I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I enjoyed The Liar's Room and I felt the premise was a blend of Taken and Promising Young Woman. The tension in this book was slow-building and I especially felt on edge during the flashback chapters. I honestly didn't know what secrets Susanna and Adam were hiding and I definitely didn't guess the outcome. I wouldn't want more of the story fleshed out, like I felt like the reveal of the secrets was rushed. Plus, I wasn't a big fan of the ending, felt a little too neat and also predictable when the rest of the story was more complex. Writing style was great and I liked that it was a quick read.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the second book I've read by Simon Lelic and it was quite the addictive, binge-worthy book I found the previous book I read by him to be. Once I started it, I had a hard time putting it down.

I love a book where I have a hard time knowing who I can trust and that is exactly what I felt with this book. Susanna has a secret and I was desperate to know it, and it is hinted at, but it is not until the end that we finally find out just what it is. Adam also has a secret and he is unwilling to reveal it until just the right moment.

I loved the tension in this book - it really kept me flipping the pages, trying to piece together just what was going on. In addition to these two characters, who are in a therapy session, we are also introduced to Susanna's teen daughter, who is keeping some secrets of her own.

This book really kept me guessing and on my toes and it wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I started to put the pieces together, right before things started to come together. This in no way detracted from my enjoyment because of course I had no idea of the why - and that is always the most important part and the most revealing. I never get upset when I guess parts of a book because I very rarely guess the motivation behind things and this was one I never would have been able to figure out.

I love Simon Lelic's writing and the way he spins his tales. I am definitely a fan and will be keeping an eye out for what comes next from this talented author!

Simon Lelic is a new to me author and one I won’t miss again. I found his style of writing captivating and unique and really kept me hooked on this story until the last page was turned. I loved the concept of this thriller, the way he created his characters and how he played it out through out the novel.

Susanna’s character really got to me. She was running and trying to start over and really wanted a better life and put the past behind her. But, with a turn of the table, here comes Adam, someone who wants counseling…..only he’s the one asking the questions. Someone who takes the story on a whole different roller coaster ride. The chilling factor revs up, the sweat starts dripping, and the heart pounds so fast, you think it’s going to jump right out. There’s just something about Adam, and Susanna knows it, and it frightens her.

I could feel her fear like it’s my own. The fear of her past catching up to her, the fear of something happening to her daughter, all of her emotions gripped me so hard and raw, and left me feeling as if Lelic wrote me into the story.

If you are looking for a page turning, unexpected twists and turns, absolutely chilling psychological thriller, then pick up The Liar’s Room now. You don’t know who’s telling the truth and when the last page is reached, you’ll close the book and think about how that book just left you raw, on edge and ready for another great 4 star read from this obviously talented author!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, Berkley Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

Susanna Fenton is not who she seems. She seems to be a divorced mother raising a beautiful 14-year-old daughter, Emily. She is also a successful therapist.

But 14 years ago Susanna left behind the life she had known and started all over in order to keep Emily safe, protected. From Susanna's perspective, she has "died for her daughter once already. If she were to lose her . . . Susanna would die all over again."

A new client appears in her office, ostensibly seeking counseling. Adam Geraghty is clearly a troubled young man. But it quickly becomes apparent that he is playing some sort of game with Susanna and he wants something else. When Susanna realizes that Adam is not going to permit her to leave her office -- and she cannot reach Emily -- her suspicions blossom into full-blown panic. At the days wears on, Susanna realizes that Adam knows about her past and she will have to outwit him in order to save Emily, who became smitten with and agreed to skip school to meet and have fun with a nice young man . . .

Simon Lelic, author of The New Neighbors, has proven again that he is adept at crafting a taut, nail-biting, layered thriller that keeps his readers guessing right up until the shocking ending. The story is told through the viewpoints of both Susanna and Emily, as they reveal the events of the fateful day that Adam shows up for his purported therapy session with Susanna. Emily's narrative and diary entries reveal that in prior weeks she had become enamored with an older guy who appears to be a sincere, compassionate gentleman in order to earn her trust.

