Oh dear -this is a book which rips your heart out and then stamps on it.
I was quite pleased to find out Fenmere was a fictional setting however and that the real Friskney where it’s based on is where the author happily spent her childhood.

The pain and anguish of the mother was heartbreaking and her frustration palpable. In a village like hers, someone must know something and this I felt as a reader so I did feel as if I could relate to the mother in this way. She did run to the police or to tell someone of every little details but then is this not the actions of a desperate mum?

The short and snappy chapters added to the pulsing pace of the story. Then the pulsating machines in the hospital added even more tension. I could hear them pounding in my ears to be honest. A tense, twisting story of a village on the edge with everyone a suspect who walks or wanders onto the page.

Difficult to read knowing what was going to lead to the attack and that did make me uncomfortable at times and the mother did annoy me but the overall story and the ending was worth the read.

I really, really liked this book. However, I did have a few issues with it. Melanie, the mother, drove me crazy when she would go to the police on every little hint of something that happened with her daughter. Or, when she would go to the townspeople specifically to accuse them. I understood her frustration. It was a small town. Things don't happen there that someone doesn't know anything about. Also, my stomach kind of turned when I suspected Melanie's new friend had something to do with Beth's disappearance. The thought that she is riding around with him?

All of that put aside, the book is so good that you can overlook this crazy woman who berates most of the town insinuating they know something about her missing daughter.

And the ending, definitely classic and I even did a major fist pump after reading it.

A great read that I just could not put down as there were so many suspects and so many clues, I was so perplexed, I just had to know!

Huge thanks to Bookouture and Net Galley for approving and allowing me to read and review this thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.

Melanie Oak waves goodbye to her teenage daughter, Beth, who is going to her friend’s house for the night. Beth never turns up there, in fact Beth never had any intention of staying at her friend’s house. Beth is found barely alive on the marshes near their home, having been severely beaten but who did it and who was the person she went to meet that night? Stricken with grief, Melanie decides to try and find out herself. Deciding that it must be someone Beth knows, she begins to suspect the whole village, and it seems like everyone in the village has a secret. Bumping into old friend, Glenn, who has recently returned to the village, he helps her to try and work out who could have done this. But is Glenn everything he says he is?

Wow, wow, wow, I loved this one. Granted, it’s a hard read broaching on subjects which you probably don’t want to read about, but the story grips you from page one and doesn’t let you go until the end. The story is told from different perspectives of Melanie, Beth and a mysterious person who you don’t find out it is until the end. The story reminded me of an episode of a TV programme, like Broadchurch! Everybody seemed to be a suspect at some point and everybody seemed to be hiding something! I think I have said ‘they did it’ about every single character, which is great as it has kept me guessing all the way through. I thought I had it all worked out about half way through the book and was quite disappointed that I was going to read the other half knowing who it was, but I was wrong!! The plot kept changing and twisting until I gave up trying to work it out and just concentrated on finishing it to find out what was going on.

The plot all becomes clear some way before the end, but the story continues past finding out ‘whodunit’. Without giving away too much of the plot, it was like having two books for the price of one!

First book by this author, and definitely won’t be the last. Excellent book, would definitely recommend this one! Five stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This story is about a mother, Melanie Oaks who is determined to seek justice for the brutal attack on her daughter. It details her investigation and comes to a totally unexpected and shocking conclusion.

The book started well. It was intriguing and described the anguish that a mother of a missing child goes through. Once her daughter was discovered, the book started dragging. I found the mother to be rather erratic and irrational in her behaviour. Her investigation was also conducted in a very haphazard manner. At this point, I felt like stopping with the book as it is rather long. I even contemplated skipping to the end just to see who was guilty. I kept at it though and was actually astonished at what happened, nothing was as it seemed. The ending was totally unexpected and shocking. This book might seem tedious to read, but keep at it. It is definitely worth the read. It has a great plot. It might not be as fast paced as thrillers but still a worthwhile read.

I will definitely try and read more books from this author.

