A complex and twisty tale with plenty of red herrings.

This story isn’t bad at all but it was overwritten in places. Sometimes it is just too much description and others just the overly formal correct grammar and sentence structuring that make it feel just a bit odd. Now this obviously is my opinion on the style which isn’t my type but may work for you.

The story itself and how it plays out was actually pretty good. There were quite a few surprises and twists. I was happy with the conclusion. So, even with the writing style not being mine, it kept my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

The Family Lie is a thriller that for me didn’t quite hit the mark, the storyline was good it just lacked any kind of suspense build up.
We start this book off with action and lots of it. Anna wakes up to find her husband, Nick and her 5 year old daughter, Josie are missing, the patio door is wide open and the window in Josie’s room is open. Anna calls the police and think her husband has abducted her daughter until Nick is found the next day, drugged and unaware of who anyone is until the drugs wear off.
This thriller set off at a right pace and I couldn’t wait to turn the page but all of a sudden the drama disappeared and there was no suspense, several times I could have put it down and not finished it but I made myself read it. It is a good story in the sense of the the who, what, where, when and how it was just the way it was told, the detective calling Anna, dear all the time wound me up as did Anna calling her 5 year old daughter little lady all the time.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but found it a bit slow. A complex story with plenty twists just didn’t grab me as much as I hoped it would.

This is my very first Bookouture Books On Tour blog tour and when I saw this book, The Family Lie by Jake Cross, I was very intrigued. Then, when I read what it was about, I was super eager to join.   
The story begins when Anna Carter wakes up to strange sounds coming from the baby monitor. Then she notices that her husband, Nick, is not in bed.  She goes into her daughter, Josie's room to see what's causing the noise she heard on the baby monitor. The window is open, the floor is wet from the rain, and Josie is gone.  Anna goes through the house room by room looking for both Nick and Josie, but she finds no one. She also sees that the door is open on the patio along with the gate leaving the yard.

Upon further investigation, Anna realizes that the wetness on the floor she thought earlier was rain is actually blood.  She then calls the police and reports both Nick and Josie missing. The police arrive and ask a lot of questions and something doesn't feel right. While Anna really believes that someone took both of them, but the police think otherwise -- they think that Nick has Josie and they are gone.

Because this is a thriller, you know that's about all I can tell you about the story without writing a spoiler.  I'll tell you though, this book was a serious page turner. I kept wanting to know what was next -- who took the girl and whether her father was responsible. I wanted to know where had they gone, were they together, did the husband have the daughter, or was it something darker than that? So many of this family's truths really caused readers to have immediate opinions on the "who dun it" of this story.

The Family Lie was a very engaging and tension filled story all the way through to the end.  I couldn't believe I blew through this book as fast as I did, but you can't help but to keep turning pages to get to the truth.  The author did a great job with the main characters and I'd definitely read another Jake Cross thriller!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

This book was very suspenseful. It had you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Ann’s nightmare is a nightmare that no mother wishes to go through. She wakes in the middle of the night and both Nick and her 5 yr old daughter are gone. Nick ends up being found drugged and their daughter is no where to be found. Is it a coincidence or is their past coming back to haunt them?

Anna Carter wakes in the middle of the night to find that her daughter, 5-year-old Josie, and her husband, Nick are missing from the house. Though Nick later returns home, it appears that Josie has been kidnapped and a ransom demanded. Who has taken her and why? NO SPOILERS.

This was pretty typical domestic drama with characters I found annoying and dialogue that I found pretty lame. Who calls their child "little lady" and which police officers use the word, "dear" when addressing victim families? Constantly. I didn't care for either Anna or Nick and there were no big twists or surprises that make this stand out from all the rest of the stories that have a missing or kidnapped child. The premise for the plot was quite thin and I didn't much care for the conclusion.

