Sara Lennox is in Witness Protection. She is placed in North Carolina on the Outer Banks. There she meets her neighbors. Whit and Diane and their 2 children Cassie and Boon. When a hurricane hits, Sara is running away from the Witness Protection. She realizes Cassie and Boon are left alone and takes them with her. There the story gets interesting. Lies and secrets come out as they are trying to find someplace safe to wait out the storm. This book is told in multiple points of view and it weaves together perfectly. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Ballantine Books. All opinions are my own.

Yay! I've discovered another North Carolina writer I like. This book is chock-full of liars because not only is the "liar's child" a liar, so is everyone else in this book it seems. They are all lying to each other. Makes it difficult to find the truth.

There are two storylines here. One is Sara who is placed in an apartment at the Outer Banks of North Carolina by the witness protection program. She is supposed to testify against a criminal to keep from going to prison herself. The other story involves Sara's neighbors - a mother, father, and two children. The wife disappears shortly after leaving her son in a hot car while she went to work. The father is struggling to take care of the kids and work to make a living. The two stories really come together during a hurricane.

The story kept my attention and I enjoyed it. There were a few surprises. I felt sorry for the two children, Boon and Cassie who were caught up in a horrible situation. I liked the writing style and the pace of the plot.

Thanks to Carla Buckly and Ballantine Books through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A little hard to get into at first but overall I liked it! I have to say that I did NOT see that ending coming and was pleasantly surprised, it’s been a while since I was surprised by a book.

I have mixed feelings about this. It held my attention, but I didn't connect with any of the narrators. The ending felt abrupt. Perhaps the loose ends hint at a sequel?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Sara Lennox has been placed by the “Witness Protection Program” in an apartment complex called “The Paradise” on the outskirts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Her neighbors are Whit Nelson and his wife, Diane....the woman who recently made the news for mistakenly leaving her young son, Boon, in a hot car, while she went to work. Their daughter, Cassie, was not in the car, but she has not been left unscathed.

Some people should not be parents.

When Whit and Sara meet, standing on their side by side balconies, he tells her that Diane “took off” about a month ago.

Excerpt: “They need their mother.” He sighed.
Society seemed to revere motherhood. Sara never understood it. Women got pregnant. They had babies. It was simple biology. Didn’t make them Saints. “Depends on the mother.”
“Yeah?” He looked at her.
She’d said too much. It was the small things that would trip her up.

Now a hurricane is about to hit, and the kids are home alone. As Sara flees “The Paradise” she faces a moral dilemma... leave them there? Or take them with her and risk everything?

“There are two kinds of people, her Dad used to say. Some people make their choices. Others have choices made for them.”

This was my third novel by Carla Buckley and I have NEVER been disappointed. But, I do caution readers that her novels would be better categorized as Family Drama/Suspense, NOT thrillers, in my opinion. The first half of this book develops the characters, and vividly portrays the scene. The hurricane does not hit till the 50% point and that is when the pace picks up, and the SURPRISES are revealed, but the story IS well worth the wait.

Pay attention to the “objects” described every so often, between chapters....you will be glad you did.!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books, and Carla Buckley for the ARC I was provided in exchange for a candid review!

Publication date for this book is March 12, 2019!

The psychological drama is both family and personal story of survival. Diane, the Mom, seemingly with mental issues, struggles to deal with the hostility of those around her after endangering her son’s life. Whit, the Dad, does all he can do to keep the family together when suddenly Diana disappears and job and responsibilities to keep the family financially afloat necessitates his leaving the kids on their own. His 12-year-old daughter Cassie is at the age where she seeks independence with all the insecurities of wanting to seem older then she is. His 6-year-old son Boon, is a loving child who only wants to please. Outside the family is their neighbor who finds her life entwined with the Nelson family. Sara is unhappily in Witness Protection. She would like to find any way possible out of her situation. Her own childhood, not an easy one making it difficult to interact with the kids next door.

Each chapter tells the story through the actions of Sara, Whit, Cassie and Hank (a retired sheriff in another town). The part Hank will play will become apparent as the story gains momentum. When a hurricane hits the Outer Banks Sara finds she much rescue the children and takes them with her on her way out of town. You become vested in the characters and surprised by the outcome of decisions made by the adults in the story. As the story grows and lies are told it will be up to you to find who the Liar’s Child is, as truly lies are sadly a bit of a part of the characters’ lives. My only wish was the conclusion would be more fulfilling with more information about the characters you vest yourself in hoping for a happy resolution.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that the story was told from different points of view and it really had me wondering which character was the liar’s child. I will definitely be reading more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read before release and review.

A thought provoking tale that was told from the view point of the various characters involved. I was somewhat dismayed by the lack of key background information, on what I presume to be, for the main character. The story clearly shows that while you may live or work next to an individual, for either a short or long span of time, you do not really know what internal conflicts are going on in their world. I enjoyed this book and would have preferred a more detailed ending but was satisfied with the results I built in my mind based on the information provided.

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Cassie and Boon are left to their own devices during a dangerous hurricane. Their mom left them about a month before and their dad went to help his parents batten down the hatches but was unable to return to his children. The kids were rescued by their secretive and elusive witness protection neighbor, Sara, who drives inland with them but has no way to reach their father to say where they are.

This book was interesting. There were some good (though predictable) twists and turns but overall I was left wanting more because the ending was so abrupt. I want to know more about Sara's background, Hank's background, Cassie's life after the storm, etc. The second half of the book seemed to lack purpose and I wasn't sure why new characters were added so in depth while characters from the first half were completely forgotten.