Wow! I couldn't put this book down. From start to finish this book was a roller coaster of emotions.

Wow! I was blown away by this book! What an amazing, thrilling, tense, brilliantly plotted story! This is my first book by Barbara Copperthwaite and I am SO glad I discovered this amazing author! Loved this from start to finish. Could absolutely empathize with Melanie and what she was going through. The writing is brilliant - tight and beautiful and flawless. Although I could not put this book down and was desperate to know how it ended, I was loath to finish it as I loved it so much. Still thinking about the characters. I cannot wait for more from this author!

This was one of those books that kept me up way too late wanting to know what happened next. The story is told in alternative voices and the characters are very relatable. Ahh, but the twist at the end will have you questioning just how far you can be pushed.

This novel is engrossing, addictive and kept my eyes glued to my Kindle, even if I've never wanted to slap a fictional person as much as Melanie Oaks. Her daughter is in a coma after being attacked, and she drops everything trying to figure out who did it. The rhythm was excellent and the collection of suspects really well developed. It reminded me of Gracepoint: the whole town knows something but no one will say anything because they all have something to hide. It was a lot of fun trying to figure out what, and the ending was truly surprising, I did not see it coming. Watching Melanie, though, was like watching a train wreck, She starts up as such a likable character, the chemistry with her family, their quirks and inside jokes... they were happy. But once disaster strikes, she turns into a basket case. We know that someone is setting her up, so it's frustrating to see how she falls for it. But the one thing I didn’t quite like is the structure of the novel. There are flashbacks to Melanie's daughter’s life and the events leading to her attack. Then, there are also flashbacks to a first victim, but these seem inorganic and distracting. In my opinion, they would have worked better had they been integrated from the beginning. This is still a small thing, compared to how much I loved this read.

The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaithe was an interesting read.
The Plot flowed brilliantly and some things that you were certain you had guessed were turned completely on their head.
I loved the way the story jumped from the mother then to daughter, unfolding the story perfectly through Beth's eyes gave us such a profound insight into the inner workings of Beth's teenage thought process.
The characters were extremely diverse and thought provoking and I found myself thinking what if? what if this was my daughter? what would I do faced with an identical situation?
I wasn't overly fond of the mother, I found her to be quite selfish and single minded, but saying that none of us knows exactly how we would behave in this scenario. This sort of plight can bring out the best and the worst in us.
I didn't guess the end and was rubbing my hands together in glee over the sweet poetic justice it brought.
So overall this was a very enthralling read that I enjoyed very much. I received a free e-copy of The Darkest Lies from NetGalley and this is my own honest opinion.

Lots of unexpected twists and turns to keep you guessing. A little predictable at times, but a good enough story to hold my attention.

If you are looking for an author that can deliver with every single book then Barbara Copperthwaite is the one for you. Every book she has written so far has been unique and gripping. This book had me reading until the early hours of the morning.

In this book, thirteen year old Beth is report missing and then found brutally beaten. Beth’s mum and Dad, Melanie and Jacob are left reeling in disbelief. They live in a close nit community and Melanie begins to suspect everyone. The emotive writing is on point and as a reader, you can visualise the agony that the characters feel. It was interesting to read a novel from the parent’s perspective without knowing what the police are doing as other books I’ve read give us both points of view. As a result, I felt just as frustrated as Melanie and I don’t wonder she began to look for answers herself.

There is so much to love about this book. It has two threads of intrigue weaving through the book, misdirecting the reader and intensifying the tension. It was a very tense read and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The thing I love about the way Barbara Copperthwaite writes is that in this book, she had me questioning the culpability of everyone in the village, but it wasn’t frustrating. It drew me further into this world and I couldn’t wait to find out what really happened. The tension and intrigue in this book is well crafted.

The resolution in this book was very satisfying and I really enjoyed the vivid depiction of the village and the way Barbara has breathed life into the characters in the village. I can’t stop thinking about this story. It was a fantastic read and I just can’t wait to read Copperthwaite’s next gift to the crime/thriller genre.

