but I persevered and I’m so glad I did! Once it got going it got very gripping!
Trying to work out the characters and who was honest and who wasn’t was so tricky!
Lots of twists that kept me gripped, thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed reading this book but to be honest, the plotline was slightly dull. I like a thriller to keep me reeled in until the dramatic end but unfortunately this book didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Great storyline, well thought out, well crafted, interesting characters and twists and turns galore. Enjoyed

Lucy is desperate for friendship and connections. She is about to rent a cottage with her dog, far from her ex Davis who was abusive and controlling. She is fearful he will find her and cannot shake off the anxiety sitting uncomfortable in the pit of her stomach. After chatting briefly with Vera one day (Lucy’s next door neighbour) she finds herself invited for tea. Nervous but keen for attachments she accepts and there meets Vera’s husband John. Lucy is enamoured by John and struggles to not create all kinds of fantasies about the two of them. Herein a friendship develops between the three of them but it’s not as straightforward as it originally appeared. John has been accused of behaving inappropriately with a 16 year old and its now impacting on the business. Vera has a solution, if John fakes his own death they can start again elsewhere. Initially Lucy is shocked but then doesn’t want to lose the only friends she now has. Is it an absurd plan - one which she could potentially face charges with the police. Lucy feels compelled to help her friends but is them involving her crossing an invisible boundary? On the other hand it’s only ‘one white lie’... until John is murdered!

I read some of this book very late at night which is not like me, but testament to how much I was enjoying it. I found Lucy had me feeling empathetic towards her one minute, then the next wanting to shake her. She finds herself a suspect in John’s murder, Davis discovers where she lives and her dependence on drink worsens. Then she shows the reader another side to her, a Lucy that is far from vulnerable. The story reaches a conclusion but Lucy’s mental health hasn’t improved at this point - I felt this was unfortunate but realistic. It also left me wondering about the next part of her journey, who was she going to become if things didn’t work out again...?

What a cracker of a read. To say I just couldn't put it down would be an understatement. Especially when a cute white dog called Dusty is involved. Every time the dog was threatened I just had to keep reading. And what a massive twist at the end - following all the other twists throughout this fab book.

So why only 4 stars (see Goodreads and NetGalley) I hear you ask? There were some parts I found a little unbelievable. Some suspension of disbelief. Does no-one ever go to the police when they are being threatened? How do you trust your neighbours with your life when you've only known them a few weeks? Especially when they are a bit odd. And also the attitude to Ryan's abuse was somehow not strong enough. I feel he should have been punished more and surely his sister Ellie knew more than she was letting on. 

Never assume the narrator is reliable however plausible they might appear. And everyone else seems to be lying. Or are they telling the truth? There were so many things I failed to spot. So many twists I didn't guess. A great book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a thoroughly brilliant and gripping read enjoyed it from start to finish and I cannot wait to read more from this author !!

Really gripping story where you can't work out who is honest and who isn't. You second guess every character through the bulk of the book and challenge yourself as to what you think might be going on!

An excellent read!

Unfortunately this book was unreadable due to the formatting errors-apologies I can't really rate it fairly. The text was broken up and interspersed with numbers

I instantly managed to get into this book which is always a good sign. I liked the character of Lucy however felt her relationship with Vera and John an unusual one especially as they hadn’t known each other for long.

There were some twists in this story although I did guess the ending quite early on but I still think that it was enjoyable to read.

This is the first book I’ve read by Leah Konen and I was so delighted to be given the opportunity to read an advance copy by Netgalley in return for my honest review.

Good book, interesting characters, and the writing was easy to read and flowed well.I enjoyed the book and would read more by this author.

I was suspicious of everyone from the beginning of this book, so cleverly are the characters written with doubts seeded into your mind with almost every page! Those doubts are then resolved only to be replaced again a few pages later with new evidence or behaviours re-triggering suspicion.
As Lucy is hell bent on escaping her ex and her old life she falls into a new friendship with her new neighbours. They are an uneasy couple to like and it seems the rest of the town are against them but Lucy falls hook and line for them and relishes the time spent together, until it all blows up in her face.
A real edge of seat page turner that makes you doubt your own perceptions until almost the end of the book!

All the shades of noir converge in Leah Konen’s One White Lie, to explode into an exhilaratingly tense and powerful thriller that evolves the classic genre and catapults it into the 21st century!

Lucy has escaped an abusive relationship and believes she’s found solitude in Woodstock. She quickly befriends her next door neighbours, John and Vera. The couple seem to have a loving and solid marriage, but Lucy soon learns that her new friends are the subject of some vicious rumours around town. As her bond with John and Vera blossoms, Lucy finds herself embroiled in a plan to fake John’s death and afford them all a new start away from Woodstock. When John is actually killed, Lucy may just be suspect number one...

