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.

Cate Holahan delivered a very well thought out, clever thriller that will certainly have your head spinning! Highly recommend for all psychological thriller fans!

The story-within-a-story technique made this book unique. For this to work, it really is important to know who's viewpoint your're reading at the moment. I found myself checking at the beginning of the chapter every now and then. As the book continues, the voices start melting together - we often see Liza, the "real" writer wondering what "Beth" her protagonist would do in a certain situation, which I found interesting. Overall, I would categorize this as domestic suspense. Some fun twists along the way, although I wanted to bop Liza over the head for the most obvious "secret" of the whole book, concerning her husband...

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Netgalley, and Cate Holahan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

Wow!!! This book was quite unique. It is where fantasy meets reality. It was like having two unreliable narrators. I just couldn't seem to put it down. I usually can see things coming, but this one surprised me. I would recommend this to anyone.

*Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.*

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.

Liza is a one book best seller given a one-month extension on her book deadline. She is desperate to fall pregnant and experimental fertility treatment seems the only option she has left. Despite the combined pressure, she manages to write a story about Beth a new mother and the steps she takes to keep the family together after discovering her husband is having an affair.
David her lawyer husband works long hours spending a lot of time with his law partner and friend Nick. When Nick disappears under what could be suspicious circumstances David withdraws even further from Liza and struggles to hold her life together.
Liza is puzzled when a police officer congratulates her on the shooting skills she displayed when it was 12 months since she had been at the firing range. What is the reason for her puzzling memory loss – is it due to medical fertility related treatment or something else. Perhaps the strain of existing in the real world and one of fiction is starting to affect her mind.
Just when I thought I had the story all worked out something unexpected changed my mind and then changed it again! At times, I felt Liza was writing about her own life when she wrote about Beth and the two worlds were very cleverly constructed. Good luck if you think you can guess the ending!
I recommend this book for those who enjoy a good mystery thriller.

This was a solid thriller. I'm a sucker for the whole story-within-a-story trope and I love unreliable narrators anyway, but this one was incredibly well done. However, I read way too many thrillers, so it's been awhile since I've managed to find one that surprises me with the ending. But that's on me, and not a negative critique of the writing.

My gosh, this book just dragged on. Took me forever and a day to get through it. And then there were the "obstacles."

Way too many issues were left without any sort of imperative detail, and Liza's past, which ultimately affects her future, felt more like it was added for shock value, versus adding any real substance to the narrative. Not to mention, she isn't a strong, likable character. She's rather weak and simple minded. I mean, it doesn't take a Harvard degree to realize her hubby is swinging for the other team. The fact that David is gay pretty much hits you in the face from the very beginning. Yet, she never truly gets it until pretty much the end. I seriously wanted to smack her upside the head and scream at her to get a freaking clue.

Let's just say, when you get to know Liza, you'll feel like your eyes are about to permanently roll out of your head.

I won't even get started on the male characters. *sigh*

The plot line of Liza and Beth's lives, fiction and nonfiction, running parallel to each other was definitely intriguing; however, the execution fell flat. No substance. No pulling of emotion. The twists weren't really twists and the turns, well you saw those coming a mile away. Maybe that's why I found it to be such a slow moving book. I like books that hook me, leaving me on the edge trying to figure out the angles. I love when my mind has to work at it. Lies She Told didn't have that. So much potential wasted.

There were many other things wrong with this book, but those are the main two that irked the living hell out of me.

What did I like about the book that made me two star it? Beth.

Wow, this book took me for a ride I didn't expect nor saw coming. It tells the story of an author who is struggling to follow up a long ago bestseller, fearing she is beginning to wear out her welcome with the publisher because of lack of sales of her follow-up novels. While she is struggling with her book, she is also struggling to have a baby while also fearing that maybe her husband is having an affair. A messy situation. We the readers then also read the story she is writing on, at least in parts, and it is difficult not to see some parallels to her real life.
There were several times in this book, I had to put the book down and say, that was not the direction I thought it would take. A great story, well-told. Not sure I'm 100% happy about the ending but can't think of a better way to conclude the story myself. Well done to the author, looking forward to the next book.