Outstanding psychological family drama with a twist. Four and a half stars.

The characters were well crafted, believable, and recognizable - particularly Cassie and her brother Boon. Cassie, the snotty, troubled tween, gave off the aura any of us who have dealt with that age group know too well. And Boon - who wouldn't want to soothe and mother him? The description of the Outer Banks, even in a hurricane, was much appreciated.

I rarely give five stars, unless a book has given me strong moral insight or taught me something vivid. This one came close to five stars, just because I hid it under my desk and read when I was supposed to be working my day job. Terrific.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. Hank had depth and Sara and Whit left a breadcrumb of questions that I was interested in learning the answers to. However, as the novel progressed the pace slowed to a crawl for me. Sara wasn't making any bold moves and the family drama, while sad, didn't draw me in.
None of the characters won me over. I felt bad for both Boon and Whit, but I didn't feel close enough to either of them to become too attached. For me, I think that was the biggest problem, I was apathetic toward all of them. I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them either. I didn't feel the heart of the family. As for Sara, she wasn't as deeply interested in Cassie and Boon as I thought she'd be, nor were there any lethal consequences for rescuing them. Hank ended up not really making sense as a narrator as he had so little contact with the family.
Big or important events are also only mentioned, rather than letting us experience them. This caused some confusion when switching narrators. For a minute or two I was confused on what was going on in the story before I got reoriented. In one instance it was a real shame because had we experienced it as it happened I think it would have made Sara's connection to Boon make more sense and been more interesting. The twists could be seen a mile away.
I can't recommend this book to anyone but those who may enjoy a family drama with shallowly developed main characters.
I received a review copy.

I've been a longtime fan of Buckley's writing, as her stories create the most suspenseful, character driven thrillers I think I've ever read. The Liar's Child is another example of her ability to hook the reader early on, weave together multiple POVs into one seamless plot, and have you pondering her story for days to come. While at times predictable, I found this to be an experience that satisfied me emotionally and satiated my need for a compulsive page turner. Although this is not my favorite book by the author (that award has to go to The Good Goodbye), this was still an excellent read.

I wasn’t a fan of this book at the beginning. I felt like it started off a bit slow in the beginning and I had a really hard time getting into it. I’m glad I stuck with it though because I have to say that I absolutely loved the ending.

“The Liar’s Child” by Carla Buckley

Am interesting and evocative psychological thriller. The author brings all the characters together at the Patadise. An apartment complex that is anything but paradise. Sara resides there as a means of a relocation federal program. The Nelson family resides there because they can’t afford anything else. The Nelson family is recovering from one recent tragedy with their son and his mother. After a period of time they are faced with yet another. Throughout this time period, both of the Nelson children strike up some form of a “relationship” with Sara. When a hurricane comes and they must all evacuate, the Nelson children are alone so Sara makes the decision to take them with her. She doesn’t have a set plan of where they are going or what they all will do.

Carla Buckley takes the reader on an up and down journey into the lives of several individuals and more of their secrets slowly become known over time.

An intriguing novel that has a few periods where it seems the story has skipped ahead or a storyline dropped a bit then picked back up very quickly. A good read for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

Rating: 4.4
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** I chose to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Carla Buckley does it again! I love her writing style, so I squealed with joy when I got to read her newest. This was an excellently plotted and developed story full of interesting characters and "what would you do" situations. Loved it so much. Five stars and two thumbs up!

What a book!
I was given this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
A dysfunctional family, a young baby left in car by mother almost dying, mother disappears and returns and then disappears and doesn't return. - and a neighbor - a woman with secrets all come together as a hurricane arrives.
The children left alone while the father helps his parents are brought together in neighbors car trying to miss the hurricane.
But is what is and what it seems to be are not always the case.
This book will tug at your emotions and have you cheering at the end.

Whit is struggling to keep his head above water and his family together. They are also hiding a secret. When a hurricane hits and his children are alone, Sara, a woman who is not who she seems, rescues them.

This book has chapters that are from different characters perspectives. I wasn’t sure where it was going or who exactly the liars child was. I enjoyed the book right up to the last chapter. The ending wasn’t what I expected and I was somewhat disappointed. That being said, I enjoyed the story. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

3-4 stars. A book that is good, but lacking something, maybe the ending or not completely fulfilling the story it’s intending too. While, I did enjoy it, I thought that the vaste amount of characters were hard to keep straight and that it didn’t fully give a complete picture.
Will use in a challenge, as well as recommend in Chapter Chatter Pub,

Trouble. This is a story about many different types of trouble and the people living with it. A woman in witness protection is delivered into her new life. A family of four becomes a family of three. Where has the mother gone?

The children love their parents but the fighting causes the son to cling and the daughter to rebel. As a hurricane approaches, the children are left by their father. They are rescued by their neighbor but don’t know how to find their father.

Life can be complicated and messy. This book captures that so well. The author does a good job executing a surprising ending. This is a fast paced thriller that you will enjoy!

The Liar's Child is one of those books you read while wondering where the title came from. Who will turn out to be the Liar's Child? There are many characters, and a few times I had to flip back and remember which point of view I was on, but overall I liked all of them. Sara took a while to warm up to, but I think that was the author's intention. Overall a good solid story. Not one I'd read again, but well done and engaging enough that I was happy I had read it once.