LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan is a dark and twisty mind-bending thriller with more than one unreliable narrator.

On almost every page, this imaginative psychological thriller forces the reader to reconsider what is real. A book within a book when the lines of fact and fiction are blurred.

“The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.” — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Notebook H

Manhattan author Liza, (of romantic suspense) is under extreme pressure with her upcoming novel.

Trevor, a forty-two-year-old (editor) is telling a thirty-five-year-old woman in the middle of her target audience demographic, what her peers want in the sack. He thinks he knows trends.

Alternating between Liza’s POV in the real world, and Beth (the protagonist) in Liza’s novel. Needless to say, both these ladies lives are complex.

"Blurring fact and fantasy is my trade. I am a con artist. A prevaricator. I make up stories." So why does he think this one is real?

David Jacobson, husband of twelve years. Nick Landau, David’s law partner is missing. Nick never liked Liza.

Liza and David have been unable to conceive. Both the anxiety of this plus her writing deadlines push her to get lost in her characters. Their marriage is strained.

. . . She does not invent her characters. She steals them from her surroundings. To be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day she robs herself blind.

"It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place." —Henry Louis Mencken, A Little Book in C Major

As the pressure of the deadlines mount, Liza becomes immersed in her heroine. Unfaithful? Murder?

Is she writing about her own life?

Beth has a new baby and her husband, Jake is a prosecutor. He is cheating, while she is home taking care of the baby. The sexy officer, Colleen. The psychiatrist, Tyler, and an old friend.

Will both stories lead to murder? The lines are blurred.

Who is telling the truth? Who is not? Two stories intertwined.

The author cleverly draws readers into a world where truth blends with delusion, plus more. . .

Dark, twisty, and sinister grip-lit. The author keeps the reader on its toes while switching from fact and fiction while questioning every move.

Chilling, unique, intriguing, and disturbing, LIES SHE TOLD, will keep readers turning the pages. With all the books about LIES these days, this one definitely takes a distinctive spin.

A special thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an early reading digital copy.

I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Amy McFadden and Lisa Larsen, for a captivating performance.

JDCMustReadBooks

Liza Cole is an author married to David who is an attorney. David’s partner, Nick, has been missing for some time now. David is beside himself. He refuses to believe that someone could have killed his good friend.

Liza and David have been trying to have a baby with no success. She is in an experimental trial program via her doctor to see if she can finally become pregnant. The hormones are so powerful that she is constantly sick and headachy. The stress that each of them is under is hurting their marriage.

Liza had had a very successful book earlier in her career, but now she is struggling to come up with a good plot. Her editor has let her know that she has one month to give him something positive. So, her new book is about Beth, who after much difficulty, has just given birth to Vicky. Sleep-deprived and tired tending to her little baby, she is upset when she sees her husband with another woman having dinner. She is afraid to confront him thinking that their marriage will end and she will be solely responsible for raising Vicky.

The story of Liza and David switches back and forth to Liza’s characters, Beth and her husband. Soon, we see how the two storylines become intertwined making readers wonder what is real and what isn’t.

Oh, this is a magnificently written story that I did not want to put down. The characters are well-created and so real. The story will keep you turning those pages right up to the end. A great book. Don’t miss it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Lies She Told

A Novel



by Cate Holahan

Crooked Lane Books

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 12 Sep 2017

I am reviewing Lies She Told through Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley:

Liza Jones only has thirty days to write the thriller that will put her back on the bestseller list. She's also struggling to start a family. But her husband is distracted by the sudden dissapearance of his best friend. Trying to escape what is happening in her personal life Liza dives into writing about her heroine.

Beth is a new Mother whose husband is cheating on her while she's home alone trying to provide for their newborn daughter. Angry Beth is determined to catch him in the act, and she sets out to make him pay for shattering the illusion of a perfect life.

The lines between fiction and reality blur when Nick's body is dragged out of the Hudson and Liza's husband is arrested for the murder. Before her deadline is up will Liza be able to admit the truth about those around her, or will she too become a victim?