So, this was not a favorite but I might be willing to try another book by this author as long as it wasn't more of the same style and topic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

EXCERPT: The room is dark, but she can see that the patio door is halfway open, rain shooting in to soak the carpet, fast and loud, and that's all she can see.
Because there's no Nick, no Josie.
But she drags her eyes away from it. She stumbles across the room and peeks behind the floor to ceiling room divider, but she already knew that the dining room would be as black and lifeless as the rest of the house.
No Nick. No Josie.
Now she cannot avoid that patio door. She rushes outside, into the stinging rain, into the black. She calls their names, both of them, but of course there's no answer. The world is black, and the rain distorts everything like a sheet of frosted glass, but she can clearly see that there's ...
No Nick. No Josie.
Beyond the high back hedge her eyes latch onto a fragment of street, and cars, and houses belonging to neighbours floating in tranquil dreams. She can see these things because the back gate is wide open, which means it's as good as a sign. Big and bright and neon and undeniable: gone.
A light is on in a house across the garden and the street beyond, and she thinks she sees someone at the bedroom window, and then the pain in her throat makes her realize that she's been screaming. She turns, meaning to get back, get to her phone, get the police, but she trips on the half-moon concrete step. one bracing hand thuds onto the step with a squelch, not a splash. And when her hand comes away, her skin is greasy, and the moonlight catches it, and she knows she's looking at a palm coated in blood.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: You whispered goodnight to your daughter. You didn’t know that would be your last goodbye.

You wake up in the middle of the night.

Your five-year-old daughter is gone.

Your husband is nowhere to be seen.

Your family think he took her.

The police believe he’s guilty.

But he wouldn’t do that, would he?

He’s a loving father. A loving husband. Isn’t he?

MY THOUGHTS: I liked the premise of this book. It was the execution I found lacking.

The Family Lie is a dialogue driven book. It lacks atmosphere. At no time did I feel any suspense. In fact, several times I was on the point of abandoning this read, including at the 90% mark. The writing is often unwieldy and clumsy, e.g. (and this is by no means the worst example) 'They composed themselves and walked downstairs, where Nick planned to use the phone in reception. The concierge smiled as they appeared, and asked no questions. And that was when it happened.
She put her fingers in his eyes, and while he was distracted the disk was snatched from his hand.'

I felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters except Miller (think 'Vera'). So little is known about the snatched child, Josie, that she doesn't seem at all real.

Not a read that I will be recommending. I understand that reading is an entirely subjective experience and that, while this book wasn't one I enjoyed, you may well love it. So if the excerpt piques your interest and you like the sound of the plot synopsis, please get a copy and read it.

THE AUTHOR: Also wrote The Choice.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Family Lie by Jake cross for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

Fast paced easy to read and very enjoyable. Keeping you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. Really enjoyed this one

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Jake Cross for the opportunity to read his latest thriller.

Anna wakes in the middle of the night from noises coming through the baby monitor in their 5-year-old's room. She realizes it's rain coming in from an open window but Josie is not in her room. As she goes to investigate, she realizes her husband, Nick, is not in the house either. She runs outside and sees blood on the steps before calling the police. When the police arrive, they seem to think Nick is the one who took Josie, even though Anna believes in Nick. The search for Josie is on.

While there were lots of twists and turns in this book, somehow it didn't capture my complete attention and I never felt drawn in to the characters or story. Some things bugged me - Anna always referring to Josie as "little lady." There were lots of characters in this book but instead of adding suspicion, just seemed to cause some confusion.

A good read but just not a great one to me.

Well written and well thought out. This is a really good read read. The plot is brilliant and gripping. There is a lot of action and an interesting story.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

“Hope you’ve got good pictures of Josie in your head. You’ll need them.”

Anna wakes to the sound of white noise….but then realises its rain she can hear……she gets up to check her daughter Josie, but finds her bedroom empty, frantic she searches the house but she’s nowhere to be found, neither is Nick, her husband. She finds the patio door open, blood on the doorstep and she runs outside screaming for Josie.

Coming to her senses she calls the police…..where are Nick and Josie….

