Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, this archived before I was able to download, therefore I was unable to read this. I have seen a lot of positive reviews though!

Fantastic debut novel!!
Full of twists and turns and edge of your seat uncomfortableness, I devoured this in just three sittings.

I was expecting a bit more from this from the blurb but it was lacking a bit of intensity and drama for me. I would have liked to see that cranked up a bit

Well this book packed a full on punch. SO many things going on : controlling husband, manipulation, lies, past relationships, missing people. At times it did get overwhelming trying to keep up. So I had a break from it for a few days and then got back to it.
Lots of tension and suspense and even when lots of things going on I think the plots were well figured and timely. I really enjoyed this book and it is a captivating debut.

Anna is married to James but he becomes very controlling and she realises she must leave him. She reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, Sam and thinks they can finally be happy together. Is Sam the man she thought he was? I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading her next novel.

ne of the best parts about being a total bookworm is discovering new authors. With so many thousands of books published every year, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees, so it's a true bonus when you come across a gem, like the debut by @sophieflynnauthor, ALL MY LIES.

𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 . . .

A pacy and gripping read, Sophie Flynn has created a cast of complex, flawed and realisitc characters that you can't help wanting to know the story of, and what a story they have to tell! The opening starts off a little slower, and I must admit, I wasn't sure how much of a fan of Anna I was to begin with, but as the secrets are revealed and the stakes get higher, I found myself unable to put the novel down! This is a fantastic debut, and I can't wait to read more from Sophie in the near future.

This was a thrilling debut novel by an author that shows a lot of promise. I enjoyed the book, and will read the next one by this thrilling writer. Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for what was a brilliant read - one of the best books I have ready for a long time and I couldn't put it down.
I was a bit sceptical about this book, but wow did I enjoy it. Twisted, fast paced, and a great story and I like the way it was written.
I did guess part way through a very vital piece of the story, but I'm not going to give it away - you will have to read it.
I would really love to continue reading anything Sophie writes, so am now waiting for the next book.
Please keep writing - highly recommended.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley.

I raced through this psychological thriller and it ticked a lot of boxes for me .

You’re not sure who to trust and there are plenty of revelations and lies exposed.

At times it was a challenge to keep up with all of the plot as its a very busy book. But this didn’t take away the enjoyment .

Unpredictable and twisty this is a great debut and I look forward to reading more from her.

Published 23rd April

WHAT. A. RIDE! Was not expecting the twist in the tale! I devoured this book in one sitting and I'm still reeling from the ending - I need to book a holiday to settle my nerves ha-ha! I cannot believe this is a debut novel. Encore, Sophie Flynn! Encore!

I have now added more books by this author to my Kindle wish list as I really enjoyed this! I wasn’t sure what to expect but, having read the blurb, I knew it would be a novel that I would enjoy! I nearly read the book in an entire sitting. I could not put it down. The plot twists were great and kept me guessing throughout. Would definitely recommend.

Well, I’m not sure if this is the effect that Sophie Flynn was going for when she wrote the book but I was on edge all the way through this book. And I don’t mean on the edge of my seat, but on the edge of my nerves, every sinew strained with worry for Anna and what was going to happen to her before the book ended. This is good, books should make the reader uncomfortable sometimes.

Right from the beginning, the author has created a sense of peril for the main character that it is absolutely impossible to shake throughout, and every action the protagonist takes intensifies the feeling because she is making unwise decisions that ramp up the risk for herself. For most of the book I wanted to take her by the shoulders and give her a good shake, because she handles absolutely everything so badly that I couldn’t understand why she was so foolish, especially at the end. I’ve obviously never been in love with someone the way she was with Sam!

Sophie has also constructed a book here in which you have no idea who you can trust. Clearly, Anna doesn’t know throughout who is being honest and who is lying to her, and what about, but I also had extreme doubts about Anna herself and whether she was telling us, the reader, the truth or whether some of what she says is lies or fantasy. She has been dishonest in situations in both past and present, so having an unreliable narrator on top of all her suspicions about everyone else will have your brain twisted into a frenzy of doubt and confusion by the end of the novel, which only adds to the tension.

The book isn’t quite perfect, I did have a couple of niggles about it. There were parts where I found it a little unevenly paced. Rosie was an unbelievably accepting and forgiving character, I think I would have been much more annoyed with and questioning of Anna’s behaviour myself. In fact, I was, I found her quite spineless and a little too much of a willing and passive victim in the story until she does finally find some gumption. I am sure this is how the author intended her to be, its a huge plot driver that she is this way, but it did make it difficult for me to get behind her 100% personally because I just don’t relate to this type of character. These are the things that pulled the book down slightly from a five star read for me.

However, I do think these might be niggles that are very specific to me and what I like to read, so I would not allow them to put you off from the reading the book because, all in all, this is a gripping and different thriller with a huge amount to offer. I read it in only two (very busy) days, so it clearly held my interest for me to keep glued to it over that time frame and I was fully invested in knowing the outcome of who was lying and who was telling the truth. One thing I thought was really great about the book was how the author chose to end it – it wasn’t obvious and neat and I really loved that about it, it felt more authentic. Overall, this is a solid and rewarding psychological thriller with plenty of plot twists and misdirection, huge amounts of tension that will gnaw on your nerves and keep you gripped to the end and a satisfyingly believable ending. I would highly recommend it and look forward to seeing what comes next from this exciting debut author.

