*3.5 stars* I didn't not enjoy this book, it's just not my favourite that I've read recently. It took me a while to get in to it and I did find it a little confusing to begin with. I liked the way the story is told from different points of view/time and Cara was probably my favourite character throughout. I didn't expect the ending - I thought it was going to be predictable but actually it was a big suprise which was nice! I'd read something else by this author again, but this one just do it for me. Thank you for the chance to read and review this!

This book didn't waste time with a lengthy prologue and Chapter One dove right into the meat of the story! I loved that! There were some flashback scenes to 1984 peppered throughout the book but it was well spaced. Meredith was a likable character for the most part, but there were a few scenes where I just wanted to shout at her for getting into all sorts of foolish predicaments..

I really liked how the story focused on the characters who were involved and slowly reveals more about what their lives were like before and after the crime. I was interested to find out what actually happened to Meredith's mother, and how she linked in with the story. Some parts I could sort of guess but there were still some surprises along the way and it kept me reading on - I finished it very quickly!

The epilogue was by far my favorite part because it finally gave the reader that one perspective that was wholly absent for 98% of the book. Parts of this story dragged, though, and one of the twists in this story was too predictable. Overall, this was a very likable book.

A fantastic and engrossing read with rich writing.
Suspenseful and well thought out.

The novel has two threads running through different chapters. It's a story of a young woman murdered and those whose lives she touched for good or not so good. The story line is maintained and my interest was high. I had at several times decided who I believed murdered the young girl. I changed my theory at least three times but until the end I was wrong in my theories. I found the book descriptions of some scenes a little to in depth but the story was captivating and ended satisfactorily. I would recommend the novel to anyone who enjoys the opportunity to build theories on who dunnit

Enjoyed this thriller and the way the stories linked together.

Such a page turner! The story of a missing child is always one of the most terrifying, and I sometimes shy away from such books. Lie To Me, however, sounded too gripping to pass up, an I was excited to get a copy on Netgalley. The story moves along at a fast pace, and I found it difficult to put down until I knew the end. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author!

3.5 stars

Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Setting: London, England

Meredith Banks grew up only knowing her father as her primary caretaker. While he gave her his undivided attention and tended to all of her needs throughout childhood and adulthood, all questions surrounding her mother's whereabouts were always quickly halted by him, so she learned to quench those nagging thoughts and kept them to herself. While cleaning her father's attic one Sunday afternoon, Meri stumbles onto a videotape labeled with her name across it. She immediately thinks of her mother and has this persistent feeling that this tape may hold some important insight or link to the woman she never really knew. Meri never anticipates her father's response when she presents the videotape to him. Meri doesn't even recognize her own actions when she physically battles against him in order to retrieve the tape. The eerie footage of a toddler and her mom are at the center of this twisty story!

This book didn't waste time with a lengthy prologue and Chapter One dove right into the meat of the story! I loved that! There were some flashback scenes to 1984 peppered throughout the book but it was well spaced. Meredith was a likable character for the most part, but there were a few scenes where I just wanted to shout at her for getting into all sorts of foolish predicaments...

The epilogue was by far my favorite part because it finally gave the reader that one perspective that was wholly absent for 98% of the book. Parts of this story dragged, though, and one of the twists in this story was too predictable. Overall, this was a very likable story.

Lie to Me by Jess Ryder is an intriguing psychological thriller. A young woman, Meredith finds a video of her as a small child. Thirty years earlier her mother Becca was a witness at the trial of a man accused of murdering his actress lover but was not convicted. Meredith investigates the mystery, unravels secrets and eventually finds herself in danger. A fast moving, twisting thriller.

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Lie To Me

I love the cover for this book, it's creepy and chilling and instantly made me want to read the book.

More mystery than psychological thriller, Lie To Me flips between two different time lines in an effort to find out the link between Meredith, her mother, and Cara, who was murdered 30 years ago. Lie To Me is full of suspense, intrigue and surprises, a great read!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, 4*.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this ang offer an honest review. I was not thrilled with this book at all. I found it kind of hokey. The premise intrigued me but it just fell flat.