I give Lives She Told four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

There is something about a book within a book that always intrigues me and when it’s done well it can be mind blowingly good. Lies She Told is done extremely well, it’s cleverly plotted, the protagonist is an author, (I LOVE books that give me a glimpse into the literary world) and is SO addictive, it really is unputdownable, I raced through it in one sitting. Ok, I did have to stop a few times, my kids wanted food. So needy. But I was totally engrossed by every single page of this twisty thriller.

This alternates between Liza, an suspense author who has thirty days to deliver her next book and it better be good because her last novel? Forgettable. She’s undergoing experimental fertility treatments and dealing with the disappearance of her husband’s best friend, Nick. Beth is the lead in Liza’s work in progress, a young new mom who finds out her husband is cheating. The lines between reality and fiction are blurred when Liza’s real life is eerily similar to Beth’s fictional life. Or is Beth’s life real and Liza’s actually fake? Is Liza taking inspiration from her own life when writing Beth’s story? Unreliable narration at it’s finest ladies and gentleman, I had no idea who was telling the truth and then Holahan kept delivering killer twists that left me breathless.

Lies She Told has SO many layers that slowly get peeled back, it’s one of those books where you really need to pay attention, both in Liza’s chapters as well as Beth’s. It’s highly complex but not confusing, the switch between narrators is seamless and I was equally engaged by both storylines. It’s intelligent and compulsive with a unique premise that will have you flipping pages faster and faster right up until the dramatic conclusion. I highly recommend this one for suspense lovers looking for a fresh, unique take on a psychological thriller!

This is an incredible book with twists and turns you will never see coming. It's a fantastic novel told from the point of view of two characters which I always enjoy. Highly recommend

The first couple of chapters were confusing though, switching between Liza and the character in the book she is writing Beth. Once I got my head around the continual swapping, the book made more sense, and hooked me in. The pace of the story is slow and methodical at first, but it quickly picks up in the second half of the book. I often found myself having to stop and think for a minute about which storyline I was actually reading. As the book goes on, the line between true life and fiction begins to blur.

There are many twists and turns throughout that come with deeper character development, and these help to push to a shocking and satisfying conclusion. This piece of work was beautifully written with all the suspense, murder, mystery, and surprise anyone needs in a thriller.

We have Liza whose husband is worried about his best friend who is missing. When the body is found, her husband is charged. Meanwhile Liza, writes about a woman named Beth, whose husband is cheating on her, and she feels only way to keep marriage is to kill the mistress. So story goes back and forth, you have pay attention. So you do not miss out on anything, and you do get absorbed in both women's lives.

This is a new author to me. Cate Holahan brings this story to a fantastic, exciting close. I could not put the second half of the book down. I loved it! The ending was so fabulous. Her characters are vivid and real despite their character flaws, and the atmosphere and setting is intricate and detailed (especially for a book that is essentially a book within a book). I can't wait to get my hands on Holahan's other books!

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

This book within a book follows Liza, a romantic suspense author who is quickly approaching the deadline for a rough draft of her latest novel and Beth, the female protagonist of the story Liza is trying to craft. Each chapter alternates between Liza's current personal life and chapters of the novel. Fact and fiction are truly blurred as many of the elements from Liza's novel become mirrored in her own life, making her an even more unreliable narrator than her own character! Each of these women's stories was engaging and suspenseful, so reading these two perspectives was like reading two thrillers in one! Liza's narrative and her crime novel are separate, standalone stories, but they complement one other perfectly as each unfolds.

The psychological suspense added so many layers to the mysteries going on in each story, while the subtle blending of real and not real elements is still making me question the "truth" that was actually presented. I had never read any of Holahan's previous books, but they are now added to my TBR and I can't wait to get started on them! And how about a shout out for the cover design, which instantly drew me into wanting to read the book when I saw it and actually works really well in capturing the essence of the story now that I've read it, which doesn't happen a lot.

This book is fast-paced, thought provoking, and highly recommended!