Susanna is Lelic's most intriguing character, and it her story that propels the story forward as Lelic injects hints about the truth at tantalizingly-timed intervals. Susanna sustained an unspeakable loss 14 years ago -- one so shocking that she found it necessary to concoct new identities for herself and Emily, move to a new city, and completely start over. But Susanna has never been able to stop second-guessing her own role in what happened and has lived with the guilt every say since. Her entire motivation for carrying on has been her love for Emily, who has no idea about what transpired all those years ago. Susanna has intended to tell Emily the truth "one day. Some day. Just not yet." However, as her day with Adam drags on and Susanna's fears for Emily's safety mount, she realizes that the day has arrived. If only she can continue to protect her long enough. After the past is fully revealed to readers, the story's focus shifts to an all-out search for Emily and then, the aftermath. Lelic's pace is unrelenting.

Susanna and Adam are two liars. In one room. There is no way out for either of them. Or Emily. All of their lives change forever on that day. Their story is a fast-paced, compelling, and satisfying thrill ride.

"She wakes to find herself broken, and it the first question that enters her head. The next: where am I?" Thus begins the story of Susanna Fenton and her daughter Emily.

Fourteen years ago, Susanna Fenton ran away from a previous life with her daughter Emily, now a teenager. She has a comfortable life, a career as a therapist but she is haunted by her past and her daughter knows nothing of what happened.

One day, a new patient comes through the door of her office, Adam Geraghty. While she is trying to get to the reason why he came to her, he starts asking personal questions. He tells her he wants to do something bad and doesn't know if he can stop himself. The session goes on in this way and Adam brings up Emily. This is when Susanna gets really concerned and scared.

The story is told in different views, Susanna and Emily. We learn that Emily has had a young man befriend her, his name is Adam and she is besotted with him. As Susanna is getting more and more scared and unsure what Adam has done with her daughter, she desperately seeks a way to escape. What happened fourteen years ago? Why is this young man keeping her hostage? Good questions. You will have to read the book to find out!

I love a good psychological thriller and this one was definitely a thriller worth reading. I have not read anything else by Simon Lelic, but I do have The New Neighbors that I intend to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Simon Lelic for the opportunity to read his latest thriller - tough to put this one down! 4.5 stars!

The book opens with someone being held captive - but who? That's not the only secret here - Susannah has reinvented herself, moved away from her past life, changed her name, and is now a counselor and single mom to Emily, who knows none of Susannah's secrets. Emily, 14 years old, is keeping secrets of her own, including a budding romance with an older boy, Adam. All these secret worlds come together when Adam appears in Susannah's office with a picture of Emily and a story to tell.

Most of this book is set in Susannah's counseling office, with background from Emily intermixed. This is a brilliant way to tell this story - you will be glued to your seat to find out all the answers!

Susanna Fenton has secrets that she keeps hidden from her co-workers and her fourteen-year-old daughter. After a tragic event, she re-started her life in a new town and tried to move forward. She currently works as a therapist seeing private clients while raising her teen daughter.

She meets a new teenage patient named Adam who comes to her seeking help. It becomes apparent that the appointment is a ruse and he is there to uncover Susanna’s past. She struggles to keep her composure as he bombards her with questions and threats. Their session quickly takes a turn for the worst when Adam reveals that he knows Susanna’s daughter and her life depends on her answers.

The Liar’s Room is a novel that takes place over a few hours in a therapist’s office. Simon Lilac’s book is a fast-paced thriller about two individuals together in a room who are not honest about their identities. This book will have you biting your nails while you race to the end.

Susanna Fenton has a secret. Fourteen years ago she left her identity behind, reinventing herself as a counsellor and starting a new life. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe. But everything changes when Adam Geraghty walks into her office. She's never met this young man before - so why does she feel like she knows him? I loved Simon Lelic's last book, so I was SO excited to get an ARC of this one! This book was a total page turner, which was surprising since no real "action" takes place! I thought the characters were fascinating and the story was thrilling... it had me from the very beginning!

