I would say this is torture porn.
It’s not something that I usually read and things don’t easily shock me. This didn’t either. I’m just a bit of a Thriller type reader and this one for me (personally) was nothing I haven’t read before in some way or somehow.

Very predictable.

I think if you love contemporary thrillers, you will probably enjoy this. I however do not love contemporary thrillers and need to stop requesting them. There is something so cliche-ridden about contemporary thrillers riding high on violence against women. If you put a female detective at the front then you can pontificate about how you are representing the issue but the truth is it still seems like voyeurism. I have just had it up to the back teeth with torture porn being presented as somehow virtuous. So unfortunately Sweet Little Lies just hit a few notes for me that set my teeth on edge. But it feels like it was not the fault of the writer so much as this tired, tired reviewer who just would like to see violence against women used for a purpose rather than to shock.

Found this a little hard to get into, but generally an ok read. Cat is a great character, interesting and sharp, and I found that I cared what happened to this character as I read on, but the plot felt a bit "holey" in places. The ending was a wee bit predictable (maybe I've read too many books in this genre recently), but I wasn't really that blown away by the ending.

I was thinking I've not read this author before then it becomes clear. Debut novel. Wow! And not a small Wow either. Big Big WOW!!!

It took me about five pages and that was it I couldn't put it down. I think my kindle blew up with the amounts of swipes I did. But I read it in one sitting the only breaks was for coffee, it came to the bathroom with me too. Ok, too much information. Now back to the book.

It's amazing how finding out facts can make you doubt yourself. There are some great characters in this book especially Cat, the main character. She is a police detective with the Metropolitan Police. Her father was questioned years ago in relation to a woman going missing and he lied that he didn't know her. Now this new case has similarities. Is her father a liar and a murderer?

Well guess what? You're going to have to read it to find out. Sorry. Just a nice little taster.

It's an excellent first novel and I will be looking out for this author in the future.

Enjoy!

RATING 4.5 STARS
2017; Bonnier Zaffre (NG) 2018; Harper/HarperCollins

I loved this British mystery/police procedural! Sweet Little Lies has been sitting on my shelf for a while, and I am kicking myself for not reading this one earlier. It was such a page turner for me. The mystery, the characters and the overall story was just fantastic. Cat Kinsella is my new favourite police detective. She is Detective Constable, but comes from a family that avoids the police. Her dad is a shady character whom she loves and hates in equal measures. Her siblings and her are not close, and she finds herself barely together. When the victim of her next murder, turns out to be a girl from her old neighbourhood, Cat finds herself not being the honourable cop she thought she was. While this is a great police procedural, we get more of Cat's background and family which I think added to the story. I cannot wait to read the next two books in the series. If you enjoy mysteries, add this one to your list. Frear's writing reminds me a bit like Karin Slaughter's novels.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook/audio from the publisher through Edelweiss and NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Cat Kinsella bursts into the arena of female led crime fiction,kicks police procedurals squarely in the bollocks, and at the exact same time pays homage to some great tropes of crime fiction.
Caz Frear manages the near impossible in juggling a complicated protagonist whose strong sense of justice spills over from her professional to personal life, an intriguing mystery and social issues. This makes a heady blend of crime thriller and character study through which the central motif-justice for the dead-is never muddied with over analaysis,self flagellation or unecessary emotion.
In the process of investigating the death of an abandoned woman in her 30's,Cat faces down a darkness that literally steals your breath away,so nasty and inherently evil does it turn out to be.
I loved everything about this book,turned the last page and leapt straight into Book 2 'Stone Cold Heart'.
I highly recommend any lovers of crime do the same.

This is a tricky and entertaining mystery. It's going to keep you guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC it's a good read.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Great story by Caz Frear. Really thrilling read, great characters and an enjoyable story. Highly recommend to others!!

I actually read this book a while back (I forgot to leave my review on it! I have a physical and ebook copy of it, so I obviously enjoyed!!) Definitely a good book. I love how the author writes and would definitely be interested in reading more of their work!

Well I don’t know how this one got lost in my TBR list, but I’m so glad I got to it eventually, albeit somewhat later than intended.

Sweet Little Lies had me hooked in by the end of the first chapter and I found it difficult to put down. Throughout I had a strong sense of foreboding that DI Kinsella would discover her dad had something to do with the body found in the park. Throughout the investigation it seems everyone has something to hide, with lies unraveling left, right and centre.

The conclusion was cleverly plotted and I was excited to see there is a second book soon to be released which I immediately ordered.

This is a well thought out plot, beautifully written with interesting characters.

Good plot, characters, mystery, and ending. I would probably have given it more stars if the main character didn't just continually make stupid decisions.

Totally solid mystery/thriller debut. Kept me engaged throughout. I went back and forth between the audio book and the print book, I loved the narrator and could really picture the characters in my head with her descriptions.
I liked Cat quite a bit and look forward to future books featuring her and the rest of the squad.
This particular book had a great mystery with many characters who were not who they seemed to be or pretended to be. The ending was great because things came full circle and all loose ends were tied.
I'm a fan of police procedurals and this is a fantastic UK offering in that genre, Frear reminds me of Lisa Gardner.

Really great first book in the series. It kept me reading to the very end. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

Firstly I need to say OMG is this really a debut? Sweet Little Lies is a cracking thriller, original, pacy, gripping with some fantastic characters that for some inexplicable reason got under my skin.

Cat Kinsella is a Detective Constable on the Murder Team in London who I instantly connected with – not sure if it was her mention of vomiting on the escalators at Brent Cross, living in Radlett or being devastated when Geri left the Spice Girls – but the overall feeling when reading Cat’s story was familiarity. I personally love a book which has alternating chapters and without giving too much away the story begins with the discovery of a female body in a park and Cat realises she knows the victim and has connections going back to 1998 which has shaped her entire life and relationships with her family. However she is determined not to tell her fellow officers the truth (or at least her version of the truth) until she has uncovered the full story.

With a complex but plausible plot, some fabulous dialogue and humour thrown in, Sweet Little Lies really does deserve all the high praise it has received. 4.5 stars

Usually I'm not one for books written from the detectives perspective, but once I read about our young narrators grief about Ginger Spice leaving the Spice Girls I knew that I would be hooked! I ended up enjoying the book, and it certainly kept me on my toes and not knowing what to expect. The ending was great, and I loved all of the layers in the book. I am definitely interested in checking out any sequels.

This book started it a little slowly for me so I wasn’t quite sure I was going to get through it but when it picked up around 15% in I was hooked. The ending was so nicely done.

This book has sat on my Kindle for over 6 months and I am yet to read it. Whilst I was originally really engaged by the blurb, it's yet to make it to the top of my TBR pile and it no longer really appeals to me. I'm really sorry and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read and review this book though.

Cat Kinsella definitely has some baggage. We meet her as she’s reflecting on her childhood and what turns out to be the main plot line and dark cloud that hangs over her life: Maryanne Doyle and the secret she has hung onto for over a decade.

Along the vein of Gillian Flynn and Tara French, Caz Frear captures the dark and gritty reflections of shady behavior and the no-nonsense life of a police officer in the midst of a murder investigation - even without the (actual or imagined) personal connection. The pace kept steady: fast enough to get through the action and revelations, but not so fast that they lose their effect.

Thanks for the opportunity to have read an interesting read by a new and upcoming author.
It was a slow and steady read, with constant surprises around each and every corners with a brilliant ending.
Well done, can't wait for the next one!