*HUGE thanks to Harlequin/Park Row Books, Netgalley, and Mary Kubica for the eGalley copy of Every Last Lie in exchange for an honest opinion

Rating:★★★★★ 5 Stars

WoW! ok! here goes my attempt to write words that will do this book justice…I’ll start off by saying that this is my 1st book by Kubica & that I am now going to need all the monies just so that I can read all her other books smh haha! No but seriously, I have heard plenty about this author on all of the well known platforms & knew that I’d be reading her books at some point. Every Last Lie just so happened to pique my interest because it features a young mom as the protagonist as well as her deceased husband through alternating POV’s. As a young mom myself I thought hmmm…a relatable new character possibly? well sort of, in the sense that this can actually happen & unfortunately has to many others. I don’t know about you but I try to live an honest life & part of the reason for that is, I don’t want anyone to be hurt by anything left unsaid when my day comes. This book had me hooked from start to finish at all hours of the day & night. My heart went out to Clara who just lost her husband and is left with her 4 year old daughter & an infant son. She’s still in the post delivery months trying to adjust to her new life as mommy of 2. This is a time of exhaustion for Clara who is learning her new baby, his wants and needs and also adjusting to her post baby body. The last thing she could’ve fathomed was losing her husband in a tragic car accident.

It’s so easy to judge Clara as we read along and count the times she leaves her babies in the car with the windows down while she tries to get information on Nick’s death. The thing is, she’s doing the best she can & with that comes trying to console her 4 year old daughter who was in the car & miraculously walked away unharmed. Clara’s little girl is having recurring night terrors that wake her up running to the nearest safest hiding place. She’s running from “the bad man” but won’t say more than that which leaves Clara with so many questions & no answers. We see her try to put bits and pieces together on Nick’s state of affairs before his death and with that you see her make many assumptions. This is Clara trying to get some sort of closure on losing her husband & I felt every bit of desperation she was feeling.

Through alternating POV’s we get Nicks narrative before his tragic passing & I neither loved or hated him if I’m being honest. Nick is a man trying his hardest to provide for his wife & kids as a dentist with his own private practice. In a field that is extremely competitive, his office wasn’t doing well at all and this led to him making some very bad decisions. Decisions that he kept away from his wife who he loved & wasn’t trying to stress out with financial worries. He adored his beautiful wife & the comfortable life they lived and so instead chose to find other means of making money. We follow Nick from one bad decision to the next all the while knowing that it doesn’t end well.

The way Kubica chose to write Every last Lie was very effective in giving the reader a sense of desperation felt by both Nick and Clara. Nick had one foot in bankruptcy & the other in denial. Clara was coming off the hinges trying to piece together Nicks troubles. I kept rooting for Clara to get some closure & start living her new life but that wasn’t going to happen until she could separate fact from fiction. We see her turn over every rock looking for answers to questions about their financial ruin & their own marriage. I sat up reading & hoping that at the very least, Nick really loved his wife. Such a rollercoaster of a emotions during my time with this book but all I can say is, please READ this book! haha! If you’re someone who loves a good mystery/suspense novel on the beach, this is for you! If you’re getting your Fall TBR ready & filling it up with mystery/suspense, this is for you! I’m hooked *adds Kubica to auto-buy list*

Lovely Bookworms! who has already read Every Last Lie? Thoughts? & for the Kubica fans, pretty please leave below your fave Kubica book :)

I was moved by the ending but many of the plot turns frustrated me because they felt like the came from the characters being blinded by the author, not organic to the plot. I never felt like any of the characters were that relatable.

Every reader will sympathize with Clara's unfortunate circumstances: just delivered a baby and her husband is killed in a car accident mere days later. I can't imagine how devastating that would be. But for the book to truly be enjoyable, it takes more than sympathy for Clarak, but a willingness to believe Clara and go down that rabbit hole of paranoia with her. Otherwise, you find yourself getting annoyed and then feeling bad about it (while reminding yourself that she doesn't actually exist).

When Clara's husband Nick dies in a car accident with his daughter sitting in he kiddie seat, she has to face a life alone. She can't stop thinking that there is something wrong with how the accident played out. And when little Maisie starts talking about a bad man, Clara is sure that was murder and not a simple accident that killed Nick. But when everything is put on the table, Clara has to ask herself: Was it worth the pain and fear? I liked how the story was alternating between Clara (now) and Nick (past). Seeing how painful life had become for Nick and how he tried everything to find a way to turn things around and make everything okay. I had some issues with Clara. She was really annoying and I wanted to shake some sense into her. Her faith in her husband wasn't very strong and every person she met was a possible murder suspect. I thought she was loosing her mind and that she will end up in prison for all the law breaking. Even if there isn't any blood and gory I found the book very entertaining. Throughout the whole book I wasn't sure, what would turn out to be true. There where a lot of possibilities to Nick's death: murder, accident, suicide. And when I found out, it was heartbreaking. And yes, I cried. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an impartial review.

