Cover Image: Let Me Lie

Let Me Lie

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Member Reviews

I was a huge fan of I Let You Go and I See You. I couldn't wait to start Let Me Lie. So imagine my disappointment when after finishing this novel, I couldn't give it more than two stars.

Why didn't this book work for me?

One of the reasons is the slow build up. I felt like it dragged way too many times. The writing was good but the action was minimal except when we get to the end of the book. Also, Let Me Lie has plenty of twists including the ending but for this reader, they felt unbelievable. No one is sadder that this didn't work for me, than me.

So what's the book about?

Anna Johnson recently became a mother. She loves her daughter and can't think about anything happening to her or she not being part of her life. Anna can't understand why first her father, Tom and then her mother, Caroline decided to take their own lives. But Anna has doubts, she's not sure they killed themselves. She believes that just maybe, someone is behind their deaths. So when a card gets to her home on the anniversary of her mother's death claiming foul play, Anna immediately believes it and right away, she takes it to the police. This is where she meets, Murray a retired cop who decides to dig into the past.

Murray was my favorite character. He was smart and methodic. He was a good detective with excellent instincts. He was also a dedicated and loving husband. His side story was so full of anguish and sadness. In this, Mrs. Mackintosh did a great job at describing how mental health issues can affect the dynamic of a marriage.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers but I hope that you enjoy this novel more than I did.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I almost DNF'd this book after the first 25% as it was very slow to start. Fortunately, I decided to give it a few more chapters and am VERY happy that I did! Once the storyline got going, the constant twists and turns made for quite the roller coaster ride! Nothing I love more than a book that keeps me guessing 'til the very end!

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In a psychological thriller that you won't be able to predict, Anna Johnson cannot let go of the conviction that her parents recent deaths were not dual suicides, but were a result of murder instead.
Maybe the truth would be better left unknown...

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Well, I didn’t see THAT one coming! Dark, emotionally gripping and filled with more twists than a roller coaster, LET ME LIE by Clare Mackintosh is suspense that will keep readers on their toes trying to sift out “the answer.”

Flawed characters and an atmosphere of dark turmoil abound from start to finish as relationships are dissected and rearranged in kaleidoscopic chaos.

Anna’s parents' deaths were suicide, just ask the police, but something just doesn’t feel right. Is it just the pain of a loss she cannot overcome that drive Anna into a depression that has her grasping for a different ending for her parents? Could the parents she thought she knew be hiding dark secrets about their lives together or their marriage?

When Anna is driven to dig up the past, someone is trying to stop her, but who would see her as a threat? Could it be the murderer that she is positive exists? How does she convince the police to re-open the investigation?

Just as Anna appears to be losing her grip on reality, her nightmares are about to get very, very real…

Clare Mackintosh has spared nothing in creating a gritty tale that is continually shrouded in a smoky haze of mystery, Not a rapid-fire read, filled with details upon details, living in Anna’s head is definitely NOT a pleasant place to be, but one must admire her tenacity and that sixth sense she doggedly defends.

I found myself wanting to move things along a little faster at times, but not enough to want to miss a single word!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Berkley!

Publisher: Berkley (March 13, 2018)
Publication Date: March 13, 2018
Genre: Suspense | Thriller
Print Length: 395 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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LET ME LIE is a dark and clever psychological thriller, and the perfect cure for my reading slump. This is the third book by Clare Mackintosh that I’ve read, and I always enjoy her writing. She has a talent for creating emotional, character-driven suspense with amazing twists that really mess with your head. She makes you love/hate/sympathize with characters, and then bam! A big twist comes along to make you question everything.

Anna Johnson is a daughter grieving over the suicides of her parents the previous year. Then she receives something that makes her suspicious, makes her think that maybe they were murdered instead. The story alternates between Anna and other players in this twisted tale, including a retired detective named Murray who checks into the Johnson’s case. I loved Murray’s character, and his relationship with his troubled wife was heart-rending. The book goes from a slow-burn in the beginning to a thrilling roller coaster ride at the end, and I enjoyed it all. (4.5 Stars)

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This has to be one of my favorite thrillers to read this year. My thought process during the entire book was "What?! Oh, my gosh!" This book had me hooked; every plot twist kept me on the edge of my seat. Clare Mackintosh did an amazing job in writing in such a way that I was honestly surprised at every twist. I want more, I need to know more about what Anna is going to do now.

