What an intense rollercoaster of a read! From the outset, the dual narratives are interwoven to create a fast-paced, exciting tale of one woman's fight to shake off the disappearance of her little brother, Teddy which has haunted her for her entire life.
This was my first Gilly Macmillan story, but it certainly won't be my last.
Thank you for the advanced copy.

Tragedy and lies have built Lucy's world and her future. her past is something she is trying desperately to leave behind, although her imaginary childhood friend Eliza is firmly still by her side and causing Lucy to doubt herself at every turn.
As a wealthy woman, made famous by Eliza appearing in her crime novels, she finds her husband has purchased a new house for them right back where she does not want to be.
Dan gets a little over-involved with some of the neighbours and then goes missing and in the course of the investigation into his disappearance her past and the lies she told are exposed and unwound in an unexpected way.
The book is unsettling and uneasy in many places and it is easy to see how Lucy gets herself entangled in fiction and lies to hide her past.

I do love a Gilly MacMillan book, she always delivers the goods! To Tell You The Truth was a fantastic read, full of twists and unlikeable characters that the ending was not at all predictable. I read this over 2 nights, completely lost in the story.

Lucy Harper was 9 years old when her 3 year old brother went missing in the woods near her home. He has never been found and it has left her traumatised. She is now a successful crime writer and her books sell millions. Her husband goes behind her back and buys them a new home, right near the woods from her childhood. After they move in things are not good betweenness them, and then he goes missing and she is the prime suspect.

Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read

To tell you the truth
by Gilly Macmillan.

A really good read with a great plot line. Well written with interesting characters and some nice twists throughout. I would recommend this book.
Thank you to both netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this book.

Secrets, lies, truth. All jumbled up together in one big heap in this novel.
To Tell You the Truth, is an unsettling story of an unresolved past, and a devious present. A fast paced read that will leave you wondering what the truth really is.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it keeps you guessing all the way through. It is a fast paced book I did not guess the outcome until it gave it away.
I would definitely recommend this book to fellow book lovers and groups that I am in.
Thanks netgalley

Amazing twisty tale that I thoroughly enjoyed. During Lucy's childhood her little bother disappears and is never found. Only Lucy's invisible friend Eliza was with her. When Lucy is an adult and a successful writer and still converses with Eliza a series of events happen that slowly start to unravel Lucy's life. The Plot of this book is amazing and will keep you guessing right until the end.
A great read.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers who gave me an advance copy of this book. This is a very well-written, thought-provoking, psychological crime drama. Themes of trust, loneliness and betrayal are skilfully woven in and I really liked the main protagonist, a best-selling author of crime dramas who finds herself (not for the first time) entangled in a real-life crime drama. I really wanted to like this more but ultimately was not that gripped by the plot and found the ending unsatisfying.

When I read a book, for review or otherwise, there is a point in the book when I say to myself 'this is really good and I want to keep reading and reading'. Sometimes it can be in the first few pages and sometimes it can be when I am 75% through. With this book the feeling came when I was a third into it.
I very much enjoyed the book and it is well written with a very good (and different) story line. There are a number of good twists as you never know what happened 20+ years ago or more recently. Having read so many psychological thrillers I now worry that a book with the main character as a woman in her thirties will develop into where she 'loses the plot' and panics over almost everything. This book does follow this path. However, this concern is something attributable to me and not the book itself so I am sure that many readers will not be put off by this.
I was ready to give the book a 5 star review but I do not want to spoil the ending for any reader of this review so all I will say is that, for me, it was disappointing. I didn't get a 'that explains it all' feeling'. Nevertheless a book that is well worth reading

A fantastic book! Such a plot twisting read. I’ve not read any of Gillys work before but this was great. I think mainly because I was never sure how it was going to end - you sometimes figure it out- but this I didn’t. The ending completely got me! Well done. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC for this review.

A creepy story with lots of twists to keep the readers interest. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend

"To tell you the truth" was my first Gilly Macmillan read and a pretty enjoyable one, although truth be told that may be in part cause I love stories where the main character is a writer him/herself.

When Lucy was a kid her little brother Teddy went missing and police suspected she wasn't telling the truth about what happened that night. Now she is a bestselling thriller writer and is married to Dan, another aspiring writer. When Dan goes missing history seems to be repeating itself. Was she involved in his disappearance?

As the story unfolds we find some of the typical tropes of this genre:
- Unreliable narrator: ✔️
- Gaslighting: ✔️
- Despicable husband: ✔️✔️✔️ (I seem to be on a roll of books with despicable husbands).