The sudden death of a spouse just days after the birth of their second child certainly sets a distressing scene in Every Last Lie for emotional upheaval. Nick Solberg dies at the wheel of his car but his young daughter, Maisie, survives. Maisie, just four, can only express fear at the "bad man" and the "black car." Clara, exhausted after the birth of their son is justifiably overwhelmed when her husband dies. What now? How to tell Maisie her father is dead? What about her mother suffering from early onset dementia? How does Clara deal with the sudden financial responsibility? How does she raise two children on her own?

Kubica tells the tale of Nick and Clara through alternating narrators. Nick's are in the past while Clara's are in the oh-so-painful present. Nick certainly has secrets. His dental practice is being sued for malpractice and a former high school love has resurfaced. His absolute love for Clara is tested while he keeps too many secrets as Clara struggles through the end of her pregnancy. Not wanting to stress her, he doesn't reveal their financial issues but it is these very issues that quickly surface after his death. Clara then must confront the truthfulness of her marriage and the truth of Nick's death.

This novel was well-done but there was nothing extraordinary here. The questioning of a marriage is old hat for novelists; the only unique thing was Clara's extreme vulnerability because of her postpartum status. I think the real problem for me was that Clara left her children, an infant and a preschooler, alone in cars several times while pursuing information about Nick. Yes, she is stressed and overwhelmed, but...

Premise was very good and I liked the characters but the pacing was languid and the ending a bit of a letdown.

<i>Every Last Lie</i> started well enough for me. I actually did not remember the premise of the book so I thought the way it was revealed was gripping.
I felt for Clara as her world unravelled, but soon enough little things started to bother me, like the fact that she was stuck on Nick and never once wondered about Maisie's safety.

The narrative switches between the time before and after the crash, Nick and Clara's points of view respectively, told in the first person. This works very well.
I did not particularly like nor dislike Nick's chapters. There were certain things that touched me but most of all I had a problem with how he seemed to worship Clara. I did not find that believable at all.

Clara bugged me with her ramblings; some of her thoughts exhausted me and I found myself fighting the urge to skim through the text. Just when things seemed to begin to get interesting, she would step in and be absolutely convinced that something was true when we already knew it was not. I wish the book had been further edited. There was so much there that was just not needed nor added anything to the story.

I had seen the reveal close to the end coming from a long, long way, so even that did not assuage the feeling of discontent.

It is a suspenseful book but the best thing I take from it is the image of Nick and his daughter playing and how we should appreciate each day as if it were the last.

<i>Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Clara is newly widowed with a 4 year old and a newborn. Her husband Nick and daughter Maisie are in an accident on their way home from ballet one evening. Nick is killed instantly while Maisie is miraculously unharmed. In the days following the accident Clara begins to discover her husband had been hiding things from her. Her daughter is suddenly terrified of black cars and talks vaugely about the bad man. What was Nick hiding? Was his accident not really an accident? Clara exhausted with the demands of new motherhood, overwhelmed by grief and worried about her parents as her mother is suffering from dementia begins trying to piece together the events of that night. But with all that is happening is her imagination going into overdrive or is there something more to Nick's death?

Thank you netgalley for my review copy of this book. As always I enjoy Mary Kubica's writing. This novel was different from what I am used to from Kubica as it was not as fast paced as her other stories but still an incredibly great read. This book slowly sucks you in and lets you really enjoy the story unfolding.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve been a fan of Mary Kubica’s since The Good Girl. Pretty Baby and Don’t You Cry further solidified adding Mary Kubica’s latest book to my must read list.

Every Last Lie breaks new ground for Mary. While there is pulse pounding suspense at times, it’s also more of inner-lookings at a marriage- a marriage that appeared to be filled with love, trust and faith in each other. But there are secrets and lies and Clara- through her grief, her intense grief over losing her husband, over not understanding why her child is suffering from night terrors- has to figure out what the secrets and lies are and how much love, trust and faith her marriage had.

