This is a fast paced read
I liked all of the main characters
The setting of this book was perfect and was described so well
A great police procedural

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

It's always a pleasure to dive into Marion Todd's series set in the beautiful St Andrews featuring DI Clare Mackay. The first two books were solid procedurals and this one is no different with something a little different for Clare to sink her teeth into. This time she had three investigations to supervise and all three were tough. A breach in security, keeping a witness safe and a murder investigation. But were they all linked?

After her sculptor boyfriend Geoffrey Dark took the opportunity to take up a position in Boston in America, Clare found herself wondering if he had also moved on. His communication was either cryptic or self-absorbed which left her questioning if they still had a future. But there was no time to ponder. A brief text message from her boss DCI Alistair Gibson averted her thoughts to the present. They have been summoned to a secret and secure location in the highlands by ethical hacker Gayle Crichton due to a security breach within Police Scotland. Faced with the formidable problem, Clare and Alistair are to keep the meeting secret and to discuss it with no one.

Under the guise of setting up a new comms system, Gayle is installed at Clare's station in St Andrews to monitor activity and identify the source of the leak. Under no circumstances is Clare permitted to reveal the real reason she is there or discuss it with anyone. Should she ignore the warning, her career could be over. Trust no one means TRUST NO ONE! For anyone, even those closest to her, could be the leak.

As they are returning to St Andrews, both lost in their own thoughts, Alistair receives word that a protected witness' location has been compromised and they divert via Perth to collect her. Tamsin Quinn, wife of criminal weapons supplier Phil Quinn, has agreed to testify at the upcoming trial against her husband in exchange for immunity. Hence her being kept in a safe house out of harms way. But it seems Phil's right hand man, Paddy Grant, has discovered where she's been hiding and now they must move her to another safe house. This time on Clare's patch in St Andrews. Clare didn't even know they had a safe house in St Andrews but Alistair informs her they have them everywhere.

For Tasmin's protection, Clare takes her back to the nick until the new safe house has been cleared and ready for her where a distraught student is trying to report his friend missing. But before he can give them any more information, he scarpers leaving the desk sergeant scratching his head. Then Clare is called to a suspicious death is Craigtoun Park where she finds a young man who had been beaten before being strangled though with little blood at the site it is clear he died elsewhere. Police on scene found his ID which revealed him to be the young man Johannes the student back at the station had been trying to report missing. At least he had left his name before his disappearing act, so Clare and her DS, Chris West, head over to his flat to see if they can question him further. But upon arrival, they discover the student Marek has not returned and has seemed to have disappeared completely. A search of his room reveals £1,000 stuffed into a pair of boots, which is a lot of cash for any student to have. But a search of the dead boy Johannes' room throws up nothing but a few expensive items that he had been in no position to pay for himself. And soon Clare and her team find themselves thrust into an investigation of money laundering using unsuspecting students to move the money around.

In the midst of juggling three investigations, Clare still manages to find time to wind down at her newly purchased cottage in a more rural area of St Andrews. She has no one but her beloved bull terrier Benjy to come home to, who she rescued at the end of her first case after moving to St Andrews a year ago, and together they enjoy walks in the crisp fresh air. In her downtime, she finds herself wondering what's really happening with Geoffrey as he appears to have made plenty of new friends in America. But she also finds herself growing closer to Alistair, who was once a thorn in her side, and the pair enjoy a quiet evening together before taking things upstairs. Thoroughly confused as to what this means for her and Geoffrey, Clare throws herself back into the investigations as Gayle reveals her work in St Andrews is almost complete. Does that mean she's found the source of the breach? And would she tell her if she had?

With her eye on several balls at once, Clare suddenly finds herself thrown into the deep end without a life-jacket with a serious error made on an invoice for police services for £8,000 instead of the £80,000 it was meant to be as her past comes back to haunt her once again, leaving her fighting for her life. Will Clare's career come to a grinding halt as a result of the error? Or will it be too late for her to save herself?

What a delightful addition to this series as Marion Todd keeps us on our toes throughout. And while I had several suspects lined up as the breach, she completely hoodwinked me on that score. I didn't see it coming but when it did, it all made perfect sense. It was wonderful to meet up with the team again and of course the lovable Benjy. So glad nothing happened to him either!

While this is a series, LIES TO TELL works just as well as a standalone and can be read without having read the first two as Todd gives us enough backstory to keep readers in the loop. However, if you want to delve further, then I recommend starting from the beginning which is always preferable with regards to a series.

A fast paced book, LIES TO TELL takes us on a merry chase with not but three investigations and storylines as we try to work out how they all link together...if at all. When the ending comes, each of the mysteries are tied up nicely however readers are left with cliffhanger regarding Clare's personal life. Which I found frustrating...lol

A solid police procedural, LIES TO TELL is an enjoyable read that I read almost in one sitting...but I needed sleep. I love the St Andrews setting, although I've never been there, I feel as if I am and it makes a pleasant change from the bigger cities like Glasgow, London or Newcastle.