The cover for this book is right--there is a twist that I honestly didn't see coming at the end of this book. I thought I had everything figured out, and I was wrong! But there's more to this book than plot twists. The primary narrator is Mel, mother of Beth. Beth is 13, and she is attacked by an unknown person or persons and is in the hospital in a coma for most of the book. There are italicized chapters narrated by an unnamed person, but clearly someone interested in inflicting pain, but someone nobody would ever suspect because of his or her ability to blend in to society. There are a few chapters flashing back to Beth, where she narrates piecemeal the events of the night she was attacked. But Mel is the primary narrator, and while she frustrated me at times, I am impressed at Copperthwaite's development of Mel's character. Mel isn't just a vessel for dialogue, or telling a story. She could be a real person, full of contradictions, rash decisions, bad decisions, love, forgiveness, and bravery.

This book blew me away. The ending was totally unexpected and I just couldn't put this book down. A thoroughly enjoyable read

Here's what I liked about THE DARKEST LIES: the plot was great with lots of unanticipated twists. Here's what I didn't like: Melanie, the main character, is not likeable or very believable. Her behavior seems over-wrought and not at all in keeping with a mother with a gravely injured child. Also, the villain in the story (although his villainy is unexpected) is cartoonish and overblown. While the plot was fast paced and kept me reading, this was not a book I really enjoyed.

One of the best books of this genre so far this year. Twisty, gripping, and impossible to put down.

OMG,what a totally unexpected ending,absolutely jaw dropping,I didn't see that coming.

Melanie Oak`s perfect life with her husband Jacob and loving teenage daughter Beth is shattered into a million tiny pieces on the day that Beth disappears and is discovered hours later beaten almost to the point of death,her broken body lying in a creek on the marshes near their home.

Consumed with grief Melanie is determined to find out what happened to Beth and who attacked her.She soon discovers that Beth had been keeping some dark secrets of her own.The more secrets and lies Melanie uncovers the more endangered her own life becomes...

This twist packed thriller opens with a nerve shredding prologue that draws you in and perfectly describes the beauty but also isolation of the marshes that are the backdrop of this gripping story.

The characters are realistic and believable from the know all but say nothing tight knit villagers to the creepy manipulative psycho who really made my skin crawl.Most of the chapters are voiced by Melanie who I didn't like very much at the beginning of the story but her guts and determination did cause me to like her a little bit by the end.Beth voices the story of the events that lead up to her being attacked.There are also some chapters that are voiced by a young girl called Tiffany and a number of chapters that are voiced by a mysterious stranger.

The authors descriptions of the life giving machines and atmosphere in the paediatric intensive care unit where scarily realistic.My daughter spent a lot of time in intensive care when she was younger so I could fully understand Melanie and Jacobs feelings of helplessness as they sat with their daughter not being able to do anything but wait and hope that she was going to get better.

The book does have quite a lot of chapters but they are short and snappy,there was a number of unexpected twists and plenty of mystery and intregue to keep the reader hooked and entertained.I really enjoyed this riveting thriller and would happily give it more than five stars if I could.

A clever, compelling read a great mixture of grief, betrayal, secrets, lies, manipulation and murder.

I'll probably get flack for rating this 4, but I don't have the 3.5 option, which is probably more true for me. That said, it's not a 3. I did receive this in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture. This mystery/thriller had a good plot, and an ending that surprised me in one sense, and not in the other. There was a dark, interesting twist. It did keep me reading, and I only give a 3 or under if I can't continue reading it. I wouldn't have stopped...but, I didn't really care about the characters...none of them, including the injured daughter or the mother. Being a mother, I was highly irritated with Melanie. I came close to liking her husband, but then there was an incident that just didn't ring true and it turned me from him. So, the plot = great, characters = not as much. That said, this is still worth the read.

Having been eager to read this book, I have to say I was left a little deflated after finishing it. I found it overlong and repetitive in parts, which made me lose interest rather quickly. I really wanted to love this book, but sadly it didn't do much for me.