I have just read The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic. Courtesy of NetGalley. Here is my review.

Susanna is a counsellor when she welcomes her latest and new client into her office. Enter Adam a young man. Their session gets underway with Adam telling her what his problem is. His problem has Susanna rocked to her core as he reveals that he knows her, her daughter and he wants to kill her daughter. He holds Susanna at knifepoint in the office and is demanding answers connected to her dead son Jake. I must admit I had trouble getting into this but then it got gripping. A real cliffhanger as Susanna fights for her life and her daughters.
#TheLiar'sRoom #NetGalley

The blurb on this book had me very interested with the main part being just 2 people in a room unravelling their history which were obviously connected in some way. I thought it was a well-written story with the odd little twist that kept it interesting and helped me keep turning the pages to find out who, what, where etc to an ending that was pretty gripping. Finding out their connection gave me a genuine eye-brow raising moment in a good way and as the tension grew between them I found myself reading that little bit faster to find out what happens, which I think can only be a good thing.
It’s the first Simon Lelic book that I have read and won’t be the last because I found the writing style good and the story compelling and interesting. Definitely recommended and I thank NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

Gripping suspense as dark secrets from a past forgotten come to the surface bringing danger to a young girl. Brilliantly written.

Plot: Susanna is having a normal day working her job as a counsellor, when Adam walks in. He starts to tell her about his problem: he wants to hurt someone, someone specific. It becomes quickly clear to Susanna that the girl he wants to hurt is her daughter and he has a reason behind it, one to do with the identity that Susanna left behind a long time ago. The present all takes place in one room, while his story and hers come together.

My thoughts: This was really strange as parts of this book really strongly mirrored the one I’ve just reviewed, Cross Her Heart, meaning that the two books have become strangely entwined in my head! This was another which similarly had a pretty good storyline, some good characters and twists that I liked uncovering, but sadly didn’t quite have the spark I was looking for. Again, it was good but not amazing.
I really enjoyed the setting all in one room while the story came together, and parts being revealed by each of the main characters to one another and to the reader slowly. It was definitely gripping and kept me intrigued and reading to get right to the very end, so I would recommend it as a good read, but not one I’d hurry to share with others.

I enjoyed this book. It started a little slow but then became a real page turner with lots of twists and turns. Was very dark in parts. A good read.

My first book from the author, I was intrigued from the get go with The Liar's Room. This is a twisty book full of secrets and while I guessed certain elements of the plot, there was still plenty that left me surprised. I liked the setting of Susanna's office and felt this helped build tension through the pages.

I did find that I observed the characters from a distance rather than feeling particularly connected to any them but perhaps this was a point in itself? The different POVs was a nice touch and allowed you more depth in the story.

Certainly not one of my favourite thrillers but definitely worth a read.

This is a dark, suspense-filled tale that kept me guessing. It is fast-paced and a good read - makes me think all therapists should have a panic button in their office!

An excellent psychological thriller, really kept me gripped throughout, wanting to read more. Quite a fast paced read. Really enjoyed and would thoroughly recommend.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book it bought so many emotions out for me anger , jealousy,love,guilt and most of all the tragedy of the young people involved from a child trying to fit in and make friends sets the stage for this book and it has a terrible outcome for some of the characters well written novel and think it would appeal to most readers

Thank you first of all to Penguin Books (UK) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing novel. It absolutely blew me away. I was gripped from the first to the last page. You are drawn in straight away and I have to admit I choked up at the end. Not something that normally happens when I read psychological thrillers but this one really got to me , how simple words can be totally misinterpreted when a person is at their lowest ebb. I have no hesitation in recommending this book and look forward to more.

I'm not sure about this book, The premise is a good one, but I found it quite hard and disturbing in places. Susanna was calm, then not. Adam was aggressive, then not. I do understand that the author's own experience might be the overriding influence for the flow of this story so I am going to sit on the fence on this one!

