Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. A thrilling, exciting read with many twists and turns that keeps you guessing until almost the end.

I picked up this book due to the cover and the missing child blurb, but I was left sorely disappointed with the way of writing.

The story went thus, child Josie was kidnapped from home, father tried to stop, was hit on the head and drugged and left elsewhere, the mother called the cops and investigations started, leading to twists.

My second and perhaps the last book by Jake Cross, the book left me disappointed as the prose didn’t read like a complete story, the dialogues were pretty bad. The twists were good, but they left me with more questions. There were many characters, at one point, I stopped trying to figure out who was who and just wanted to get to the part where the child was found.

The last reveal was exciting, though I wouldn’t say the author built it up well. There was hardly any suspense or thrill in the entire book which such a plot would warrant. The characters didn’t cosy up to me or make me want to root for them. A dialogue which haunted me, the mother was with the kidnappers and was afraid when one of them was about to put his hand between her legs but suddenly thinks she didn’t care as it might mellow him.

At that point, I stopped caring. I didn’t think the author understood how a woman or a mother would react when her child is gone. The love for the child was not shown well. So overall, it was an okay read, could have been so much better.

My type of story: a fast-paced thrill ride that unfold over a short period of time. I love the title. Highly recommend!

This is the first book I read by the author Jake Cross and wow was it really good. He is my new favorite author. It is a stand alone novel which is nice.

This book is about a mother, Anna, who will do anything to get her five year old daughter back. I really liked how the author portrayed Anna. All this mother wanted was to get her daughter back and would stop at nothing to do this. In the end she had to be brave and face her demons of the past to do this.

I also liked there were so many twists and turns throughout the whole book. You never knew what surprise was coming next. This book had me guessing up til the end. I just love books like this.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This month seems a month full of 'meeting' unknown (at least unknown to me) authors. It's always a pleasure reading a story written by a favourite author because you know you will be in for a treat. But I also love being surprised by what new authors have in store

The blurb is already sending chills down my spine and the book's opener is very promising.

Maybe the story is not the most suspenseful I have read, but you certainly need to keep focused because the twists and turns make your head spin and if you do not pay attention you will have missed out on something. You are thrown into the past and dragged back into the present so fast you feel like you are sitting in a time machine. 4 stars.

Thank you, Jake Cross, Bookouture and Netgalley.

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?

A crazy, fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing. I thought I had it figured out but boy was I wrong, and I'm glad I was. Great book!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheFamilyLie
Pub Date: 23 Apr 2019

Could not get into, the language was waaaaaaaaaayyyy too wordy. The premise was interesting, but with the investigator saying dear every five seconds and the language, couldn't finish.

Anna wakes up to find her house broken into and her husband and daughter missing. In a panic, she dials 911. She then calls her father and sister. And soon they all join her in a race to find Nick and Josie.

The Family Lie is fast paced, edge of your seat action from page one. I was easily able to put myself there with the characters in their race to rescue Josie. The twists and turns had me guessing until the end. The main characters in the story were well written. I was able to connect with them and care about what happened to them. The passion that Nick had for his family was palpable.

Although the main characters were pleasant to read, I found that there were way too many additional characters in the story. I had a lot of trouble keeping up with who was who and how they were connected. The connections were sometimes confusing and hard to place.

There were a few problematic areas that need pointing out. The first: "...whacking the energy out of Jodie when the little lady cannot sleep..." Whacking feels like a poor choice of words here. It feels too abusive.
The second: Anna is afraid at one point that a man is about to put his hand between her legs and she "...doesn't even care because it might mellow him." This is NOT how any woman would react. Unless the woman has a past of sexual abuse or is a sex worker. Anna was neither of these things, so it would be very out of character for her to let a man put his hands between her legs, just so that he will calm down. This is a disturbing use of sexual assault with the woman accepting it.

The cover is nice. But, I don't think it reflects the content of the book well enough.

Despite a few hiccups, I would definitely recommend The Family Lie to a fellow reader.

I received a free e-copy of The Family Lie by Jake Cross from NetGalley for my honest review.

Anna Carter is woken up by a strange sound on one rainy night. She discovers that the sounds are coming from the baby monitor. Then she notices that her husband, Nick, is not in bed. She goes into Josie's room to see what is causing the noise. She notices the window is open, the floor is wet from the rain, and her child isn't in her room. She starts going from room to room looking for her daughter and her husband. A door is open on the patio along with the gate in her yard.