WHERE to start with this page-turning psychological thriller? This was my first read of Simon Lelic and I wasn’t disappointed. I always LOVE books written in the point of view of different character’s – so when I noticed this one jumped from Therapist Susanna and her daughter Emily I was like YES!! I especially love it when the character’s all have different stories to tell that keep you guessing right up until the end, and soon intertwine together to fill in all the missing gaps and questions I have held as a reader. The Author did a great job and getting me hooked from the first page; the one question remained in my mind throughout WHO IS ADAM?

The story begins when Adam enters Susanna’s office as a new client. It soon becomes apparent that he isn’t her typical, regular, everyday client. He knows things about Susanna’s past that he shouldn’t. Things she has tried all so hard to run away from, to bury. Who is Adam? And how does he know so much about Susanna? Susanna is an overprotective mother, so when she finds out Adam has done something to her daughter, Emily, the stakes are suddenly raised. Susanna is determined to keep Adam talking and not only does she want to understand him but she wants him to understand himself. And the real reason behind why he is tormenting Susanna the way he is. The entire book took place in just a few hours stuck in Susanna’s therapy room and I could see how desperate she was to get out away from Adam because I too was a little desperate to get out of that therapy room!!

The Author created two very interesting main character’s who both hold a lot of baggage from the past and many many secrets. BECAUSE WHAT IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WITHOUT SECRETS? A gripping book from the get-go! A quick and easy read for anyone that wants an interesting psychological thriller with a lot of action! AND A NICE LITTLE PLOT TWIST, OF COURSE!

Thank-you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishers for the ARC to read and review:) 3.5 star rating for me!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the tagline of "The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic. "One room. Two liars. No way out".

Susanna Fenton is not who she seems to be. Years ago, she left her old life and reinvented herself with a new identity.

Now, she is an overprotective mother to teenage Emily. Emily loves her mother but wants a little freedom. When a cute, but older, boy pays attention to her Emily is thrilled and more than willing to keep him a secret from her mother.

Susanna also works as a counselor and meets with a new client, Adam Geraghty. She knows she should trust her instincts but does not and quickly discovers Adam also is not who he seems to be.

Their session becomes a verbal tennis match between them and Emily is the prize.

I had noticed Lelic's "The New Neighbors" in the store and added to my "want to read" list. After reading "The Liar's Room" I have moved it to "need to read soon"! This book was a thriller that was a great read but not easy to figure out people's secrets.

This is a creepy and disturbing tale full of lies, truths, and suspense.

Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/25/19.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A taut, suspenseful, and emotional story which brings together the mind games of a psychological thriller with the edge of your seat tension of a kidnapping.

From the minute I started THE LIAR'S ROOM, I was hooked. Lelic didn’t waste any time jumping into the dark and twisty tale of a woman with more to hide than her patients, a boy who is looking for answers, and the daughter who falls victim to the situation.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was the human element of the book. There was emotion, how the public deals with the perceptions of crimes, and an underlining commentary on how complicated relationships are. With every page that went by, I was struck by the examination of humanity through the veil of a mystery and several crimes. It poses the question of what makes a child act the way they do as well as who should truly be responsible for those actions.

If you are looking for domestic psychological suspense, look no further than Lelic’s newest release. So good!

It’s been 14 years since Susanna escaped her old  life and reinvented herself as a therapist to keep her daughter  Emily safe. When a new patient Adam enters her office for the first time, she feels a sense of familiarity but is unable to identify him. As the therapy session progresses things start getting  a little creepy when Adam shows Susanna a picture of Emily. Who is Adam and how does he know Emily? When Emily does not answer her phone , Susanna realizes that Adam has an ulterior motive and thus starts a verbal cat and mouse game with the stakes up real high.

The Liar’s Room by Simon Lelic is set up in on room with two liars trying to outsmart each other .An intriguing plot, dark and creepy , addictive thriller which makes it a gripping read .Highly recommend!

