Cat Kinsella was always a bit of a daddy's girl. But when seventeen year old Maryanne disappears and Cat's father lies about having known her, their relationship changes forever. Now, years later, Cat is a DC working in London. When the body of a woman is found near her father's workplace, all Cat's fears about him being a killer return.

Cat is flawed and carries around a ton of baggage. She's currently in therapy after suffering a bit of a meltdown at a crime scene but her issues are mostly connected to her father and past events. I found it hard to warm to her adult self but eight year old Cat was lovely. We get to know her through diary entries, written when she still worshipped her father and then ultimately caught him in a lie. There were some interesting family dynamics but I failed to see the significance of Cat's brother. It's clear something is going on in that relationship but it's never really explained which I found a bit annoying.

Sweet Little Lies is quite slow and I admit I struggled with it and almost considered throwing in the towel altogether. However, I persevered and I'm glad I did as there is a rather intricate plot tying the past to the present. With a host of unreliable characters and a few twists and turns, this had all the potential of being a great crime fiction story. I just felt it had a bit too much angst and not enough action to really hook me.

When the body of Alice Lapaine is found strangled and dumped in a North London park DC Cat Kinsella becomes caught up in a case which threatens to expose secrets from her past and places her role in the Met in jeopardy. Links to missing Maryanne Doyle, set in motion a chain of events that are set to blow apart deeply buried secrets and lies. Can Cat keep it all under wraps or will it blow up in her face further fracturing her family relationships? #SweetLittleLies is a tense and suspenseful debut from Caz Frear and definitely one for the watching!

#SweetLittleLies presents us with a cast of the most unpleasant unreliable narrators! Told in the first person from Cat's point of view we are only ever sure that she and her DS, Luigi Parnell and DCI Kate Steel are those who present us with the truth. But can we really believe what Cat has to tell us in her narration? Cat Kinsella grew on me as the story unfolded, her tense and somewhat dysfunctional family relationships are poked and prodded unmercifully throughout the plot. Her relationship with her father is one that swings from her memories as a "daddy's girl" to one where she believes him capable of the most heinous acts. It is a delightfully dark exploration of family dynamics in which some secrets that should never have happened spill onto the pages and into the reader's head! 

Luigi Parnell captured my heart, I loved his gruff, no-nonsense approach to life and to Cat while at the same time offering her a sense of protection and trust that she felt to be missing from her life. Even DCI Steele is portrayed as having a warm heart and caring disposition despite her frosty and scarily efficient exterior. A team worth the watching and I look forward to seeing where they go next.

The novel was a bit of a slow burner for me I have to say. It spent a lot of time on character development and reflecting on the past - but don't give up on it! As the pace picks up and the plot tightens and thickens then you understand why the first part was so important. It is well worth staying for the journey and I'm not going to lie, your head will be reeling as lie after lie is told, secret after secret exposed and you are left not knowing who the hell you should trust!

Secrets and lies are the main themes underlying the plot and oh what twisted secrets and lies they are indeed. Everyone apart from Parnell and Steele seems to have something to hide and throughout the book, you get the sense that they are all just bubbling up and getting ready to explode! 

I started this book thinking "hmm, not sure about this" but by the time I had turned the last page, I was already wondering when the next in the series is going to be published! A cleverly crafted plot and realistic overview of Police procedures and dark humour will ensure that you are not going to be disappointed when you pick this one up off the shelf!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. A solid mystery, with a bang-up ending that caught me entirely by surprise!

Cat Kinsella hasn't quite been the same since the summer of 1998, when her family visited her Gran in Ireland and a local girl disappeared. Cat always suspected her father had something to do with it. Now a police detective, Cat is suddenly drawn into a case with echoes of the past when a body turns up near her father's bar. Cat tries to remain emotionally distant from the case, but finds she can't as more information comes to light.

This book was like a roller coaster ride. Things start slowly, but then speed up, only to have the case stall and then *BOOM*, things fall into place. And the ending is quite a big one - almost impossible to guess, I'd say. But it is satisfying and makes sense based on the rest of the book.

There's also a lot of moral ambiguity in this book, really blurring the lines on conduct and honesty. I still don't know how I feel about all the decisions Cat made in the book, but it seems to all work out in the end. It gives some complexity to Cat's character, though her character was already well developed and had me hooked from the beginning.

