. .

I definitely liked this, but I had it figured out too early. I kept hoping that I was wrong. I still genuinely liked this book, however. It is set up as a novel within a novel. The main character is a novelist, writing a romantic suspense novel, which is a murder mystery with sex scenes, in case you are unfamiliar with this genre. The author is struggling to write a new novel while her private life is in a bit of turmoil. The fictional character has just had a baby and has stumbled upon her husband having an affair. The stories run weirdly parallel and it is almost easy to forget which character is narrating. I'm sure that was done on purpose, though I thought it sort of ruined the big reveal in the author's story. And that probably is a spoiler, but there you go.

Very well written back that kept me engrossed the entire time, and kept me guessing as to which direction the story would go... I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Lies She Told is the newest thrilling work from author Cate Holahan. I found Ms. Holahan a few years back and really enjoyed her book Dark Turns, so I was looking forward to this new work. and whoa nelly, this was one heckuva ride!

Liza, the main character, is struggling to write her newest book. She’s has thirty days to do it and the crush of that pressure along with infertility issues and a husband whose business partner has gone missing and things are a bit stressful for her. But, Liza starts writing and what follows is a blurred line between Liza’s life and the main character in her book, Beth, who has more than a few similarities to Liza’s own life.

A story within a story, there were many fantastic elements and twists and turns to this story and I loved every minute of it. Thank you, Ms. Holahan, for another stellar read!

A bit confusing, and although i didn’t read it, i believe it’s similar to the book Girl on the Train. I had pretty much figur d out where this book was going by chapter 5 as far as the whole Dave/Nick scenario, so that was a bit of a downer. I was hoping for more of a big reveal, or a definite answer as to what actually went down. Overall a good book, definitely a psychological twist to it.

A really clever book - well actually it's two books into one! Loved the story and could really see this on the big screen. Very believable characters in a very believable setting. Excellent.

Brilliant! I wasn't too sure what to expect going in, but this book surpassed all my expectations. Cate Holahan writes in an engaging matter, and she certainly delivers the promised goods.

First things first...my first piece of advice when reading this is PAY ATTENTION to the back and forth between stories being told!
Second, I totally called what happened - I figured out where it was going BUT that didn't stop me from enjoying a few surprises and to be honest I really like the way Holahan writes! The story line kept me entertained and it was full of suspense!

I haven't read anything else by this author and after reading this book I would recommend this book to friends and I would definitely check out other works!

Solid 4 stars!

LIES SHE TOLD is a psychological thriller with, what I’ve come to realize now, a common unreliable main character. We listen to the story from Liza, who’s in that painful and psychologically draining phase of medically trying to conceive with her husband. Liza is also a writer, one who’s currently in the middle of telling the story of Beth-who happens to be the second voice of the book- a woman whose husband is cheating on her while she stays home and cares for their baby.

The story, like I said, alternates between these two women, although we know one of them is fictional. But still, as any writer does, Liza carries certain details from her life into her stories, but the problem is, between trial medications for a baby and the stress over the missing business partner of her husband’s, the lines between reality and fiction start to blur.

As the reader, we know something is amiss, we even have certain suspicions, but we can’t quite put our finger on *how* they are so amiss. I liked knowing and yet not knowing how things were going to end. While things seemed so obvious to me, they still weren’t clear enough for me to get bored while reading.

An enjoyable psychological thriller with a consistent pace, this kept my interest until the end. It felt like one of those movies where I feel like I know what’s going on, and yet I stay on until the very end, glued to the screen.

I’m adding three spoonfuls of this story into my hodgepodge.

I did a review of this book on my youtube channel. Linked below. I absolutely adored this book! One my 2017 favorites. I will definitely be picking up more of Cate's books in the future! Highly highly recommend. 5/5 stars!!

This book was one that I could NOT.PUT.DOWN. It was a little slow at the beginning, but it took off within the first five chapters. If you are a reader who doesn’t mind shifting perspectives, this suspenseful book takes turns like no other.

Your main character is Liza Cole who is an author with a deadline for a new book. Liza is married to David. Recently, his partner from work, Nick, goes missing, assumed dead in a local river. Liza begins writing her story about a woman who is named Beth, who also is married and a new mother. Beth catches her husband, Jake, cheating with a coworker of his, named Colleen. And as Liza writes, we learn more about Beth, her complicated life, and Liza herself.

I didn’t mind the perspective shift from reality to the fiction book. It was believable, and made me question motives, realities, and conversations between characters. The best part is about midway through when you begin to realize that these two perspectives will align and when they do, WOW!! This was my first book by Cate Holahan, but since I have The Widower’s Wife in my Kindle app, I’ll dive into that one in 2018.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Crooked Lane Publishing and the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I appreciate the opportunity to receive an advanced reader copy to do so. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This book was a Did Not Finish for me. I simply could not connect with the characters or setting.

We are actually reading two different stories. Liza is an author and Beth is the subject of Liza's current novel. The chapters bounce back and forth between Liza's real life and Beth's fictional life.
I found the characters believable (for the most part) but the story (stories?) confusing. When is Liza seeing reality accurately, when is she dreaming, when is she remembering her childhood and when is she identifying with the character in her book?
I'm afraid I can't recommend this book.

