Genre: Mystery & Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pub. Date: January 11, 2018

Have you ever told a lie? Most of us have. The question in this psychological thriller is guessing who is telling the truth and who is lying. I don’t think I just wrote a spoiler because the reader will wonder this for him/herself relatively early in the novel. This is an unusual thriller. I would even venture to say that this is a work of literary fiction. Usually, mysteries and psychological thrillers are written in a rapid pace. “Lie With Me” reads slow. Since I enjoy the slower pace of foreign movies, the novel is a good fit for me. Think the 1994 French film, “Léon: The Professional.”

Paul is a character in this book who is a major loser. Jobless at age 40, he moves back home to live with his mom. Paul tells so many lies he confuses them. He can forget what is true and what is false. He has written one novel in his youth and twenty years later he is still trying to hang onto his 15-minutes of fame. He meets an old college friend who is ultra-rich. Through him, Paul meets Alice, who is also ultra-rich and another member of the 1%. Paul is fascinated with them and their lifestyles. He tells some whopper lies to Alice, becomes her reluctant beau and worms his way into their annual Greek holiday. He seems to have the notion that somehow they will transform him into a good person living the good life, (as Leon the character played by actor, Jean Reno, hoped the child would transform him.) The reader is aware that he wants to be Cinderella. We also know that Paul is a pathological liar—but is he a murderer?
The author has written a different kind of beach read, one that begins and ends with a lie. The novel’s development comes from the characters rather than the plot, which I enjoy. My only issue is that about three quarters through I did figure out the truth. There is (at least for me) no big ending twist. It was the author’s writing style that kept my interest to want to finish.

This book is a lot different from what I read but still pretty good. The main character was very flawed and aware of it giving little thought to consequences to others. By the end he reaches the conclusion that little, thoughtless cruelties can alter someone else's life.

Many thanks to NetGalley who generously allowed me to read this book. Loved some of the paths Sabine Durant took to make her characters come to life, especially towards the end of the book, but also disliked others. At times, Paul’s actions were so unbelievable it was tempting to just stop reading, but I am glad I didn’t. The premise of the book is very relatable - most people feel the need to impress former colleagues/friends. The extent that Paul continues to expand his lies and coverups makes his extremely unlikable. Would give it 3.5 stars.

I used to be able to tell halfway through a book what was going to happen. Lately I've read a few books where that isn't happening. I 'think" I know what is going to happen but then at the end, I'm completely surprised. That's how it was with this book. Paul Morris wrote a minor best seller 20 years ago. Since then, he hasn't been able to write anything good enough to sell. That doesn't stop him from being egotistical and going after almost any woman he sees. He's about to lose the house he lives in rent free in return for house sitting and cat sitting while the owner is out of the country. While in a bookstore, he meets up with an old friend (Andrew) that he hasn't seen since college. At first he doesn't remember much about her but then he mentions his sister and Paul remembers going out with her a few times. Andrew invites Paul to dinner with him and his family at their house. At Andrew's house, Paul meets several of Andrew's friends including Alice. Paul decides to set his sights on Alice. As their relationship blooms, he tells her more and more lies. He gets invited on their trip to Greece. He doesn't realize it but he actually saw Andrew and met Alice in Greece before. While at the house at Alice owns which is about to be torn down, Paul begins to tell one lie after another. When a girl is raped, it starts a chain of events that causes Paul to be arrested. You think you know who the "bad guys" are but you don't know until the end who is really to blame!
**I received this book in exchange for my honest review**

Lie With Me was such a gripping suspense/thriller that I had a hard time putting it down and doing my adulting. But I absolutely loved everything about this book and what it had to offer!

There was so much more to this story than just the characters that were well developed. It was the whole vibe of the book and what set the tone for the whole time I was reading it!

If you need to like all/some/any of the characters in a book to enjoy it, you might want to pass on this one. I’m generally one of those who does feel that way, but in this case, I didn’t like any of them AND I still thought this was a good read. In fact, if I met any of the appalling characters in this book in real life, I’d run a mile!

