I’d like to thank Penguin UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Lies We Tell’ by Jane Corry in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Sarah and Tom Wallace’s fifteen-year-old son Freddie arrives home in the middle of the night saying he’s killed someone. Tom says they’ve got to report him to the police but Sarah knows what it’s like to be in prison and won’t listen to him. She and Freddie run from their home and catch a train to Cornwall hoping they’ll disappear into the countryside and will never be found. But Sarah knows the past will catch up with them eventually.

‘The Lies We Tell’ is a well-written and thought-provoking story told through the eyes of Sarah and Tom who are as different as chalk and cheese with very little in common except for their son Freddie. Sarah is artistic and has a flair for painting whereas Tom excels in numbers but they both tell lies as they don’t want the secrets of their past to be revealed. The story is slow at times but becomes more involving as the chain of events unfolds and the twists and turns reveal more about their backgrounds. The descriptions of the characters are very good although I thought Sarah was far too indulgent with Freddie, allowing him be rude and insolent to his father. I’ve enjoyed this novel which I was unable to stop reading until I’d reached the conclusion and can definitely recommend it.

WHAT IF YOUR SON HAD MURDERED SOMEONE?

Sarah and Tom, parents to fifteen year old Freddie, are faced with a moral dilemma when he comes home one night, tells them he's killed someone and begs them not to tell the police. They are both torn, Sarah wants nothing more than to protect her only child, even if it means getting in trouble herself, Tom thinks they should do the right thing. Whatever they decide is going to have far reaching consequences on their lives.

The Lies We Tell begins with Freddie's bombshell, we are then transported back to how Sarah and Tom first met, they are an unlikely couple, Tom is very straightlaced, works with figures, whereas Sarah, who is an artist, has a very laid back bohemian approach to life, the only thing they have in common is they've both done things in their past that they're not proud of and it's these misdemeanours that have shaped them into the people they are today and goes some way to explaining their reactions to Freddie's confession. The story is told in two parts and from the perspectives of both Sarah and Tom, with paragraphs at the end of each chapter in italics suggesting the thoughts of one or more other characters, this becomes clearer as the story unfolds. We all like to think we would do the right thing for our children, but until you're faced with a predicament like this, do we really know what the right thing would be? This is the fourth book I've read by this author and once again, it's another great read.

I'd like to thank Penguin and Netgalley for inviting me to read this, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Another great book from Jane Corry.
The first part of the book tells us how Sarah and Tom met and eventually came to have their son Freddie.
There’s quite a lot going on between them and despite people saying they are like chalk and cheese, they’re determined to make it work.
It’s going ok for a while until Freddie comes home looking dishevelled and tells them something that brings their world tumbling down.
We then learn what happened next as well as the odd chapter set in a courtroom which teases what is to come.
It’s a bit of a slow burner but I can understand we needed to know the full background before that terrible night.
A great read for those who enjoy a gripping family drama.
Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I found The Lies We Tell to be a bit of a slow burner at the beginning but it picked up pace towards the end. It still kept me interested throughout but it wasn't as gripping as I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

After reading the synopsis, I was so excited to read The Lies We Tell, however it just wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The novel is sold as husband and wife Sarah and Tom, who start to worry when their teenage son Freddy doesn’t come home one night. When he finally arrives back in the early hours of the morning, he confesses to his mother that he’s just killed someone. What will his parents do?

I thought Jane Corry was going to deliver a corker of a novel. However, it was anything but.

Once Freddy makes his confession, Corry takes us back in time to tell us all about how Tom and Sarah meet. In great length, and in great detail; and it’s boring. I honestly had no interest in their pasts, and how they were ‘so wrong’ for each other but ‘stayed together for their child.’

They’re not likeable characters, and because of this, I struggled to care about what happened to them. Both of them behave in ways that is annoying and infuriating, and I couldn’t take sides because they both had too many faults. They weren’t flawed characters, they were just irritants.

For most of the novel we have a duel narrative from both Sarah and Tom, then Corry stops writing Tom’s point of view. I thought this was a strange thing to do, and I found it very jarring when we’d previously been given both points of view. If it was to imply his opinion didn’t matter anymore, I couldn’t care for Sarah’s either and wish she stopped writing hers as well.

The novel was too long, incredibly waffly and very repetitive; it just didn’t hold enough interesting elements to keep a reader engaged. I’ve read some slow paced books in my time, but this one wasn’t a slow burner, it was a nonstarter. Then she tried to throw in some character revelations to spice it up and it was just honestly mind numbing.

I think if it was marketed differently, it wouldn’t have been such a disappointment. It definitely doesn’t deliver.

First of all, what a rollercoaster of a book. I felt so many emotions and by the end of the book, I’d definitely cried which I totally didn’t expect! I did find it quite a slow read, and there was moments I literally just wanted it to speed up, that was the main rain I didn’t rate it 5*.

When I’d finished, I just had to sit and think about what I’d read. The message it gives, about lies and how people do things for people they love or even lying because your in a situation and you don’t know what to do. The theme is brilliant and I loved seeing everything unravel.

