I squealed when I saw Christina McDonald had another book coming out and I could not click fast enough on this one. Much like her debut I was on the edge of my seat until the very end with this one. Some twists are predictable but others will take you by surprise and you'll have to catch your breath.

McDonald has once again woven a story at the perfect pace to keep her readers engaged. Secrets are revealed at the most timely spots and POV timeframes switched at the perfect opportunity to give us more understanding of the bigger picture. The past and present POV's were the best part of this book for me.

The characters in this one were another huge plus for me. This author knows how to get her readers to feel everything from anger, sadness, empathy and even fear when it comes down to it. We feel these things not just for Eva, but her mother Kat as the story unfolds.

This book is for every reader who loves a good suspense and enjoys twists, even the predictable ones. McDonald definitely has a huge fan in me and I cannot wait to see what comes next!

I just finished Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald book and I will now read all of her books. This is another thriller and heart racing book. It is about the mother daughter relationship and the deeper you get into the book the more you learn. The story is told by 2 points the Daughter Eva and the mum Kat both past and present. If you loved The Night Olivia Fell you will also love this book I highly recommend both books.Thank you NetGalley.

I had been disappointed by The Night Olivia Fell, so I was nervous to read this novel. McDonald’s debut was well written but it felt like a lesser version of Reconstructing Amelia. Fortunately, Behind Every Lie establishes McDonald’s talents for crafting a wholly original and intriguing plot in addition to her engaging prose. The multiple POVs worked very well to structure the narrative as well, developing complex and realistic characters.

Christina McDonald has followed up her debut novel, The Night Olivia Fell, with another fabulous book.
Christina has taken psychological suspense to a whole new level with Behind Every Lie. The story was riveting and shocking, with scenes that had me catching my breath, my heart racing. There were lies upon lies, startling revelations, intricate details that kept me turning pages.
But there was so much more to this book than a compelling story—there is a depth and beauty to this story that was astonishing. Part of me wanted to read quickly to reach the end, but I’d slow down to appreciate the raw emotion that embodies the story and its broken, complex characters.
I slowed down to savor so many beautiful lines, sentences I read several times to etch the feelings in my heart.
“We can be strong and brave and broken and whole all at the same time.”

Could you imagine waking up in the hospital having been struck by lightening only to be told you're suspected of murdering your own mother? And with no memory of what happened?

Christina McDonald has once again created another thrilling story based around a complicated mother-daughter relationship. Determined to clear her name, Eva Hanson starts digging for answers. The deeper she digs, the more unbelievable her own story becomes. A fabulous book - full of family secrets, a mother's love, and huge regrets.

A must-read author for me and I'll surely be back for more!!

Although I really enjoyed THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL, this one fell flat for me. The premise, coupled with Eva's actions, was just too unbelievable. Because the book took off fast, I didn't get to know or care enough about Eva before she started on this whirlwind investigation. But the thing that bothered me the most is that the characters' reactions just didn't seem believable. Atone point, Eva meets s relative she never knew existed, someone who cherished her, and yet his reaction was just "Oh, how lovely to see you again" - none of the extreme emotion one would expect and then Eva just leaves this person without a backward glance even though she should have wanted to stay by his side and ask a million questions. It just didn't hold together for me.

I loved this unputdownable book! All the stars!
It was a thrilling, unnerving read. The characters were realistic. The plot was gripping and fast-paced. Run, do not walk, out to get this fab book.
Thank you NetGalley.

This fast paced thriller kept me constantly guessing. Once I got used to the point of view of the different time lines it was a fast read. I guessed some of the twists but not all. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this thriller. I give it a sold four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.

Eva's mother's death opens up a secret world she knew nothing about. When she wakes up in the hospital after being struck by lightening, nothing is as it had been before the storm. Her mother is dead. She is a suspect. As she tries to find out what happened, she discovers that her mother isn't who she thought she was, and neither is she.

Behind Every Lie is deliciously twisty while keeping the reader grounded in the realistic. When one lie can only lead to another, how long before the truth comes out?

Twists and turns galore. Most of them I found predictable, some of them not, and one of them actually surprised me. I enjoyed that some reveals were not saved to the end and the details slowly disclosed as the story progressed.  I enjoyed alternating between the past and present to contribute to different POVs and character development.

I would recommend to others. It kept my interest through the end but, like so many thrillers with female main characters, rape as a plot device is not my favorite. At least this one addressed some of the problematic reactions to it.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Absolutely loved this book, couldn’t put it down! So many brilliant twists and turns, keeping me in suspense throughout. With some heart wrenching and jaw dropping moments along the way. I just love Christina’s style of writing and the way it draws you in and you can picture the setting and characters just perfectly with the description given.