I don't want to give any spoilers away. So, here is a very brief synopsis of the book: Anna begins questioning her life after the deaths of both her parents. She has tried to move on, but the past creeps up on those who deny the truth. Everything you think you may know as you read about Anna's situation, think again.

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I fell in love with Clare Mackintosh's writing last year with the release of I See You, which was one of my favorite thrillers of 2017. Ever since then, I've been on tenterhooks waiting for the author's next book, so I jumped at the chance to review Let Me Lie.

Everyone says Anna's parents took their own lives, but she can't bring herself to believe it. Sure, their deaths, just a few months apart, may look to the world like suicides, and Anna's convinced there's more to the story. Unfortunately, she's the only one who thinks so. The police seem uninterested in reopening the case, and even Anna's boyfriend Mark has grown tired of her constant speculations about what really happened to her parents. And so, Anna is doing her best to move on, to focus on her baby daughter, and to put the ghosts of her past to rest.

An unknown individual has other ideas, though. One afternoon, Anna receives a very strange letter, confirming her suspicions that her parents did not in fact commit suicide. Feeling a mix of vindication and fear, Anna rushes off to the police station, sure she's found the one thing that will convince them to reopen their investigation into her parents' deaths, but it's not an actual police officer she ends up talking to. Instead, she tells her story to retired cop Murray, who decides to look into things on his own before turning the investigation over to the appropriate people. At first, this turn of events felt off to me. Murray doesn't come clean to Anna about his status as a retired policeman, instead allowing her to think she's speaking to a fully-fledged officer. Plus, since Murray is retired, how is he able to properly investigate Anna's story without proper police backing? Luckily, Ms. Mackintosh gives Murray a fantastic backstory that answered all of my questions, and in fact, the chapters told from his point of view ended up being some of my favorite parts of the book; but more on that in a bit.

After her visit to the station and her discussion with Murray, Anna feels as though she's been given permission to dig into her parents' pasts. Maybe she'll turn something up that will be of help in the investigation, but as is usual in these types of situations, her poking around unearths far more questions than answers. It soon becomes obvious that her parents were not the people she thought they were, and in fact, at least one of them was harboring a terrible, possibly deadly, secret.

Most of the story is told from Anna's point of view, but we do spend quite a bit of time with Murray as well, and as I stated above, his chapters are some of the best parts of the novel. He feels rather aimless after he retires from the police force, so stays on as a sort of office worker in a vain attempt to fill his empty days. His wife Sarah is in and out of a nearby mental hospital, so he really depends on his work to add some structure to his life. Not all of his actions are entirely ethical, but Ms. Mackintosh does a wonderful job helping readers understand why Murray acts as he does, and I found it impossible to dislike him. There's a sense of genuine kindness about him that I found incredibly endearing, and the scenes he shares with Sarah are gut-wrenchingly beautiful.

Anna is also quite relatable. At first, it seemed as if she was going to give in to Mark when it came to his not wanting her to ask questions about her parents’ deaths, and I was prepared to do a lot of sighing and eye-rolling, but she turned out to have a stronger will than I initially thought and I was glad she didn't allow Mark to stand in her way. The love she feels for her parents is quite evident, and I admired her determination to learn the truth, even if it ended up being quite a bit uglier than she expected.

The plot is very complex and twisty, but not all of the twists felt authentic. The build-up is wonderful, but the big reveals didn't end up being quite as surprising as I expected. I think the author was going for something really dark and sinister, but certain aspects put me in mind of a bad TV villain.

Let Me Lie isn't as good as other psychological thrillers I've read, but it's not a total flop either. It's one of those books I couldn't turn away from, no matter how unrealistic certain plot elements seemed. It contains a good amount of action mixed with some fabulous character development, and, on the whole, I'm glad I read it.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

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I will preface this review by saying that I adore Clare Mackintosh’s writing and may be biased because of that fact. I did however really really enjoy this book, not as much as I See You, but more that I Let You Go, her second and first books respectively. As with most good thrillers you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, but when it’s a Clare Mackintosh thriller you’re also waiting for the purse and all the loose change to drop too. I liked the dual storylines and how well they were woven together. I would recommend this title to readers who enjoyed her other two books as well as readers of Girl on the Train and Gone Girl.

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Some authors are a one trick pony; they continue to write the same type of stories for the duration of their career, sometimes successfully and other times not so much. Clare Mackintosh is no such pony; while all three of her novels fall clearly in the crime fiction genre, the style, flow, and thematic elements vary drastically. I highly respect this move-it's ballsy for an author working within such a rigid genre and she does it beautifully. In fact, I can't think of many other authors who have been able to carry off such a diverse set of novels and applaud her with the greatest of respect. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that contain aspects of the police procedural realm, these books will be right up your ally.