Like I said, at one point I thought it was slow and I just wanted it to hurry up but by the end I was glad it didn’t. And I was crying!! I’m not even sure why, but I think all the emotions and what happened with characters throughout got me. I didn’t particularly love any characters but I think they were all such a big part of the story and the outcome!

Sarah Wallace said that she grew up on a council estate in Kent and that she had two brothers and two sisters. It seemed to have been a loving, stable family. When we first meet her, she can't sleep because her son, Freddie, who's nearly sixteen, hasn't come home by the time he sort of half-promised he'd be in by. Her husband, Tom, is fast asleep: they're moving house in the morning but he's still going to be going to work and he needs his sleep. He wakes, though, when Freddie does come in and overhears him tell his mother that he's killed someone.

Tom and Sarah Wallace are that couple you can never quite understand. How did they ever get together in the first place? Tom's an actuary: just about everything in life can be reduced to numbers. He lacks imagination and creativity: his idea of a casual outfit when he was meeting Sarah was a freshly-ironed pair of jeans and a brown sweater. Even in difficult circumstances, he gives the exact fare to a taxi driver. And Sarah? Well, Sarah is an artist: she teaches life drawing, which is where Tom met her (don't ask how that happened) and she has glossy black plaits with pink and blue highlights. You haven't exactly got them paired off, yet, have you?

It takes a while for Freddie to come along and when he does, their parenting styles are very different. Tom is of the strict 'knowing right from wrong' school and is not above the occasional smack. Sarah prefers to reason with Freddie, explain why his behaviour is not acceptable and encourage apologies. Freddie, of course, learns to play one off against the other and goes his own way, only he might be nearly sixteen but he's nowhere near mature.

What do you do when your child tells you that they've killed someone? God forbid that any of us should ever be in that position but most of us would like to think that we did the right thing, that we'd ring the police, calmly explain what had happened and then stand by the child as the law ground slowly onward. But for many - perhaps most - there will be a niggling doubt that they could allow that to happen and that's what The Lies We Tell is about.

The plotting is superb: there's layer upon layer of carefully constructed situations which lead to the almost inevitable which Tom, Sarah, Freddie and Jasper the dog find themselves in. We also begin to realise that neither Tom nor Sarah have been completely truthful with each other about their pasts. In the early days, they agreed that they wouldn't ask each other - but there comes a point in a relationship when you need to know what has made your partner the person they are. The gradual unravelling and disclosure are heartbreaking for them both - and for their marriage.

It's a good quick read and whilst it might not be quite up to the standard of I Made a Mistake it was certainly engaging and I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

I have some mixed feelings about this book - it’s described as a domestic drama that takes an in depth look at the repercussions of lying to protect your family which definitely piqued my interest. However the first half of this book was, for me, very slow. There is a LOT of backstory about Sarah and Tom, how their relationship formed and the trials and tribulations they faced as a couple. While I appreciate the scene was being set for what goes down later in the book, I really don’t think it needed to be so long-winded. I much preferred the second half of the book, I found it more interesting and there was just a lot more actually going on. There is a fair bit of jumping back and forth between the past and present and usually I like that element but it got a bit confusing in this book and I sometimes wasn’t sure which timeframe I was in.

The ultimate message of The Lies We Tell is an interesting one and did have me questioning how far I would go to protect someone I love. Overall I thought it was a decent enough read but definitely could have been condensed to make it more suspenseful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly I felt immediately attached to the book as the characters last name is the same as my own so I felt as if I already belonged here.
I am a big fan of the writing of Jane Corry, I have a few of her books with blood sisters being a firm favourite and this one did not let her down one bit. It was intriguing and twisty and psychologically thrilling!
It’s always interesting to read about a big moral dilemma as you find yourself questioning the actions and decisions made by the characters and wondering what you yourself would do in that position so it really immerses you in the experience of it all.
I think this book was cleverly written, an enjoyable read and had a slow burn to it that was worth it in the end! Overall I would definitely recommend!

The Lies We Tell is a book that will make you wonder what exactly would you do in that situation.
Sarah and Tom are an unlikely couple and have tried for years for a baby until finally little Freddie is born, he is loved by Sarah unconditionally. Both parents harbour secrets and when these start to be revealed it leaves Sarah and Tom more distant from each other than before. One night before they are due to move house to start again Freddie comes home distraught, he has done something awful that only his mother would understand how to help.
The book switches between present day and in the past, this is done seamlessly and gives a real understanding of Sarah’s situation. Tom struggles with his emotions and seems out of his depth when Freddie is born and becomes more and more distant although he does try. Sarah is there all the time for Freddie while Tom is at work so the bond is greater between mother and son than father and son. What Sarah does makes you question your thoughts as to what you would do and because you have built up a rapport with the main characters from the great writing you feel you are invested.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Would you lie to protect your son? Is your marriage strong enough to withstand this disaster. Sarah and Tom have a complex relationship and their son can only be described as obnoxious. The plot thickens and the lies just keep on coming. As the book progresses it improves. Still worth reading.