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

THE LIAR'S ROOM (Berkley) takes place over the course of a therapy session, in which neither patient nor therapist are who they claim to be. Two liars. One room. No way out.
Susanna Fenton has a secret. Fourteen years ago she left her identity behind, reinventing herself as a therapist and starting a new life. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe. But when a young man, Adam Geraghty, walks into her office, claiming he needs Susanna's help but asking unsettling questions, she begins to fear that her secret has been discovered.

Who is Adam, really? What does he intend to do to Susanna? And what has he done to her daughter?"

I found the premise for THE LIAR'S ROOM brilliant, but I must admit I started getting a bit claustrophobic in the office. Both Susanna and Adam's characters dialogue flows, which was essential for a book where the two characters basically talk. Put THE LIAR'S ROOM in your TBR list of thrillers. It won't disappoint.

SIMON LELIC'S OWN WORDS:



I was born in Brighton in 1976 and, after a decade or so living in London and trying to convince myself that the tube was fine, really, because it gave me a chance to read, my wife and I moved back to Brighton with our three young children. That Barnaby, Joseph and Anja’s grandparents happened to live close enough by to be able to offer their babysitting services was, of course, entirely coincidental.

As well as writing, I run an import/export business. I say this, when people ask, with a wink but I fool no one: I am more Del Trotter than Howard Marks. My hobbies (when I have time for them) include reading (for which I make time, because I can just about get away with claiming this is also work), golf, tennis, snowboarding and karate. My weekends belong to my family (or so my wife tells me), as does my heart.

I studied history at the University of Exeter. After graduating I was qualified, I discovered . . . to do an MA. After that I figured I had better learn something useful, so took a post-grad course in journalism. I know, I know: so much for learning something useful. After working freelance and then in business-to-business publishing, I now write novels. Not useful either, necessarily, but fun and, in its own way, important.

In half a page, then, that’s me. My wife wanted me to add that I am not as mean as I look in my author pic. That was the publisher’s doing: they wanted austere. But now I’ve gone and ruined it.

www.simonlelic.com

This book was absolutely incredible. It had so many different twists, turns, chills, and thrills, you felt like you might be on a roller coaster through a haunted house. The writing was stunning, beautiful, and hooked me from page one. Definitely a book I will highly recommend, and definitely shows you can never escape your past!
I will be using in a challenge, as well as buzzing this up in chapter chatter pub!

I was hoping this book would wow me. About halfway in, I was dying to know what Susanna’s secret was, who the heck Adam was, and what connection there was between the two. But when I finished the book, I wasn’t overly wowed. It is well written, but I think it just wasn’t meant for me.

THE LIAR’S ROOM
Simon Lelic
Berkley
ISBN 978-0-440-00043-3
Trade Paperback
Thriller

THE LIAR’S ROOM requires just a bit of patience, though it is ultimately worth the expenditure. Simon Lelic’s newly published psychological thriller is a bit claustrophobic in it’s setting, given that the book takes place (almost) entirely in one room --- the liar’s room of the title --- as well as its duration (over the course of a few hours) and cast of characters, those being the two who monopolize almost the entirety of the book. It is hardly a literary version of My Dinner with Andre, however. There is an electric undercurrent which informs THE LIAR’S ROOM practically from the first page, and its hum carries the reader right along as Lelic slowly and exquisitely ratchets up the suspense.

Susanna Fenton and Adam Geraghty are the two primary characters of the piece. Susanna is a counselor whose practice space is in a house shared with a dentist, who has become her best friend, and a receptionist, who has not. Susanna unbeknownst to most reinvented herself fourteen years previous to the book’s present after a series of events which are gradually revealed throughout the course of THE LIAR’s ROOM. The story kicks off at 3:00 PM with Susanne taking on her first appointment with Adam, who seems to be in his late teens. Adam seems to be a little unsettled at first, something which is not unusual with someone new to counseling. It is Susanna, however, who becomes increasingly unwary as Adam becomes more confident. She first catches him in a lie. Then he begins to ask her a series of questions which indicate that he knows much more about her past life and her present circumstances than he should. The kicker, however, occurs when Adam presents Susanna with a picture of her daughter, Emily, who has suddenly gone off of the grid. Adam hints that he is responsible for Emily’s unavailability, and issues some subtle threats that indicate that he will harm Emily if he doesn’t get what he wants. He is not exactly specific about what he is after, however. Susanna, for her part, feels as if she knows Adam from somewhere, but that can’t be since she is sure that she has never seen him before. Adam knows Susanna, however, almost as well as she knows herself. It’s just the two of them in the room, and as Susanna slowly reveals herself in a series of mental vignettes we learn who Adam really is, and the depth of the feelings of his betrayal, as well as how much in danger Emily really is. Regardless of what occurs, there doesn’t seem to be a palatable solution to the matter. And there isn’t.