With a house full of Detectives and CSI’s they find nothing and begin to wonder if Nick has taken Josie….but then a ransom demand call is received and Anna starts to panic……what has she done to deserve this….?

This is a fast, frantic thriller at times with background details given in between the tension…..plenty to keep you turning the pages, to keep you wondering……just why was Josie taken and will she be found?…a story of secrets and the consequences of our actions on others…the past will come back to haunt you !!! A clever psychological thriller.

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and the Author for the free copy of the ebook and this is my honest and unbiased review.

Anna Carter has awakened to find her husband, Nick, and their 5-year-old daughter, Josie, are missing. The patio door is standing open and there is blood on the back step. Anna is convinced someone has broken in and taken both of them.

After the police arrive, she sees a text on her phone saying Josie has been taken and Anna loses. Then, a phone call comes in telling her not to involve the police or Josie loses a finger. When it’s discovered that Nick’s van is missing, Anna begins to wonder if he took her. But why? Later, Nick is found on the street hyped up on drugs and delirious. After the drugs are out of his system, he says someone attacked him and gave him a shot in his neck. If Nick did not take his own daughter, then who did and why?

There are lots of police in the house monitoring the disappearance of Josie and waiting for phone calls from the kidnapper. Anna’s wealthy father is there along with her blind sister, Jane.

Some members of the police appear to be sympathetic but it not come across as genuine. Some don’t seem very professional which is not the case usually with the police in the UK. There is some confusing dialogue from the police. Nick comes across as an impetuous hot head with his crude, unfiltered comments and tendency to jump. Anna is strangely quiet as the search continues for Josie. I tried to feel sympathy for them but the lack of emotion written into the story left me cold. Other than Nick, everyone else seems to roll over and play dead.

This was a convoluted story to follow. Too much dialogue. Too many characters to try and keep up with. I found myself frowning trying to figure out who was who. The reason for the kidnapping is unusual but not necessarily believable. All in all, I cannot recommend this book. it’s exhausting.

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

I can not imagine the pain to wake up at night without finding my husband neither my son, it has to be the worst nightmare for any mother, admit it!
Anna wakes up to discover that her husband and her daughter are missing, of course she will call the police, but she will not like the direction of
the police’s investigation, her husband Nick is the author of the kidnapping. And everything will get worse when she will start receiving calls asking for money. They don’t have the money, but her parents do; so which could be the real reason to ask for money?
Since the beginning the police are searching for more information about the parents, like they are suspects too, so the reader is always suspecting there’s something else behind the kidnapping, of course everything will be told in the end, but it will make the reader searching for conspirations during all of the story!
I didn’t trust any of the characters neither (like the police), Anna’s family is a little bit weird and Nick has some secrets too, so is the perfect story to suspect from everyone but without knowing the real reason…
This had been a twisted story; full of secrets and twists that will delight any reader, I can assure you! 😉
Ready for The Family Lie?

After reading the blurb for this book I was looking forward to to getting stuck in to a really good read.
The premise was good, your daughter and husband go missing in the middle of the night. Everyone thinks that your husband has taken her. You are not convinced.
Unfortunately this book did not live up to the hype. I really struggled with it but was determined to finish it. In places the story becomes stagnant and did not keep my attention. Saying that I am sure other readers will love it. Unfortunately not for me.
I would like to thank the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I requested this book after reading the blurb. I was so looking forward to reading it.

Unfortunately, I just could not warm to any of the characters. The main police woman really annoyed me when she was calling everyone "Dear". The chapters were too long and I found myself just wanting to get to the end without really caring about the story.

Sorry it just wasn't for me.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of Jake Cross’ second stand-alone thriller/domestic noir, ‘The Family Lie’, in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Carter wakes in the early hours of the morning to find her 5-year old daughter, Josie, is not in her bed. She then discovers that her husband, Nick, is also missing. Both her family and the police believe that he has taken Josie while Anna feels that he wouldn’t do such a thing. Then a few hours later Nick is found a few miles away drugged and confused and tells of masked men taking Josie. The police still are not convinced that he wasn’t involved.

