3.5/5 Stars
What are you to do when you wake up in a hospital bed with no recollection of who you are, how you landed there, and who the people standing around your bed are? That's exactly what happened to Chloe Daniels. The doctors tell her she's suffering from amnesia, but with time, healing and therapy, eventually her memories will start coming back to her. Unfortunately though, when you don't know yourself, or anyone around you, it's impossible to determine who's on your side and who you can really trust.

I don't want to give anything away, but this was a thrilling journey where Chloe tries to piece together the pieces of her life and rediscover who she is. This novel is action-packed and full of unexpected twists. I found it to be very entertaining.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #BetweenTheLies #NetGalley

This is my first ever Michelle Adam's book and it was really intriguing and kept me guessing for awhile!!!!! Had me hooked by the first page and I read it in one day. We start off the first page with a car crash victim Chloe. Who goes into a coma and wakes up to lies on top of lies. Her family is lying to her about so many things but she has to figure out what is truth and what isn't. Alot of deception in this book but will definitely keep you reading till the end. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review on this novel.

‘What happened? How did I get here? Where am I?”

Chloe wakes up from a car accident and these are the questions she asks herself. Her family is acting strangely and are hiding things from her or even worse, lying, especially her overbearing father. But why? Chloe sets off on a journey to put together the pieces of her terrible tragedy not knowing who to trust since she has no memory. Snippets of familiarity bubble up in thoughts and dreams but Chloe can’t rely on them, especially when her manipulative father has an agenda of his own.

A cleverly written and tense thriller with deception and twists galore. I loved the expertly plotted storyline, racing through the book in two days because I couldn’t wait to see how it would end.

*will post online upon publication and submit links below. Great read!

When we strip away all the trimmings, Between the Lies is a well-crafted, suspenseful story -- not only a "who-done-it," but a "what did he or she actually do?"

The aforementioned trimmings include a serious case of amnesia. the professional specialty practiced by Chloe's (the main character's) father, and three candidates for the obsessive man who voices intermittent chapters about his feelings for Chloe.

The book opens (after a brief, creepy prologue) with Chloe regaining consciousness inside a car that has crashed in a forest. She has lost all memory -- of her own name, even of the people who surround her, claiming to be family members. We learn most of the details of her story as she struggles to regain her memories and to deal with intuitions that something sinister is going on around her.

Among the many mysteries she must puzzle out is whether or not a crime was committed. Or was the crash simply an accident. If the former, was she the perpetrator?

I liked the book's flow and the pacing of the clues. I was frustrated with Chloe's obvious co-dependency with at least one alcoholic in her life, and the excuses she made. The truly original element of this amnesia story is, again, the technique in which her father has specialized and about which he has published in professional journals. Nice twist.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advance readers copy.

This review is posted on Goodreads and Billkupersmith.blog

Between the Lies belongs to a familiar category of psychological suspense. A young woman, finds herself isolated and totally dependent upon someone, usually male, whom she cannot trust. Sometimes, as in S. J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, amnesia plays an additional role. Here Chloe finds herself on a country estate near Brighton, being cared for by her father, a psychiatrist, along with her mother, a younger sister, and a gardener. She is told that she was in a car smash where her young son Joshua was killed along with her husband. But Chloe soon begins to suspect that her parents are lying to her, and when the police interview her, that the physical evidence at the scene of the wreck fails to match the story that Chloe had been run off the road by a dangerous driver. The accused maintains that his car was stolen and he wasn’t at the scene. Even stranger - the police inform her that her spouse Andrew is very much alive. Gradually her father reveals that he has not been entirely truthful with her, claiming that the husband was an alcoholic whom Chloe had left, and that he had been deceiving her for her own good. He says he has been treating her with something called ‘reconsolidation therapy’ and giving her ‘propranodol’. I have taken propranolol for hypertension (till I found that abstaining from alcohol and losing weight works even better) but what he is doing struck me as unethical as all get-out. Surprisingly, according to Doctor Google, ’reconsolidation therapy’ is an accepted treatment for PTSD.  Hard to imagine that forgetting - as opposed to facing up to and conquering - fearful events is an effective therapy, but even if it is, lying and deception surely isn’t. (There are rare cases when lying to a patient is the right thing to do - demential patients are unable to enter our world, so if we want to befriend them, we have to go into theirs.)

By midpoint in this genre, the main character starts to recover her freedom and to investigate what is really going on, often with the aid of another male character such as a detective or a physician, as I Before I Go to Sleep or Rosamund Lupton’s Sister. in this case it’s a younger colleague of Chloe’s father named Guy. Then we begin to wonder if this character is going to prove a white knight, or a villain in disguise.