Lelic pulls off a couple of neat literary tricks here. Adam’s anger is not without basis. Susanna, while she may be a victim in the book’s present, is not entirely guiltless in what has gone before. She gets a potential shot at redemption but one of the issues presented in THE LIAR’S ROOM is whether she can exercise it in time. It’s a dilemma, indeed, so much so that those who are seeking a feel-good read should probably look elsewhere. If you like your stories tangled and complicated, but eminently readable, this is one you will want to pick up.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
(c) Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic takes place in really just the course of a few hours, but this book still managed to blow me away!

What it's about: Susanna Fenton is a counselor, but that's not what she always was, and she is running from a past she wishes she could forget. Enter Adam, who makes an appointment with her to help himself, but really only wants to talk about Susanna's past. What exactly does Adam want from her? I guess we are about to find out....

The Liar's Room ended up being an incredibly fast read that I was able to tackle in just under 4.5 hours. I also ended up reading it in 2 sittings because I just had to know what was going to happen next. My only real complaint with this one was that it did start to drag a bit, but I was still turning pages quickly and it did hold my attention the entire time.

This is my first time reading a Simon Lelic novel, but it will definitely not be my last. I love when a book can pull you in like this one did, and even though there weren't any *super* shocking surprises, I still really liked it. One thing that I feel is important to note, is that there is animal abuse in this book. I always struggle when author's use this in their books, but for this novel it helped to show the state of mind of the people committing the abuse so it wasn't completely all for nothing (which is what I hate the absolute most). Also, rape is another trigger so this novel is not going to be for the faint of heart.

Final Thought: If you are looking for a fast-paced novel that you can knock out in just a few hours, I highly recommend checking out The Liar's Room. I think the setting is very unique, and I like the style in which this book is written with flashbacks to Susanna's past and the reason she left her home and changed her identity. I don't know if I would call this book spine-tingling per say, but it is a very solid read that I recommend!

THE LIAR'S ROOM is a dark and unsettling thriller about a woman's secret past that returns to haunt her.

Susanna is a therapist and mother to 14-year old Emily. Years ago she ran away from her old life after a devastating incident, hoping no one would find out. For 14 years her old identity stayed hidden, until a session with a new client named Adam threatens to destroy everything.

This was a fast-paced, enjoyable (yet disturbing) book that put me on edge. Who is Adam really? What is Susanna is hiding? I may have jumped ahead to get a quick peek because the suspense was killing me! Both main characters are downright flawed, so often times I wasn't sure who I should sympathize with. To me the ending was sad yet satisfying, probably the best case scenario considering. I couldn't put this one down!

2.5 stars
This book didn't flow well for me for one main reason--I really dislike it when everyone in the story knows what is going on, but the reader doesn't. The unfolding seemed to take forever and was honestly not very believable as a whole.
I liked the way it all played out in the end, the way that everything was tied up, although I wasn't impressed with the overall story arc as much as I wanted to be. I felt like Adam's rage was misplaced and I didn't really get his point, I was astonished to find that he was only 17, because he came across much older and more mature. I felt like Susanna was wishy-washy and didn't really get her self-blame (other than the typical parental tendency to blame all of our child's shortcomings on ourselves).
I think if the book would have moved more quickly and revealed more of what was going on more deliberately instead of trying to create so much tension (that wasn't really tension most of the time)
it would have flowed better and kept my interest more.