"Three may keep a secret, it two of them are dead."
-Benjamin Franklin

The blurb for Let Me Lie is short, and for good reason. Like the author's previous novels, this one entices the reader initially with it's vagueness and ends with a shocking twist, so shocking in fact that a handful of people have messaged me with a "Wait, what just happened?" and I was in that same boat as them. I had to flip back to a certain scene in the story to see what I had missed. For this very reason I'm not going to rehash the summary; you already know that the police think Anna's parents committed suicide and that she thinks it was murder and the publisher says coyly "BUT IT WAS NEITHER MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA". I did guess the what (meaning what happened to Anna's parents) before I even picked up the book, but I didn't understand the "why" or "how" until I had made good progress in the story. While Mackintosh's debut I Let You Go will always be a tough one to top in my rating scale, I did find Let Me Lie even more enjoyable than I See You.

You may be surprised that I found the mental health representation my favorite aspect of the novel. While the mystery at hand was nice, I was particularly drawn in to Murray's personal side story with his wife and her struggles with her diagnosis, as well as the general, overall themes dealing with suicide, anxiety, and depression. I was incredibly moved by this, along with some of the more sensitive details, such as Anna's journey as a new mother and all the bittersweet parts that go along with it (breastfeeding, exhaustion, postpartum emotions, etc). These components alone deserve a 5 star rating, and her own experience as a mother was evident in her tender, moving writing of Anna's inner monologue.

My only downside to this one was that it is a very slow burn, and while I expected it to be a slow building suspense, at times I found myself putting it down because I could sense my attention span waning. A few parts dragged and felt like filler to move the story along with no real purpose, but otherwise the story was solid. I'd like to insert that my issues with the slowness and disinterest at points might be due to a looming slump of crime thrillers at the moment. Let Me Lie might simply be the latest victim at no fault of it's own. Again, the last 25% was classic Clare; her writing had me grasped by the collar of my shirt and I couldn't swipe the pages fast enough. The final twist was a really nice touch, reminiscent of her first novel and it warmed me down to the bones. If you're a fan of Mackintosh's novels, definitely give this a go. Another entertaining mystery from a seasoned vet and I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes us next.

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First, let me say that I have very much enjoyed the previous books penned by Claire MacIntosh. Her first book, I Let You Go, was a show-stopper. Without hesitation her name has been added to my “favorites’ list. Her style of writing is very appealing. Her stories are addictive.

The latest book, Let Me Lie, is about a woman who is dealing with her parents’ deaths. Both by suicide. Now a mother herself, Anna misses her own mother even more acutely and isn’t convinced suicide is the explanation. As she begins to question the circumstances, she realizes that there are many unanswered questions and it begins to look more and more like murder.

The author slowly builds her story using her pen like a paintbrush - first telling the story in broad strokes, then adding smaller details as the story progresses. This story is told at a slower pace than her previous books, but it is no less compelling. Her characters are not perfect and they possess many of the self-doubts that we all do. In telling the story, Ms Macintosh draws the reader into Anna’s world. As it builds, the reader begins to realize that not all is as it seems. There is much more to the story that will be reveled in time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the author’s writing style. It’s always hard for me not to peek at the last chapter, but with Ms MacIntosh’s books it’s best to have the final act revealed as the story comes to an end. It’s always unexpected.

Many thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I have heard things about Claire Mackintosh's books and knew I had to try one. While Let Me Lie didn't blow me away I thought it was a really solid mystery that I enjoyed a lot. It deals with Anna whose parents committed suicide about 7 months apart. While she is still trying to move on a year later someone sends Anna a note questioning whether it was suicide at all, throwing her into her own investigation of the deaths. I thought it really kicked off well getting me really hooked and interested. The character of Murray, the retired detective that gets involved, was my favorite. I liked him as well as his backstory and relationship with his wife. I could have used more of him. The middle felt a bit slow. I do think the end picked up and definitely kept me guessing. I haven't been surprised by a mystery in a while and this had that element for me. I am excited to get to her other books now.

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Let Me Lie is a cleverly written mystery/suspense that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is Mackintosh’s third book and I am continuously impressed with her writing. Her use of multiple narrators was so well done here. It’s so hard to get into details without spoilers, but I feel like she pulled off her signature twists well. Even though I strongly suspected what was going to happen, I still really enjoyed the moment.