Twenty years ago, Paul, our narrator, was a minor literary sensation and he’s been trying to repeat that success since. He hasn’t managed it but lives as though it were true. Mostly, he achieves that by being one of the most blatant social climbing free-loaders you’ll meet. He tells lies to everyone including himself. He’s always on the lookout for his next conquest. He’s a petty thief. Really, not a nice guy at all.

And he isn’t the only “not nice” person in the story. Pretty much every character had traits or motives that were less than pure. But it is hard to describe them without giving away spoilers.

The plot is a bit slow moving, with no desperate cliff-hangers or dramatic twists. I didn’t have a problem with the overall pace as it added to the tension. It was interesting that the group of “friends” and Paul go on holiday to a Greek island that all of them had been on 10 years’ prior when a young girl went missing. This lent an air of intrigue and suspense to the story. I did chafe a bit at Paul being so self-absorbed that he didn’t realize just how much the rest of the group disdained him.

But it was waiting for the ax to fall that kept me going to the very well-crafted end. I DID guess parts of the ending from a couple of clues dropped during the narrative, but the way it pieced together was clever and believable.

My first book by the author, but probably not my last..

Thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lie With Me is a gripping and suspensful read . The author Sabrine Durrant captured me at the beginning as she introduced the characters Paul who you will love to hate , and Alice who is so sweet and charming. As they go on a holiday with all Alice's lifelong friends you realize they are all tied together in a twisted sort of way. No one is who they seem! As the mysteries of a missing daughter unfolds you will be guessing till the end.

No such thing is as a "little lie" or a "white lie." This book takes that to it's fullest extent. While slow, it's easy to follow. Paul is a narcissistic guy, so all that part is rather status quo. Then Paul finds outs that each lie can be bigger and grander. What happens when it all comes down, or can he get away with all the lies? This book's worst problem is the pacing​ because it's a slow, slow one.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

After I passed my personal self-denying ordinance to eschew reviewing unknown authors on NetGalley I swooped down for a chance to read Sabine Durrant’s Lie with Me for free now that an American publisher was finally marketing it this side the pond, only two years late. Having read & enjoyed Under Your Skin very much & Remember Me This Way not quite as much, I was ready for the main character of this book to be an unreliable narrator & a sleazy narcissistic arty type freeloader poseur & from the beginning I thoroughly despised him. But whilst there is no question that Paul is a villain, the good luck he encounters seems much too good to be true - an old uni acquaintance who invites him on a virtually all expenses paid holiday on a Greek island with his sister Alice being a friend who provides all the benefits, i.e. all the pleasures of matrimony with zero responsibilities. What’s also strange is that ten years ago they’d all been on the same island, where Paul made a total spectacle of himself getting totally off his face whilst wearing a purple tee-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Let Zeus Blow Your Mind.” The former is forgivable as youthful folly, the latter inexcusable at any age: I was indeed hoping Paul would finally meet with a firing squad from the Fashion Police. That same previous time, a 13 y/o named Jasmine went missing, & Alice is running an organisation still searching for her after all these years. (I cannot begin to count how many variations on the Madeleine McCann disappearance I’ve read after all these years, but for me the plot still works.) Did Paul have something to do with that? Is Paul a villain? Or is he a victim? Sabine Durranrt tells a nice story that will keep the reader in suspense. One thing I learned from this book (as I’ve also learnt from Helen Fitzgerald, who’s similar to Sabine Durrant though for me just a little cleverer & twistier) is that the best way to ensure yourself against plots by sleazy people is simply not to be a sleaze. So as a warning to the unwary, Lie with Me has an excellent moral: If you always tell the truth, you’ve little to fear.

As with the exploding car in Remember Me This Way, the author isn’t always technically believable. In this case, Paul could not possibly have started that truck which is supposed to have been sitting idle for ten years. The entire plot is rather too contrived as well & it was hard to believe that even such a total arse as Paul could persuade himself that Alice really fell for him or that Andrew, his wife, & daughter could ever desire five minutes in his presence. But the touristy cheap setting for a holiday in the sun with odious people who ought to stay home was excellently depicted.