A gripping novel full of surprises. Sarah meets Tom- an unlikely match, but both have secrets from each other which are eventually uncovered. It tells of the love and the boundless ties a mother has for her child even though it has detrimental consequences for her.

The trouble with telling a lie, is that you have to tell another and another to keep it going. When Freddy comes home in a terrible state, telling his parents he has killed someone, he begs them not to go to the police. Sarah and Tom have already discovered their marriage has been built on endless lies, so each both have to decide whether they will lie for their son.
I thought this was an excellent book and made me question how far I would go to protect my daughter. As the book progresses, all of the lies and omissions from Sarah and Tom’s past come out, leading to a fulfilling ending. Highly recommended.

Sarah always thought of herself and her husband, Tom, as good people. But that was before their son Freddy came home saying he'd done something terrible. Begging them not to tell the police. Soon Sarah and Tom must find out just how far they are willing to push themselves, and their marriage, to protect their only child. As the lies build up and Sarah is presented with the perfect opportunity to get Freddy off the hook, she is faced with a terrifying decision.

The pace in this book is steady and spans over three different timelines. The characters were all well-formed and I felt both anger and sympathy toward them. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5./5.

The Lies We Tell is a domestic drama not the thriller the cover suggests it is. It addresses that perennial issue, what would you do to save your child? In this case, Sarah is in an unhappy marriage to Tom, only staying for the sake of their son, Freddie. As a teenager Freddie became a increasingly difficult culminating in a night when he come back home and tells them he has killed someone. Tom wants to hand him but Sarah decided to go on the run with Freddie and their dog, ending up in a remote village in Cornwall.
Here it becomes Sarah’s story as Freddie runs away and she battles her demons and confronts her own past.
This is an enjoyable book with an excellent plot, I never knew quite was coming. However, it does feel a bit long and unwieldy in places, I think some tighter editing was needed.
Thank you to #netgalley and #penguinbooks for allowing me to review this ARC.

Would like to thank netgalley and publisher for letting me read this insightful book

What would you do if your son or daughter came home and said I have killed someone

Would you hand them over or would you run away and hide

Here is the story of that very dilemma and the fallout from their decision

Brilliantly written and you feel compelled to read it right to the end to see how it all works out

When I picked this up I thought it would be a psychological suspense story with a family at its centre. Instead, I found it an intriguing and winding family drama about the truths we can't bring ourselves to reveal. Yeah, maybe I should've got from the title! Anyway - I read it in a day and found it a very compelling read.

The story begins when Sarah and Tom's son comes home in the middle of the night, upset, saying that he's murdered someone. But instead of delving straight into how they're going to cover it up (or not), the reader is taken back to the very beginning of Sarah and Tom's relationship. I think this could be frustrating for some, but Corry is simply setting out why Freddie is the way he is (to an extent, I think some of it is just the kid's natural personality), and why Sarah and Tom are destined to react how they do. We get point of view sections from both characters, and I have to admit I found Tom rather frustrating at times. While his character traits are gradually built up/clearly part of him, I still got annoyed at how he lacked empathy for Sarah - and always painted her as the bad guy with the complete inability to look at his own actions.

Ultimately it becomes Sarah's story, and this is a tale of how she deals with the secrets in her own past - even more so than a story about Freddie's crime and the lies around that. I liked Sarah and found myself very moved by her story. I'd definitely come back and read more Corry. But I do think that people picking this up thinking it's a psychological thriller about a child murderer (it's really not), and getting a taut family drama might be disappointed.

I do love a moral dilemma and that's what The Lies We Tell delivers.

Fifteen year old Freddie returns home later one night, covered in blood saying he had killed someone.

Sarah is desperate to protect Freddie from the consequences of his actions, a feeling that only goes into overdrive when her husband Tom is determined to haul Freddie to the police station. She decides to take decisive action.

The book then spools into a future that isn't what I would have predicted.

In between all of this are some excerpts from a court case that will have you wondering who is on trial and what for because Freddie's is not the only secret!

This was an enjoyable read thanks to the detailed plotting of story that will make you question how far you would go to protect someone you love.

From the premise of The Lies We Tell, I was expecting a book that would draw me in and keep me hooked to the end. Sadly I felt the book was lacking pace, overly long and just too drawn out. I did finish the book hoping for a redeeming ending but it just seemed to fizzle out. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and the author for the chance to review.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin General UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
I was hooked from page one. How far will a parent go to protect their child even if he has committed murder?
Tom and Sarah’s lives have been filled with lies from the first day they met. The story is a slow burner with and mostly told by Sarah, goes between past and present. When their son Freddie who is fifteen arrives home in the middle of the night with his T-shirt covered in blood and confesses to having murdered someone, Tom’s immediate reaction is to call the police, Sarah wants to protect him, will do anything to prevent her son from going to prison.
We meet some other interesting characters as the story unfolds.
There are twists and revelations right to the end of this psychological thriller as the tension builds. This is the second book I have read by this author and will definitely be reading more..