I thought Anna was a pretty likable, though she frustrated me at times. I wish she would’ve communicated a little bit better, but I found her an empathetic character. I also really loved getting Murray’s POV. He’s a retired detective that now works the front desk as a civilian. When Anna comes in and reports that she believes her parents were murdered, he decides to start investigating it himself. I loved all of his chapters. I think it’s a testament to Mackintosh’s writing that she made me care as much about the secondary storyline of what was going on in his life as I did the main mystery.

Sometimes you read a book at the exact right time and I feel that happened for me with Let Me Lie. Anna discovered that she really did not know some of the people closest to her. As someone who has recently discovered this about a parent, I found some of the emotions she went through really relatable. I highlighted a lot of passages that perfectly expressed how I’ve felt as I’ve tried to process everything going on. I found reading this pretty cathartic and it made the book just that much better for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed Let Me Lie. I loved the way the multiple narrators were utilized and thought the twists were very well done. The pacing did feel a little slow in the beginning, but it definitely picked up as the book went on. I also really empathized with some of the emotions Anna tried to work through. I’m really looking forward to whatever Mackintosh does next.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

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How far should you trust your own judgment? You sense things, you see things, they call it a “post-bereavement hallucinatory experience”. Logically you know what you are experiencing cannot be true since your parents are dead, that it is not rational to see your mother’s ghost standing across the street or to smell her perfume in your kitchen. So why is this all happening now, a year later, when it did not happen immediately after their deaths?

Anna’s father jumped off the cliff at Beachy Head, seven months later, in apparent desperation, her mother copied her husband’s suicide. Now on the first anniversary of her mother’s death, someone is playing a cruel joke and has sent Anna a note, “Suicide? Think again”. Is it possible the one or both of them had been murdered?

Anna’s partner, and once her therapist, Mark Hemmings is trying to convince her that it is just a hoax, but Anna isn’t so sure. Between her own emotions and the sleep deprivation that their daughter is causing, Anna’s head is swimming with possibilities, and fears, since she cannot get anyone to believe her, and the strange goings on, that confront her at every turn. This is where retired detective Murray Mackenzie steps in and takes it upon himself to unofficially investigate. With his wife in and out of a mental institution and her surprising insight on the case, Murray connects the dots in a way that has the reader scratching their head and thinking – that just might work.

As you read this book, you are certain how it is going to end. Psychology thrillers tend to lead you down a path that shifts and veers, but there are always truths that remain. Yet, the final truth in this book will have you going back a chapter or two to reread just to make sure that you did not miss something. Sure enough, I had. One misinterpretation of a sentence changed everything.

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In spring of 2016 I read and reviewed Clare Mackintosh’s debut novel I Let You Go, and loved it. Then, somehow, last year I completely missed her second novel I See You. But this spring along comes her latest psychological thriller, Let Me Lie, and I jumped at the chance to get a copy from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

As was the case with I Let You Go, it’s a challenge to say much about this one without spoiling some of the fun. Just know that I sat down to read this yesterday around noon and didn’t stop until I finished it (I love when that happens!)

The outline of the story is that a young single mother, Anna Johnson, is grieving the loss of her parents, both of whom apparently committed suicide seven months apart by leaping from the cliffs at Beachy Head at high tide. (Beachy Head is a place that really exists and is a popular suicide spot, with approximately 20 people a year jumping to their deaths). We learn that her father was apparently bipolar and her mother the victim of domestic abuse. Anna is grieving and totally hormonal from the recent birth of her daughter when, on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death, she gets a note telling her “it wasn’t suicide.”

She goes to the police where she tells her story to a recently retired detective who has taken a job as a civilian employee, staffing the reception desk at he the police station. Rather than refer this on to the “real” policemen, he begins investigating it himself. Along the way, several people seem possible suspects: her dead father’s brother Billy, the doctor next door whose remodeling plans caused a feud with Anna’s mother Caroline, Caroline’s goddaughter Laura, who hangs around a LOT, and Anna’s partner and the father of her child, a counselor she met when she went for grief counseling and with whom she subsequently fell in lo. There are lots of plot twists and turns for sure, along with a dead rabbit (very reminiscent of the movie Fatal Attraction).

I tend to like stories with alternating points of view, when it is well done. This one is, and I really enjoyed the character development of Murray Mackenzie, the detective. My best advice is just go with it. It is a fun read, with lots of suspense and twisty plotlines. As usual, I didn’t guess the ending, and my suspicion about at least one of the suspects was wrong, but at least I did have an inkling about another one.