I really hope we see more of Cat because I'd like to explore some of that complexity and see how she handles other cases. She seems to really care, without the dispassion that can seem to permeate other police procedurals. Hopefully, this will be the start of a series.

I really enjoyed this book. It has family drama, mystery and some mayhem.

Cat Kinsella is a Detective Constable with the Met based in London.In the early hours of the morning she is called to the scene of a murder in Islington.The body of Alice Lepaine has been discovered not far from the pub that is run by Cat`s father.

Since she was a young girl Day had suspected that her father had some involvement with the disappearance of Maryanne Doyle.When evidence links Alice to the still missing Maryanne Cat`s fears resurface.Determined to find out what happened to Maryanne back in 1998 Cat begins to dig into the case.But the problem with looking into the past is you might not like what you find.

The story is voiced entirely by Cat and is mostly set in the present day but there is also some chapters that are set in 1998.Cat is a flawed,multi layered,complex character who had her witty moments but could also be quite selfish and childish at times.She was also rather paranoid especially when it came down to how she was perceived by DCI Kate Steele.Was this because she had never trusted her father and Kate was a figure of authority just like a father is?. It would have been interesting to know what Kate's perspective was on Cat as a police officer and also why Cat`s brother Noah treated her with so much distain.I really like the team that Cat worked with,they were well established and worked well together,there was no interdepartmental jealousy or back stabbing like you get in a lot of police procedural thrillers.

As with real life cases the facts and discoveries of the investigation are revealed slowly and although there was the odd unexpected twist I personally thought the story dragged at times.It was very well written,the characters were realistic and I did enjoy the book enough to finish it.Maybe my interest in police procedurals is waning at the moment and I need to have a break from them for a while.

This was such a great read, thoroughly enjoyable due not only to a great plot but also terrific characters.

DC Cat Kinsella has as complex a family dynamic as you could imagine, and it's written with a sense of realism and layers that makes it totally believable. Not only the sibling relationships but especially the one she shares with her untrustworthy Father, the one that impacts on the rest of her life. I really liked her as a character, she was flawed, hard-working and had a sense of tenderness that was just so endearing. Together with the other detectives, DS Luigi Parnell and DCI Kate Steele, they made such a well-formed group it was as if they were already long-established characters rather than making their debut in Sweet Little Lies. Luigi Parnell in particular already has my affection with his no-nonsense approach to work, coupled with his paternal mannerisms and obvious love of his home life. Whilst they try to find the killer of Alice Lapaine, the bonds that hold the three of them together are subtly tested and strengthened so that I did care about them.

The plot is well-crafted and revealed at a pace that held my attention throughout. There are enough surprises to more than outweigh the more obvious aspects of the story, and once again all of this is anchored by an equally interesting set of suspects and witnesses.

Caz Frear is certainly an exciting new voice on the crime thriller scene; I mean what a way to start! Sweet Little Lies is a terrific read and I really do hope that we'll be seeing more from her in the not too distant future.

DC Cat Kinsella’s past and present collide when a current murder investigation throws up links to the disappearance of a girl she knew as a child, and who was never found. Worse still, Cat has always suspected that her father was somehow involved in the events of that long ago summer. Forced to confront her worst fears and suspicions, she may not only be putting her career in jeopardy, but also find more than she bargained for.

I really enjoyed Sweet Little Lies, especially the character of Cat, a plucky young detective who added a lot of depth and enjoyment to this interesting police procedural. Although it got off to a bit of a slow start, I soon found myself engrossed in the storyline, which threw up some interesting questions and premises. What would you do if you had to investigate a murder that may be connected to events in your past your own parent may have been involved in? Cat’s relationship to her father has always been troubled, to put it mildly, but deep down she is still a young woman who needs to be loved and lay her trust in her family.

Switching between past and present, we get to know an eight-year-old Cat, who still thinks her father is a hero; and an older, wiser and somewhat disillusioned Cat, whose father has long toppled from the pedestal and who she can now see in the cold stark light of reality. As main protagonist, Cat is a well-rounded and interesting character who I could root for, and felt her inner turmoil as she weighs up confessing her own involvement in the case against keeping quiet and running a parallel investigation of her own, knowing that her career would be on the line if anyone ever found out about it. The work dynamics within the murder squad are well-drawn, and added further depth and authenticity to the story. The plot is interesting and throws a few curveballs, offering that surprise twist at the end I had definitely not seen coming. And best of all, the mystery is unravelled slowly and methodically, as more clues are being unearthed by Cat in the process of her investigation – which always adds greatly to the suspense for me.

