The 'lies we tell' is a domestic thriller about relationships and the inability to see our mistakes.

Sarah and Tom first met in an art class. She is the teacher of the art class.

Tom is an actuary. For him, everything revolves around numbers or statistics. It was natural for him to relate life events to statistics, which came naturally to him. Did that make him unemotional? He is straightforward and loves to be in a routine.
Sarah is on the other side of the scale. She grew up in a commune. And, after the death of her mother, she is raised by her strict uncle and aunt. She comes with a lot of emotional baggage and has gone through a lot of life-changing events. She lives hiding most of them. Some created by her but, others she stumbled upon on her way.
From an outsider’s perspective, they are the most unlikely couple. It is something Hugo, Tom’s best friend since school also, told him. Tom and Sarah get married. In a few years, Freddie is born after a lot of miscarriages. After his birth, things fall into a routine for both of them. Sarah takes care of and raises baby Freddie and Tom for the most waking hours spends at work.
Matters start getting worse when Freddie, a 15-year-old teenager, gets into the wrong company. And the escalation happens when one night he comes and tells them he has done something heinous.

The story starts in the present day and then goes back to the past. Tom and Sarah narrate the entire story from their perspective. Corry’s novel explores how one small thing in life can snowball into something big. She also delves into the dark side of relationships and the issues surrounding raising a teenager.

The readers will sit through in anticipation as the events start unfolding. There are multiple short mysteries inserted, and they reveal one after one as the book progresses.

The truth that never sees the light of the day and lack of communication can slowly poison everything around itself and, that forms the central theme of the book.

The characters are well developed, and they have deep flaws. Their flaws make them not particularly likable. But their shortcoming is what makes them human. And the book is also about the journey. The journey starts from the moment they first met to the night when their son comes home, devastated, to what happens to them at the end.

The writing is easy to follow and, the pace matches the storyline. The other books by Jane Corry have a more twisted ending. So this may not be as twisty but, it is a good read.

The lies we tell is a dark domestic thriller about family and relationships.

My rating for the book is 3.5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin UK, for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I've read several books by this author previously and always enjoyed them and although I feel a bit misled by the description ("a suspense filled thriller) it was still a good read. I feel it fitted better into the family drama category.

The author has a real talent for telling multiple characters stories within one story and this was done exceptionally well.

We meet the characters Sarah, Tom and their son Freddie in Part one. Freddie is at the rebellious teenager phase of his life and comes home way past his curfew and utters the words no parents want to here. I won't reveal what they are, you'll have to read the book.

What then happens is you get the background of all the characters and things that they've done in their past that they are not proud of, things that they originally tried to keep hidden.

In Part two we are brought up to date whilst still being told parts of the characters history. Although I do think some of the things that were apparently part of the characters history seemed a bit far fetched that even the additional/support characters history was revealed. I did wander if the family dog had a history.

This doesn't take away from the plot, I just feel it was excessive and it was a bit slow compared to some of the authors other books.

This domestic drama covers the ultimate question- what would you do to help your child if they did the unthinkable?

The start of the book gives us just that , where the son of Sarah and Tom comes hone to tell them he has killed someone.

The story then rewinds to the past, demonstrating how events from their own pasts have led to the day itself.

The book was interesting and thought provoking, but for me it wasn’t a real page Turner as some of her previous books have been. I felt it just went in a bit too long (although I did want to find out what happened). Neither Sarah or Tom were particularly likeable characters, in fact none of the main characters seemed particularly endearing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. It’s a 3.5 stars from me!

The Lies We Tell is a domestic drama that centres around the question of: if a person commits a terrible crime but has endured a terrible living situation while growing up is what drove them to do the deed due to nature or nurture? It's a chilly March evening and married couple Tom and Sarah’s depressed 16-year-old son, Freddie, heads out. They tell him to be back no later than midnight but it's now almost 3 AM and he still isn't home nor have they heard a peep from him via text and Sarah’s attempts to check in with an Are U OK? text are rebuffed. To make matters worse the family are supposed to be moving home for a fresh start later that morning. Finally, chocolate Labrador, Jasper, begins to bark downstairs marking the return of their wayward son. He's soaking wet and in clothes that don't belong to him. Tears are streaming down his face. He is shaking in huge convulsions. And he utters the dreaded words: ”Mum, I’ve killed someone”. He won't divulge any further detail but both Tom and Sarah want to protect Freddie the way they deem fit and as always they both have completely opposing ideas of what protection means. Tom wants to contact the police while Sarah believes it to be an accident and wants to protect him from the law; 2 very different ways of parenting. The twisting narrative then takes us back 20 years, to when Sarah and Tom first fell in love, and while we learn of Sarah’s own shady past, it’s hard not to take her side against her cold, pragmatic husband.

