INFO:
I Never Lie by Jody Sabral
Published: June 2018
Pages: 284 pages
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: NetGalley

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS: "Is she the next victim? Or is she the culprit…?

Alex South is a high-functioning alcoholic who is teetering on the brink of oblivion. Her career as a television journalist is hanging by a thread since a drunken on-air rant. When a series of murders occur within a couple of miles of her East London home she is given another chance to prove her skill and report the unfolding events. She thinks she can control the drinking, but soon she finds gaping holes in her memory, and wakes to find she’s done things she can’t recall. As the story she’s covering starts to creep into her own life, is Alex a danger only to herself – or to others?

This gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Fiona Barton, B A Paris and Clare Mackintosh. "

MY THOUGHTS:
I love an unreliable narrator! I also love a narrator with flaws. I get super-annoyed when the main character in a book is gorgeous and perfect, keeps a spotless house, balances books on her head while simultaneously knitting and riding an exercise bike... I don’t know about you but I can’t relate to someone with a perfect life all that well! So… I was hooked from the beginning of this book and this hot mess narrator! I felt for her and I know that her struggles and back and forth with alcohol is totally what it looks like when people struggle with alcohol, having witnessed it firsthand. You just wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip already! But that’s never how it works. The storyline twist and turned and went up and down with her success and failure. I loved that she went into it planning to be an objective outsider for a story and she gets dragged right into the middle of it. Great read!

YOU NEED THIS BOOK IF: you enjoy thrillers with unreliable narrators!

MY RATING:
Entertainment Value: 5
Characters: 4
Voice: 4
Plot: 5
Overall: 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Is she the next victim? Or is she the culprit…?

Alex South is a high-functioning alcoholic, teetering on the brink of oblivion. Her career as a television journalist is hanging by a thread since a drunken on-air rant. But when a series of murders occurs within a couple of miles of her East London home, she's given another chance to prove herself.

Alex thinks she can control the drinking, but soon she finds gaping holes in her memory, and wakes to find she’s done things she can’t recall. As the story she’s covering starts to creep into her own life, is Alex a danger only to herself – or to others?

This book had me hooked from the start but sadly this sort of dried out towards the end... I felt that it had the bones of an amazing thriller but the ending felt like it was rushed to just wrap the book up. The characters were built extremely well, the scenery was set and the sense of panic and desperation was instilled and yet... something was missing. I think I also felt extreme frustration that Alex was able to keep swigging from her 'water' bottle that contained enough Vodka to keep her addictions at bay - I just wanted the story to unfold and this kept tripping things up.

The way that this book was written was also frustrating - 'Dear Diary' entries from 'unknown' (but really we've all figured it out) about giving up drinking whilst also craving drink - plus first person point of view from Alex also drinking but wanting to give up... got a bit boring. Alex isn't likeable and maybe that makes the author good at what she does - but it didn't make it a pleasant book to read.

I was not sure if I would like this book as this subject is very close to my heart, but I did enjoy the book,it got me gripped from the first page,it makes you think and understand about the problems an alcoholic suffers from, with a fab story line too. I couldn't put it down ! I would highly recommend this to everyone.

Split between the current day, and diary entries from the past year, ‘I Never Lie’ is gripping from the get go. Alex South is a 39-year-old TV journalist, and also a ‘functioning’ alcoholic. When the body of a woman is found in the park near where Alex lives, she is given a chance to redeem herself, coinciding with this story being the biggest of her career so far.

Written in first person narrative from Alex’s POV, we really get the nitty gritty of her daily struggles with being an alcoholic. Trying to keep the balance between being in control of her drinking and moments of sobriety. Jody Sabral is a journalist and this makes the character of Alex all the more realistic and authentic, as Jody knows the environment and how to write Alex. The novel is extremely well-written and I always think thrillers written by women about female characters are much more interesting and less of the ‘male gaze’ than many crime thrillers I have read, written by men. I enjoyed this thriller a whole lot more than your average male-written counterparts. The women are flawed and that makes the novel real. They are not there as plot filler or to add ‘prettiness’ the women are what makes the novel.