I’d rank Between the Lies as a solid four star. The situation held me from the beginning. I truly hated Chloe’s father long before we find out whether he is a bad hat or just a manipulative weakling. Some of Chloe’s choices, both after the accident and in the revealed backstory were stupid (having an affair with someone who will try to kill you is always a sign of poor judgement) but in her circumstances she deserves forgiveness. I have a low tolerance for this species of fiction - seeing women abused either physically or psychologically repels me (I cannot reread Elizabeth Haynes’ Into the Darkest Corner, though it is a great story), but Between the Lies falls into the safe zone. Readers of psychological thrillers should enjoy it.

I am grateful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a gratis review advance e-copy.

I started out living this story. I was perplexed & confused as to what happenedv& who. Then it became a bit long & drawn out, same old same old & think the author realized it too because it picked up......but picked up so fast right to the finish line. For me, the book went from ok,let’s move it on, to finishing it in one fell swoop. There needed to be a more equalized transition between beginning, a middle ( which I felt didn’t exist), & an end. In fact the ending came upon so quickly I wasn’t sure if she was thinking, dreaming or as it was...actually happening & the end. Not really a smooth read. The story concept was good....amnesia, the dad lying, the family lying, all was great betrayal by the people you’d think would have your back, but didn’t. I was just disappointed as to how quickly the ending came that I wasn’t quite sure it was the ending, but it was. Think so many opportunities were missed since she was surrounded by liars & it could’ve been so much better, but I’m not a writer, just a reader that was disappointed

In this psychological thriller, Chloe wakes up with no memory, desperately seeking answers to the question of who she is. What she finds is half truths twisted in a plot to reframe her memories for self serving reasons that puts her life at risk. Perfect for readers who enjoy a good thriller.

The premise of this story had me very intrigued. I can't imagine waking up in a hospital and not remembering anything. Not who I was or who the people were who said they were my family, so I was excited to see how Chloe was going to handle this new world she found herself in.

It seems like poor Chloe was fed lie after lie after lie. And by the people who were supposed to protect her the most. How stressful it must have been to want to learn who you were, but being given nothing but vague answers and the runaround every time you wanted to visit something from your past that might help trigger a memory.

As intrigued as I was with Chloe's story and in finding out what had happened to her, I couldn't form a real connection to her, her actions frustrating at times. I kept reminding myself she had been through a terrible ordeal, with injuries so severe she has total amnesia, but it still didn't buffer the fact that she came across as a very wishy washy character to me.

The storyline kept me guessing as to who was behind the accident Chloe had. Ms. Adams does a great job of giving the reader just enough information to pull us through each section, desperate to find out what is the truth and who is telling lies. The random letters that pop up between chapters were the most intriguing parts of all and had me constantly changing my mind about who I thought was behind everything that had happened.

I did enjoy the story, even though it dragged along for me at times. Readers who love a good mystery and love to play the guessing game will truly enjoy this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press or providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Is Everyone a Liar

This thriller by Michelle Adams is fascinating. Chloe Daniels who has been involved in a car accident wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. She doesn't know who she is or anyone around her.

She is introduced to her father, a psychiatrist, and other family and taken home. She has no recollection of this dwelling or her family members.Her father undertakes some counselling sessions with her, ostensibly to try and help her recover her memory, but, as we learn later, in reality to muddle her memories as they come back. At times it seems like everyone around her is lying or part of some elaborate plot to mislead her.

Gradually Chloe's memory comes back in bits and pieces, with red herrings scattered throughout. As these recollections occur Chloe's attempt to unravel the puzzle of the car accident becomes perplexing.

We are left guessing for much of the book. As we approach the conclusion I begin to distrust one of the characters who is supposedly a friend. When Chloe realizes what happened and who was responsible it comes as a shock to her.

I greatly enjoyed this novel. The author does a good job of weaving together characters and lies in such a way that we are left puzzling until the end.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this novel from the publisher via Net Galley.

Between the Lies by Michelle Adams is a fast paced mystery. Chloe Daniels wakes up from a coma not knowing where she is, who she is, or who the people are that claim they are her family. When she wakes up she is living with her parents and sister. They tell her she is in her 30s and used to be an attorney. Evidently, she crashed her car and has a head injury and a brain bleed. This has caused her amnesia. Her dad is a psychotherapist and is trying to treat her amnesia. Little by little memories start coming back. What she remembers does not add up with what she’s been told. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away because every chapter more and more is revealed and I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I thought I had this figured out but I was wrong. I definitely recommend this book. It reads very fast and every chapter had a mini cliffhanger that kept me reading on and on well into the night. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SO MANY LIES.........