There is quite a lot going on in the novel including some interesting twists. Cross says in his end notes that his “intention with this story was to stay with the characters at all times, because I felt that skipping a few hours here and there might reset the pace or erode tension.”

It certainly had its moments and I found the opening and final sections quite engaging though felt that the middle was rather confusing at times.

However, my biggest problem with this book was that I found it very difficult to empathise with Anna and Nick. They both were so belligerent towards the police throughout much of the novel, constantly saying and doing inappropriate things that threatened to derail the case. Maybe because I am a big fan of police procedurals that it was disconcerting to have police treated so by the main characters.

While I understand that they are stressed over their daughter it was increasingly hard to care about them. Was this the author’s intention to create edgy, ambivalent characters?

In addition, the constant use of ‘dear’ by DCI Miller was irritating as well as Anna’s references to Josie as ‘little lady’. I know it’s a niggle but both seriously got on my wick. Without spoilers there was also a scene later on that was offensive.

The novel was ok in places but it didn’t really wow me as much as I had hoped. So a moderate 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

The Family Lie is the second standalone psychological thriller/family drama by Jake Cross, but I'm afraid that although it starts out very strong and promising it never really gets off the ground. It started to drag and get quite tedious to read, however, I did eventually complete it and did find the storytelling sound and solid. The premise is a good one despite being well used so it most definitely could've been compelling, but sadly it was let down by the poor plot execution. Overall, this is certainly not a terrible read, however, there are much more gripping thrillers out there. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Anna Carter wakes in the middle of the night and finds her husband, Nick and daughter, Josie missing. The patio doors are open and there’s blood on the outside step, but no sign of where they may be. After reporting them missing, Anna is shocked to find the police suspect Nick of taking their daughter. She cannot believe that he would ever do that and is convinced someone has took them both. All the evidence points to Nick being involved, until he is found drugged and incoherent, with no sign of Josie with him….

My second book by this author and I was instantly drawn to it by the blurb which just gave away enough to reel you in! The story went straight into the mystery when Anna finds her husband and daughter missing. It surely has to be every mother’s nightmare to have their child taken, but to find your husband missing as well, and possibly involved, was enough to send shivers down my spine. I liked Anna’s character and felt for her, not just because of Josie missing, but also because, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get anyone to believe her when she was convinced Nick had nothing to do with their disappearance.

I have to admit, the detective leading the case, DI Miller, did have me slightly perplexed. At times, she struck me as a much older detective, particularly when she kept calling everyone ‘Dear’. She also gave the impression that she had been on the Force for a long time and therefore was more of a ‘mother figure’ to everyone involved with the case. And then at other times, she came across as much younger and less sympathetic to Anna’s case. I found it really hard to put a picture of her in my head, which I like to do as I read!

There are a lot of characters involved in this story, and suspenseful books like these normally have short ‘snappy’ chapters rather than the long and detailed chapters that this book has. But where this book may fall down in some parts, it certainly makes up for it in others! The stroyline was great and the plot was cleverly thought out. There were lots of twists and turns and the story kept the mystery of what was happening right up to the big reveal towards the end. Whilst there was a lot of characters, it also meant that you had a lot of suspects to choose from and I didn’t have a clue what was going on and who was behind it until I got to that part of the book!

This was definitely a tense read full of questions, doubts and of course lies! It held my attention throughout the book and I was surprised by the amount of twists that I just didn’t see coming! The ending was fabulous and tied up all the loose ends perfectly!! An enjoyable read which left me biting my nails in suspense! Would definitely recommend.

Like many others, I chose this book for the cover and the missing child description. It's a common theme with thrillers these days - the missing child concept - but it is also one that never grows old as each writer puts a different spin on it. However, while I liked the idea behind this story, it was the execution and delivery I found inadequate.

