Once again I CAN'T stop myself from reading domestic thrillers, it’s like putting a piece of chocolate cake in front of me and expecting me not to eat it. Not gonna happen! I ate this book up and it was delicious. Although the plot was not completely original it was still a fantastic read.
Thank you to Netgellay and the publishers for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Marianne’s life may look perfect to anyone looking in from the outside, but the reality is quite different. She suspects her husband is having an affair and it’s not the first time. For years, she blamed herself for everything that happened, including the abuse, but now it may be finally time to take action.
The plot is good and keeps you guessing. But the first half of the book drags some and there is quite a bit of repetition, which started to get on my nerves after a while. I would have liked it more if the book was tighter.

I have read and really enjoyed Sue Watson's chick lit novels and was intrigued to read her thriller novel. I was not disappointed. A sinister, tense, suspense filled thriller which became darker as I progressed through the book. The story builds and then becomes inpossible to put down. I loved it.

Really well written, excellent characters and a superb storyline with a twist I didn't see coming - which lead to a fantastic ending.

I am really looking forward to more thrillers by Sue Watson, but hope she keeps up her humerous chick lit books too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really sure where to start other than by saying that I absolutely loved every tense and twisty moment! It was so easy to become immersed in this family as we see Marianne and Simon dealing with a fair amount of secrets. To begin with the pacing is steady as we get to know Marianne how she thinks, feels and wondering why she acts the way she does in certain situations. All the while there is this darker undercurrent that every so often surfaces helping to increase the tension.

The thing I loved the most was how I was kept on my toes as I changed my mind constantly. I went through quite a few different emotions but the main one was anger! There were times when my blood boiled with one despicable character at it's centre. You can feel Marianne's desperation and her sadness as she is determined to keep her family. One message this book puts across perfectly is that appearances can be deceptive, something that looks perfect often isn't!

If you are looking for a book that will get inside your head making you think, feel tense along with having a dark and addictive edge then Our Little Lies is perfect. Prepare to be shocked pretty much the whole way through with the characters actions. I think the personalities were developed brilliantly as we see an insight into their pasts all adding an extra depth making them even more interesting.

Sue Watson really ramped up the tension throughout and I felt as if I was taken on quite a twisted journey with this family. One way of describing this book would be that it was just like watching a slow cooker. Seeing the pressure slowly but surely build, taking the lid off and then releasing all that pressure! Phew and relax!

Lies, manipulations and an extremely tense plot, just brilliant!

Well what a change of genre for Sue Watson. From Lemon Cakes to the dark side!

To outsiders, Marianne and her successful, handsome surgeon husband Simon might seem to have the perfect life and marriage. Three lovely children, a beautiful house and a lifestyle to envy, however not everything is as it seems.

Marianne wants to be the perfect wife. She cleans and cooks and looks after the children so that her busy husband Simon isn’t bothered by the minutiae of domestic life. After all, he never stops telling her that he works long and hard to give her the house and the nice life and if he complains because there is a smear on the expensive German kitchen worktop or a crumb on the floor – well that’s his prerogative!

Marianne has had her share of past trauma and being of an anxious personality, she is still on medication which Simon encourages her to take. She trusts him implicitly – after all he is a doctor, he should know what is best for her.

The true nature of Marianne and Simon’s marriage is gradually laid bare in this domestic thriller with accusations, counter-accusations, allegations and denials. Just what is the truth – that is something the reader has to decide however the author doesn’t make it easy and is very good at sowing doubts in your mind.

Marianne’s medication causes memory issues and this, together with her fragile mental state, makes her the perfect unreliable narrator. As more of their married life was exposed I did feel some sympathy for Marianne – she came across as broken, and Simon as controlling in the extreme but I also found her exasperating at times; on occasions Marianne was her own worst enemy and I found myself cringing as she dug herself into a deeper hole giving Simon just the ammunition he needed.

Sue Watson kept up the tension and suspense all the way through very well, with the story becoming darker as it went on. Excellent characterisation together with the reference to stalking on social media and the use of hashtags in the narrative, made this a relevant and a realistic read.

I really enjoyed Our Little Lies, this was an impressive debut thriller and I would happily read more of this from Sue Watson.

Well this is a total switch from Sue’s chick-lit, comedy and romance books which I did throughally enjoy. I love the cover of this story!