Chloe is a lost soul after she awakens from a head injury with complete memory loss. With only her unfamiliar troubled parents and younger sister to help piece together what happened one fateful rainy night, she doesn't know which way to turn or who to believe....BETWEEN THE LIES.

Michelle Adams gives us a roller coaster of a read while Chloe slowly discovers tidbits of information about herself, and the tragic accident (no spoiler here) that changed her life.

A compelling read with shocking truths....and lies interspersed throughout the storyline.

***Arc provided by Meghan Harrington, St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for review***

I found the dynamics between Chloe and her family to be disturbing to say the least. Although her father kept insisting that he was trying to help her, I think he did not have her best interests at heart. Although I liked the story I found it was lacking in some places. For instance the sister Jess is completely forgotten at the end of the story. It had some interesting twists- the best when the driver of Damien's car is revealed. This is an ok read but one I would not necessarily recommend to others. Thank you for letting me read this.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Griffin, and Michelle Adams for the opportunity to read this great psychological thriller - 4.5 stars!

Chloe awakes from a coma in a hospital room with no memory of the family gathered around her bedside nor of what led her to be there. As she begins her recovery at home, her psychiatrist father works with her in therapy to try and recover her memories as well as heal from them. But as Chloe begins having dreams that she thinks might be memories, she's wondering if her family is lying to her and, if so, why?

This quick synopsis is all you need so that nothing is given away, because this is a story that's tough to put down. You'll question who to believe and who's to blame and your thoughts will change as you go along in the story.

Great read!

I enjoyed this mysterious story and the way the secrets were slowly revealed by the author. This is a story about liars and the lies we tell to protect those we love. I enjoyed the story but I found myself a little frustrated with the main character at some points in the story. Overall I did enjoy this read. Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anytime a book or a TV show resorts to a character contracting amnesia, it is automatically going to be hard to pull off as credible or interesting to me. It has been done and overdone. So from the beginning of this, I needed to be impressed with the rest of the story or the characterizations. If you like the amnesia tactic, you'll likely enjoy this much more than I did.

The characters themselves were all a bit of a mystery, which can be intriguing. Here it is mainly because the main character and narrator Chloe has amnesia and cannot remember even who her mother, father, and sister are. So I had no idea who to trust or believe when she went to recuperate in their house. Chloe was in a very serious car accident (hit her head of course) but can remember nothing about it. It appears she has no friends or job as she cannot remember anyone else existing in her life. Gradually she begins to suspect that her family is covering up or making up facts about the past. I felt her frustration as the storyline progressed only as quickly as her memories returned. There is one main mystery that I needed to see the answer to, and it turned out a little disappointing. Then the last chapter made so sense, partly because there seems to be a major misprint in my galley copy (I am out on a limb here). Overall the star value of 3 is mostly for the lies, secrets, and suspicions. A point was deducted for the amnesia.

Between The Lies by Michelle Adams was a book that I struggled to put down. I started it on Saturday afternoon and finished it Saturday night. The story had me so engrossed that I really just had to keep reading. I love it when a book takes over like that. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be looking out for her again in the future.

This was a very fast paced story of love, family and trust. Chloe Daniels wakes from a coma after a car accident that nearly took her life not knowing who she is. The people by her bedside say they are her family but she can't even remember them. They are trying to protect and help her but she feels frustrated at not being able to remember anything about her life. Slowly the memories start to return but she struggles to put the pieces together. She is having vivid dreams but are they just dreams? Her family seem to be keeping important information from her and she is no longer sure if she can trust them. Does she really want to know the truth?

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

I enjoyed this book to a point but I also felt that it was rather repetitive and the characters were not very likable and somewhat unbelievable. The concept of the story is good but it was dragged out for too long and the ending was anti-cli
matic.. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this book for my honest review.

Her name is Chloe. She is 32 years old, a lawyer, had house of her own and lived a happy good life… That’s what her family told her, not what she remembers.

Between the Lies revolved around Chloe’s forgotten life and her constant fight and efforts of knowing who she really was and what her life before the accident was.

Characters-

All characters were so creative and intriguing. They were all flawed and unlikable, even Chloe at some point and even those who seemed likable at first. They were highly unpredictable and complicated that made the book stand out from all psychological thriller.

Chloe’s father. He was so much controlling. I never trusted him throughout the story. I even had a doubt he was responsible for what happened to Chloe. At some point I could reason with his perception regarding Chloe’s past and there was some truth as well but he twisted and manipulated it to the extent that it horrified me.

Chloe’s mother was living somewhat good happy life outside the house but in house felt anxious around her and even more in presence of her father. It felt like she was acting the script written by Chloe’s father and I didn’t like it. I could feel how terrible her life might be to live with such tyrant but I also hated her for not standing up for her own daughter.