Jane Corry is one of the best domestic drama writers because she examines the lives of the family with scalpel-like precision revealing the dysfunctional relationships and festering resentments simmering just below the surface and the trauma and impact this can cause years later. It's an unsettling read from an author who knows about the dark side of life, having worked at a high-security prison for men, and as the slow-burning emotional mystery unravels it makes for compelling and compulsive reading. Highlighting the impact of fraught parental relationships and the effect blatant and continual lies have on a child born into that environment is not to be underestimated. Told through a past narrative starting with Sarah and Tom’s meeting and relationship evolution and present where Freddie is on trial for his crime at Truro Crown Court, you really start to wonder if the couple’s behaviour is what has led to their son’s instability and mental issues. It's a suspenseful domestic drama that provides so much food for thought, and I found the way the two threads, past and present, converge to create the explosive conclusion was clever and woven extremely well. Corry illustrates more than in any other family thriller I've read lately just how secrets, lies and betrayals give way to hatred and acting out eventually leading to an event such as this horrific crime that'll devastate the family unit once and for all. A riveting, tension-filled drama. Highly recommended.

I have probably just one another book by Jane Corry that is to be read, so that definitely shows how much of a fan I am of her writing skills.

She does it again! The domestic thriller that is The Lies We tell takes its time to grab you but once it does, there’s not a moment to be lost.

Sarah and Tom are as unlike a pair as chalk and cheese. They come together at a time when they both are at their lowest, Sarah needing solidity and steady life, while Tom is lonely and wants to feel loved and share his life with someone. Both of them have past baggage and in Sarah’s case, more than one past secret effectively waiting to pop out of a Chinese puzzle box. It is the birth of Freddie that forces them to continue to work at their marriage even when it becomes clear that once the trust is lost, there’s no way it can be rekindled again.

There’s an in-depth and detailed look into a mother’s psyche as Sarah struggles to give birth, losing babies one after another, and finally the exultant joy in holding Freddie in her hands and the smothering love that binds them both, how it becomes so much focussed that she loses sight of the drift in the relationship with her husband, how Tom effectively hands over the upbringing of the child into Sarah’s hands. It is only when the 15-year-old Freddie commits a crime that the rift becomes one of the gargantuan proportions and all the further decision just adds on to the chaos.

The story unravels at a steady pace alternating between the present in Truro Crown Court and the past of Sarah’s and Tom’s life, it is definitely not an intense gasp for breath ride, but as the court proceedings are kept as vague as possible, the reader is compelled to continue reading with tension mounting up as the two timelines merge and the truth is finally out.

What I absolutely loved is the thought-provoking theme of how far a mother can go to protect one’s child especially when faced with a situation that you have already endured.

Emotional!

Many thanks to Net Galley, Penguin Group, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, and Twitter.

What can I say ? You will never be disappointed by a book by Jane Corey and this latest one follows that trend !! How far would you go to protect your son ?

Freddie, Tom and Sarah’s fifteen year old son, is late home !! When he does come home, Sarah senses something isn’t right. Freddie suddenly admits he’s done something terrible but won’t tell them any details !! Tom instantly wants to call the police but Sarah wants to protect her only son ……. he’s only 15, surely he didn’t mean to do anything bad !!

Tom and Sarah couldn’t be more different but they have stayed with each other through lots of ups and downs but can they survive this latest issue ? How far will Sarah go to protect her son ?

The story is told in two parts ……. the past, where we get to see how Tom and Sarah met and how they had many challenges in their relationship. And then we slowly build up to the night where everything changed up to the present time. We learn from their past how and why they react the way they do to the dramatic night, where Freddie makes a terrible mistake. It raises lots of thought provoking issues about how you would react in similar situations ……. how far would you go to protect your child ?

A great domestic style mystery that has some brilliant characters !! Thank you to Penguin UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

I’ve read a few by this author but this was certainly the most thought provoking I’ve read by her so far.

The story is centred around married couple Tom and Sarah and how far they would go to protect their one and only son who claims he has committed an unforgivable act.