The novel keeps the reader guessing, the killer could have been anyone - I was no where near guessing - although not action packed in the usual sense of crime novels, the twists throughout and clues given were far more interesting and a more insightful look into the characters lives and the crimes committed. As well as this, the short chapters added to the quick, thriller genre of the novel, it made the story move along at an enjoyable pace. This thriller really is one of the best I have read. Even though thrillers aren’t my ‘go to’ reading genre of choice.

The pace of the plot of the novel is moderate, however this meant more tension built as you were reading, I read the book quicker as I was so gripped - subsequently this was an enjoyable aspect. The plot is also very much character driven. I found Alex a very interesting and likeable character - I wanted her to get better and to ultimately succeed. This just showcases Jody Sabral’s brilliant writing. The setting of the novel is also perfect as the descriptions of London transported you to where the events were happening throughout the novel, and really felt like you were a ‘fly on the wall’. These vivid and colourful descriptions aided in the authenticity of the story and added to the atmosphere throughout.

I certainly think it is worth a read, if you loved 'The Girl on the Train', then you will really enjoy ‘I Never Lie’. In my opinion, this is better, as the characters are grittier, the descriptive, realistic nature of the settings and the pacing of the novel itself will entice readers further. I highly enjoyed and recommend this book. The characters are ultimately what make it, and the twist at the end combined with me not anywhere close to guessing the killer, made this a very quick and enjoyable read!

I must be honest in the fact that although this was a good story plot, I just couldn't get to grips with it. I do wonder if its down to the fact of the main character being an alcoholic, made me feel by a but dis-jointed with the story??

I really enjoyed this book and I will be recommending it to others. It felt a little like Girl on the Train but without the silliness at the end. A well structured and intriguing book.

I Never Lie by Jody Sabral
Rating 3.85/5
Alex South moved to London from Manchester to pursue a career as a television journalist, leaving her boyfriend Greg after suffering a miscarriage.
She has two obsessions in life, one to have a baby, with or without the father’s consent and another drink. She has a highly stressful and demanding job, which she has already jeopardised with an “on air” alcohol fuelled rant.
Given a second chance, she starts reporting on a murder which leads to an investigation pointing to a serial killer and the horrible realisation it could be someone she knows.
She suspects a number of people she has been involved with. Further research reveals that they have all used an online dating app.
The novel flits between someone who addresses her thoughts in a diary, an old alcoholic acquaintance, Alex and the men in her life. However the main thread is that of an alcoholic, whose first, middle and constant thought is that of where to get her next drink. The novel was more centred on alcoholism, the addiction and problems it causes to others than the crimes. However, it is the alcoholic blackouts which are relevant.
A good book by Jody Sabral, well written with one or two flaws. The research into alcoholism is obviously of a high standard and the twists of who and why the murders were well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and Jody Sabral. I have given an honest review in return for a copy of I Never Lie.

Battling the booze and splitting from her fiance, TV journalist Alex South jumps at the chance to cover a series of murders that take place near her home. A gripping and page-turning thriller that takes you to a surprising finale.

Alex South is the wrong side of 40, single, an alcoholic and also a TV journalist on the brink of messing up her career. When a woman is found murdered near her house and Alex gets a chance to be first on the scene with her crew; it's the big break she's been waiting for. Before long two more women have been murdered and there's a killer on the loose.

Told from Alex's point of view and through diary excerpts we learn that Alex is a troubled soul that struggles with her illness. Her blackouts, memory problems, reckless behaviour, denial and trying to function normally, are fascinating if you like to delve into psychological profiles. Even though Sabral writes with integrity you can't help get frustrated with Alex's weakness after a while. Much of the plot revolves around what she does under the influence, or how she can't wait until her next drink rather than solving the crime, which can be a bit annoying if you're a fan of mysteries. As the title and the drink induced haze of our main character may indicate, expect some surprises and for things to not be as they seem.