What a mindf**k. I didn't not see any of those twists coming and was riveted to this book. I absolutely could not put it down! The switching back and forth between Liza and Beth was a bit confusing in the beginning, but that would be my only complaint. I am really looking forward to reading more from Holahan. Can't wait to get it for my library, my patrons are going to go crazy for this.

Lies She Told by Cate Holahan was a psychological thriller full of twists and turns! I was captivated with the story from start to finish. What was real and what was not?

Liza Cole is a writer that needs to finish writing her current thriller, but is struggling to do so. Her personal life is a mess. She and her husband have been trying to have a baby, but are struggling. On top of that her husband’s business partner is missing. The stress is getting to her. Her husband seems more preoccupied with his missing partner then making babies with his wife.

So Liza decides to dive into her story. This is where the mystery really begins. Parts of Liza current work in progress begins to mirror real life. When her husband’s business partner is found dead, her husband becomes a suspect. What is happening? And why are the similarities between her life and her current story so strong?

This was my first book by this author, but definitely not my last! I loved the suspense of going between reality and fiction. As a reader, you must pay attention to every detail, every action or you may miss something. And that ending! This was a great thriller that will keep you engrossed from beginning to end!

What an amazing thriller!

In fact, reading this book is what kept me sane during Hurricane Irma. I spent days shuttered up in my home without power, the heat was unbearable and the darkness constant.

I still have no power and the heat is still awful but, alas, reading brings a wonderful escape in these difficult moments.

The book is about writer Liza Jones who desperately needs to finish up her next thriller. The thriller she is writing is about a fictional character named Beth, a new mother who suspects her husband is cheating on her. At the same time, the main character Liza Jones is also facing difficulties when her husband's professional partner disappears.

The book is told from the alternating points of view of Liza Jones and Beth. So it alternates between present reality and the story she is writing.

There is a story within a story and it reminded me of the book Magpie Murders. The novel is interesting, engaging and so good.

Overall, I loved it and highly recommend it to all readers of suspense, mystery and thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Cate Holahan, and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.

This is a an ok book with chapters going back and forth between Liza and Beth. I could kind of guess where it was going halfway through but there were a couple of twists that I didn't see coming and it left me wondering how she was going tie things up., which she did neatly.

Liza is under a lot of pressure. She is on deadlines for her next thriller that needs to do well since the last few books haven't been receiving the greatest of reviews. Her and her husband are trying for a baby and the hormones the doctor has her on is giving her all kinds of side effects. Beth, the main character in her novel, finds out her husband is cheating on her. In an act to confront them, she ends up killing the mistress instead. As Beth's story line starts to mimic Liza's life, what is actually true and what is actually fiction?

I love the way the book within the book in this was told. We actually get to read Liza's book as she creates it, while also living her life through her eyes. Both women clearly have some issues and we wonder if Beth's character is living out what Liza wants to do or if this novel is almost a diary of sorts. A page turner of a book, I couldn't figure out which story line I liked better. Granted they're parallel but it was still almost like reading two different books at once. The way Beth integrates herself into Liza's mind reminds me of authors I've spoken to and how they say the characters sometimes just speak for themselves and they just write out what they're told to. This book gives a prime example of this.

The way the author brings everything together is well done. I think it's fairly obvious where the main story line is going from the first quarter of the book. However, there are a couple surprises of "why" that shed some much needed light. A perfect lighter suspense/domestic thriller novel within a novel that should make any lover of these types of stories extremely happy.

This is a very unique story. I was intrigued by the premise of this story. I am always searching for that next book to blow me away. This may not have blown me away, but it was definitely worth the read.

This book is told between reality and fiction. The main character is a writer. We get to see her in both her real life scenario and her current fictional book. The story is slow moving. There were points where I was gong to give up, but I kept on going.

Eventually, the lines between reality and fiction blur as the two stories seem to overlap. After a while, I forgot which part I was reading. The similarities and differences in both parts of the story made it hard to remember which was which. It was a good thing and bad thing at the same time.

I mostly figured things out. Although some of the ending to each story surprised me, I was totally expecting it. I don't like expecting or knowing the ending before I get to it.

