Cover Image: The Liar's Room

The Liar's Room

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Susanna is looking forward to getting her last few appointments out of the way so she can go for her usual Friday night drink after work with her friend, Ruth. When Adam walks into her office, she has no idea the impact he is going to have on her life by making her confront her past and uncover secrets she has kept hidden for years.

The story is a tense, claustrophobic thriller taking place mainly in one room and in the space of a few hours. Unfortunately while I loved the premise of the story and the writing, I wasn't grabbed by the story. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and found myself questioning the actions of some of them more than once.

Was this review helpful?

an absolutely fantastic read! this book is definitely one to read this year! a well written thriller that doesn’t disappoint.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I almost gave up at the beginning of this book as I seem to have read a few thrillers recently which start in such a similar way it almost feels formulaic. However, I was pleased I continued as the story took some interesting twists and turns and the plot was revealed at a satisfying pace.
I have given a four star review as the ending felt quite contrived but generally a good page turner.

Was this review helpful?

With thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review. You could also read this book with Pigeonhole, just reading a stave a day for 10 days which gives a different slant to the book, when you wonder what is happening and why until the last stave.
I thought this was a tense and enthralling read, especially when you realise it mainly all takes part in one room between two people.
It was a very well thought out book, with several different viewpoints presented all the way through the book. It is also a very sad book and even those who are left at the end are still victims and there is no winner, just survivors.
Highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

My lasting impression from this intense thriller is the tragic waste of life and potential. Even though most of the present-day action takes place in the therapist's room, there are frequent flashbacks to past events, which add depth to the story and give insight into the two main protagonists motivations and why they find themselves in the room.

The story flows well, and you're drawn into their lives. It's not an exciting thriller, there is action, but most of it occurs in the past. Family tragedy and secrets are this story's focus. The suspense is well written, and it builds until the secrets are revealed, and the situation in the room becomes explosive.

It's hard to identify the antagonist in this story, as the title suggests their lives are riddled with lies, the plot maintains its momentum, but it is perhaps just a little longer than needed.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The liars room is an edge of your seat, super chilling and very clever psychological thriller and I loved it.
Therapist Susanne and teenage Client Adam are trapped together in a room, it soon becomes clear that Adam has a plan and he knows a lot about Susanne and her past.

A superb, well written. Well deserving of 5 stars

Was this review helpful?

This is the second book I have read by Simon Lelic having read and loved The House .The Liars Room doesn't disappoint ,it is a very gripping and compelling thriller full of dark secrets and lies and sadness as well .Two people in one room ,both liars both not what they seem to be .The story unfolds very cleverly and just when you think you understand it ,the story twists again and more secrets are exposed .Brilliant I loved it .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NeGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book I've read from this author and won't be my last.
This book tells the story of Suzanne and the secrets she left behind.
It tells the story from her, Emily, Adam and Jake's perspectives.
Would recommend

Was this review helpful?

This book is edge of the seat reading. You don't know how things are going to turn out but it's not going to be good. The characters were believable and you wanted a happy ending for them all after all that happened.

Was this review helpful?

I liked the concept of this book but struggled a bit with the dialogue between Adam and Susanna as it felt quite drawn out. However the end of the book when everything comes together is amazing and I would recommend highly.

Was this review helpful?

Great book, suspenseful and great build up.
Loved story layers, not sure where it was all going, but well executed and really enjoyed play out of story x

Was this review helpful?

Wow this book has far more going on than the blurb allows! I really enjoyed it and read it in two sittings. It grips you and doesn’t let up and is a good thriller, I didn’t actually know who to belive if I’m honest haha and even when I thought I did I had it all wrong, the twists are great and ones I didn’t see coming. A great all rounder. Simon has done it again!!!

Was this review helpful?

Almost entirely set in Susanna’s office after she reinvented herself and trained as a counsellor. Little by little we learn just what drove her to do this. When a new client arrives for his appointment, so begins a game of not so much cat & mouse but who (if anyone) is the biggest liar? Why does Adam seem familiar to Susanna (“you know him”) when she’s certain she’s never met him? Is he seeking help or something much more sinister? I was intrigued and relished every revelation. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book and read it in two days, which is very quick for me. A dark, twisty tale and I enjoyed the way the back story was interwoven into the present day meeting in the therapist's office, leading to the final twist at the end. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

"The Liar's Room" is the follow-up to Simon Lelic's fantastic debut entitled "The House". Again, Lelic has taken a unique concept and setting and created a truly chilling read. How fortunate, as that happens to be my favourite type of thriller - disturbing and claustrophobic in nature. Kudos, Mr Lelic!

This book is literally chock-full of lies, manipulation and misdirection which added to the tension and kept the suspense building steadily throughout the story. Well written, accessible and easy to get into, this was an exhilarating read that will feature in my end-of-year lists I am certain. Sensitive topics are present here but the author deals with them excellently and with tact. Undoubtedly one of the best psychological thrillers i've encountered in recent months and I read a lot in this genre.