I thought from the start that Marianne wasn’t all there and quiet family obsessed! But, first impressions of Simon wasn’t great either. A very strict, controlling man not just to his wife but his children too. The opening to this book is bound to drag the reader in! I found it took a while to get going but then it just exploded… Turning into a page turner.

I awarded a well deserved four stars. Throughally enjoyed it. Highly recommend. I do hope Sue plans to write more thrillers in the future but also continues with her chick-lit stories!

This novel creates a solid perspective of a married woman who appears to have everything on the surface, but behind the scenes, it's a totally different story. Marianne is swept off her feet with a whirlwind marriage to Simon, a cardiac surgeon. She can't believe her luck that he's chosen her. Simon oozes charms with everyone he meets with his film-star looks, flashing smile and wit. All the women fancy him. Is he the genuine article he appears? Despite everything, Marianne's self-esteem is rock-bottom. She's socially inept and feels pathetically unworthy of winning her trophy husband. She's paranoid about Simon and other women. Currently, she can't enjoy her life because she suspects something is going on between Simon and his glamorous colleague Caroline. There are signs. Late from work. Text messages and emails. She's scared he'll move on and leave her. Marianne loves her lifestyle and her children, but there's a mental illness that haunts her, and she's on medication which she often doesn't take. OCD is alive and well also. I picked up quite early that Simon is subtly and not so subtly controlling her because she's vulnerable and insecure. It's a slow burner as the scenario sets into place, and there's a lot of humour as the story unfolds, as well as drama. I disliked Marianne in some ways but kept changing my mind about her. I thought I had it all figured out, but the ending took me by surprise. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Did you catch the authors name at the top of this post? Yes, it’s Sue Watson, the same lovely lady who writes romantic comedies that make me laugh hysterically one minute and then swoon the next. Little did I know that she has a dark side, she’s not all cakes and champagne, she went very dark for her latest book and it was amazing!! I’m even more in awe of her than I already was, she is fabulous at both genres and has an even bigger fan in me than I was before.

This had a slow burning style of suspense, the kind that creeps up on you and then in the end leaves you reeling. It all begins with Simon and Marianne, they have a picture perfect life and seem blissfully happy. We all know that not is always as it seems to outsiders and their relationship is fraught with tension and hostility underneath the surface. While I truly enjoyed Marianne, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her up until the very end. She seems unhinged somehow, but she’s also sweet and a loving mother as well, she made me scratch my head. She also had the funniest hashtags, some of Watson’s trademark humor snuck through and I loved the black humor that broke up an otherwise tense story.

This was yet another case where I was absolutely sure that I knew exactly what would happen only to be totally wrong in the end. While the tension builds at a steady pace for most of the book at about three quarters of the way through the real surprises begin and I was well and truly stunned. This had a whopper of an ending and if this is only Watson’s first foray into psychological thrillers I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Our Little Lies in three words: Dark, Devious and Impressive.

This is my first novel by Sue Watson and I think it is her first psychological thriller , I give it 3 1/2 stars it was a pretty good read , but I could tell it's not her usual genre. I will try one of her romantic comedies.

I would give this 4.5/5 stars!
I really enjoyed this unique psychological thriller! I've read a lot of thrillers over the past few months and some of them start to blend together after awhile. But this book was a refreshing change, and I did not want to put it down! I was intrigued from the very beginning as I learned about Marianne and her life—her husband, her kids, her past and present. Everything was told from her perspective, and I could not figure out whether or not she was a trustworthy character. As I continued to read, all the other characters left me guessing as well. I went back and forth trying to figure out if my suspicions were accurate or completely off. Basically, everything that occurred took me by complete surprise! There were many times throughout this book that I thought to myself, "Wow, that was sneaky!" Everything was just so unexpected, well-thought-out, and superbly done. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of thrillers and suspense!

Oh my GOSH! I really enjoyed this book. This book has so many twists and turns at appropriate moments. I was hooked from the first page.

This is my first book by the author and won't be my last.

THANK you Netgalley for the ARC

I will be completely honest and tell you that the book started like many I read before, however, it totally changed for the better. At least for me!

The heroine, Marianne has the "perfect" life---handsome & adoring husband and kids but not all is as it seems. Right from beginning Marianne believes her husband, Simon, to be having an affair with his colleague, Caroline. You have to read the book to find out more but I guarantee it's SO worth the read!!!

