The Shape of Lies

THE SHAPE OF LIES is a dark and gripping psychological crime thriller, by author Rachel Abbott. It is the 8th book in the DCI Tom Douglas series, but provides sufficient background information that this novel can be read as a stand-alone. I am so ashamed to admit that this is the second novel I have read by this author, (having enjoyed Come A Little Closer #7) but I have all the previous in the series to read on my Kindle. After reading this novel, I will definitely MAKE the time to read the other books in the series. So Good!

I have to admit that I was so impressed with this excellent dark psychological suspense thriller. This novel has it all, and had me gripped right from the beginning.

“We all lie. To ourselves to each other…We try to justify them, whatever their shape or form, they are still lies. I lie to those closest to me every day. “

Anna Franklyn is a mother, a wife, and head teacher of a primary school, while her husband Dominic, a teacher, but now a stay-at-home dad, after an accident, looks after their two kids, Hailey and Bailey.

But Anna is a very good liar. She has been lying about herself for so long.

“Fourteen years ago, Scott was Anna’s boyfriend. She loved him, but he ruined her life. When he died, she should have been free.”

But Scott is dead, Memories come flooding back, when Scott is on the radio, talking about her and their past. He plans to reveal the whole story in one week and tell her secrets.

Scott is the only person who knows the truth about her past. How can he be alive?

Then DCI Tom Douglas comes knocking at her door looking for answers. Her life is falling apart.

She has one week to find him. One week to stop him.

Recommended to fans of psychological thrillers with lots of twists. I really enjoyed this book!

Many thanks to Black Dot Publishing via NetGalley for my digital copy.

Fantastic! I am a huge fan of Rachel Abbott and this book, the latest in the Tom Douglas series doesn't disappoint.
This author can do no wrong for me, I have loved all her books and this one is just brilliant. I love the way we go back and forward between Anna in the present day and her life at university. And what on earth happened in Nebraska?? Her past has caught up with her in a big way and looks like it is going to tear apart her family.
Plenty of twists and turns that will leave you reeling, I would highly recommend this book, in fact do yourself a favour and read all of this author's books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Black Dot Publishing and Rachel Abbott for this ARC of The Shape of Lies in return for my honest review.

This is the eighth novel I have read by this author. It is part of the DCI Tom Douglas and wonderful DI Becky Robinson series, but can be read as a stand-alone. When I have read so many novels by the same author I am always wondering if the bubble will burst but it certainly hasn’t yet. An exceptionally enjoyable read, if a little different in that I really didn’t like the main character at all.

Anna and Dominic appear to be a happily married couple with two children. Dominic has suffered an injury so is the one in the relationship who stays at home, looks after the children and keeps the house functioning. Anna is a head teacher and appears to have a brilliant career. This is all on the surface.

One morning Anna, on her way to work listening to her usual radio station, hears a message from Scott, who she believed to be dead stating he will reveal all about his relationship with Spike (Anna’s nickname when she was with him) as, ‘the one that got away’. Not only that strange things begin to happen which makes Anna believe Scott is alive even though she left him for dead in Nebraska many years ago.

This is a secret she does not want revealing, certainly not to her new family. However, Anna has more than that to hide. She is hiding much more form Dominic. As usual with Rachel Abbot the plot is clever and intricate.

I love her unexpected endings and this delivered, yet again. Highly recommended.

This is a book that will set you thinking right from the start. Anna is a seemingly normal woman - wife, teacher and, more importantly, mother, she has the perfect life. Or so it seems. Until one day she hears a voice from her past on the radio, a voice that shouldn't be there at all. What follows is a tense, psychological thriller in which people from Anna's past are found murdered and she starts to realise that the sins of her past cannot stay secret for much longer.

The story itself is told by and large from Anna's point of view, with certain chapters focused on the investigation being led by DCI Tom Douglas and DI Becky Robinson. In that respect it follows a very familiar format and although we may think of this as a Tom Douglas book, that is simply because he is the dominant recurring character throughout the series. This story really is Anna's. Don't get me wrong. You will get more than enough Tom to keep you satisfied, and his personal life is every bit as complex and troublesome as the murders he is investigating. I loved the way in which those moments of private challenges reflected in his work life, the previously unflappable DCI, clearly affected by his private life and captured perfectly by the author.

Rachel Abbot has a real knack for creating character. When you think that in pretty much every book she has to bring us into a whole new world and establish a rapport between the reader and the lead protagonist in a few short pages, it is quite an achievement that she hits the mark time and time again. Now don't get me wrong - you won't always like or perhaps even trust the main characters but you will be invested in their future from the off. Most police series rely on the investigative team to pull a story together with readers having a passing interest in the characters on the periphery, sometimes with an emotional connection, sometimes not. In this book we absolutely have to care about Anna. And you know what? I did.

In Anna, Rachel abbott has created a truly fascinating character. On the surface she seems quite straight-laced, quite normal, her life centred and full of structure. The more we read though, the more we learn that things aren't as simple as they seem. There is far more to Anna than meets the eye and I found myself wanting to know more about her and her relationship with the mysterious Scott. There are chapters which are told from the perspective of a younger version of Anna, each on feeding into the story and giving us more insight into the young adult she was rather than the mother and teacher she has become. You can see the mistakes she has made and is a bout to make. I found myself wanting to talk to Anna and tell her not to be so gullible, but this is fiction and you have to just sit and watch on the sidelines as the inevitable happens. But let's face it, if she hadn't made mistakes her story wouldn't be half so interesting now.

This is a story which slowly unwinds, in which layer upon layer of deceit is gradually uncovered until the final, dramatic, and quite frankly, shudder inducing ending. Anna is faced with one of her greatest phobias and to find out what it is, you need to read because I'm not giving the game away. There is so much duplicity at play that you won't know who to trust. Even Tom's personal life is fractured by lies. No-one gets an easy ride. Unless they're in a car with Becky. It seems motherhood has calmed her down somewhat.

Full of great characters, thrills, tension and surprises, this is another brilliant read from Rachel Abbott that is highly recommended for fans and new readers alike.