The book also looks at Sarah and Tom’s past, and shows how their secrets and lies have shaped the lives they live.

Really interesting read that leaves you questioning how far you’d go to protect the most precious person in your life.

Such an interesting read focusing on the truth……..and lies and how far as a parent you would go to keep your son out of trouble
Exciting,tense,dramatic and with strong characters this for me was a unique book dealing with a situation that most people although think they know how they would handle it……may react differently in reality

I'm just not sure what to write here? Firstly, I have really enjoyed Corry's previous reads, but...
This was an 'inbetweener' for me...a strange mix between a crime thriller with hints of psychological drama, and neither really achieved. I didnt like either of the main parental characters, which didn't help...but overall it didnt pack nearly enough punches. If you like a nice easy read that meanders to a comfortable solution, then I guess that's fine. Many thanks to Jane Corry, the publisher, and Netgalley for the chance 5obreas an advanced reader copy.

An Incredible, compelling, thought-provoking read!

What an amazing story this is! This is the third book I’ve read by Jane and after reading I Looked Away, I didn’t think I’d ever read another story as good or one that would make me feel so many different emotions, until now!

Sarah and Tom both have secrets from their past which neither reveal at the start of their relationship. They are so different from each other, and whilst they do fall in love, I think they are so desperate to forget who they used to be, they convince themselves that they are exactly what each other needs. Then their son Freddie comes along just as they begin to question their love for each other, but they remain together determined for him to have a decent upbringing with both parents by his side.

Life isn’t plain sailing for this family and when Freddie is fifteen he does something really terrible that will change all of their lives forever. In the middle of the night, Sarah and Tom must decide whether to help their only son or make him face the music. With differing opinions on what to do, Sarah makes a snap decision, is it the right one though?

I don’t think I’ll stop thinking about this story for a very long time. I’ve been trying to think about what it is that Jane does differently from other authors because not many books affect me quite the way hers do. I think a lot of it is to do with the characters, Jane is an expert at writing about troubled women who face challenges, but she manages to make them so real and so likeable that you just want to help them.

My feelings about Tom changed many times throughout this book, from liking him to hating him and often feeling rather frustrated by him, but I don’t think we can blame him for how he is due to what happened in his past.

The question that you will come away with after reading this book is… What would you do? My answer is the same as Sarah’s at the end of the book when she wonders if she’d make the same decision again, and that is Yes, No, Maybe! As a mother to two boys all I can say is I hope I never find myself in Sarah’s situation.

This book features locations such as Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly which all have a special place in my heart as I live in Devon and have lived in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This also makes it so much easier for me to imagine the setting whilst reading.

From the first chapter, you will step inside this story and if you are anything like me, you will remain there, even when you’re not reading it and long after you’ve finished it.

A compulsive read that is truly heart-wrenching at times. An incredible story written by an incredible storyteller.

Thank you so much to Jane Corry, Penguin and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

The Lies We Tell focuses on how far parents will go to protect their children. When 15-year-old Freddie comes home one night and tells Sarah and Tom that he has killed someone, they react very differently - Sarah wants to protect her son whatever the circumstances, while Tom wants to tell the police.

Tom and Sarah are very different from one another both in character and in the way they lead their lives. Their initial attraction was surely 'opposites attract' but by the time Freddie makes his revelation they have grown apart, staying together only for Freddie's sake.

The Lies We Tell is a tale of a marriage of opposites, filled with lies and deceit and not very likable characters. But it raises the question: 'What would we do if our own child came home and told us he had done something that would have huge repercussions?' Thanks to NetGalley and PengiunUK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My thanks to Penguin U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Lies We Tell’ by Jane Corry in exchange for an honest review.

This is a domestic drama focusing on a couple, Sarah and Tom Wallace, and their fifteen-year old son, Freddie. It opens with Freddie revealing that he is in serious trouble and begs his parents not to contact the police. Things don’t go well. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Aside from exploring how far they will go in order to protect their son, the novel examines the early years of their marriage and their struggle to have a child. In both the past and the present lies feature heavily.

I didn’t feel particularly engaged with Sarah’s situation. This could be because I have chosen to not have children. I am sure that those readers who are parents and grandparents will have a greater understanding of the challenges faced by Sarah and Tom.

Overall, I found this an okay read. However, this is just my perspective and I know that Jane Corry’s books are very popular with a wide readership. Just not quite my cup of tea.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy.