Anna is getting worried and then she realizes the wet spot on her porch is blood! She calls the police and reports them missing. When the police arrive and they ask her lots of questions. Where did they go? Something isn't right! Anna thinks someone took them and the police think that her husband, Nick has Josie.

Twists, turns, lies and thrills. Good read but I wanted more out of the last half of the book.

I struggled a bit with this book. Even though it was set over two days its seemed to drag in places. However, I was definitely engaged enough to finish it as I did really want to know what happened and see how it all came together. I did, as other readers have pointed out, get really irritated with the lead detective who at only 40 something called Anna dear the whole time. It just seemed really inappropriate. A good few twists on the way to a good, unique ending.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and of course the author for this digital ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book is a twisted psychological thriller and while I did enjoy the story I found it slow in parts but the twists and turns were plenty and made this a enjoyable read

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Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Carter wakes up and find that her husband Nick and her daughter Josie are missing from their home. At first the police are reluctant to listen to Anna but as time goes on they realize that there is more going on here than just a possible domestic.

The police think that Nick has taken off with Josie but when Nick is found without her, the shift turns to Anna's rich father and a possible ransom situation.

The story is filled with rich characters that have multiple layers, which are slowly peeled away like the skin of an onion.

Anna wakes up in the middle of the night to a strange noise and goes to check on her 5-year-old daughter Josie. She finds her daughter is missing and so is her husband, Nick. Eventually Nick is found, drugged and unable to recall what happened. The police think he is responsible for Josie's disappearance, but Anna doesn't think Nick is capable of doing anything to Josie. What happened to Josie? Who can Anna trust? Will her past resurface and be a reason for Josie's disappearance?
This was a fast-paced, multilayered thriller that had me second-guessing with every turn of the page. It was a good book, yet not one of my favorites.
Thank you to Jake Cross, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The Family Lie

I know a lot of people have enjoyed this book, but unfortunately it isn’t for me. Although this book started out strongly, in the middle of a suspenseful scene, it quickly became very frustrating. It felt very scattered. There was too much going on, and I could not get into it. I felt it was written quite poorly. I didn’t care for the characters. There were rather annoying, with matching quirks. There are too many negatives for me to mention and for me to recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very complex and twisted tale with lots of red herrings. No idea where this book was going,slightly far fetched and convoluted but a good read.

I enjoyed this book and the storyline but there were also some annoying factors too though. At times there was too much going on and I had to go back and reread sections as I hadn’t quite followed. I also found it annoying that the inspector kept on referring to people as ‘dear’ ‘your man’ ‘your Anna’. Generally a good read.

Ugh... this one started off strong for me, but was so confusing with way too many extraneous characters and plot lines. I considered giving up many times throughout the book, and now I wish I had. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

1.5/5 stars

Another very good thriller by this author. Lots of twists and turns. Would recommend. Look forward to the next book.

Any mother's worst nightmare - waking up in the middle of the night to find your child gone, when you know they were safely in their bed when you went to sleep. Not only that, but Anna's husband Nick has vanished too and she's sure that there's blood on the step outside... Police think her husband has taken her baby but Anna knows something else is going on - she just doesn't know what.

Where is Josie, where is Nick and what is happening to her family? Nick shows up drugged with no sign of their daughter and the plot takes off again from there.

This thriller from Jake Cross definitely delves into the nightmare that is a kidnapping and home invasion with so many twists and turns you can't help but keep turning the page. It's a tense thriller with a good pay off that I hadn't guessed at the end!

The book opens with the dramatic scene of a home invasion and abduction. Anna wakes in the middle of the night to find her daughter Josie and husband Nick missing, the patio doors open, rain streaming in and blood on the steps. From there the suspense doesn't let up in this twisty tale of family lies.

Nick is found later that day, drugged and confused on the street, but the police still suspect he may be involved in the plot, especially when a call for a ransom comes in. The police know Nick and Anna are struggling financially and that Anna's very wealthy father won't help them out, despite doting on his granddaughter. But is money the only motive for this kidnapping? The kidnappers have said it's time for Nick and Anna to pay their dues and one of them will soon work out what that means.

This was a really engaging read which kept up the tension all the way through. I liked that the police in this novel are organised and smart, even the middle aged DI Miller (who made me grit my teeth every time she called Anna 'Dear') and especially the foul mouthed DC Nabi (who turned out to be the smartest of all).