One White Lie is expertly crafted and genuinely unputdownable. It’s twisty, diabolical, exciting and taut. Nobody is who you expect them to be here and the change in direction that the plot continually takes is both exhilarating and exhausting (in a truly enjoyable way!). It is genuinely difficult to put this book down, as the plot develops at a good pace - the overarching plot around faking John’s death is built up to gradually, but preceding events set the events up in a tense and enjoyable way. There are multiple subplots at work here, each as adept at delivering heart-pumping suspense and moments of exciting action. There are complexities to the plot that help keep you guessing as to way is really going on and who is who in these events. At some point during the novel I was convinced that each and every character was guilty of murdering John, but despite this, I never saw the shock ending coming!

I really love the elements of film noir styling that is at play in One White Lie. (Indeed, this genre is directly referred to on a number of occasions during the proceedings). However, genuinely excellent noir can often feel like a thing of the past, primarily confined to the dark, smoking shadows of the 1940s. Konen drags this genre kicking and screaming into the 21st century, whilst retaining many of the elements that made it such a success in its heyday (think femme fatales, disheveled and slightly grotesque detectives, more plot twists than you can imagine). Despite capitalising on a classic genre, One White Lie very much remains a story for our time. The abusive relationship that Lucy has escaped allows for allusions to female solidarity and believing female voices during accusations of abuse, but it also twists this and plays upon the dark reality of abusing this belief. At the heart of the plot are the rumours that unleash the catastrophic events. There’s a very clear commentary that deciphering truth from fiction can lead to both retribution and tragedy.

This is a really strong debut thriller from Leah Konen and I hope that she writes many, many more! Highly recommended.

OH MY GOD. This entire book is so tense that I have bitten off at least 3 of my nails but it was worth it.

I read about 70% of this book in one day because I just couldn't stop. I've seen other reviews call the book a masterpiece and, well, they aren't wrong.

What I love, and find rare with this genre, is the book actually has a conclusion! You don't have to guess what happens because the author ties it all up in a neat package. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT.

There are so many twists, small ones, big ones, ones that you think are red herrings until it hits you in the face 6 chapters later.

It's been an absolute pleasure to read and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be able to read and feel their heart pounding at the same time. 5/5.

I really enjoyed this book. I mean, it was fabulous! Definitely one where you cannot work out if the goodies are baddies or vice versa. A lot going on in this novel, but the detail was such that you fell into the story and it felt real.
Not sure about the title - what was the 'white lie'. Certainly lots of lies but I can't see that any one was white (as in a fib or a small insignificant lie)
Formatting a bit difficult to read on proof due to numbering, but obviously will be rectified. Also 'Broken People' stated throughout my copy which I assume was probably a working title.
Overall though, a new author for me and very welcomed. Would recommend highly.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This is a new author for me. I do find it very exciting when you discover a new author that you like and then you rush to buy all their other books before you’ve even shut that first book that you are reading!!!

Lucy is renting a property in Woodstock, she has left her controlling ex and her old life behind her and is hoping to start anew.

Lucy befriends her new neighbours Vera and John who seem like a fun couple!! They are soon spending most evenings together eating, drinking and having a good time.

When she discovers her new buddies need a little help, how can she say no? They have been so welcoming and understanding, it’s only a small lie after all!! But these lies soon build from a molehill to a mountain.

The blurb for this sounded good but OMG it didn’t do it justice!! I couldn’t bear to be parted from this amazing - grab you by the throat and shake you until you can see stars book.

I could rave about this all day and believe me I will.

A must read that will not disappoint you and with an ending that will ... well you will have to read it!!

I have discovered a gem of an author. I love her style of writing and will be scurrying off to find her other stories.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I got stuck straight into this book - some of the twists and turns were brilliant but overall the ending lacked the power it needed.

Moving from the city to escape the clutches of a violent ex boyfriend, Lucy sets up her new life in a sleepy town of Woodstock. She befriends her neighbours and begins to feel part of a new family but soon things begin to unravel.

Vera and John have their own issues and all is not as it appears as rumours begin to be shared with Lucy - are they who they say they are? Who can she trust and will she manage to escape Davis, her ex?

When a Van-gogh plan goes very wrong, who is the killer and can Lucy find out before she falls victim, too.

This book has the potential to be great but although the whole of the story was well thought out, I felt the ending was somewhat lack lustre.