I was given an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Every once in a while a book comes along that is so carefully orchestrated, so carefully crafted that the pieces just fall into place. This is that book. The writing is beautiful-the descriptive narration of Greece breath taking. The character development is nearly flawless. Paul Morris is "arrogant" and "obsessed with class and status". A one time novelist, Paul is penniless and living with his mother at the start of the novel. Fate seems to take a turn for the better when he meets the lovely widow, Alice. Alice seems to have fallen heads over heels in love with Paul and invites him on an annual holiday to Greece. What ensues in Greece leads the reader on a journey to discover how Paul, a victim of circumstance, ends up in prison. As Durant states "long lasting damage can be caused by casual cruelty".. Durrant paints Paul perfectly from his seemingly innocent yet deceptive lies to his heart felt emotional bond with Alice. This portrayal make the subsequent circumstances that Paul encounters all the more believable. I did find parts of the book slow moving. However, it was an enjoyable read.

This is an unusual story about a self absorbed jerk who is usually thinking of his next conquest. It begins slow and it seems to keep an even pace as you read along ; I began to connect with all the narcissistic thoughts of my youth and it took my own thoughts to task. I didn't expect the story to move in the direction it did and it left me shaking my head. The story left me thinking about life's consequences. The fact I think of a book a week or more garners 5 stars.

Well, this was fun: the experience of loving a book while nearly loathing its characters. Hardly a sympathetic person in the cast, yet the skillful writer did in the end generate some empathy for most of them. The settings -- London and Greece -- were captured well, and the plot is memorable. Enjoyed the multiple meanings of the title.

In the world and in people, both good and evil reside, but what elements lead to the shifting of a person to favor one over the other? Is a person all good, or all evil? What really lies beneath the facades that are built up every day and over years of time? Is it pure honesty, or is that just wishful thinking? And what secrets are kept hidden, secrets that help to mold a person’s very existence like so much clay and water?

Paul has spent the entirety of his life searching for the easy way out. Some would call him lazy, but Paul prefers the term “opportunistic.” Since the (surprising, in all honesty) moderate success of his first novel more than 20 years ago, Paul has eked out a suitable existence. The riding of the literary coattails of his book and the connections it afforded him has allowed Paul a certain level of begrudged respect and influence in the circle he runs in. Readily armed with charisma and charm and rugged good looks, he has gotten by without working a steady job, and that is fortunate considering that since his initial breakthrough as an author . . . there has been nothing worth putting from pen to paper.

He has relied on his friends and acquaintances to see him through. And his mother has been invaluable, but glaringly unappreciated. A loan of cash here. A free room in a flat in the heart of London, there. Paul is the definition of a free lunch. But what he has forgotten is that no good deed goes unpunished, and he will soon find himself in over his head.

The meeting of an old schoolmate was strictly by chance, and Paul didn’t even want to accept the dinner invitation forced upon him. The prospect of trekking it all the way to the other side of town was only cushioned by the promise of a fancy meal and the lure of a good bottle of wine. But he was surprised by his evening. Richard and his wife seemed to actually enjoy his company, despite the fact that Paul was so glaringly snobbish, arrogant, and full of obviously put-upon self-deprecations. And then there was the unexpected novelty of Alice.

She reminded him of their first meeting, years ago during school. A second meeting that he doesn’t remember in Greece; but of course he wouldn’t remember that particular exchange, as it was heavily lubricated by alcohol and juvenile debauchery.

There’s something about Alice; the whisper of a mystery and a subtle sexuality amongst the curve of her hips. Paul sets his sights upon her in his typical womanizing fashion as someone to conquer, but he also sees her as an opportunity. Alice is a rich widow with grown children, her company is tolerable and even sometimes a pleasure, and she has a fantastic vacation retreat in Greece. As his luck is running out with one friend and he’ll be forced to vacate the flat he’s currently freeloading in, Paul senses the tides changing in his favor, yet again.

After expending every ounce of charm and guise he can muster, Paul earns himself a coveted spot on holiday with Alice, Richard, and their respective families. He can’t wait to extend his life of living in luxury by planting himself firmly in a chaise lounge overlooking the sea, a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other – all with sweet Alice footing the bill. Paul’s biggest secret is that he insecure about his every ability, or lack thereof, besides that of being able to have his way with women. Manipulation is his only real talent, and he knows it. Paul is lonely and afraid of responsibility, certain he could never achieve the level of station in life he truly believes he deserves on his own. This is what makes Alice so very valuable; she is his counterpart in loneliness, and despite Richard’s repeated attempts at undermining their budding relationship, Paul sees Alice as his future.