THE FAMILY LIE begins with mother Anna Carter waking in the middle of the night to find daughter Josie and husband Nick missing, window and patio doors open, rain pouring in and blood on the step. She phones the police in a panic to report them missing and before long it becomes obvious that the police suspect Nick of taking Josie. Particularly when she receives a message from Nick stating as much and that he hopes she has enough pictures of Josie because that's all she has of her now. Or words to that effect.

Nick becomes prime suspect in little Josie's disappearance. But Anna doesn't believe Nick is responsible. Someone else has taken her child. But all the evidence points to Nick. That is, until the police receive information that Nick has been found - reported to be drunk and disorderly. Tests later confirm that he was drugged with ketamine and his confusion was due to the heavy dose given. Under heavy questioning, the police manage to get some semblance of a story of what actually happened from Nick.

The police move in to their house, set up an incident room in their dining room and from then on it seems to be a race to nowhere. The kidnappers call and list their demands - among them, £50,000 in a plastic bag inside a shoebox, delivered by Anna, and ONLY Anna. Anna complies and follows their instructions...only to be told "We want Nick to deliver the money" and that it was "time to pay his dues". I'm guessing this was to send police into a flurry and to look into Nick's past to see what it was he had done to warrant this. But apart from a few questions about "what did that mean?", it simply went overlooked. If it was meant to be a red herring for the reader then looking into Nick's past was warranted. So when the police failed to follow it up, as a reader I wasn't particularly interested...but it stayed at the back of my mind in case their lack of investigation WAS the red herring and they were really looking into it "on the QT". Whatever.

The entire "money drop" by Nick was in part intriguing as well as being a seemingly wild goose chase. The kidnappers just appeared to be toying with him for the fun of it. I admit, there was suspense in the running around to estate agents and charity shops, changing trains, tossing phones and picking up another and racing here there and everywhere. But it was a little drawn out. When suddenly the drop was made, that was it. Now what?

Then Anna disappears and Nick receives a text from her stating that he was not Josie's real father and apologies for the way she went about getting their money to run away. Ending with she hoped HE had enough pictures of Josie in his mind because he will never see her again. Really? Nick wasn't even slightly suspicious? Questioning is this what it's really about?

And so begins another race for the truth...whatever that is...

I admit that I struggled with this book. I found it hard to get into the story and the style of writing was incredibly hard to follow. I often found myself having to re-read sentences and/or paragraphs several times before I could work out what was going on. It was not just odd, it was frustrating. Then there were the "flashbacks" or past events that weren't even indicative as such. The reader was taken back and forth constantly without any real clear guidance that I had to keep flipping back pages and re-reading parts to work out what was happening. Most authors title such events to separate them from the present, making it far easier for the reader to follow.

But that was not the only thing. There was just so much going on in the story that it too made it hard to keep up and to follow. Mostly this can be incorporated in such a way that everything flows and blends together but not this book. Everything was just so convoluted. It was confusing and all over the place. Half of what was in this book could have been reduced and still kept the pace of the story intriguing enough for the reader.

Then there was my biggest hate - long chapters. I use the Kindle app where it tells you how long is left in the chapter, and honestly, chapters that went for not just 45 minutes but and hour and 3 minutes? That just drags the whole thing out and made reading this book a real chore. Long chapters do NOT make for fast paced or exciting reading. And then within each of these long chapters, were little parts broken up for each separate scene between Nick, Anna, the police etc. All of this could have been done in separate chapters! Not parts separated with a decorative filigree within a huge long chapter. And as the book is broken into two parts, I didn't see the point of that. There was no great shift in perspective to warrant Part One and Part Two, in my opinion. For that to work, a Part Three should have been added in that case for the real story to unfold in.