This was an interesting mystery that meshes a past murder and present day. It's pretty easy to guess who did it and why after awhile, but it was a good read.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author.

LIE TO ME is a debut psychological thriller by author Jess Ryder.

This book focuses around Meredith, an only child and now a grown woman and her search to find out the truth behind a short three minute VHS tape of her long lost possibly dead mother. Her mother absent for most of her life, was schizophrenic and was never a part of Meredith’s life.

“We’re going to tell our story and then it will all stop and Mummy will be safe. You want Mummy to be safe, don’t you?”

During those three minutes…Meredith’s entire world seems to fall apart when she watches the videotape of her four-year-old self with Becca, the mother she’s never known.

Meredith can’t believe what she has seen. Is this a story that she has locked away in her childhood, to painful to deal with? Is it even true?

“The search for answers leads Meredith to Darkwater Pool, the scene of the murder of a young woman, Cara, over 30 years ago. What could possibly be the link between her mother and the victim?”

I found this was a short book to read, with much promise to deliver, but for me fell a little flat, by slowing down in sections, and losing my interest. This is probably because my favourite genre is psychological thrillers, and I must connect with the characters while the tension and suspense escalates to the grand finale. For me, it needed more Wow and less description.

For this reason, I must rate this novel as three, but will definitely be interested in reading future novels by this author.

I would like to thank Jess Ryder, Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC.

At first I found this book quite hard to get into but I kept at it and I'm so glad I did. If I had the chance I would have devoured it all in one sitting but stupid life and responsibilities kept getting in the way. Cant wait to read more by this author.

This book started out fabulously. Meredith, the main character, finds an old VHS tape while helping her Dad move. Upon playing it, she sees her Mom, Becca, and a 4-year-old self. The video is disturbing with Becca prompting Meredith to say Cara and Christopher Jay and something about a bad man. Who are these people? Meredith has no clue and Becca is long gone, having a mental illness and escaping from the hospital many years ago. The book is written from different points of view, Meredith’s chapters in first person and Jay and Cara’s chapters in third person. We find out Cara is a girl who died over 30 years ago and had a roommate named Isobel who she was very close to. Christopher Jay, or Jay, as he calls himself, is a disturbed character, again something we learn at the beginning of the book, and his life seems to spiral out of control even after 30 years has passed. The three are actors and have very complicated relationships.