Ok the parallels with the girl on the train are stark- a barely functional alcoholic on the trail of a killer. Talk about unrealistic, I found the writing and plot really sketchy. Not at all top of the pile for its genre. Diverting and pacey but not something I’d recommend or read again.

Good book, sometimes it just hangs a bit to long in the story but overall I enjoyed What Sobral presented me.

To me, it glorifies (or justifies) alcoholism to much since it is a big part of the story. Besides that the story is well written and a real page turner.

The main characters is a alcoholic in denial who becomes entangled in a series of murders. Psychological thriller that will have you guessing who the culprit is.

An interesting concept that was well written. I really enjoyed this book - would read more by this author in the future.

A book that makes you think. Alex is an alcoholic and was a reporter in Birmingham and messed up an interview and moved to London leaving her fiancé behind but still a reporter. A serial killer is on the loose. well written descriptive book, that takes you on a journey with Alex, her friends and her story, including her black outs. It makes you wonder what has happened in the periods of her black outs. She does not know and she does not lie, but does she know.

Oh dear I am afraid I could not enjoy this book at all. I hated her alcoholic lifestyle it really upset me that someone had to live their life like that. Of course it happens all the time, but it made for a miserable read.
I did finish it despite the feeling of wanting it all to stop.
The insight into a TV reporter's job was very interesting and I enjoyed that part.
The online dating lifestyle was also interesting.
Not my kind of book I am afraid.

Alex is an ex alcoholic who lost her prime reporting job after a rant on air whilst under the influence of alcohol.

A woman is found murdered in a park close to her home and begs for another change. So the search for a serial killer begins ....

A great book. would definitely read another from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Canelo for an advance copy of I Never Lie by Jody Sabral.
First of all I'd like to say how much I enjoyed the concept behind this story. I think the whole subject of alcoholism is tricky and the author dealt with it so well I wonder how much experience she has of the condition herself ... or if she knows someone. I thought the idea of a recovering alcoholic versus an alcoholic who truly believes she's functioning and in control when in fact she totally isn't was a very brave topic.
I also loved the mystery, even though I still got there first myself anyway. I actually think it's quite obvious what's going on, but I still found it interesting how the author arrived there too.
I was, however, disappointed with the numerous inconsistencies that should have been ironed out in one of the apparently many, many passes.
For example ... the gym membership card was a generic that could belong to anyone, according to the gym, and there was no way of knowing who it belonged to. And then the police managed to get not just the name of the gym card holder from the card, but the address and photographs too. There was an instance where Mrs Wilcox greeted Alex at the door 'clutching' a pack of cigarettes and her eyes were waterlogged. But when they sit down together, just a few moments later, she is completely composed with 'not a hint' of emotion. Then someone who had been in rehab for only two out of three weeks and who bought him/herself (no spoilers) a bottle of gin on the way in claimed not to have had a drink for three weeks. The same person crushed an injured mouse to death in their bare hands, yet only a sentence later it was a fly. After telling someone at the top of the book that milk doesn't agree with her, Alex then asks for a cup of tea with milk in. And finally, at the start of the story we're led to believe that Greg was the one who ended the relationship by apparently kicking her out (chapter 1). But then we find out later (chapter 16) that she walked out on him before promptly disappearing.
This is such a shame, as it was otherwise a good story. And it all could have been avoided so easily.
I also found so many similar names to be quite confusing, especially when they worked at the same place (Alex and Ayla) or didn't appear very often (Annabel and Anne Marie).
So while it was a good story dealt with in an unusual way, I think it still needed some development work. It's too good a book for less than four stars, though, in my opinion, and worth a read if you're not too precious about casual sex or substance addiction.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

an ok book for a quick read but not memorable one sorry

This book takes you on a journey through the demands of life as an investigative journalist who is struggling with the pressures of alcoholism and grief. It was difficult to completely like the main character, but I certainly did feel sorry for her.

This is a great page turner with the theme of alcoholism and denial running through it. The author clearly knows this subject and the story is told with authenticity and realism. It has a good twist at the end and was a very satisfying and enjoyable read.