And then there's the writing. I had to agree with a few other reviewers of the poor choice of words on many occasions. The biggest being where the the kidnapper Anna refers to as "ball cap" puts his hand between her legs and she "doesn't even care because it might mellow him." No way. I'm a woman. Instinct would have us thrust his hand away, no matter the cost. It's instinct. No woman would let a man put his hand between her legs without invitation unless she had been a past victim to sexual abuse or, as one reviewer stated, was a sex worker. And being neither of those, it was too out of character for Anna to allow this just to mellow him. This is not how a woman would react. I don't think the writer understands women or how they, or a mother, would react in such a situation.

Words. The writer must love words. The book is too wordy. Too much monologuing and description. Not enough dialogue. Where's the connection between the characters? Where's the conversation? The dialogue? This is what connects people. This is what connects the readers to the characters. Not overt descriptions of action. I could't connect with any of the characters. The closest I could was DCI Miller, and even she annoyed me with her constant use of "dear" at the end of every sentence and always adding "apologies for that, but" into the middle of a conversation. Police don't generally apologise for everything. The use of both words was patronising.

DCI Miller did remind me a little of "Vera" but not as motherly and a lot more patronising. While it was only hinted at once during a phone call Nick inadvertently overhead, it appears Miller was gay with the use of the other person's name being Liz. It could be a child but instinct told me the way the conversation was carried it was a partner. However, this was not built on. I found he writer did a lot of that. Threw tidbits of information about a character without actually following through with it, so we as readers don't actually get the full picture to connect with the character. I know it was paramount to the story, but it helps give the character more depth. When she suddenly disappeared at the end, I kind of felt like Nick did in his reaction to her no longer being there.

None of the characters had much depth. They all just seemed to just be there, a little wooden, many without focus or purpose.

And all the while the reader could be forgiven for forgetting that this story was about a missing child because there was nothing to connect you with her. The story seemed to be mostly about the chase and the games the kidnappers seemed to be playing, as well as secrets coming to light. Nothing about Josie at all. All the rubbish on the drive back from London to Sheffield was a load of bollocks!

"On the M1 four things happened..." This confused me. Four things? What four things. It was then broken down into driver locations, but these things could have been woven into the story subtly or eliminated altogether. They weren't mind-blowing. In fact some were even unnecessary. And what of Anna saying she doesn't want a funeral for Josie? There is no evidence to suggest she is dead! Then jumping out of the car to suddenly throw herself off a cliff.

However, while there was a lot I didn't like about THE FAMILY LIE, I did enjoy the second half more as the pace picked up in the excruciatingly hour long chapter detailing Nick's race to drop the ransom and the kidnapper's taunting. But only marginally. There was a lot of unnecessary additions that could have been left out.

The writer's use of the same words or phrases throughout the book wore a little thin. "And then it happened" and the over-use of "my little lady" when referring to Josie made my skin crawl. It was creepy. This, on top of Miller's constant "dear" and "apologies for this" as I said were a little patronising. It didn't endear her to me. In fact, she spoke to Anna and Nick like they were children.

Then there was DC Nadi, who was foul-mouthed and rude, and would have been on report for the way he treated and spoke to the family. While he may have ended up saving the day, his indifference STILL at the end did not endear me to him at all. Of course, his attitude was explained away...but only seemingly in passing and still didn't make me sympathise with him at all.

And in the end, what was it all for? Something from the past that suddenly came to light in a messy and convoluted way. THE FAMILY LIE had the potential to be a great and compelling read but it failed on more than one count.

I will say that one clever piece woven into the story was the secret messages from Anna to her sister and the kidnapper's to Anna. I thought that was a touch of brilliance.

This is my second book by Jake Cross and I couldn't even get a quarter of the way through the first one, The Choice. And I had to struggle my way through this one. Needless to say, I will not be seeking out any more books by this author.

I would like to thank #JakeCross, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyLie in exchange for an honest review.

The Family Lie is a tense and thrilling read, the prologue grabbed me straight away. I will definately be reading more of Jake Cross's work, I really enjoyed the style this book was written in.
I can't even imagine waking up and finding your husband and child gone, the author did a great job of conveying all the emotions and thoughts that might go through someone's mind.
Full review to follow on my blog.