I love Caroline England. Her books always blow me away and this was no exception. Brilliant and spot on domestic noir xx

This is quite a slow burner of a book. There are a lot of layers to build up. Secrets to set, lies to manipulate. And then, just when you have been lulled into a sense of security - BAM - it all starts to unravel and expose and the punches come thick and fast...
In fact, it's such a slow burn - well it was for me anyway - that at times I wasn't sure we would ever get to the point! And then when the flood gate did open, throwing itself right back on its hinges, I wondered if the deluge would ever stop. Making the book a bit unbalanced for my liking...
That said, I did enjoy my time with the book. I am not opposed to slow burners but I do prefer my books to be bit more balanced, especially when character led which this book most definitely was.
Ellie has a good partner, she's a good mother and tries to be a good daughter herself. She's ticking along quite well when first we meet her. But cracks start to form in this façade when a face from the past, her uni days, starts to become more prominent in her present and, in turn, threatens to expose secrets that have long lain hidden, even from Ellie.
I've seen this billed as a psychological thriller but I would have to rebrand it as dark domestic as it is not really too psychological. It is addictive though and sucked me in from the off and I was held in its thrall throughout my time reading - desperate to figure out what was going on.
Taking aside for a moment the (over) busy ending and this was the perfect character driven book. Ellie was someone who it was easy to care about right from the off. Other characters - main and supporting - were all just as well drawn and interactions between them all felt natural and it was easy to believe in them all.
The storyline was... well... intriguing and a little bit "suspend belief all ye who enter". There are so many dark secrets that are hinted at along the way that I did get a bit dizzy. Some pan out, others fade away and still more hit you in he face from pretty much nowhere! I did feel a bit wrung out when I eventually got to the end of the book.
I've read quite a few of this author's books now and although, for me, not one of her strongest, I am still looking forward to seeing what she has in store for next time.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

An excellent domestic thriller depicting the story of a regular couple whose lives are being upended by the intrusion of an old acquaintance and become anything but mundane!

Truth Games is bestselling author Caroline England’s latest psychological thriller and it's a gripping, twisty tale of one woman’s dark, secret past. Ellie Wilson suffers from terrible recurring nightmares. She knows that, at some level, she is dealing with repressed secrets and has spent her lifetime seeking the approval of others. But this self-awareness doesn’t protect her from the after-effects of secrets being revealed when an old university friend suddenly turns up in her life. Her everyday worries about being the perfect wife and mother are replaced with fear that she might be in danger of losing everything she cares about. She tries to be the perfect woman as well as the perfect mother but we all know that perfection is merely an illusion and sooner or later the facade must shatter... Can she salvage all she's come to know in her life or is it much too late for that?

This is a compulsive and addictive domestic noir with a tonne of family drama and intense suspense throughout as Ellie’s life and sinister past comes back to haunt her. Part of England’s skill is her excellent ear for dialogue, especially between girlfriends, as it comes across as genuine whereas often in thrillers it can seem far-fetched, out of touch or just plain stupid. It's well written, pacy and has enough happening to keep you adhered to the pages until it concludes. Her ability to conjure the detailed ordinariness of everyday domestic life makes her writing all the more powerful when she evokes psychological menace and dramatic plot twists. I wasn't prepared for quite how easily I became sucked into the story and became invested in the characters. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Piatkus for an ARC.