The author takes you on a twisted journey of likeable characteristics but unlikable characters. The ending was unexpectedly dark but I did enjoy reading it. I rated the book 4.5/5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing my an ARC of the book for my honest review.

Don't you just love it when an author you love swaps genre?! well I certainly do. Sue Watson is better know for her romantic comedy's which I love. Sue books are always full of life and laughter so to more over to a physiological thriller I knew not to expect that. So what did I think is what you are all thinking?! For another that has read any of Sue's book you will be able to tell she has wrote with little words and things that have her stamp on them.

But that prologue OMG what a start... I am a big fan of prologues and this one is short and snappy and leaves you wanting to know more. Then we move on to the story told from first person we meet Marianne a character that I wasn't a a fan of she actually got on my nerves and I wanted to shake the life out of her! But this book is not at all what it seems....far from it in fact.

For me I found it a slow burner and the repetitive use of the word I put me off with it being my pet hate with books wrote in first person. But I kept with it because I knew the OMG prologue was going to answer my questions and tie in somewhere with the story and when it did it knocked me off my feet.

The story steps up a gear and gets a whole lot better when I say it gets a whole lot better What can I say but crikey I wasn't expecting that this book is definitely a page turner which had me on the edge of my seat. Now I am left thinking how very clever the plot is and Sue moving over to the dark side was a good move.

This is a story about lies and manipulation with a killer twist! which I highly recommend.

I am sorry but I just couldn't get into this book. I tried and tried but nope, this wasn't for me. It is very rare I DNF a book but I had to with this one :/ I think I just found the writing style not my cup of tea (kind of cheesy) and I felt like I've read similar books before. I feel really bad about this but well, it's the truth.

All that glitters is not gold...

Marianne has the perfect life, the perfect husband, the perfect children, the perfect townhouse... if you are a regular reader of the psychological thriller genre then you well know that everything or nothing is as it appears to be... but even Marianne has her head in the sand for the first 40% of this book... but then again ignorance is bliss!

The first 40% of this book really sets up the story, revealing to us the reader what a controlling, narcissistic, abusive, douche that Simon is! As someone who was married to a narcissist for many years I truly did feel for Marianne, abuse is a vicious cycle especially when you are in a bit of denial.... One day another woman’s name unintentionally slips from Simon’s lips, Caroline... but it’s not just the name, it’s how Simon says it the name lingering on his lips... Who is Caroline to Simon? Marianne is determined to find out, and determined to let nothing interrupt her perfect life.... but should Marianne be jealous, Or scared?
This was a compelling story about the Dark side of human nature... Marianne was a sympathetic yet frustrating character, I wasn’t always on board with her... Simon was simply a monster, and you really wanted justice to prevail in the end.... this book was a crazy twisted ride with an unexpected turn in the end...

Sue Watson is a beloved romance author and this is her first psychological thriller, and I have to say she has made a successful transition... something I personally think romance authors do better than others is character development, and that really did shine through in this book... even though the characters weren’t necessarily terribly likable, Although some of the best books are filled with unlikable characters! A job well done, and I certainly hope this is not Sue Watson’s last thriller...

*** thanks so much to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

A really well written story, I found some of the content unsettling as I've seen the damage a narcissistic partner can cause. I thought that Marianne was written in a really believable and compassionate way, I was rooting for her the whole way. The whole thing worked extremely well and I really hope this gets a proper release soon.

Simon and Marianne Wilson are the parents of 6-year-old twin boys, Alfie and Charlie, and Marianne is stepmother to Simon’s daughter, 17-year-old, Sophie. Simon is a busy cardiac surgeon.

Marianne loves being a stay-at-home mum, but right now she is feeling a bit jealous of Simon’s beautiful surgeon co-worker, Caroline Harker, This isn’t the first time Marianne has been jealous of another woman. She has been hospitalized and in therapy for her unfounded jealousy. Marianne is taking some strong medication to keep her on an even keel but it tends to make her tired and somewhat groggy. She also worries about Sophie not eating enough, but Simon assures her that Sophie is fine.

Simon prefers Marianne to be at home cooking, cleaning, and running the twins to their endless after-school activities. However, he is controlling of her choice of friends and likes things to be perfect. So, she struggles to keep everything going just like he wants it.