There are some days when I just want a book to envelop my whole day and to keep reading until I finish the book. If you have days like that and enjoy this genre, be sure to pick up the latest from one of my favorite thriller writers. Five stars. And an extra star for her acknowledgements, particularly about the dog and the impact of mental illness.

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This one was really just... fine for me. I feel like I have conflicting feelings about Clare Mackintosh's books- whereas it seems like most people preferred I Let You Go to I See You, I felt the opposite (I Let You Go really stressed me out), and in my head I think she's a great author, but really, now two out of three of her books have just been 3 stars for me (which is a fine rating! Just doesn't rise to exceptional for me), but I still want to see what she does next.

Let Me Lie is a pretty slowly paced book, and occasionally felt overly drawn out (this story didn't need to be 400 pages). To its credit, I found parts of this book surprising without feeling like I was being tricked, and I genuinely felt for Anna, the main character, and the stress of her grief and major life changes that had happened in a short period of time.

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Another page turner from Clare Mackintosh and this one does not disappoint. Anna cannot believe that BOTH her mother and father would choose to end their own lives. But apparently that is what they did, until clues start to appear and what she thought was the truth was really a lie.

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If you think you can usually figure out "who did it", you'll be very surprised by this book. The twists and turns make it an intriguing read!

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Excellent read. Lots of twists and turns that had me guessing right until the end.

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LET ME LIE BY CLARE MACKINTOSH BOOK REVIEW
When I say I’m stoked to read & review this book, I mean I squealed when I received my copy. Clare’s debut novel, I Let You Go is my go-to recommendation when it comes to thrillers. To this day, it’s the only book I’ve ever GASPED while reading. I seriously had to turn the pages back to re-read the story because I was in such a state of shock. Clare’s second book, I See You is a great follow-up with a creepy voyeuristic tone. I loved it! When I saw Let Me Lie, I had to get my hands on it.

Clare’s characters are relatable & believable & this is what I need from my thrillers. I’ve come to loathe the unreliable narrator. Although this story uses multiple narrators, I trusted each of them which always helps me buy into the story a bit more.

MEET THE CHARACTERS – ANNA & MURRAY
Readers meet Anna, who is a new mother & is still reeling from the loss of both parents to apparent suicides. Early in the story, she begins to think there is more to her mother’s death & wants the police to look into the case further. This is where we meet Murray, a semi-retired police officer. Murray is a really great character & I need a spin-off series centering around him- pronto!

As Anna & Murray are digging around in the past, it becomes VERY clear that someone wants them to stop. As it would with me too, this intrigues them further & they know they have to keep going to get to the truth.

LET ME LIE GIVES YOU TWISTS, TURNS & THRILLS
A little over halfway through, this story really picks up speed. If you’re like me, you try to figure out the “bad guy” while reading. Clare ALWAYS gets me & I never see the ending coming! Let Me Lie was particularly fun because there were several twists & turns. By the ending, I saw the book play out like a fast-paced action movie in my head.

Let Me Lie is also a really touching story in many ways. Anna is in a fluctuating state of grief while assuming her new role as a mother. There are moments where my heart ached for her. Her plight reminded me in some ways of Clara from Mary Kubica’s Every Last Lie. Murray is caring for his wife, who is ill. There’s also a painful little secret about unrequited love that comes to the surface that I felt was especially meaningful.

THE VERDICT
I am REALLY INTO Clare Mackintosh & I am Really Into Let Me Lie. Everyone has his or her own favorite author & Clare is “my person”. I’ve loved all of her books & can’t wait for the next one.

Special thanks to Clare Mackintosh, Berkley & NetGalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

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I love to hunker down with a good police drama and mystery thriller. I have been lucky to read one of this authors works prior to this new release so I was excited to dive into this story.

It’s funny how involved I get into a book when it is written well and the story flows. This book seemed slow to start as the author winds you up and walks you into the subtle nuances of issues, crimes, weirdness that starts in the characters lives. You look back and realize that the author has been dropping these hints all along the way. So that slowness in the beginning was simply setting the stage.

This book had a ton of changes in direction, twists, and minute details that added up into a crime fiction that will set you on edge. Mackintosh keeps you guessing until the every end and then even carries it into a foreshadowing for more to come… maybe.

With fine detail, engrossing writing that ramps up with every page turn, Let Me Lie is an imaginative novel that is not to be missed by those that love a great crime story.

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