Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

This book was published by Mulholland Books in July 2016. My thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to an acquaintance we can't quite place but don't want to admit to forgetting. The life story, embellished to impress that smug, happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.

And then, somehow, you're having dinner at their house, accepting an invitation to join them on holiday. It's what you secretly always dreamed of: the perfect relationship, the better life.

And by the time you're trapped in their world - 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 lies that cause the real damage...

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

My Thoughts:

This is the first book that I have read by this author but now I will most definitely be picking up her two previous thrillers.

Gripping and taut I was sucked in from the very first paragraph. The author has carefully and believably created a plot that is based on lies. It was tense and full of suspense. I loved it and the dark twists and turns that seemed to be around every corner.

Paul Morris is the main character and also the narrator of his story. He is also a liar, he tell little lies about who he is, about his past and present. He is shady and unreliable at best and at the worst he is downright creepy. It is clear that he is a bit of a womaniser. A chance meeting with an old friend called Andrew makes it seem that things are on the up. Especially when he gets a new love interest called Alice who seems unaware of the lies that Paul tells.

Invited onto a greek holiday, this is where the real story starts. I can't say much more about the plot as it is one of those books that to do so would mean I give the best bits away. Suffice to say this book is full of a host of characters whose foundations are as rocky as the long time holiday home of Alice's that is about to be demolished.

I found this to be a unique take on this genre of story and I just adore unreliable characters and narrators. An excellent look at characters and the psychology of lies and the damage they can do. The book gets darker the more turns that are taken and the suspense builds to what is an evident twist in the plot.

I had it all sewn up in terms of the outcome by about half way through but this didn't affect my reading in any way as it felt like I was a fly on the wall watching it all unfold. Very cleverly written with intricate parts of the plot that are layered carefully upon each other. A book that left me aching to find out more and left me pondering for ages about various bits of it.

Sabine Durrant is a skilful writer that brings something new, fresh and much needed to a genre that is full and popular.

Highly recommended.

About the Author:

Sabine Durrant is the author of two previous thrillers, Remember Me This Way and Under Your Skin. She has also written novels including Having It and Eating It and The Great Indoors. She has also written books for teenage girls called Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles and Ooh La La! Connie Pickles. She has been an editor at both The Guardian and The Sunday Times. Her writing has been in numerous newspapers and magazines.

She lives in London with her partner and children.