Overall, this story was good but not so good at the same time. Like I said before, it is very slow moving. The slowness of the story made it harder to read. The characters themselves weren't very likeable, which made it even harder to read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Cate Holahan for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a quick read thriller that kept me interested to the end. It's written in a different style that takes a bit of getting used to.

The book alternates chapters and voices. Liza is a writer on deadline to finish her latest romantic suspense novel. Her last couple books never took off like her one popular book and she feels pressured to make this one great. Liza is married to David, a prominent attorney, who is depressed over the fact that his law partner is missing. Liza and David are undergoing experimental fertility treatments in the hopes of getting pregnant. The other voice - Beth - is the star of the novel that Liza is writing. She is married to Jake and they have a newborn daughter. Beth catches Jake having an affair. The lines between reality and fiction begin to blur until you're not sure which version is real.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Who doesn't love a thriller about a book within a book? Or a thriller about authors? LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan is about author, Liza, whose story about Beth is starting to mimic her own life. What is truth and what is fiction?

Liza is an author and is currently working on her newest book. The pressure is on because her last few haven't been well received by readers. She working on a thriller about a woman, Beth, who has just discovered that her husband is cheating on her. In her attempt to confront him, things go wrong and end in the mistress being killed. Meanwhile, Liza is on a rollercoaster of emotions and side effects as she and her husband are trying to have a baby. She's been prescribed a hormones regime and they're wreaking havoc.

As Beth's story and Liza's life begin to mimic each other, the reader can't help but wonder what is the truth and what is just apart of her novel? This moves at a fast pace and is packed with questions. Who can you believe? There not only Liza as an unreliable narrator, but then Beth becomes one as well - because what's really happening?

I loved being able to see what Liza was writing and acting as her reader (along with Cate Holahan's reader). I also enjoyed how Holahan brought everything together at the end. The intertwining stories and the whole time you're trying to distinguish the two from each other.

Definitely a lighter suspense and domestic thriller, but still a page turner! The characters were great and if you love unreliable narrators, then this is the book for you.

I give this one 4.5/5 stars! (rounded up for rating)

Wow! This was certainly a different kind of story. There are two main characters, Liza, who is writing a book and Beth, who is the character in Liza's book.

The suspense was certainly there and I pretty much sped right through. Although, I did have trouble at times recognizing whether it was Liza or Beth speaking. I think that putting the name at the start of the chapter would help a lot to end the confusion. I found myself going along and then bogged down a few times trying to figure it out.

Suspenseful and jaw dropping!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Liza is a once successful novelist, struggling to write her new book. Meanwhile, in real life, her marriage is struggling because her husband is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend and law firm partner Nick.

Liza is writing a novel about Beth who discovers by accident her husband is having an affair. Beth stumbles upon them having dinner in a restaurant. She soon gets caught up in trying to find out what is really going on.

Liza is taking an experimental hormone designed to help her get pregnant and one of the side effects is forgetting things. She is stunned when Sgt.Perez says that he saw her at the range recently and that her aim had improved. She doesn't really think anything of it until Nick's body is found and the police come to her house.

When David is arrested as a suspect and she bails him out, things are beginning to spiral out of control. Why can't she remember things?

I know that is all rather vague but this is the type of mystery that spoilers will ruin everything. I do admit that I began to suspect the ending somewhere in the middle of the story, but I loved every minute of this book. The chapters vary from Liza's viewpoint to the that of the story she is writing, and the end will leave you feeling stunned and wondering what the heck just happened in a good way.

I don't know how I feel about the ending the author doesn't quite spell things out, but little is really left to the imagination and I honestly had a hard time feeling sorry for David. I didn't like him very and this might have been the only time I was rooting for the wrong person in this book.

Liza is a romantic suspense writer. Due to fertility issues and the fact that her husband's partner is missing, she has hit a bit of a slump in her success as a writer.

Beth is the protagonist in Liza's novel, and it is in this book within a book that the lines of reality and fiction start getting fuzzy when Liza's life starts to unravel, and the story of Beth and Liza begin to have more and more in common.

