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Saturday, 29 October 2016

Lie With Me by Sabine Durant

Lie With Me
By Sabine Durant
Published by Mulholland Books (July 2016)
ISBN: 978-1473608337




Publisher's description
It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.
And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...
Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...

... well, by then, it could just be too late.

My verdict
Lie With Me is an unsettling novel of deception, complex relationships and lies. It kept me guessing all the way through. I didn't know who to trust or who to believe.

Paul Morris, the protagonist, isn't someone you're meant to like. He's an arrogant, self-obsessed and unpleasant character who's only interested in himself. When he meets an old school acquaintance, Andrew, he creates a whole fantasy world in which he's successful and popular - which couldn't be further from the truth. As Paul embarks on a relationship with Alice, a wealthy widow, and tries to worm his way into her life, the lies keep on coming. As expected, things go horribly wrong.

Lie With Me has a great sense of claustrophobia as everything closes in on Paul. Once the lies started, there was no going back. He dug himself into a deeper and deeper hole. Past lies, present lies - it didn't matter. They were all going to haunt him one day, especially as he embellished the truth so much.

I raced through Lie With Me, from start to finish. It's a fantastic gripping psychological thriller that really gets you inside the main character's head. Something I did love about Paul is that he was actually a completely honest narrator, a complete contrast to his role within the plot itself.

The sense of unease builds up gradually until I was so hooked that there was no turning away.  And by the end of the book, my mind felt like it had been totally manipulated by a clever plot and great characterisation.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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