WOW! Lots happening in Lies She Told. It took me a bit to get into this book but once I did it kept me interested.
There is many things happening that you have to pay attention to or you may have to reread parts of it.
But, it will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. Great read!

This was a great book. The author did a fantastic job of weaving a story within a story.

Liza is struggling. While her debut novel was a best seller, her later work has come nowhere near the list. Mediocre at best, she is now under the gun to produce a thriller that will hopefully put her back into a good earning state. All the while she is supposed to be sympathizing with her husband, whose business partner and best friend has gone missing.

While Liza tries to navigate the chaos that is her life right now the lines start to blur. Between migraines and the side effects of the hormones she starts to lose some touch with reality. Once Nick's body is found the lines start to blur even more.

A gut clenching edge of your seat story that will have you guessing until the end.

This story is told in alternating chapters, one being Liza's story, the other being Beth's story. While I really liked the author's use of parallel storylines, it got confusing very quickly. There were a bit too many things similar and it became hard to keep things straight. While it was obviously the author's intent for the reader to be able to pick up the similarities between the fiction and the reality, it would have been helpful if certain details (like names) hadn't been so similar; I had to reread certain chapters and sections to make sure I didn't confuse the different story lines and I really hate having to go back and forth in a novel to address confusion issues. Whenever there are 2 story lines, I inadvertently find myself drawn to one more than the other. In this case, I was more intrigued by Beth (who was part of the fictional aspect of the novel) who was a stronger protagonist. Both story lines were written well and it was easy to connect with both protagonists emotionally. As the story continued, I could really feel the fiction and reality aspects blurring together, and the tension was insanely high! I couldn't wait to see how things would end ... and then it did. And I wasn't so pleased. I think that I liked the ending for Liza's story line but the one that was fashioned for Beth took me completely off-guard and not in a good way. After so much suspense and tension, the ending fell quite flat for me. However, I did enjoy everything else about this novel. For those reasons, I'm giving this a 3/5 stars and would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers and dual storylines.

Liza and her husband, David, are faced with the tensions of marital strain. Not only when it comes to difficulty of conception, but also with David’s distractions due to the disappearance of his law partner and best friend, Nick. Liza, desperate to write another bestselling novel, finds herself blurring the line between fiction and reality. As her story progresses, Liza unearths her secret formula to creating a bestselling novel.

This novel is a book within a book and has a great premise, alternating between Liza reality and the life of the fictional character she has created, Beth. The cross over between Liza and Beth, and Beth into Liza’s reality, was a bit confusing to follow in the beginning, but soon after I caught on (hint: note the chapter titles!). In truth, I found myself having trouble connecting with this one and had put it aside picking up another book that arrived at my doorstep. While in reading limbo, I picked this one back up and will say, as it reached its ending, this book started to pick up the pace a bit for me.

Unfortunately, I had plenty of quarrels with this one. At times I felt Cate Holahan used a lot of unnecessary detail, which felt like filler more than to build on the story. I found my eyelids dropping as she went into step-by-step details of an action. Connecting with the main character and the character she created was another difficulty. With respect to Beth, I felt she was written as an extremely absent minded individual and a bit neglectful. Also, the twists came as no surprise to me. Without serving up any spoilers, most of the events that transpire were pretty obvious. The lack of aha moments and a predictable plot were a bit disappointing.

Although it was not for me, many fellow readers did enjoy this one. It was a quick read once my attention was grasped offering plenty of suspense, so I don’t discourage you from trying it out yourself.

Thriller novels just seem to suck me in, and this one did just that! I especially love novels that alternate between multiple characters and/or past and present, they seem to be more intriguing.

I really enjoyed the writing style between the two different characters. Although, at some times I had to pause to think about which character I was reading about, I thought the format was very effective for the story. The book was somewhat predictable, there wasn't the surprise factor that I look for in five star books, but I was still sucked into this book, and did not want to put it down! Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys their suspenseful novels.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The use of the story within a story was very interesting. But someone the end felt a little like a let down.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.”

This book is outside the genres I usually read but it had intrigued me so I decided to request it. The premise of the book, a story within a story, is a very interesting and, in this case, well executed.

The main character in the book is Liza, a writer whose last book about child abuse succeeded. She is working on her next book, with the heroine named Beth. Beth’s life is surprisingly similar to Liza’s, although happier in many aspects.

Liza’s husband’s friend is missing and later found dead, but who is the culprit? Was it a well-thought plan or a hate crime? In general, Liza spends her time worrying, trying to have a baby with her husband, and writing. She almost loses herself in the book she’s writing.

The beginning of the book was a bit confusing as the chapters alternate between Liza and her heroine, but it gets easier to recognise whose story is described in which chapter when the book progresses.

I think it’s a great book, very hard to put down (although I was forced to do just that). I would gladly recommend it to my friends and anyone who enjoys the genre, or just a good book. It is really good and definitely deserves all the stars.