The Good Liar is another great thrill read by Catherine McKenzie. Given the nature of the book, it's hard to summarize the plot without giving away too many spoilers.

On October 10th at 10am, there is a large explosion in an office building in Chicago. Over 500 people are killed and this novel takes a look at the lives of 3 women who were impacted by the tragedy. Throughout the novel, we find that their stories are woven together. At the end of each Part, a critical element of their relationships is revealed. You must read all the way to the end of the Epilogue to get that last nagging question answered. I enjoyed this book, because the twists that I thought I had figured out were not as they appeared. The book weaves in familiar scenery in Chicago and Montreal. I have enjoyed all of Ms. McKenzie's novels, and this is no exception.

I received this as an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley, and I've pre-ordered it to ensure it is on my personal bookshelf.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This Author can do no wrong. This book is another winner. Highly recommend!

Fast paced and twisty! This is definitely McKenzie's best book yet! I would recommend this.

I received this arc yesterday & I am already finished reading it this morning. I would have read it straight through, but I needed a couple hours of sleep. I definitely recommend reading this book, you won't be disappointed! There were so many highs & lows, twists & turns, & an incredible ending. Exceptional plot & writing!! A must read! One of the best of I have read in 2017!!

Cecily & Tom, together for 22 years, married for 20. They have two beautiful children & a beautiful life, or so Cecily believes. Kaitlyn is Cecily's best friend. She works for Tom. She has secrets that she has kept to herself. And there is Franny, a young woman desperately searching for her birth mother.

An explosion of the building where Tom works, & where Cecily was supposed to meet him, buries many secrets that Cecily, Kaitlyn & Franny hopes doesn't ever have surface. The one year anniversary marks the unraveling of everyone's secrets.

Thank you NetGalley &, Lake Union Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Another great book from this author. WOW, just wow. You can't miss this one. Read it in one day, couldn't put it down.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

A year after a gas explosion destroys an office block in Chicago, killing hundreds of people, Teo is making a documentary about how it has affected three families. Cecily lost her husband Tom and she and her children received generous compensation. Joshua lost his wife Kaitlyn (Cecily's best friend), but there have been issues with the evidence proving she was among the dead, so his compensation has been delayed. Finally there is Franny, the child Kaitlyn gave up for adoption 20 years ago, but about whom she never told either Joshua or Cecily. An additional thread features Kate, who fled the explosion and ran away to Montreal, where she works as a nanny. This thread is worked in to the main narrative fairly early on.

I found this novel gripping and well-written. There are revelations throughout which make the reader re-evaluate what is true about the characters and about how they are connected to each other. I found Kate rather an opaque character, whose actions made little sense to me. Cecily on the other hand was easier to identify with and I enjoyed the chapters featuring her with her children and/or Teo. There were also parts of the story told by way of scripts from Teo's interviews and these worked well to vary the narrative voice.

I am deducting a star for the ending.


SPOILERS


Franny having caused the explosion seemed to me an unnecessarily dramatic twist, and I was also confused about why Franny's sister claimed so vehemently that Franny was not adopted. I feel like this should be a matter of incontrovertible public record.

Three women united by an event the press called Triple Ten, the explosion of a building that killed over 500 people. Cecily’s husband was killed in the explosion, but she’s no grieving widow. Kate has taken refuge in Canada to escape from the tragedy and her part in it, and Franny is looking for her birth mother, a woman she will do anything to find. This was an interesting story about the aftermath of a national tragedy, and McKenzie had me flip-flopping on who di what to who for quite a while. A fun, suspenseful read