Three minutes of footage on a innocent looking old vcr tape is all it takes to shatter Meredith Banks life and put doubt on everything that she thought she knew about her life so far.

Meredith is totally blown away by what she has just watched.Can there be any truth in the strange story that her mother had forced her to tell on camera.

The search for answers leads Meredith to Darkwater Pool,the scene of the murder of Cara Travers thirty years ago.Could there possibly be a link between her mother and the victim.

To find the truth Meredith must search through a past that is not her own.The problem is,she is not the only one looking....

I was hooked in from the very first page of this gripping,fast paced story of secrets,relationships and betrayals.The story flips back and forth between Meredith`s story which is set in the present day and Cara`s which is set back in 1984.There is also a number of present day chapters throughout the book that are told from the point of view of Christopher Jay who was Cara`s boyfriend.Although the story is told from the point of view of more than one character the chapters are named and the story is easy to follow.The characters are realistic and believable,I really liked Meredith,poor mixed up Cara,I even felt sympathy for Christopher Jay at times even though some of his actions were unforgivable.I was worried at one point that the story was going to go in a direction that would have spoiled the story for me but fortunately that plot device was only used in one chapter and then discarded.

The mystery of who killed Cara is intriguing and kept me guessing until the final surprising reveal,although I did figure out one of the twists there was twists that I definitely didn't see coming.I really enjoyed this thrilling debut and would have given it more than five stars if I could.I look forward to reading more book by this author in the future.

I really wanted to like this book but I had to force myself to finish it. Although the story is told from the point of view of more than one character, it is easy to follow. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy Cara’s story. I didn’t find it believable for what we knew about her.

Overall, the book was quite slow paced. The ending seemed like it was something the author just plucked out of the air. It was very disconnected to the story in my opinion.

A great big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy of this book. This book centers around Merideth and her search to find out the truth behind a VHS tape of her long absent possibly dead mother.
Merideths mother has been absent in her life sundew she was very young and bar one or two very short conversations with her father about her mother she effectively knows nothing.....except her mother was schizophrenic and is now presumed dead.
In the tape, which lasts only 3 minutes, Merideth is dragged into a murder from the past. Frequently wondering if she is following in her mothers "crazy" footsteps she tries to figure out exactly what happened to Cara the murdered girl.
I gave this book 4 stars because while the plot was great and at times it flew along it would suddenly slow down and drag a little. Overall this was a great read.

Thank you Jess Ryder and Netgalley for a copy.
I thought that Lie To Me was an ok read. I liked the idea of it but found that many pages were filled with totally un-necessary ramblings. To be honest I skipped pages many times and don't feel that I really missed anything important. I took a long time to read this relatively short story as it didn't really grip me.
Keep writing Jess, do not give up.

This review is written with thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of Lie To Me.
Meredith Banks is helping her father move house when she discovers a video tape in his attic. Against her father's advice, she watches the video and sees footage of herself as a young child with her mother, Becca, who she hasn't seen for twenty five years. The footage she sees leads her to Cara Travers, a young woman who was murdered in 1984. Meredith is determined to find out what happened to Cara and how her mother was involved. Will she find the answers she is looking for?
I read Lie To Me in just over a day, which is testament to the compelling nature of this novel. It is clear from the title that the novel is littered with untruths, and as it progresses, we see that just about all the characters have lied, or been lied to, or both. This made me instantly suspicious of everyone and I was constantly on edge, constructing theories about what had happened to both Cara and Becca. This was heightened by the alternating narratives. We hear the story from the perspective of Meredith, Cara and Christopher Jay, Cara's boyfriend at the time of her death, and this kept me changing me mind about which characters I liked and who was responsible for Cara's death. Ryder's use of this technique was so effective that I found myself feeling sympathetic towards the prime suspect, and feeling really uncomfortable when reading about Cara's best friend, Isobel.
If you've read my reviews before, you'll know that I love a novel with a twist, and the twists in some of my recent reads have left me feeling underwhelmed. The twists in Lie To Me were not underwhelming at all: I didn't guess them and they kept me turning pages until the very end.
There is a brief section of Lie To Me that considers the subject of reincarnation. As I do not believe in reincarnation myself, I felt that this section of the novel was slightly unrealistic, and I was concerned that this section would alter the course of the whole novel. Thankfully, this is not the case!
Lie To Me is Ryder's debut novel, but you would not know this from the expert way that she crafts the plot of this compelling novel and creates characters whose skin it is so easy to get underneath. I look forward to reading more from her.

I really enjoyed this fun, fast-paced mystery. Lie To Me is different to how I'd expected it to be - it's not really about the crime itself, as such (even though that is the basis of the book), but more about the ripple effect that this incident has had across those involved and their family and children, and how it affects their lives.