Sweet Little Lies is a promising debut novel by an author to watch – I really liked the character of DC Cat Kinsella and hope to see her back in many more police procedurals in future. The mixture of personal family conflict and Cat’s professional life added a new dimension to this novel, which set it apart from many books of the same genre. I really enjoyed Sweet Little Lies and don’t hesitate to recommend it to lovers of mystery and crime.

Let me start by saying this isn't a 'pretty' story. It's real and raw and ugly. The characters are all liars in some way, except maybe Parnell and Steele. Cat herself is a liar and a cop. She has some bad habits and has seen some bad things. 

For too many years she has believed her father may have killed someone. She knows he hung around a bad crowd and she saw the girl threaten him with blackmail. As an adult she has distanced herself from all of her family over her hatred for her father.

How one small, seemingly insignificant lie can lead to the unraveling of so many lives was very evident in this work.

The ending was a shocker! Didn't see that coming, but it seemed slow in the beginning and middle and then all of a sudden, case solved.

Absolutely brilliant! One of the best books of this year so far. Could not put this one down for more than a few minutes at a time.

I enjoyed the story and thankfully it was one of those types of crime stories where I didn’t see the ending before the author unveiled it which is always a huge bonus. Predictability is not something I’d use to describe this book as the motive and criminal were slowly unpacked to keep you on your toes.

Easily the best part of this novel is the character of Catrina who is our storyteller as it’s her effusive personality that leads the story with her intelligence, wit, and optimism which pours out from her first person narrative. We get a small taste of it before the story really takes off as she reminisces about a time from her childhood then we see how she’s changed in adulthood from the effect of having her father who was larger than life get cast down into shadow from his possible involvement in the disappearance of a local girl.

As great a job as she did with the main character she still had enough sight to pour some of that effort into writing a plot that reads at an easy pace and drips bits of clues along the way. As the author winds some surprising twists into her storyline and characters you’ll find yourself flipping pages impatient to know what it is going to be found around the next corner.

One of the other positive aspects was the obvious research Frear must’ve put in on learning about police procedures, interactions, etc because it comes off fairly realistic and effective as a plot device.
It was one of the better crime novels I’ve read and it deserves an afternoon of your time.

This is a terrific read: well-written with rounded, developed characters and a stonking good story. Initially it reads like a fairly entertaining police procedural with a bit of narrator-angst thrown in, but once it really gets stuck into the plot, it just takes off. Highly-recommended and especially impressive for a debut novel - I hope to see more from this author before too long.

I loved this, it's just a perfect suspense novel. It's well written and the first chapter pulls you in and you just keep reading!
Maryanne Doyle is a teenage girl when she goes missing in 1998 in Ireland. Catrina Kinsella was 8 at the time and on holiday there with her family. Her disappearance was never solved but Catrina's father was acting suspiciously at the time and had a weakness for the ladies.
Now in 2016 Catrina (known as Cat) is working as a DC with the Met police when Maryanne's dead body is found in London on her patch. She has always suspected that her father had something to do with Maryanne's disappearance, and now fears her father is involved in her murder. Cat and her team investigate the murder and she has to face the possibility that her career could be ruined and her father is a murderer.
I loved Cat and her dry sense of humour, I loved Steele's strong, no nonsense approach. The ending felt right, it wasn't rushed like some and was well explained with a twist. I can't wait for more from Caz Frear.