Susanna one of the main characters in the Liar's Room reinvented herself several years ago as a counsellor and started a new life. Susanna has a new client called Adam and the book is based mainly in the counselling office. When Susanna meets Adam and talks to him she has a feeling that she knows him. At the beginning of the session Adam tells her that he really wants to hurt a girl, The story line captivated me, running one way and then another and eventually Susanna realising that Adam knew her and the girl he wants to kill is her daughter. The book kept me riveted, not wanting to put it down - a great read.

Brilliantly crafted. The plot just keeps on unfolding new secrets and twists, just when you think you have it sussed you have to rethink. Loved it from start to finish, and going back for another go just in case I missed something! One of the best books of the year for me

I really enjoyed this book , it was a bit of a slow build up for me and I thought I may give up half way through but so glad I didn’t as it turned into a brilliant book . I would highly recommend reading this book

Gripped me from beginning to end, look forward to the next book, it was a bit dark and very twisted but i would recommend this book

Well where to start, I really wanted to put this book down as it just didn't grab me at the start but then I couldn't put it down because it did grab me, a great story told very well through different characters, I was never sure who I was supposed to feel sorry for, it all came together in the end to a satisfying conclusion and nicely wrapped up

Fourteen years ago Susanna Fenton walked away from the life she had and, taking her young daughter Emily with her, reinvented herself. Now working as a psychological counsellor she is about to confront the secrets of her past when Adam Geraghty turns up for his first session. Adam is not who he appears to be and the session quickly turns into something else altogether with Susanna being held hostage at knifepoint, and Adam demanding answers. What is it Adam knows? What is it that connects him to Susanna and the suicide of Jake, her teenage son, all those years ago? All is revealed slowly, as Adam torments Susanna, whose heart performs a frequent loud drumbeat.

The action takes place during the few hours from afternoon into the evening of the same day with flashbacks and a couple of chapters from Emily's point of view. One chapter is devoted to letters written by Jake, hidden for years, and now revealed; I found this, and Emily's chapters, unnecessarily clumsy and contrived. I found myself shouting at Susanna for not even seeing the obvious way to get help, and feeling totally exasperated and annoyed with her.

Although it's not a bad read, it's somewhat predictable, especially the ending, which is far too convenient and unrealistic.

My thanks to Netgalley and Amazon both of whom sent e an ARC

This made me feel very uncomfortable perhaps l related to a character for some unknown reason! So l won’t say enjoyable but definitely compelling!

Most other reviewers loved The Liar's Room, but I'm afraid I really didn't. Although Simon Lelic can write very well, I found this unconvincing and a little formulaic, in spite of its rather original structure.

A new client arrives in a counsellor's office and quite quickly it emerges that he is there to torment the counsellor with her past and with other threats. Both have been untruthful in many ways – hence the title – and the ensuing dialogue is a battle of wits between them as some ghastly truths emerge, with the obligatory present-time peril, of course, and some jumping between voices and timescales.

Perhaps it's just me, but I just couldn’t get involved. The set-up seemed implausible, the voice of a teenage girl's diary didn't ring true at all and the inevitable and frequent "She remembered…" episodes just seemed tediously formulaic. I'm sorry to be critical, because I thought that Lelic's first novel, Rupture, was powerful and original. However, that came from a place of real rage about his subject (bullying) while to me this is just another manufactured psychological thriller. As such, it's decently done but it didn't offer me much in the way of new insight and didn’t really grip me in the way it seems to have done with other reviewers.

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers you may well enjoy this far more than I did, but it wasn't for me.

(My thanks to Penguin Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)

This is the 2nd book I have read by author Simon Lelic having already enjoyed the very good 'The House'.
This is a page turning thriller that is predominantly set in one room, the consulting room. Consultant Susanna and Adam are trapped together in the room trying to outsmart each other. Susanna is worried because her teenage daughter Emily is not where she said she would be and isn't answering her mobile. Susanna has always gone to extreme lengths to protect Emily including fourteen years ago, ditching her own identity ,reinventing herself and starting a new life. Why did Susanna run away from her previous life and what was she protecting Emily from?. And what exactly does Adam want.
This is a thriller different from many of the current crop on the market and is certainly well worth a read. An intriguing plot that grips the reader.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Penguin books UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.