But Marianne soon finds she cannot stop thinking about Simon and Caroline and is convinced they are having an affair. It’s when she starts reading his emails that her world starts to crumble.

Simon has always been cruel, demeaning, and even violent with Marianne, but she feels that she deserves it. A sad childhood of losing her mother at a young age, followed by a succession of foster homes, has left the woman with very low self-esteem. Thus, Simon has been able to make her his puppet over the years.

But as the incidents continue, Marianne is convinced Simon and Caroline are having an affair and is determined that she will not let her marriage and family be broken apart. So, she puts her plan into motion to remove Caroline from their lives. Little does she know how disastrous the results will be.

This is a good story. I didn’t care a lot for Marianne as her lack of self-respect was so pathetic. I really wanted to kick Simon in the butt for being such a sociopathic jerk. However, the basic story along with the unexpected ending make for a very good read.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"Our present is informed by our past, the fears, the insecurities -- the loss"

I dare you to put this psychological drama down once you've started! The narrative, driven by the voice of Marianne Wilson, creates incredible tension and a sense of foreboding as the story evolves. Marianne -- wife to Dr. Simon Wilson, "the dashing and brilliant cardiac surgeon", stepmother to 17-year-old Sophie, and mother of 6-year-old boy twins -- has been married for 10 years. The family lives at the prestigious Number 5 Garden Close and seems to have a perfect life. Things are not so golden behind closed doors, however, and Marianne struggles daily to hold everything together. She has a history of mental health problems and a police record because she's not alway been able to have all under control. Simon has some high expectations and Marianne knows she's not doing her part to be the perfect wife and mother. But her medication makes her a bit foggy and...NO SPOILERS. Just read it and see if you can figure out where it's all going.

I really enjoyed this as I dissected the characters and made some guesses. I usually don't care for books that have a character spending a lot of time in his or her own mind, but this time I really got into it. Of course I was expecting a twist, you read enough of this type of thriller and you KNOW one is coming, but I liked how the revelations came out and found the book to have a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Well wasn’t this just a little thriller! This is my first experience with Ms Watson and I hear this is her first thriller too! Well, aren’t we lucky especially with this intense book!

I loved that this is another book I have read where we have a seemingly, dare I say, perfect family on the outside and behind closed doors well it is a completely different story. In this story, it is Marianne, a woman who can not do anything to make her husband Simon happy. He just wants to show off his wife and children. Simon, well DOUCHE is what I think of him! I really can’t understand how he gets off acting the way he did! Shocking! Makes me so angry!!

However, as much as I love these domestic noirs I do get upset with the way women always get portrayed as good for nothing, someone to serve a man and then the physical side, the way they are treated. I know it happens in real life and it is harrowing but I hate the way it is portrayed in books. It makes me so sad and angry at the same time. It is, however, very now I feel with the #metoo movement, and yes it makes for some heightened reading.

I questioned the motives and the behaviour of one character, I mean seriously what was I reading? Could they really be like this or was it a complete red herring? Well find out yourself and tell me what you think!

Who the hell is Caroline?

Well once you get past the build-up and the scene setting you need to hold on to your hats…..literally! You just can not see where we were going with this story, and shockers of all shockers, I mean a clanger is dropped and I did not know how to deal with it! Well, I did, I carried on reading!

This was a furious page-turner for me, I had to know what I was reading, I had to know what the truth was! It had me gripped, I couldn’t and didn’t want to put it down. I love books that make you feel like this and get you invested in the storyline where you feel like that you can affect the plot just by reading it!

This was a very gripping read for me!! The story had lots of twists and turns and I found myself trying to sneak in a few more pages before I turned out my bedside lamp!!

On the surface Marianne looks like she has it all successful husband, stunning home and 3 beautiful children. However everything is not as it seems , Micheal her husband is very controlling and when he mention a colleagues name suspicions arise in his wife’s mind. Is Micheal hiding something? Is he having an affair or is her imagination running wild ?

Michaels narcissistic character was written extremely well, the devastation such a character can cause was explored in a insightful way.

The final twist in the story was a perfect ending. I have read other books by Sue Watson but this change of genre for her is a definite winner in my opinion. A fantastic read I couldn’t recommend it more!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this fantastic book