This book was a slow starter for me but I'm glad I kept reading as it's a great story and the characters lingered with me after I'd finished it.
For me, a huge part of whether I like a book or not is down to the level of research and the authenticity of what they are describing. I can safely say that Caz Frear has done her homework with regards to police work and police humour. Although there are a few artistic licences taken, the over all feel of Cat's interaction with her colleagues and the techniques used in interviewing is very good. Working fairly closely with the police in my own job I am often annoyed by inaccurate portrayals in books.
Setting is another thing that Frear is very good at. I'm still not entirely sure how, but there was a distinct change in tone and tempo in the scenes set in Ireland, both the flash backs and the current ones. It is so subtle I really can't put my finger on how she's done it but I felt, a long with Cat that Ireland was a safer, more comfortable place to be, even with her suspicions of what happened 'back then'.
I do have to say here that the 'what happened back then' doom laden sentences were a little obvious and I think that was what stopped me from enjoying the early chapters. I thought I'd caught Frear out at one point as there was something that meant I couldn't possibly see a grown woman still being concerned by childhood fears but then, deftly and simply, Frear closes that loophole and puts me back in my place! And yes, I did genuinely gasp out loud "so THATS why she......." Frear 1 - This reader 0.
The thing that captivated me the most in this book though was the relationship between Catrina and Parnell. Having had that bond with an older male colleague myself it was great to see it so well demonstrated in prose. Real love, friendship and concern between people of the opposite sex with no sexual or romantic feelings involved at all. And no suggestion or suspicion of such by those around them. Cat's fears of letting him down at the end when she feels compelled to tell him about her father are so poignant.
Another example of Frears seemingly effortless ability to create a mood within her writing, the Hicks family's Christmas was so realistic. I have been to those houses at Christmas, in fact my family was that middle class, drinks parties with the neighbours, roaring fire and large bowl of nuts, families and it worked to have those scenes so cosy and warm when outside was winter and an unsolved crime.
I liked the interaction between Catrina and her Father and sister but I did think there was a heck of a lot of animosity between her and her brother and it wasn't, to my satisfaction, explained properly. I thought it would become clearer at the end of the book but it never did. I did love the redemptive ending though!
All in all a great read and if Catrina and Parnell were to become a crime fighting double act I would definitely buy subsequent books. That said, I will read anything else written by Frear.

Sweet Little Lies is an interesting tale but if I'm honest it didn't grab me. In saying that, it has a good plot and characters. It deals well in showing how relationships and secrets can destroy lives. It just didn't blow me away as I was hoping!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advance copy of Sweet Little Lies, a police procedural set in London featuring DC Cat Kinsella.

Cat and the team are summoned to a murder scene where a woman's body has been dumped. When the body is identified the real puzzle begins - unraveling the mysterious life of Alice Laplaine.

Told in the first person the novel's driving force is Cat's personality. Smart, cynical, often humorous, troubled and loyal, there is a sense of survival and optimism to her that shines through her travails. Cat is attending a therapist after a meltdown at a recent crime scene but her troubles really stem from her troubled relationship with her father who went from being a god to a man not only with feet of clay but a potential murderer in Cat's eyes. In 1998 teenager Maryanne Doyle disappeared from the Galway village of Mulderrin where 8 year old Cat and her family were holidaying. When her dad denies all knowledge of Maryanne she knows he's lying and as the novel continues we learn more of Cat's suspicions and "evidence". Ms Frear has done an excellent job with Cat, both as an eight year old and as an adult. I find most fictional children unconvincing but she nails it with 8 year old Cat, as she does with the slightly immature and uncertain adult.

While Cat's voice dominates the novel Ms Frear does not neglect her plot. It is well paced with information coming in dribs and drabs, as in most investigations. There is twist upon twist as Alice's life is uncovered and it had me glued to the pages, desperate to find out what was coming next.

I loved Sweet Little Lies and it is one of the best books I have read this year so I have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.

I got this from NetGalley. Cat is a police officer. Years ago, a girl she knew disappeared and she has always suspected that her father played a part in the disappearance. Now when the same girl turns up murdered as an adult, having been alive and obviously not murdered by Cat's father, she questions her past suspicions...but also still wonders because the body is found not far from where her father lives. She goes out of the way to hide her own potential involvement in the case, both so that she can be involved in the investigation and also so that she can dig into her father's possible connection without anyone knowing (which sounds like it will end well, right?) Overall I enjoyed the book. I wasn't in love with the writing style, but I did like the story and the solution to the crime was not something I ever saw coming. It seems like a lot of times books can be very predictable, but I was in the dark for this one on the motive/killer, so that's worth a 4-star rating.

Cat Kinsella has been more or less estranged from her father since the summer 17-year-old Maryanne disappeared. Cat had seen her father flirting with the teen shortly before she disappeared, so why did he tell police he didn’t know her? !8 years on and Kat is now working with the Metropolitan police when she’s called to investigate the murder of a young woman named Alice, who is found not far from the pub Cat’s father owns. When evidence links Alice to Maryanne, Cat knows she’ll have to follow that evidence to arrive at the truth, but she’s terrified of what she might discover. Frear is a master storyteller and she’s all together too good at twisting my guts! You may think you know then end….but think again