Though Meredith's ex-boyfriend is investigating the cold case, that's the only real police work included. There is the odd interview with other detectives, but we mainly see the story from two 'civilians': from Meredith's point of view as she tries to work out what happened, and from Cara's as the events leading up to her death unfold. The characters themselves are quite simple and though I didn't feel like I hugely cared a lot about them, I was still very intrigued as to who played what part in Cara's death.

Some parts are slower than others, and there wasn't really a huge tension or drama with Cara's murder like I thought there would be. It just didn't feel very menacing or threatening - maybe because it happened years ago, but as the reader you're still seeing what happens to Cara, so I expected to feel a bit more threat. However I liked that the book presented everything from a non-police angle; it made a change from the many police procedurals and detective novels I've read recently and was a breath of fresh air in that sense!

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!

Overall I feel that this is an entertaining novel that's well worth a read, and I would definitely try future novels by Jess Ryder - Lie To Me is fun, easy to read which kept me interested.

I do love a book where there is a mystery to solve in the present that has its roots in the past and when Meredith finds an old video tape in the loft she is drawn into an unsolved murder case that she has never heard of before. But as she watches her four year old self on the old VCR, she is shocked by the story her mother has coerced her into telling on camera and becomes determined to uncover the truth.

I loved the way I became very quickly wrapped up in this book. Jess Ryder has a wonderfully warm and engrossing writing style that just grabs you from the start. Just as you are fully invested in Merediths story thougb, the plot flips back in time where we meet Cara. We are aware that Cara is eventually murdered so it was very creepy watching the events that would gradually lead to her death. But who is telling the truth and why can’t Meredith remember more about her childhood with her mother?

I have to admit I much preferred the “Me” chapters where Meredith became obsessed with investigating Cara’s murder and how her relationships with her father and her ex Eliot were explored. I found those to be just as intriguing as the relationship she doesn’t have – the one with her mother who is no longer part of her life. I didn’t particularly like any of the cast of characters from the “Cara” chapters though. They all seemed to exist in a bubble, detached from real life and rather self obsessed so it was difficult to maintain much sympathy for them when things started to fall apart.

There were plenty of plot twists here to keep my interest and I stayed up late into the night desperate to find out what secrets were about to be uncovered. Some I guessed and others came as more of a surprise but I enjoyed discovering every one of them. And I would definitely read more by Jess Ryder based my reaction to Lie to Me.

After a fairly slow start, this book had me gripped. I had to concentrate on which character we were on during each chapter as it didn't seem to come easily. At around 35% though, it really took off and I was compelled to find out the answers.

I did guess 'whodunnit' but not until fairly late in the book - It certainly wasn't in your face, obvious.

I loved the character development. Cara was written very well and Isobel was just as annoying as she was meant to be. Christopher Jay is a truly scary villain.

I wasn't keen on the regression episode - I'm not sure it was completely necessary to the plot but it didn't spoil the read.

A really good novel by Jess Ryder and an author that I will definitely look out for in the future.

When Meredith Banks was four years old her mother disappeared out of her life, abandoning her and leaving her in the care of her doting father. As the years went by, Meredith stopped asking questions about her absent mother and accepted the fact that nobody knew where her mother was, or if indeed she was even still alive.
Over three decades later she is clearing out her father’s loft when she comes across a hidden box. Full of curiosity, she delves inside, unable to imagine the secret that lay inside it. She finds an old home movie hidden beneath some clothing and when she questions her father about it he grows angry and tells her to leave well alone. He wants to destroy the old video tape, but Meredith wants to watch it so much and find out what the mystery is all about. So that is exactly what she does.
With a running time of scarcely three minutes, what Meredith sees changes her life forever, opening a huge can of worms. On the old tape her mother, Becca, is begging her to tell the story of what she had seen. She virtually says that her life depends upon it and begs Meredith to speak out and tell the truth. But at just four years of age, all Meredith wanted was an ice lolly. Still what she has seen piques her interest and she decides to try to discover more. But what she discovers rocks her world to its very core and, like the butterfly effect, she is unable to control what happens next, leaving her distraught and wishing that she had never delved deep into the box and had listened to her father’s advice.
This is a dual time frame novel, narrated by Meredith in the present day, but by Cara an aspiring actress, who tells the story leading up to her murder at the Darkwater Pools more than thirty years earlier. Meredith just cannot fathom out how Becca is linked to this bloodthirsty and savage murder and why she is implicated when she was not even born then.
I really loved the idea for this novel and believe this is the novels greatest strength, along with the beautiful storytelling. However I thought the story was unnecessarily complicated and I disliked nearly all of the characters who were flawed, had their own agendas and were deceitful, jealous, liars who kept secret facts that would have shown more light in story. I also found the middle part quite slow moving, but I felt compelled to read on just so that I could fully understand what had happened and why. I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for my copy of 'Lie to Me', sent out in return for an honest review. It’s a 3.5* review from me.