The premise features Susanna Fenton, a therapist, who takes on a new client named Adam. It soon becomes clear that Adam is no stranger to Susanna, he happens to know her darkest secrets and the life she had run away from. But how exactly does he know all of this? From that point on it's a race against time in order to discover who the boy is and what he wants from her before someone gets hurt. Can Susanna keep her daughter safe from Adam Geraghty or will she be too late to stop the inevitable?

Fast-paced, absorbing and leaves the reader uneasy and on the edge of their seat - a seriously enjoyable book. I intend to go back and reread "The House" and I will be eagerly anticipating Lelic's next thrill ride!

Many thanks to Penguin for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

A proper psychological thriller. This features a seriously disturbed young man trying to make sense of the past. Unfortunately his view of it leads him to kidnap a young girl as a way of retribution. But is his version of events true? And could it ever justify his actions?
This is a dark and fast paced book full of lies and manipulation.
Highly recommended
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

The Liar’s Room by Simon Lelic is powerfully written and one of my favourite books of it’s kind.

Susanna has a secret. Fourteen years ago she changed her identity and reinvented herself as a counsellor in order to keep her daughter safe.

Then Adam walks into her office. She's never met him before, but she feels like she knows him.

Adam tells her about a girl. A girl he wants to hurt. And Susanna realises she was wrong. She doesn't know him. He knows her. And the girl he plans to hurt is her daughter.

The Liar’s Room is ultimately a story about obsessions and secrets, secrets the reader will be desperate to uncover.

It begins with a female character waking up in unfamiliar surroundings and realising she has been drugged. She is bruised from the events that led to her being there and is confused.

“He hurt her arm. He put her here. And the cold reality sinks in. Where she is and why.”

When Susanna meets her new client, Adam, she has an overwhelming feeling that she knows him from somewhere.

“Right away when she sees the boy she has a feeling she knows him. Or, somehow, that he knows her. The woman she’s hiding.”

Adam is around thirty years younger than her and attractive but also something about him is unsettling. He claims this is his first time in counselling, but she quickly realises that this is a lie and his purpose in being there is more than to seek help.

When she asks him what he is there for he tells her that there is something he wants to do, something bad.

“There’s a tiny smile now playing on his lips. And it’s not goofy this time. It’s not a goofy smile at all.

‘The thing is Susanna,’ Adam goes on, all innocence now drained from his expression, ‘I don’t know if I can stop myself.’

Susanna begins to realise Adam is not what he first appeared, and the realisation scares her and thrills Adam. He takes pleasure in her fear, particularly when he reveals a picture of Emily and lets her know that he has her daughter.

Adam is a genuinely creepy character and one of the many reasons this is such an intriguing book. Also, via his character we get to examine the culpability of parents when their children commit certain acts and also societal attitudes surrounding those same acts.

Some of the attitudes represented in this book are sickening and could well act as a trigger warning for some readers. However, all subjects in this book are handled in a sensitive manner.

I have only just finished this book but already I want to read it again.This is definitely in the running for one of my favourite books of the year.

If you like the sound of this book and want to read more of his work check out of review of The House.

Was this review helpful?

"No matter how hard you try to escape it, the past has a way of catching up".
A compelling thriller that sees Susanna, a therapist, take on a new teenage client. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Adam knows her, knows all her dark secrets, things she's been running from for years. But how? He is a complete stranger to her. Yet he has a photo of her daughter...And a knife...
As Susanna tries to figure out what it is that Adam wants from her, he becomes increasingly erratic and angry. Clearly he has an agenda, but Susanna is struggling to give him the answer he desires. As the situation escalates, Susanna has to work out who the boy is and what is it he knows, and how?
This book had me rivetted from the word go, though some answers become apparent early on, I had to race through it to find out what happened. Simon Lelic has crafted a wonderful tale that builds suspense and fills the reader with unease. Absorbing and chilling, the ending leaves the reader unquiet. Recommended for all lovers of suspense and psychological thrillers.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A fantastic story of lies and deciept that centers around Suzanne a therepist with secrets of her own and Adam a fragile young man seeking answers, I loved how the story unfolds , the fast pace kept me guessing and hooked right up till the end! If you love a good phycological thriller then this is one for you!

Was this review helpful?

'The Liar's Room' is the follow up to Simon Lelic's stonkingly good debut 'The House'.
If you haven't read it,a)why not and b)you might be taken aback by how dark and twisting this tale is.
Susanna,a private counsellor,is expecting her last but one patient of the day,a new referral. He is a young man who admits having dark thoughts about hurting a young woman.
Closer probing ,despite her obvious unease,has this man,Adam produce a picture of the young girl he has these notions about.
It's Susanna's daughter.
Suddenly the story descends into a cat and mouse affair inside this locked room where Susanna's hard fought for new life is thrown into sharp relief against the horrific accusations Adam is making. And all the while the clock is ticking to rescue Emily,Susanna's daughter.
By turns emotive and disturbing this is a very good read that will appeal to readers of psychological mysteries and thrillers.

Was this review helpful?