Tom and Sarah Wallace. Plodding along in their marriage for the sake of son Freddie but what happens when your son comes home and confesses to killing someone? Just how far would you go to protect your child?

I was attracted to the blurb for this book and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately the blurb didn't live up to the story. Tom and Sarah were not very likeable characters so I found myself not caring very much what happened. Told from the perspective of both parents the story went back in time to build up their back story to get to where we are and how their influence and decisions could have effected Freddie. In my opinion it was too long winded and became boring. When we finally got to the point it did have enough moral and social dilemma's to keep me interested enough to finish it.

A really interesting storyline and characters. How far would parents go to protect their child and is it for the best to do so?

As a huge fan of Jane Corry I was delighted to receive an arc of this her newest book and once again she has written a fantastic book, with relatable characters and storylines
One night Sarah’s son Freddie comes home in a state and says he’s killed someone. Tom, his dad immediately wants to call the police but Sarah and Freddie persuade him to wait. The next morning they’re both gone
Once on the run Sarah fears the police are one step behind them.
The story follows Sarah in hiding and also tells us the lead up to the night in question and helps us to understand what made Sarah and Tom behave the way they do

Despite not agreeing with Sarah’s actions I could easily see how someone may make that choice and what this could do not just to their family but to other too

Excellently written, highly recommend

I've not read any of Jane Corry's books previously and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Sarah and Tom are married with a 15 year old son, Freddie. Freddie seems to get away with murder right up to the point he comes home late one night and tells Sarah he's killed someone. We then jump to the start of Tom and Sarah's relationship told by each of them in turn. There are also teasing chapters in a courtroom but we don't know who is on trial.

By going back to the start of Tom and Sarah's relationship it helps to understand why Sarah is so lenient with Freddie as I must admit at times I wanted to tell her to lay the law down to him! There are so many secrets originally between Sarah and Tom that shape their lives.

A thoroughly enjoyable read - thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Everything you could ever want from a book!

I really loved The Lies We Tell and think you will to! The plot brings up a lot of questions...what would you do in that situation? Your child or someone else’s?

Bit of a slow burner but my god is this a fantastically written dark thriller with plenty of twists and turns? Yes! Do you need to read it? Also yes!

5/5

Having read previous Jane Corry books, I was thrilled to be asked to read this not only on Netgalley, but also from the publisher.

This is the story of Tom and Sarah Wallace and their fifteen-year-old son Freddie. Freddie has made a terrible mistake. This puts his parents in a very tricky position: do they protect their child? Or call the police?
It is a well plotted timeline that switches effortlessly between the first-person narratives of Sarah and her husband, Tom when they first meet, and what a very unlikely couple they are who come from vastly different backgrounds. Can they make their relationship work when they are both hiding skeletons from their past? Tom and Sarah’s backstories linked so well to the present-day situation. The second part of the book comes back to the present time and is told from Sarah’s point of view.

A book with a great moral dilemma that made me wonder what I would do if I was in Sarah’s shoes. How far would you go for your child?

Overall, I really enjoyed this well written slow burner psychological thriller, from the opening line I was completely hooked. It has a very good back story and lots of plot twists to keep you engaged, right up to the very last page.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of domestic thrillers, couples living with secrets and lies, with a criminal element thrown in, then this is the thriller for you!
Thank you to Net galley and Penguin Viking Books for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I dont even know where to start with this book...... its certainly not what you'd expect and you will never guess where it'll end up. The book jumps from character to charter and also between critical times on the characters lives but as long as you can keep up up the narration then this story will have you hooked. It really is a tale about a mother's love for her child and how she'll never stop fighting to protect her young, regardless of how grown up he may be. It is very well written and you really do being to feel for the characters and relate to the decision they make and the lies they tell. Definitely worth a read!

'The Lies We Tell' is the latest novel by Jane Corry, which explores the life of Sarah, her husband, Tom, and her teenage son, Freddie and the decisions she has made up to and after Freddie comes home at 3am and announces that he has killed a man.

The story raises some interesting conversation topics, including raising children, and how far you would go to protect the ones you love.

Overall, it was a good read. I enjoyed that the back stories of the main characters were explored, so that you understood the reasoning behind the decisions they make. This section could perhaps have been shorter so that the present day section, which I enjoyed more, was longer and had more oomph to it. My only quibble is that the storyline was tied up too nicely for a thriller, but that's just personal preference.

If you enjoy slow burners with complicated family relationships, you'll enjoy this book.