I look forward to seeing what's in store next for Clare and her team, as well as for Clare personally.

Recommended for fans of crime fiction and police procedurals.

I would like to thank #MarionTodd, #NetGalley and #Canelo for an ARC of #LiesToTell in exchange for an honest review.

Suspensful, engaging, and all of the twists, through sometimes predictable, felt right and solid.
A good, engaging read!

This book was addictive!. With a strong female lead, a storyline that has the perfect level of suspense to truly grasp your attention, and twists I simply did not expect... this book is the perfect thriller!.

thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.
. Interesting reading.. I like this author and the way she sets the story with characters that hold your interest throughout.

DI Claire was back and I was a happy bird. This time she had three investigations to supervise and all three of them were tough. A breach in security, keeping a witness safe, and a murder investigation. Were they all connected was the first question in my mind.
Mariod Todd was quite clever in the way she twisted the tale and kept me in my toes. I loved how the book kept the suspense going. It was face paced where the prose revealed nothing right till the end.
Overall, it was a fun read.

Wow. Fabulous read. Good female lead.a good WELL I DIDNT SEE THAT COMING book couldnt put this book down

# lies to Tell #
To suddenly receive a call from her boss and ask to meet in secret, Claire asked. Not to divulge the meeting to anyone. It’s bound to make you feel suspicious. After the meeting. Which I am not putting any spoilers. Clair obviously goes. Along with finding a room for a Gayle Criterion to use. Have to lie to her to her colleagues she doesn’t feel good about it. However the way she sees things what reason does she have to mistrust her boss. However things are not what they seem. When eventually Claire’s on the verge of breaking her word to her boss.. it’s a good storyline and a reasonably paced book. It’s a Farley good read. Unfortunately the ending was pretty predictable. Also nothing that I had not read before. What I actually find quite sad is you can read some pretty awsone books. Then they have let themselves down by putting a predictable ending. Also I find this even worse is when you have been stuck to a book you can not put down. Like this one had me pretty hooked. Unlike this one when the ending appears rushed and not quite sure how to end a book. That’s more infuriating than a predictable. As long As you do not mind the ending I would say go aged it kept me pretty well gripped. Also not wanting to put it down. So ya overall a good book spoilt by its ending

This was an excellent mystery read that had so many twists and turns, my head is still spinning. This book is highly recommended, and I can't wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended.
TB

Looks like I’m in the minority here but I was underwhelmed with this book and didn’t think it was as good as the two others in the series I’ve already read.
I like the character Claire but felt rather irritated with her for some reason and unfortunately the ending didn’t help but I won’t give away the plot.

An excellent and gripping mystery that kept me hooked and guessing till the end.
The plot is fast paced and full of twists and turns. The characters are interesting and well written, the mystery is solid.
I can't wait to read the next instalment in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.5 rounded up. This is the third in the series but I feel like this one could stand alone. I had read the prior books and just did not enjoy this one as much. It’s a solid police procedural but offers nothing special. Two things are going on Police Scotland is investigating a major leak and the police are protecting a witness who is testifying against her husband. Clare's love interest is in the US and someone else comes into the picture.
I was given a copy by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

There are three threads in this book

A breach in security
A murder
A key witness protection
We begin with DI Clare Mackay and her boss DCI Alistair Gibson off to a top secret location to meet an ethical hacker, Gayle Crichton, who has been brought in to investigate leaks. Gayle wants to be situated in St Andrews – Clare’s station – and has brought them all together to meet, ensure complete confidentiality and agree a cover story.

Clare follows up on a reported missing persons case. A student, Marek Schmidt, reported another student, Johannes Muller, missing. Marek then disappears. When Johannes is found dead Clare wonders if Marek has run away through guilt or has fled in fear for his life?

Clare is briefed on the move to a safe house in her area of a key witness in the DI’s case against Phil Quinn. There was a breach at the previous safe house and the DI can’t risk anything going wrong with this witness giving testimony. Although the responsibility of the Serious Organised Crime squad Clare gets involved.

On top of all this the DI, with whom Clare hasn’t always had a great history, seems to be making personal approaches. His marriage has fallen apart. Clare is in quite a quandary about this as she is still in a relationship with Geoffrey Dark. Mind you, that’s a bit up in the air as he recently started a new position in Boston, USA. He had wanted Clare to go as well but she has her cottage, her dog Benjy, her sister’s family who she feels need her support and her job. She really needs to sort this out. I wasn’t overly keen on the way this was going. I like to have the background of personal lives, for example the thread with her sisters family was good, it rounds out their characters and you become more invested in them and the books. However, whilst this didn’t overtake the investigation and other storylines it was played very close to the wind. I do feel that Marion Todd knows just how to keep it on the right side of annoying.