I read Holahan's last book, The Widower's Wife, and loved it! So when I saw this on Netgalley I had to request it. I didn't even care what it was about; I knew it'd be good. This was one of those books I had to stay up late to finish even though I was extremely tired. This is a book within a book and it's so well-written and so clever. The characters, the places, everything has depth. Both stories were equally as good and the switch back and forth between the two was seamless. It felt as though it was happening in my own life and not just on the pages I was reading. Soo good!

3.75 for this quick, fast paced mystery! Alternating chapters between Liza- an author who has 30 days to finish her newest book and Beth, the character of Liza's newest murder mystery. At first it was hard to draw the lines of what is real and what is not, mainly because the stories of both are very similar. Unfortunately, I predicted the plot about half way through & was correct (I hate that)!! But even so, I still very much enjoyed the book and seeing how it would all play out! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Interesting plot - but I lost interest partway through

I started reading this two or three times but each time I just couldn't continue. I couldn't follow the storyline as it switched back and forth between the characters. It makes for a very anxiety-ridden experience. I know that is the author's intention but it just wasn't for me.

The book-within-a-book format of this novel was a fresh take on a familiar suspense genre trope - the unreliable husband. The added complication of memory loss in Liza's narration added an additional layer of unreliability, creating a book full of fairly well-developed characters that couldn't be trusted. Rather than feel too tropey, Holahan found the right mix of believable and unnerving. This was a great book by a young author and I can't wait to see what Holahan writes next.

I'm sorry but I just could not get into this book, I have persevered, put it to one side for a while and gone back to it but I just haven't been able to engage with it, subsequently I have not read it all.

First, I love the lovely book cover. Second, great mystery stories. Yep, stories. Which lead to third, the clever concept: a novel within a novel! That’s 2 gripping stories in a book. One is the story about Liza, the author, and the other one is about the new novel she’s writing. A novel that unconscious to Liza is so close to what’s happening in her life. The book was told in two alternating storylines between Liza and Beth which can be confusing at the first few chapters but as soon as I get used to the switching of stories, I am beyond hooked. The way how fictional story intertwined with Liza’s world is just brilliant. I am left wondering which story is real and which one is not. It is not short of mystery and suspense, either. It is a cleverly written mystery thriller novel that’s a sure treat for mystery lovers out there. It may be predictable at some point but it is full of surprising twists and turns that make this one definitely worth a read.

Lies She Told is a great and entertaining psychological thriller/romantic suspense novel. I wouldn't put it up there with the top of its recent genre, but I flew through it and enjoyed reading it.

The book flips each chapter telling the story of the main character Liza (an author), and her written protagonist Beth (assuming as Liza writes it). I have not read a book about an author of a genre I love, so it was interesting to get into the "author's" head and learn how they come up with stories, characters, and how difficult and stressful it can be to be a writer.

Since the book flips back in forth (typically I like it, as I'm driven to keep reading until the most recent cliffhanger is explained), but it was SUPER confusing at times because Liza and Beth are pretty much the same person. Both are written in first-person, and the style of writing/thinking is the same...and then the fact they are both Elizabeths. The other characters and storylines are also similar, so sometimes I had to take a step back and remember who is who and which dimension I'm in.

I say that to say, I'm aware that was the purpose. Liza originally said she typically pulls her stories/characters from her own experiences or friends, so at least I knew that halfway through when I was starting to get overwhelmed. It was kind of like, "this is annoying...OHHHH". It was also relevant because Liza realized how much Beth was affecting her psychologically, so I think automatically Liza started to be more like Beth and understand her better.

However, the book was great - DO NOT read spoilers, or you will not fully enjoy the book. It was definitely one of the better "psych thrillers" I've read recently. It's very twisty and turny, and very enjoyable as you begin to distinguish the lives of Liza and Beth.

I've put the rest of Cate Holahan's books on my "Want To Read" List!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*