I found the storyline to be very intriguing, however, there were just too many unnecessary details thrown into the book; things that were completely irrelevant to character building or plot building. I found myself skimming over many of the chapters, and in the end, what had happened was completely clear to me. I felt like the author was trying to use as many words as possible and this made for a boring, when’s-it-going-to-be-over, kind of book. Take away about half the book and I’d have given it a solid 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jess Ryder, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meredith was in her father’s house in the attic looking through a box of her baby clothes. Now that her and Eliot were over she didn’t even know that she wanted kids. But then she found an old fashioned video tape with her name on it and was dated July, 1990. Meredith had been four and a half when this tape was made. It was a few months before Becca - she refused to call her mother mom now- disappeared from her life. Her father had taken Meredith to a hospital the last time she had seen her mother. A woman that was knitting but continually watching her mother because Becca was on suicide watch and that was all Meredith could remember. Her father never took her to the hospital again. Eliot and Meredith had parted as friends. Eliot had wanted to be a cop since he was a kid and he had become one. Meredith had called him to see if he could find out if Cara Travers and Christian Jay were real people and if there was an actual murder. Even though her dad had told Meri her mother was schizophrenia she had to know. Eliot and Meri had fallen in love easily and moved in together after three months but the long awkward shifts, the canceled leave and no social life eventually wore them down. Meri wasn’t allowed to complain about anything Eliot was putting all his stress on Meri and then criticizing her for not handling it. Meri didn’t want them to split up but she also knew she couldn’t be a cop’s wife. Eliot got a hold of Meri there had been a murder in Birmingham and that was where Meri had been born her father and her moved when she was about six. It had been a local murder and a lot stuff had been on the news. Local actress- Cara stabbed to death by a kitchen knife in 1984. The murder had never been solved. It was known as the Darkwater Murder. Then Eliot showed to a coworker the tape and she sent it to the Chief of Police in Birmingham and he wanted to see her and Eliot the next day. Meri wasn’t to happy about that Then Durley- the Chief of Police told Meri that he had known her mother, and that she looked like Becca. Becca had found Cara’s body. There had only been one suspect and it was Cara’s ex boyfriend Christopher Jay. He was a pothead, thief, and violent bully. Cara had been involved with a little theater company and had not made any friends yet. There was no forced entry. So Cara probably knew her killer. The other actors had left weeks earlier and had iron clad alibis and then there was Christopher. He was the last person standing. Christopher admitted going to the house that day. Also there was a knife missing from the kitchen block and the murder weapon had never been found. No one had seen Christopher leave. Cara’s acting friend testified that Christopher had been violent with Cara during and after their relationship. But Becca had given a statement and said Cara was still alive when she found her even spoke to her and asked Becca to stay with her. So Becca had made a different timeline and Christopher got off. Then Meri said Becca had escaped from the psychiatric unit in the hospital and no one had seen or heard from her since.
This was a very good story to read and i enjoyed it a lot. It dragged a little for me at times but that didn’t stop me from continuing on with the story. It went back and forth between the past and the present and usually i don’t like that but this was done in such a way that i got through it without a problem. This kept my attention from beginning until end as I always was waiting to see what was going to happen next. At times you were on the edge of your seat with this one.which also made it enjoyable for me. The plot was very good just like the story. A very good thriller with some surprises. I loved the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

A decent debut novel that just managed to hold my attention . It dragged a little in places but I didn't guess the ending . Thanks to the publisher for my arc .

This was a debut novel by Jess Ryder, but after having read it, you certainly wouldn’t think that. This was a highly addictive and gripping psychological thriller, it really tickled my taste buds, absolutely loved it. It truly was well written.

The story was told by three characters throughout the book, and it also swapped from present to past events, but at no point did I find this to be confusing in any way and I found it very easy to keep up with the story and the characters.

I was gripped throughout, and just when I thought I’d made my mind up about who did it, something would happen to change my mind, so the story definitely had me guessing throughout and it was certainly not predictable in any way.

If you like gripping psychological thriller, then I would highly recommend that you read this book.

An ok debut that promised much but ultimately failed to deliver.

Lie To Me tells the story of Meredith, an only child now a grown woman, the story begins with her clearing out her fathers loft as he prepares for a move.
In there she finds an old box with a VHS tape with her name written on it.

She eventually watches the tape which is of her as a small child, with her estranged mother, a woman who left when she was very young. A woman with severe physiological problems. In the tape it appears that she's trying to tell Meredith about the "bad man" and getting Meredith to re-enact stabbing someone.

She proceeds to look further into this and to names mentioned in the tape, which lead her to an old murder as she tries to find out the meaning of the tape and what happened to her mother and where she might be.

The story starts with a bit of intrigue. The tape is very mysterious and the mother of Meredith, Becca, shows promise to be a really interesting character. She seems to suffer with schizophrenia and having been missing for years and with the strange tape turning up, you are sort of hoping she will be a central role on the story and more and more will be revealed about her.
Unfortunately it doesn't play out that way as Meredith begins her own investigation into the murder related to the tape.

The isn't a particularly long book but it did drag at times, with seemingly endless descriptive passages that did little to add to the atmosphere of the story and certainly didn't help the pacing.

It's an ok story. The characters are all a little wooden and don't really hold your interest. Even Meredith the central character is mildly annoying at times. The story just about held my interest but it did feel a bit of a chore to finish the book. Even the epilogue felt unfulfilling. A lot of words in it without much being said.

It certainly wasn't terrible and there's the making of a good story in there but it was all a little meh for me unfortunately.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and Jess Ryder for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.