Listen, I’ve just got to say this: Nick is kinda of a jerk. The story alternates between Clara present time and Nick telling stories from the days that led to the car accident and I really just wanted to pinch him. He’s keeping secrets, telling white lies, black lies, omitting things from his wife. And maybe he’s doing it for noble reasons mainly- Clara is pregnant and there are some things that when you are several months along and the weather is HOT that you just don’t want to hear. But I think he suffers from a bit of white knight syndrome- if he can’t be seen in a good light, he’d rather not let anyone know.



What I Liked:

The cover!!!!

How Mary really shows what’s going on in Clara’s mind. Her world is turned upside down and Mary writes Clara in such a realistic way.



Bottom line: While this is not as pulse pounding as some of her previous works, there are def some scenes that get your heart racing. Don’t miss out on this book- you’ll be the only one who hasn’t read it!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*



**Every Last Lie is a June #FuturisticFriday selection from Traveling With T.**

Well that was quite a ride. Mary Kubica delivers another emotional and suspenseful story with <i>Every Last Lie</i>.

I don't think I have ever been able to simply put down a Mary Kubica novel without thinking about when I can pick it up again to start reading. This one was no different. From the first chapter, I just wanted to know what happened. I needed to know. And what's the best part is that I felt like I was part of the unfolding.

<i>Every Last Lie</i> is written so that each chapter is swapped between husband, Nick, and wife's, Clara, perspectives. It definitely helped with the suspense. Although, we, as the reader, may have known little bits and pieces from Nick, we had to patiently (and I use that loosely) wait for Clara to catch up.

<i>Every Last Lie</i> is filled with suspense, deceit, emotional and physical pain, as well as love. It's always tough when someone who is loved so much gets hurt from lies, even if they are lies of omission. I would consider this a major theme through this book.

Although I am a fan, there are a number of unfinished items in this book. I am left wondering what happened with some of the smaller storylines which I will leave unasked for fear of dropping spoilers unintentionally. I still definitely recommend you picking up this book regardless.

Mary Kubica NEVER disappoints. She may be the new queen of the suspense novel.

This book sort of built up and built up in a gradual crescendo of activity and information and then suddenly out of nowhere seemed to end in one page and tie it together in what seemed a very awkward way to me. You never really got truly immersed in the characters or got to know or understand them. I just never felt connected with this book or the storyline. It was well written but it also sort of fell flat. I did like the back and forth between the present (Clara) and the past (Nick). That was an interesting way to tell a story.

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica is my favorite book so far by this author. This story is about Clara who suddenly and devastatingly loses her young husband just days after giving birth to her second child. Clara is not only reeling from this tragedy but she is also dealing with her young daughter's memories of the accident. Clara becomes convinced that her husband's death was not an accident and she becomes convinced that it's up to her to prove this. Her life quickly unravels as she begins to focus too intently on her suspicions. A perfect read for a rainy summer day! Read and enjoy!

Gripping, suspenseful, and oh so difficult to put down! Like Kubica's previous novels, Every Last Lie draws you in and keeps you at the edge of your seat until you are finished the last word. I could not put it down, I could not stop reading, and I had to finish it before I could even breath.

On the whole this was a good read. I do wish the big reveal had more of an impact but this isn't really a mystery. It's a psychological thriller about a woman who is figuring out what happened to her husband after she shortly gives birth. In that respect it was a great read.

Oh, y'all. I burned through this book in one day. I expected it to be good, but there were moments that Mary made me so stressed & uncomfortable that I wanted to take a break from reading, but I couldn't put the book down. Poor Clara has a newborn baby, her husband is dead, her daughter is saying things that make her question what really happened during the car accident & she starts to spiral. She's got some shady ass neighbors, (who doesn't?) that complicate the story & the more she learns about Nick's last days the less she trusts him & herself.

When the book description states that Mary weaves a chilling story together, that's the truth. There are so many pieces of the plot that are spun together so perfectly that it creates a stellar experience for the reader. If you're into thrillers, or Really want a great mystery that messes with your mind & makes you sweat, then you've got to pick up Every Last Lie.

Special thanks to Mary Kubica, Harlequin Books & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Brief synopsis: When her husband Nick dies in a car crash just days after their second child is born, Clara becomes obsessed with the idea that foul play was involved. Even after the cops confirm that the crash was Nick's fault for driving to fast, Clara becomes entranced in her own perception of the truth. As Clara starts to uncover Nick's lies, she starts to go further and further down the rabbithole of her beliefs. What all was Nick hiding from her, and did that lead to his death?

Guys, I don't know why I keep reading Mary Kubica novels. I swore never again after reading Pretty Baby, but I got sucked in and I read Kubica's newest, Every Last Lie.