I was grateful to be advised from previous reviews to keep track between Liza and Beth as it can sometimes seem confusing as to whom you are reading about. Once you get past this though, it's only a matter of time before you become fixated. You will need to be sharp-witted and pay attention to every detail as the boundaries between author and character disappear and reality begins to parallel fiction.

Although slower paced in the beginning, this one picks up speed nicely, with several twists to look forward to, and that conclusion...fantastic!

I am so glad to have read my first book by Cate Holahan. I would certainly recommend this one if you are looking for a captivating, dark and twisty psychological thriller.

I am grateful to the author, Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Liza Jones wrote a bestselling thriller. Many years ago. She's written other books since then, but they've gotten put on increasingly lower shelves, with increasingly lower sales. Feeling like she's heading from heartbreaking news from her editor, she tries one more time to recapture her magic. She decides to write her next novel in 30 days. And as if that's not enough pressure, she and her husband are trying to conceive, and she's in the middle of an experimental treatment to boost her fertility. 

Not only that, but her husband David is an attorney, and his partner Jake has gone missing. It's been about a month, and Jake hasn't been seen anywhere. David is struggling to carry Jake's caseload as well as his own while doing everything he can to help find his friend and business partner. 

As Liza works on her book, attends a writer's conference, and deals with the attending moodiness and migraines associated with her fertility treatments, cracks start to show. The lines start to blur between her novel and her life, as her main character starts to act out in ways that are more fact than fiction. Once those lines get crossed, how much of Liza's novel is true and how much is not? 

Cate Holahan's Lies She Told is a study of pressure. One writer is working under extreme pressure, skipping sleep, taking experimental hormone treatments. Her husband is barely around, working desperate hours and worrying for his friend and for his business. As time passes, and the pressure intensifies, Liza becomes a ticking bomb. 

The novel is told in alternating chapters. There is a chapter of Liza in her real life, and then a chapter of her novel, where a new mother suspects her husband of cheating on her and she ends up killing the mistress. The interchange makes for an interesting framework for that increasing pressure and for the consequences of Liza's actions on the page and in real life. Holahan's novel is a fascinating look at what we're all capable of and how we deal with the reality of our actions. Great grip lit for fall! 



Galleys for Lies She Told were provided by Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Quirky? You bet. Intense? For sure. Headed for the best-seller list? Crossing my fingers, because IMHO, it should be.

The description at NetGalley piqued my interest, and learning that it's a September 2017 selection of the Book of the Month Club prompted me to follow through and request an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Happily, I got the nod, and, well, you already know my honest opinion.

Now for a few details. Liza Cole enjoyed fame and fortune as the author of a best-selling book. But alas, it was fleeting; her most recent attempt was by most accounts a flop, and she's under the gun to produce something with the potential for success (or at least an outline thereof) within a month. She's also in a clinical trial of a fertility drug cocktail, a last hope that she'll finally get pregnant. Meantime, her husband David just isn't in the mood - it seems his best friend and law partner Nick has gone missing and in addition to being worried, he's buried in work as he takes on Nick's cases on top of his own.

It's hard to focus on writing, but Liza finally comes up with a new heroine, a woman named Beth. Unlike Liza, Beth has given birth to a still-infant daughter; like Liza, Beth is dealing with a husband who's lost interest (and, Beth believes, is cheating on her as well). Chapters shift from Liza's story to that of the fictional Beth, and - no real surprise here - it's not long before the lines begin to cross.

Then, two of the characters - one real and one fictitious - meet untimely ends. Beth has an angry confrontation with her husband's lover, who ends up in the East River. Liza's husband's partner's body is found, and to Liza's dismay, her husband is arrested for the murder. But are both Beth and David really guilty? Beth's motive is obvious - payback to the competition and her wayward husband - but why would David want his best friend dead? Hmmmm. Maybe there's more to these women's stories (and the stories of the men they love) than we see at the beginning.

Nope, not gonna spill the beans. All I'll say is it sure was fun watching the plots thicken and unravel. Highly recommended!