But Alice has secrets of her own. The disappearance of a girl during her trip to Greece all those years ago (coincidentally the same time she saw Paul literally falling around drunk out of his mind) has continually haunted her since. Jasmine, a bright-eyed blonde with her entire life in front of her went missing in an instant; the 14-year old vanished without a trace. Pyros being a port city with Albania close by, authorities were convinced that the girl either left on her own accord or was lost into the underworld of prostitution and human trafficking. But Alice has never stopped looking. She’s made it the shining star of her life’s work, setting up a profitable charity and spending year after year returning to the city of Pyros and her vacation home to question the authorities on their progress and personally distribute flyers and information. Where did Jasmine end up? Where is she now? Dead or alive?

Paul will watch in horror as the world he thought he built with such cleverness begins to fall apart around him, breaking into pieces and shattering like glass. Readers will enjoy watching Paul get what he deserves – or will they? When Alice invited Paul to lie with her, what sort of bed of deceit did they build? It all comes together in a rather dramatic end, with the missing case of Jasmine solved for good complete with the end of an era.

Lie With Me is the newest novel by Sabine Durrant, an author best known for her gripping psychological thrillers. Written with a hand attentive to detail, Durrant has woven a story lacing lies with the truth, all while creating a vividly dirty portrait of human instinct and raw character.

I was so torn by this novel. I try not to write my reviews as soon as I finish a book because I like to allow things to marinate; this way of doing things often leads me to a different opinion of a book than the one I had when I closed the final page. This is definitely the case in Lie With Me.

I began truly intrigued. I knew from other reviews that I’d read that this would be a slow moving thriller, so I was prepared for the layering and character description. Or so I thought.

The novel really didn’t take off until the last 3/4 and by then, I was a bit put off by Paul and his continued bad behavior. He is completely unapologetic in his atrocity, and it is so off-putting that I don’t find myself compelled to feel the least bit sorry for him when the other characters begin to openly treat him like utter garbage. The complete character profile of Paul was saturated with filth and his pathetic attempts at endearing himself were both disgusting and embarrassing.

But therein lay the brilliance. Durrant spent page after page building Paul’s character and hammering lack of integrity with these tiny little tidbits of gross, all while shaping the poignant relationships around him. The plot was layer upon layer, a mystery wrapped inside a riddle and all of that. You thought you were reading one story when instead, you were reading something completely different. And the way the bubble closed in around Paul near the close was so palpable that it gave me actual goosebumps.

And in the end, yes, I did feel sorry for the bastard.

I finally figured out the mystery surrounding Jasmine’s disappearance – albeit mere seconds before it was expertly – yet so simply – revealed, but even then, I had not prepared myself for the complexity with which things went down. To say this novel played the long game is an understatement, and I have to admit something . . . that while I turned page after page of the first half of the book, wondering what the point was in half of it, I began to see all of the puzzle pieces click into place in the as last quarter of the book played out. It ended in a way that was nothing less than pure genius.

So with all that said, I give the book a solid 4 stars. If you’d asked me halfway through, I would have cut that number in half – easily. But after finishing it and letting it all sink in, I have to give credit where credit is due. This book is not long, it is an easy read, so it is worth the build up.

Ultimately, I do recommend it. Lie With Me would make a great beach-side or road trip read.

Did not finish this book, Unfortunately, it didn't live to the hype.

WHOA, this one is super suspenseful!! One of those you need to go into blind. If you're a sucker for suspense, get this one!!

Sabine Durrant has done a very impressive thing here. The protagonist of this novel is not a good guy - in fact, he is downright scuzzy. But Durrant manages to set up the circumstances around him so that, by novel's end, it's difficult not to be won over to his side. My notes from reading this initially just say "unsettling as hell," and that seems about right.

Wasn’t very interested in this book. I kept picking it up and putting it down. Didn’t get very far.

This story is a beautiful suspense that begins with a lie and shows how lies stack upon one another until you just can't escape them. Fast paced and gripping.

I had heard great things about this book and even with high expectations going into it, this surpassed ALL of them. This is an author everyone should keep their eyes on.