My mind is blown. The next thing I’m going to say is going to sound a little pretentious and like I am an expert on these sorts of books, which I’m not claiming to be, but I do read a lot of them, so hear me out. So many books claim to be “psychological thrillers”. These books are often gripping, thrilling, and sometimes we get inside the mind of one of the characters. However, overall, in lots of cases, I find the ‘psychological’ element to be weak.

This is 100% not the case with this book. The author’s talent for helping me to see inside the mind of not one, not two, not three but possibly even four of the main characters (whilst maintaining a completely effective and compelling first person narrative), really makes this book stand out, and above, its competitors.

This book has also had a huge psychological impact on me. My mind feels like it’s been through the washing machine. The narrative is easy to follow and well developed, but all the lies, deception, manipulation, secrets make it really difficult as a reader to know who to trust, who to believe, and whether any of the characters are decent human beings, or have redeeming qualities.

The second thing that has had a huge impact on me, and may be a trigger warning, is some of the scenes of coercive control, which kind of border on domestic abuse. Having suffered this myself, I was predisposed to feel some sympathy for the main character, Anna, though there were also times when I felt angry towards her, too. That’s the thing about those situations though: it’s easy to judge and see when you’re you’re an outsider looking in.

All of the characters have flaws and seem realistic, despite some of them are involved in evil and shocking acts. As Sue in the book is quick to point out in defence of her son – we all make mistakes! I found this aspect particularly haunting as it really made me feel like this could be a true portrayal of what could happen behind closed doors.

I have been unable to put this one down. There was one shocking twist after another, and I loved following Anna’s journey. I really had to know that she had learnt something from this experience, and I was left feeling satisfied at the end.

Overall, this has been a highly original, sophisticated and brilliant debut book that has every justification to call itself a true psychological thriller, as it includes all the best ingredients of the genre. It is not just a thriller though, it provides a thought provoking message about love, loyalty and self-worth.

Last year, I shared that my favourite psychological thriller of the year was ‘The Child Who Never Was’ by Jane Renshaw. This is definitely my favourite psychological thriller of 2021 so far.

I’m not sure how anything else I read this year will top it, to be honest!

A promising debut that I enjoyed and will definitely read more from this author. There was nothing particularly original in the plot but it's well written with good characterisation and some twists I did not anticipate.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC. 3.5 stars

This book made me feel as if I was reading some chapters from my own life story. As, like Anna, I had a controlling husband and then reconnected with a childhood love. Luckily that’s where the similarities ended. However it did make me feel more empathetic towards Anna and my heart was in my throat more often than I care to admit as I recognised the subtle gaslighting techniques and manipulation used by her husband James that in turn become cruel.

Anna’s backstory explains her longing for warmth, love and family, making her extremely vulnerable. So when Sam breaks off all contact her past and present collide and I was left questioning everything and everybody including Anna.

For a debut the author has astounded me with her characterisation. They frustrated me, angered me, brought out my maternal instinct to protect and my strong stance of sisterhood against domestic abuse. James was so well written that I would happily have gone to their house packed her bag and stood up to him myself. The women in this book are all beholden to the men in their lives in one form or another. Rosie is the only one she’s really close to and her being James’ sister makes telling the truth even more difficult and complicated and added another dimension to how closed off and alone Anna actually is.

The walls felt like they were closing in as she becomes more trapped not only be her marriage but by all the lies. And as Rosie herself said “they always catch up with you in the end.”

Anna is stuck in a marriage that she wants to escape and she finds her chance after meeting her childhood sweetheart.
The story that follows uncovers all the lies and deceit and secrets from her past from her and others.
Good read and realistic.

If I had been able to go on holiday I would have been pleased to have taken this book along with me. It’s an easy read with lots of things happening that you would never have guessed and equally lots of turns in the story that were obvious.

Oh I love a book with good characters and this book has some cracking ones! Anna, I loved! I was desperate for her to be happy, find peace and learn to acknowledge her self worth! James, I hated! Passionately! Flynn does an amazing job of keeping him on the outside of the story and drips in little moments that make you hate him even more. Sam, I couldn't make my mind up. I wanted him to save Anna, then I didn't because I wanted her to love herself first. About two thirds of the way through, I thought I had cracked the story, I knew what had happened and I was slightly disappointed! But then out of nowhere, a brilliant twist at the end that I didn't see coming at all! Brilliant writing, great suspense! Loved it. I find that books in this genre need to have a cracking ending and this one certainly did. Great read and I kept wanting to read more and more...in my books, that means it is a great book! And a little thing to add - her debut! I mean get out of here....amazing! .

4 Stars from me

I had such mixed feelings for main character Anna throughout this book!

She married the 'perfect man' yet she hankers after an imperfect past and when fate reunites her with her first love she sees it as a way to escape her current life and pick up where she left off all those years ago.

The portrayal of James was excellent, so obviously a controlling bully but at times even I was thinking - or is he? Major mind messing, excellently captured.

My favourite character was probably Rosie. Everyone needs a friend like her!

Viewing her childhood sweetheart firmly through rose coloured glasses, Anna paints a warm and wonderful concept of the life she will be going back to. He loves her, his family love her, all they need is each other - right?

This is a psychological thriller with deceptively warm undertones - I raced through it and got caught out by many a twist and turn along the way.