I found interesting Lucy's character and her interactions with Eliza. Is she just a fictional character brought to life by her creator or is Lucy suffering from split personality?

This was tense and gripping all throughout the story but the ending fell a bit flat and weak for me as it felt a little out of the blue. I would have like for the resolution to be more of a link between both past and present lines and to have some answers to some secondary plots that were left hanging there. Also that last chapter left some things open to reader's interpretation.

Overall it was a well written, quick and easy read that kept me guessing till the end so I would recommend it no doubt.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for providing and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To tell YOU the truth...I'm a slow reader, and yet I read this in 3 days, that'll give you a clue how obsessively compulsive this book is.

Lucy was 9 years old when she took her little brother Teddy into the woods...and only she returned. He was never seen again. Fast forward a couple of decades and now she's a best selling thriller writer, and her imaginary friend Eliza from her childhood is the star detective. Her husband Dan goes missing...did she have something to do with it?

This book is compulsive, I dont like her husband, he seems jealous and with the potential to be cruel. Lucy's imaginary friend seems able to take over her body and thoughts, and Lucy didn't tell the entire truth when she was a child about the events leading to Teddy's disappearance.

This book shows how to do an unreliable narrator perfectly, even Lucy isn't totally sure whether she's innocent or not, whether Dan was gaslighting her before his disappearance or not. The tone of the book is perfect, it's fast paced and the chapters don't drag on. The chapters alternate with present time and with the reading of a book, about the time when Teddy went missing. Usually I find this sort of jumping around tiresome but it was well executed and not overdone.

And the ending...

***spoilers ***

What Dan was doing to Lucy...cleverly portrayed and yeah I hate him! What happened to Dan? Sort of came out of nowhere really, I mean there was one sort of hint earlier in the book, and his arrogance fit with the character, but in terms of actually being able to work it out...not a chance. Did I buy it? Well, I'm generally happy to suspend disbelief and it made the final chapters pretty exciting so I'm OK with it. Only thing that bothered me was I doubted the planting of blood in the house would really have fooled a forensics team? As for what happened to Teddy? Perfect ending. Sad and yet so believable.

A psychological thriller which I found very hard to put down and read in one sitting. Lucy Harper is a crime fiction author with a secret. People close to her are plotting to reveal what that secret is. A real twisty thriller full of tension and suspense and surprises. Did she or didn't she ??????? All in all a very enjoyable read.
Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

Engrossing read that had me feeling unsettled for much of the book - credit to Gilly for having this feeling permeate throughout.

Lucy Harper is a famous author. Her main character is her childhood imaginary friend - who she still talks to ! When she was 9, Lucy's 3 year old brother went missing. Now in adulthood, her husband goes missing. Lots of secrets revealed along the way in this one

Lucy is a bestselling author of the Detective Eliza Grey novels, she's just coming to the end of her latest novel when her husband Dan buys them a new house as a surprise for her. She's completely wrong footed by this, and the location of the house brings back so many memories from her childhood. Memories of when her brother Teddy went missing one night and has never been found.
After an argument, Dan goes missing and there's blood on the floor when Lucy wakes up. What exactly happened the night before? Did Lucy have something to do with it? Now that two people close to her have disappeared she's under a lot of suspicion. But can you believe what she says?
Read it! You won't be disappointed.

A very well written story with some great characters! I loved Lucy, and wished I could give her a hug and help her through her crazy life. The plot twist in the middle kept me awake at night as I wanted to find out more and more with each chapter! Defiantly one to re-read and enjoy over and over again!

The opening, in italics, tells of two little children sneaking out to watch a Solstice celebration.
I was tempted to close the book at once, fearing a dual narrative with time shifts...and predictability!
But this was not the case.
MacMillan jostles us into the lives of Dan and Lucy, a successful writer with an alter ego. Dan's surprise purchase of a house near where she grew up forces Lucy to revisit the loss of her little brother and what really happened.
Dan's death complicates everything; for Lucy and the reader, as Dan was supposed to be the villain. Or was he?
There are a few threads left askew, "gaslighting" of Lucy and her weird imaginary friend, Eliza but this is quite a satisfying read. MacMillan does not fall into the trap of resolving everything and so what we are left with with a little "unfinished", just as are our lives.
Even the dreaded italics-substory has another life, making my decision to continue, worth it after all.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.
An interesting read that had me gripped from the start. A pure edge of your seat novel with a twist that left me stunned!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, thank you Netgalley.
Lots of little twists and turns and an excellent twist to the end of the story. Very well written and easily digested in a few days.