The novel wasn't terrible. I didn't hate it. (I find myself saying this more and more in my reviews). The plot is pretty good, but I've decided that Kubica finds a way to weave too many possible plotlines into her stories, and instead of making it more mysterious, it just makes it more scattered. I always feel like their are too many lines left untied at the end.

I felt myself being annoyed with most of the characters throughout the entirety of the book. The story is told from two perspectives: Clara after Nick's death, and Nick before his death. I really do enjoy thrillers told from two perspectives so you can really get both sides of the story and it helps to really weave the story together in an unparalleled way.

I tried to put myself in the shoes of the characters. What would I do in these terrible situations? While some of the things were realistic (I can see myself going mildly insane and obsessive if something were to happen to my husband), there were other things that really irked me. I found Clara to put her vendetta to come before her children at times, which really bothered me. I thought Meredith, Theo, Connor, and Kat were just really terrible people. Nick was mostly in a terrible situation, but was making some questionable choices. Clara's dad was a wonderfully sad soul, but a good person.

I found a lot of the chapters to be very repetitive of previous chapters, and I guess it could have been purposeful (maybe to make me feel like I was also going mildly insane), but it really bothered me.

All I can say is it was definitely a Mary Kubica novel. I want to enjoy her books, the plots usually have a lot of promise, but Kubica isn't an impressive writer in my honest opinion.

This book will do very well and will be exactly what a great many readers want. I am one of the exceptions. That doesn’t speak to the quality of the book but simply to its fit with me.

So, fair warning: I’m going to expound on why this wasn’t my favorite. If you are a fan, and there will be lots, please feel free to move on.

There are two main areas of disconnect. First, the narrative choices. I applauded how multiple narrators and multiple timeframes danced to effect in The Good Girl. Techniques such as this can ratchet up the tension and keep the reader off-balance. However, here it didn’t work as well. If anything, it put me off. Learning in detail just how stupid Nick could be lessened any sympathy for him. I would have cared more and offered more benefit of the doubt had we been limited to what Clara discovered. [Although the end comprised mostly of “and Clara had multiple conversations in which her wrong conclusions – which had been worked out at length in earlier chapters – were corrected” seemed designed to insult the reader.]

I can’t help but wonder when we’ll reach the saturation point on the multiple-POV novel. Absolutely it can be done brilliantly; this is not in dispute. However, nearly every domestic thriller goes to this well, and it has long since felt like lazy storytelling. It may take more ingenuity to reveal character and events without regular narrator switching, but it also reaps real reward.

The other bugaboo? Please don’t have a marital partner repeatedly claim s/he doesn’t believe in keeping secrets from a spouse even as more and more pile up. Again, a simple conversation will head off wrong conclusions and, more importantly, would allow for joint problem-solving. Remember, sometimes it isn’t the ‘crime’; it’s the cover-up. I know. I know. That wouldn’t make for a good story. [Also, what did I expect from this title and premise?] Personally, I can suspend disbelief, but I need to see the character’s choices as believable, even if they are destructive.

I do love Mary Kubica’s writing, and in EVERY LAST LIE she presents an engrossing tale of a young mother named Clara facing her husband Nick’s secrets and deceit just days after he dies in a car accident.

There was one witness to the crash, the couple’s 4-year old daughter Maisie, who was strapped in her car seat and luckily unhurt. Clara begins to doubt the wreck was simply an accident when Maisie starts having nightmares about a “bad man” being after them. As she digs for clues, Clara finds that Nick was hiding some unsettling secrets, but were they enough to get him killed?

The story is told in alternating perspectives – Nick, in the weeks leading up to the crash, and Clara, in the weeks after Nick’s death. I liked that readers got to hear both POVs, which added to the suspense of what Nick might reveal and what Clara might discover. Not only is Clara dealing with her husband’s suspicious death, she’s also now the sole caregiver of Maisie and newborn Felix. So many anxiety-inducing elements in this story! Clara made some very questionable choices throughout, and I’m sure teetering on the edge of sanity didn’t help.

I guess I have two niggling complaints with the book. First, there were some loose ends and questions that I wanted answers to, and secondly, I wasn’t thrilled with the ending. I read another mystery that had a similar ending, and while it worked there, it didn’t so much with EVERY LITTLE LIE. Nevertheless, I still think this was an intriguing and well-written book, as much a character study in grief as a novel of suspense. 3.75 stars.

A character driven novel focused on a woman who's husband died in a single car accident. She doesn't accept the official explanation and investigates the tragedy herself, uncovering more than she planned.