This book was gripping. There are so many twists, thrills and secrets. Once started I could not put this book down. The characters are believable and it brings in so much darkness and terror. Lucy Harper an author married to Dan who loves the money from Lucy’s successful career but is also jealous and a little sadistic. As a child Lucy had a younger brother who went missing when she was looking after him. After moving away and changing her name Dan found a house near where she used to live. But when Dan vanishes old wounds are opened, lies unfold and secrets come to light. This is a story of manipulation, fear, despair and resentment.
Gilly Macmillan has written this brilliant psychological thriller and I will certainly be reading more of her books. I will definitely be recommending To Tell You The Truth.

I’m sorry, but I felt cheated by this novel. A mystery should have a ‘proper’ finish! I loved the inner workings of the novelist’s mind; but I wanted to shake her at her responses to her husband. I really disliked the imaginary friend idea, which started well but became unreadable. When I finished the book, I could have thrown it at the wall...... felt like a waste of good reading time.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of To Tell You The Truth, a stand-alone psychological thriller set in Bristol.

When Lucy’s husband, Dan, goes missing it is not the first time someone close to her has disappeared as her younger brother Teddy vanished in the local woods when she was nine. Lucy has been immersed in writing her latest thriller so she hasn’t been paying attention to Dan and it’s obvious that he’s up to something.

To Tell You The Truth is a strange novel and I’m not even sure if I liked it. The narrative is split between the present day and Dan’s disappearance, told in the first person from Lucy’s point of view, and short chapters in italics addressed to “you” about Teddy’s disappearance. Lucy is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, she has her secrets and shares her thoughts with her imaginary friend, Eliza, who also happens to be the protagonist of her novels. If that wasn’t enough Eliza often steps into Lucy’s life and speaks for her in difficult situations. There are coping mechanisms and then there are coping mechanisms. Actually, I thought it was clever, although it takes some getting used to.

There are mysteries in the novel, what happened to Dan and Teddy but it is much more a study of Lucy. As mentioned she is unreliable, to the extent that she often appears mentally unbalanced so, as a result the reader is constantly unbalanced themself, never knowing what to believe. It is apt that at one point Lucy wonders if Dan is gaslighting her because I wondered through the novel if she was gaslighting me. I don’t feel I got to the bottom of her character but I certainly felt sorry for her. She’s a poor wee soul.

Despite all these things that I don’t like, unreliable narrator, switching of timelines and perspectives, the imaginary friend thing and the sense of not having my feet firmly planted on the ground I love Ms Macmillan’s writing style and felt immediately welcomed into her world. I felt the tension, uncertainty, desperation and insecurity that invades Lucy and the foreboding presence of the Police and I hated despicable Dan and his behaviour from the beginning.

To Tell You The Truth is worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the arc of To Tell You The Truth by Gilly Macmillan ❤️

Thank you to Gilly Macmillan for writing this book❤️

This is my first Gilly Macmillan books and I sincerely loved how this was put together and written so beautiful and excuted in a mesmerising way!😍

This follows Lucy a best selling crime novelist of her DCI Eliza Grey novels, Eliza has been with Lucy ever since she was a child as she started off as an imaginary friend now the famous DCI Eliza banks In her best selling crime books😱 they have been playing, sharing , telling her what to do and say etc 😱 when she was younger Lucy's younger brother named Teddy went missing and this is how she made Eliza a character for her books.

Eliza has been the main source of their income Dan, Lucy's husband he has been doing some impulses buying which makes Lucy wonders when the purchase he did has been revealed but why did he think she would be even okay with it?😱 And his newest project until.she finds out what he has been suspiciously up to...

Dan them strangely disappears like Teddy did it brings the police around looking for answers ..

I loved the whole aspects of the whole mystery and suspense and I loved the unrraliable narrator of this, it was so different to what I have read before but I throughly enjoyed this with all the twists, surprises and that it leaves you guessing for what could happen next.. I love that aspect so I applaud you Gilly Macmillan!!

Definitely Definitely recommend ❤️
5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!

I wanted to read this one as I’d read ‘The Perfect Girl’ and loved it. This one did not disappoint! A really interesting storyline in that the main character is a true crime writer with some issues and a buried secret from her past. Along with a creepy, abusive husband. This is a pacy, well-written thriller, would definitely recommend.

If you are looking for an involving, atmospheric thriller which will keep you guessing until the end, look no further.

The novel moves between the protagonist, Lucy Harper’s, childhood when her younger brother Teddy disappears whilst on a clandestine nighttime adventure with her, and her adult present, where she is a successful author in a dysfunctional marriage. Hovering over both narrative streams is the shadowy Eliza Grey, Lucy’s imaginary friend who morphed into her novels’ protagonist.

When Lucy’s shady husband, Dan, disappears after an argument, the tension between Lucy’s past and present collide and you won’t want to put the book down until you know how the different narrative streams resolve. It really kept me guessing until the end.