Jess was Chloe’s younger sister who was lil bit more normal than her parents. She first gave the impression of not knowing half of the truth. But I was so wrong about her as well.

Chloe was more complex. We get to know her more as her memory returns. She was not all nicest and likable. She had a lot to cope with. She made some terrible mistakes, she was weak and always ran away from difficulties which cost her more than her life and memory. But she tried to make things right and that’s what made her human. Her development was gradual and I liked how she followed her instincts and turned out stronger at the end.


Book was gripping from the very beginning. Chloe was in terrible accident. When she woke up from coma one month later, she didn’t know who she was, what her past life was like. She felt stranger among her own family and home they said she grew up in. And suspicious thing was they don’t allow her to go out or meet anyone else which immediately created doubt in my mind and made me to believe Chloe.

I was eager to know who she really was and why her own family were keeping her prisoner, did she has some other home or family, if they were telling the truth why she felt weird and strange among them? And as I read more I get to know how manipulating they were. Can she find out the truth about her and her past life between the lies? Eventual returns of memory and what Chloe discovers over the course of the book gives answer to all these questions.

The plot was so brilliant and engrossing. Each chapter ended with a twist, a more questions, a shocking discovery that made me more desperate to find out the truth, and reality of Chloe’s life. I devoured each pages with its depth.

The book had many layers. It was about truth, lies, and manipulation; betrayal, loss and love; dysfunctional family and its impact on life of all family members; how past is important in life and how it helps us to be better person.

The story was first person narrative from Chloe’s perspective. Her voice was full of emotion – frustration of not remembering anything, her anger for lies her family told, desperation to have normality, and a sense of sadness and regret for losing her loved ones. Author portrayed Cleo’s feelings so wonderfully that it drew me into the heart and mind of Chloe. The setting was atmospheric. Constant fog and rain, Chloe’s house, forest, surrounding village, beach created perfect tense atmosphere for the plot.

There were passages from unknown narrator in between the chapters that tells about narrator’s thought and obsessive love for Chloe. It was creepy to read his thoughts and it gave bad vibes. He raised even more questions and I was so sure he was the reason for what happened to Cloe but who he was that I couldn’t guess until climax.

Twist and turns and suspense was mind-blowing. That twist at around 45% of the book just baffled me. I couldn’t trust anyone, not even Chloe. Last 30% of the book was utterly brilliant. Near the climax, I could guess who might be the narrator, who caused the accident, who was that obsessed lover and what might have happened. But I was so so wrong in my theories. What a turn of events that was! And end was totally unpredictable. I believed the event as they were described in the end but I was shocked by what Chloe revealed.

Overall, it was easy to read, steady paced, page turner psychological thriller with brilliant plot and intriguing characters. I just loved this book and I highly recommend it.

Between the Lies by Michelle Adams made me feel a lot of different emotions! At first I felt very confrontational towards the family, and then claustrophobic when I put myself in Chloe's position. Picture this: You're living life, driving your car, and then you wake up in the hospital and have no idea who you are, where you are, nor how you got to this place. The people claiming to be your family are complete strangers, yet they're taking to your "childhood house" to recover. Meanwhile, your "father" is now your "shrink" and thinks its best that you never leave the house and don't talk about your previous life. Talk about a lot of fears rolled into one life. I couldn't put this down but also couldn't stop cringing! Wow, did I hate the family. But, this is just proof of great writing by the author.

I felt it was a thriller but also seemed to have a psychological thriller aspect wrapped up in a neat little bow and presented to the reader as a thrill ride. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for recommending this and sending it to me to read early. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars!

So far this has been a very good reading year with many really good books and this was a great one!

Chloe wakes up from a month long coma after being in a horrendous car crash. Suffering from a bleed on her brain she has no real memory of what happened and worse, she has no memory of anyone in her life.

Gloe is released to the custody of her family but she doesn't know who to trust. She feels trapped in her parents estate with the locked gates and isolation. Her Father who happens to be a renowned psychiatrist insists on treating her memory loss in his own way and though she is slowly getting her memory back she does not feel comfortable with the way he is treating her. I mean really who would feel comfortable being treated by their Father in this way? She does not trust him and as her distrust grows she finds herself trusting her Mother and sister more each day as well. It seems that with every truth told to her there are two lies.

As the memories continue to come back Chloe finds out just how painful the secrets she has forgotten are.

This is a wonderfully written gothic, contemporary novel. Michelle Adams does a great job in every aspect of the novel. You feel Chloe's confusion, her feeling of being smothered by her family and her parent's estate and yes even her secrets.

This is a must read!