Meredith grew up being raised by her father when her mother left them while Meredith was very young and now she remembers very little about the mother she barely knew. When cleaning out her father’s place before a move Meredith comes across an old VHS tape that is obvious it has something to do with her mother. Meredith’s father objects to Meredith watching the tape but she is determined to find out more about her past.

After viewing the tape Meredith is more confused than ever about what happened to her mother. It seemed that she really had psychological problems but her mother had mentioned a murder that may or may not have happened thirty years ago so Meredith decides to look into the matter and find out once and for all what happened in the past.

Lie to Me by Jess Ryder is a mystery/thriller that is told from alternating time lines and points of view throughout the story. Part of the book is flashing back to a character named Cara who was killed before Meredith was ever born that Meredith’s mother somehow had something to do with. Then the other story is following Meredith’s as she digs through the past trying to find out just what had happened.

For me this book ran hot and cold throughout reading as I found myself enjoying Meredith and her quest for the truth about the past but then with the chapters glimpsing back into Cara and her life I found myself a bit disconnected with her character. I really couldn’t put my finger on why I would become bored with Cara’s story, perhaps knowing she had been murdered there just wasn’t an intensity to dragging out the buildup to the murder or she just wasn’t a favorite character of mine overall. In the end though I struggled with rating the story since parts of it I had completely enjoyed but felt others drag on so I decided to rate right down the middle with three stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thanks Netgalley. An okay mystery.

I wasn't a fan of the characters and it dragged on a bit too long as often happens when you don't connect with a book.

I thought the epilogue was going to tie up some lose ends and provide better closure, but that was a fail in my opinion.

I felt this book started with intrigue. but it all became rather too far fetched for my personal taste.

Lie to Me by Jess Ryder begins with Meredith finding an old tape that her mom made when she was a kid. Her father’s reaction to her finding the tape was bizarre hence heightening the mystery surrounding it. It was obvious that he didn’t want her to watch it. She finally does watch it and finds out that it is more puzzling than revealing. What Becca says to Meredith in the tape makes absolutely no sense. In addition, Becca was schizophrenic which made me wonder if what she was said was real or not. The tape was certainly intriguing and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened in the past to cause Becca make it.

Lie to Me by Jess Ryder is narrated through two timelines. One timeline shows the present investigation. The second one takes us back to 1984 where we meet Isobel, Jay and Cara. This second time period confused me at first because I thought there was no connection between the past and the present. The characters were different at first though soon enough the connections became apparent. In addition to the alternating timelines, the story also had multiple narrators with Meredith being the main one. Each chapter is named to show who the narrator is and so are the different timelines hence making the story easy to follow.

Meredith who is the main character was likeable for the most part. I like it when characters turn rogue. You know when the MC is told to stay away from something and so they go into it full swing? That is always interesting. However, certain relationships that Meredith had made me want to shake her and get her to wake up and get out of the said relationships. These relationships were her main weakness and they were frustrating to read about.

This was an entertaining and gripping read. I liked the twists although I was able to predict them a few chapters ahead of the reveal which hindered me from enjoying this book as much as I thought I would. Lie to Me by Jess Ryder is about secrets, obsession, lies and betrayal. Ryder’s writing is wonderful and its one of the things that I liked most about this book. I kept trying to guess who the villain was and even after I did, I still kept turning the pages curious to know how the reveal will be done. So despite having a few issues with the book, I ended up enjoying it and would recommend it to fans of this genre.

This was a good read and I enjoyed it very much. The only reason for my 4 stars and not 5 is that it didn't grab me instantly as many other thrillers have done recently. It took a little bit of reading before I really got into the story but once I got into it I really enjoyed it

The story starts with Meredith helping her dad move to a new house when she comes across a videotape with her name on and a date in her mother’s handwriting. But, Meredith’s mother Becca left when she was small to be brought up by her dad Graeme. The video is of Meredith and her mother asking her to tell the truth about what happened to Cara Travers, who was murdered before Meredith was born. Becca believes Meredith is the reincarnation of Cara.
The story is told from different characters throughout, Meredith’s, Isobel (Cara’s best friend), Christopher Jay (Cara’s boyfriend) and Cara before she died.
I found all the characters quite dull and didn’t like any of them. This is my favourite genre, but this book just lacked something for me and I just couldn’t get into it unfortunately. There was nothing gripping and I also guessed who was guilty. I found myself drifting off whilst reading but was easy enough to pick up again even after missing a few pages without the need to go back.

I don’t think I would recommend this book, as I think it wasn’t fast paced enough and the twist at the end wasn’t really a twist at all.
As this is a debut novel, I think Jess Ryder did a good job, I’m just sorry this book wasn’t for me.