This is another great read from Marion Todd. The characters are well drawn, you get enough back story to read as a one-off if you want (but why not check out the first two books, it’s always easier to follow the running themes, the build up of secondary characters such as Clare’s team and so on!) and the storylines are clear, pacy and keep you reading.

I really like the police procedural elements, the murder investigation and the key witness situation are well written; the breach in security is a bit dramatic, cloak and dagger-ish, but it’s this element that perhaps brings the greater surprise even though the various threads come with some good twists and turns.

Marion Todd has again provided a wonderful setting in and around St Andrew’s. She gives a great sense of place and I do enjoy letting my mind inhabit this beautiful place. Each storyline has a very satisfying conclusion they have pace and ultimately build to quite a shocking revelation. The final cliffhanger, however, was of an entirely different nature and I’ll leave you to decide how you feel about that!

This is another wonderful book in a series that is becoming a must have for all those who enjoy a really good police procedural with interesting twists and turns. It’s a book – and a series – I happily recommend.


I have read both of the previous D I Clare Mackay books here’s what I thought about In Plain Sight and See Them Run in this excellent series.

Congratulations

Marion Todd has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2020 for See Them Run. My congratulations and very best wishes to Marion Todd – well deserved and fingers crossed!

Thanks

With thanks to Sophie at Canelo for the invite to read Lies to Tell by Marion Todd via NetGalley.

Rating: 4.5*

Very different from other crime novels I have read. Clare has an ethical hacker installed at her police station and is told to trust no one. At the same time she has the headache of trying to protect a woman who is in a safe house until she testifies at a trial of an arms dealer. Throw a murdered student and a second student who is missing into the mix and she really has her hands full . This is the second novel by Marion Todd I have read and I really like her style

A brilliant twisty page turner which I read in one sitting. I loved the characters and the fact that there is a lot happening. There is a lot crammed into this story. I wanted to keep reading. I hope there are more books to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A complicated case going on with someone turning witness and under threat, an ethical hacker working with the Police in Scotland trying to find a leak and a corrupt policeman and a young student found murdered and his best friend missing.

Detective Clare has her hands full. The workload is heavy and all the cases are ongoing and have to be sorted out as quickly as possible. The links between the murdered student and the witness turning against her husband came out almost three quarter of the way through the story so the strands were not pulled together till the end. Each story was distinct but the way they were brought together was very good reading and wonderful detective work.

The hacker was another piece of magic and the ending was totally unexpected and out of the blue. It was excellent writing.

I loved the various bits of the story - the touch of a romance was just that - a light touch but it did add a bit of lightness to an otherwise sober read.

Lies to Tell is the third novel to feature DI Clare Mackay, set in St Andrews, following on from 'See Them Run', the first book in series, and the second, 'In Plain Sight'. I have to say I was completely and thoroughly hooked right from the start. I think Lies to Tell would be fine as a standalone, but I recommend reading the first ones in the series as you'd be missing out if you didn't!

DI Clare Mackay moved from Glasgow to join the St Andrews police force, after a shooting incident in Glasgow left her with emotional and professional problems. She left behind her home and her job to take up the post in the small seaside town. In this story, Clare is whisked to a secret building by her DCI, Alistair Gibson, with whom she has a bit of a rocky past. At the previously unknown bunker, Clare is confronted by a woman, Gayle Crichton, who reveals she is an ethical hacker and has been assigned the task of tracking a leak within Police Scotland. Struggling to keep this knowledge secret from her team while handling security for a vulnerable witness, a murder and a missing person enquiry makes Clare’s life stressful, especially as she can trust no one.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lies to Tell, an extremely engrossing read which is composed of multiple threads and several great twists. The narrative resolutely remains with Clare's point of view. I fell right into this well-crafted and absorbing tale and I felt as though I was shadowing her as she worked at chasing her leads and following her instincts. Marion Todd's writing-style was impressive and noteworthy, gradually building up the tension, as I tried to second-guess along the way until the big reveal.

I loved the author's portrayal of Clare and I was extremely taken with this character's toughness, dedication and tenacity, as well as looking forward to reading about her in future instalments of this series. With its polished pacing and plotting, I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable, original and difficult to put down novel from Marion Todd. She is a gifted storyteller who can provide readers with thrills, sophistication and a story packed with substance. A very highly recommended five star read and an exciting story that will be of interest to many readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Canelo via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Detective Clare Mackay is surprised when her DCI whisks off to a top secret location to meet an ethical hacker, Gayle Crichton. There is allegedly a security breach at her station & Gayle will be working at the station undercover of installing a new communication system. She also discovers that St Andrews is going to be the latest Safe House for a witness due to give evidence. As her last location has been discovered & a new one is necessary. As if that wasn't enough, there is a foreign student found dead- whose friend had come to the station to report him missing but left before more details could be found. Clare struggles to keep all these balls in the air whilst forced to keep information from colleagues she knows & relies on- is she right to trust them?

This is the third book in the series & I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them I am already looking forward to the next one. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.