Thanks so much to the publisher,Random House, Gilly MacMillan and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book overall, and felt the short snappy chapters and going back and forward in time helped to engender a building sense of suspense. Yes, a solid read...thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review this book.

The writing in this book was absolutely beautiful and the descriptions of some feelings and thoughts were a joy to read. This book intrigued me from the off ~ I wasn’t sure of the main character From the start and then that set the tone for not trusting any of the characters which kept the twists and turns coming again and again. An enthralling read, a right page turner with layer upon layer of mystery that kept me guessing right until the end. The ending however did leave me feeling a little underwhelmed. I felt the story didn’t really give me the ending I wanted or satisfied me and was a bit disappointing but overall enjoyed immensely and would highly recommend! I love the authors writing style and how she skews your perceptions of almost everyone and doesn’t shy away from having a difficult, slightly annoying, unlikeable main character, The idea of this book also was fun and unique and I loved how the story was parallel to reality in that you were reading a crime fiction novel about an author who writes crime fiction who just about ends up in one of her own making! Genius!

This book was well written overall but personally I found it difficult to get into the story line and by halfway through I was beginning to get less interested and I was disappointed with the ending.

I am not sure I will read more from this author but thank you to Netgalley and Random House (Cornerstone) for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Another fantastic book by one of the greatest writers out there. I loved it and I loved the premise of the book and its worked so well. Fantastic xx

I quite enjoyed this book but I spent a lot of the time reading it quite confused. I sort of get the imaginary friend but then I struggled with other parts of Lucy that had me thinking she was seriously mentally unstable. The story itself was a bit weak and I don't feel anything really got resolved.

The writing was good. The storyline wasn't. I did not enjoy the imaginary friend storyline or the flashbacks.

A cracking read which had me enthralled throughout. However I was slightly disappointed at the ending which felt too contrived and a little flat.

This is a unique, well written book that explores the subjects of Domestic violence, trauma, and mental health issues.
Lucy is a successful author, she has new found wealth, a seemingly supportive husband, scores of adoring fans, and an awful, terrible, dreadful secret that she must never tell anyone.
The book flicks back and forth from the present, where we see Lucys life slowly unraveling, to the past and that devastating event that changed her life.
A creepy tale of how sleepless nights and anxieties are the price we pay for keeping secrets.

Wow. A great story with lots of twists it had me guessing till the end. I will be reading more by Gilly.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Wow, what a read !!!
When Lucy was 9 years old her 3 year old brother Teddy goes missing. Now Lucy is a famous author and married to Dan. One night Dan goes missing .
This had me gripped to the very end. I loved how this book took my imagination on a chilling and atmospheric journey. I found it really interesting how Lucy's imaginary friend Eliza ( also her inspiration for her books) almost came to life throughout the pages. It was like she was a real person. Dan on the other hand infuriated me, to the point where I was relieved to find out he went missing.
A real page turner. Brilliant !

I was given a copy of this book by New Galley in return for an honest review.

I requested a copy of the book without having read anything by the author before, but purely on the summary of it which had me hooked!

Lucy is a successful author, and her husband Dan is an aspiring but unsuccessful author. At the start you get a sense that he’s unhappy about the distribution of success within the relationship, particularly when it comes to money- and his choice of what to to spend it on, without the knowledge certainly points to that. I felt instantly for Lucy when she found out what he’d done.

Their complex relationship is compounded when he goes missing, and parallels are drawn not only with her books but the disappearance of her little brother when she was a child.

I found the first half of the book quite difficult to get into- whether it was the flashbacks or the character of Dan which made it hard I don’t know. The story picked up pace though and I read the rest in one go!

I’m not sure I was satisfied by the ending though- there were two threads to the story and I’m not sure either of them ended satisfactorily for me. For that reason, and the slow start, I’d give the book 3 stars.

Not sure about this one. Did not like the imaginary friend at all. Good storyline apart from that. A very disappointing ending. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Lucy is a successful author with a best selling police procedural series. She is married to Dan, a wannabe writer who has pretty much failed at that and now spends his time managing Lucy. That management gets a bit heated when Lucy goes off script with her next book. He has also started to be a tad controlling, surprising (shocking) her with a new place to live. A place that he knows will cause her mental pain due to her past. But is that just the tip of the iceberg with his shenanigans? And then Dan goes missing...
This was a good solid read for me which kept my attention nicely all the way through. It's a bit of a slow burn initially - necessary setting up rather than padding btw - but, once it really gets going, it's off like the clappers. As you would expect from a book of this genre, it's chock full of secrets, lies and duplicitous behavour and delivers punch after punch as it twists its way to an ending that I really didn't see coming. Not that it came out of left field, I just missed a few clues along the way - hindsight and all that...
The characters were great in this book. Most of the wholly unlikable and also quite dodgy. I wasn't sure who was on what side for pretty much the whole book - the author did keep me on my toes in that respect.
All in all, a cracking addition to an already impressive back catalogue. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.