Meredith Banks hasn't seen her mother Becca since she was four when her schizophrenic mother was admitted to a psychiatric home. She's enjoyed a happy upbringing with her father and has returned home to help him pack up the house ready for a move to a smaller place in the country. In the attic she finds an old video tape made by Becca featuring her four year old self. It opens a whole can of worms and causes Meredith to look into the events surrounding the death of Cara Travers, whose body was found by Becca thirty years ago.

This is a debut novel by Jess Ryder and was in parts very good. The characters were interesting - young naive and mousy Cara dazzled by the more vibrant Isobel who went on to be a great director and Jay Christopher, disgruntled, disenfranchised local boy who wants to be an actor. The plot had some nice twists and turns in the second half but could have been tightened up in the earlier chapters where it was a little slow to get going. The story was told from different points of view in the past and the present but were were labelled so this was never confusing. Overall an enjoyable read from a promising new author.

3 1/2 stars. Decent thriller with an interesting twist.

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this fantastic book in exchange for an unbiased honest review.

I was completely hooked from the very first page of this thriller of a read.

Meredith is helping her father clear his attic in preparation for his house move. She finds a box containing some old bits and pieces from her childhood along with a video tape. Her father seems alarmed by the discovery and tries to take it from her by force. However, Meri manages to take it. Upon returning home she watches it and her world is turned upside down, her life as she knew it is about to be changed forever.

The video is of her as a young child (about four), her long lost mother is also on the tape, the young Meri is re-enacting a murder (under the coaching of her mother). Meri can’t let it go and wants to know if what she is seeing is ‘real’ or is it just her mother’s Schizophrenia ‘talking’.

She shows the video to her ex-boyfriend who happens to be a police officer, he in turn shows it to his boss, it just so happens that a special task unit has been set up to open old unsolved cases and this video prompts them to re investigate the murder of a young woman called Cara.

What a fantastic idea of Jess Ryder to switch the story from Cara, Jay and Meredith. I did think that Meredith had something to hide (from is initial reaction to the discovery however by the end of the book you can sympathise with his reaction).

The big reveal was not a huge surprise as it did make sense, however it did not diminish my pleasure of reading this book.

A fantastic debut novel from Jess and I look forward to her next book.

Clearing out her Dad's home before he moves, Meredith finds a video tape of her as a four year old child with her mother who she hasn't seen since then. She is telling a dangerous story and now in the present day she is wondering if there is any truth to this.

Lie to Me was billed as a psychological thriller which is one of my favourite genres, however this book, for me, didn't live up to the mark. I was expecting to be taken on a rollercoaster of emotions as Meredith tried to find out the truth but sadly I found the book quite slow paced and not one of my favourite reads of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

The blurb of this book grabbed my attention straight away and that tagline, how can you tell the truth if all you've ever known is a lie...I just love it! I was excited to make a start on this intriguing psychological thriller. And the verdict? I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Meredith, the main character in the book is instantly likeable. You join her as she sorts through the contents of her father's attic where she makes an unexpected discovery. A videotape with her name written on it in her mother's handwriting. Against her father's advice she enthusiastically watches the tape hoping for answers about her estranged mother, Becca. But what she gets is a whole lot more twisted and life will never be the same again for Meredith.

I flew through the pages of this book. It grabbed my attention and kept pulling me back, time and time again. So much so that I finished it in two short days (that's quick for me). The author's writing style was very much to my taste and I wouldn't hesitate to read another book by Jess Ryder.

Each chapter is told from a one of three points of view; you have Meredith the lead character, Cara before her death in the mid-1980s and Jay, the man accused but found innocent of Cara's death. Cara is also a very likeable character and I felt a little sad knowing that all the future held for her was a terrifying death. The chapters told from Jay's point of view make it very clear that he is man living on the edge and doing everything he can to escape his past.

You discover that the only reason Jay was found innocent of Cara's murder was because of Becca's testimony which confused the court and led to Jay being released. The impact had by Becca's testimony on the case instantly drags Meredith into a cold case investigation, alongside her detective ex-boyfriend Eliot. Eliot's only focus is his career and he refuses to share certain findings with Meredith. Which only frustrates Meri and makes her even more determined to work out who killed Cara all those years ago. Surely it wasn't her own mother, only to be driven mad by the guilt?

For me, the story of Meredith's quest, her desire to find out what happened to her mother and the slightly odd bunch of characters she meets along the way made this book for me. All of the characters add something to the story, and the character of Isobel will stay with me for a long time to come. There are shocks and surprises along the way, none of which I saw coming so full marks to the author.

A tale of family secrets, lies and betrayal which I found hard to put down. In all honestly I preferred the main body of the book to the ending but it's still a great read which I would recommend to fans of the genre without hesitation. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jess Ryder.

Four out of five stars.