The story starts with Eva Hansen waking after being struck by lightning to find out her mother has been murdered. The book then takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey to find out what happened. The chapters jumped from past to present perfectly, each time I thought I had things sussed I really didn’t!

Thank you so much Christina McDonald, Net Galley & Simon and Schuster for this ARC. I really can’t recommend this book enough, especially if you love a good suspense thriller! Be sure to add to your to read list for its release in Feb 2020.

Book Description- Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.

Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

What a great read! I was hooked from page one and literally could not stop reading. What is the truth? What are the lies? Are memories to be trusted? Is Eva guilty of murder? She was found covered in blood, her mother dead and she was struck by lightning! Are people who they really seem? Did she murder her own mother in a savage rage? Are flashes of memories real or mixed up due to her head injury and lightning strike? After her mother’s death, Eva finds a letter written to her by her mom with a cryptic message. Wanting to find out the truth, Eva begins a journey that unfolds more and more pieces of the puzzle that has become her life. You will enjoy this book. I received a free copy of this book and and voluntarily leaving my review.

Christina McDonald has done it again! Imagine waking up in a hospital room, having been struck by lightening and discovering you are a suspect in your mother's murder. This is just the beginning! This book will take you on a wild ride as the protagonist tries to remember two traumas she has experienced while at the same time trying to find out who murdered her mother, even willing to accept that it was her. This story is told from alternating perspectives between mother and daughter, alternating between the past and current time. I read this book in a 24 hour time frame because I could-not-put-it-down. If you like thrillers this is a must read! You will not be disappointed!

Christina McDonald is quickly becoming a favorite author, as The Night Olivia Fell was equally as riveting.

Thank you the author for providing early access to this ARC for me to review.

Christina McDonald is an amazing author. Having read "The Night Olivia Fell" her debut novel I needed to read this one too. Her writing is wonderful you really feel the connection that the characters have to each other. The story jumps from past to present throughout. Eva is struck by lightning and wakes up to find that her mother has been murdered. Eva needs to find out who had done it. She needs to find out the truth but someone is trying to make that impossible for her. Eva doesn't know who to trust. And as she starts to unravel her mothers secrets she starts to wonder if she can even trust herself. A suspenseful must-read!

I loved this book! It was beautifully written and the vivid descriptions made it easy to envision what was going on. There were many twists and turns that kept me enthralled and unable to put this book down. Christina McDonald created another winner. Can’t wait to see what she has in store next.
The story is told from 2 points of view. Eva, present day and her mom Kat both past and present.
The story begins with Eva in the hospital after having been struck by lightning and she was found down the street from her mother’s house where her mother lay dead. Eva is a suspect and since she has no memory, she can’t be sure that she did not kill her mother. She went through an awful tragedy and is still trying to heal. She thought she found refuge in her fiancé Liam, who she recently moved in with. Eva is desperately trying to remember what happen the night her mother was murdered and she gets some flashes and is trying to piece together the night from what she has been told and what she thinks she is remembering. She finds something in her mother’s house that leads her to London to seek answers for her past and hopefully find out who and why her mother was murdered, along with hoping that she wasn’t the one wielding the knife.
Kat gives us a glimpse into her life beginning 25 years ago when Eva was just a toddler. She lived with a very powerful man who abused her. She finally was able to escape him and she tells of her journey from London to ultimately Seattle and why she chose the path that she did. She gives us insight into the reason and culprit of her murder.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

First book I’ve ever read where the story is dependent on the title character having been struck by lightning. Struck by lightning minutes after her mother is murdered. Struck by lightning and suspected of murdering her mother. Because, it seems when you are struck by lightning the memory can go, can give you flashbacks, can make you a different personality. This is actually a really good thriller where Eva feels the need to discover her mothers secrets here and in England to solve the murder she may have committed. It’s a fast paced read, lots of tangents to follow but resolves itself well and believably. Recommended!

A solid mystery with some good twists and a surprising end. My only complaint is a personal preference- I am not a big fan of using rape as a plot device.

I just know Christina McDonald is forever an author that I will always automatically read. So far as I finish up her second book-- I love how she creates such dynamic mother / daughter relationship stories. The type of relationships that don't often seem as they appear. The deeper you dig, the more you find out about not just one character but each one.

I think my absolute FAVE part of this entire book was the way it was written. I loved the past and present POV's and how it wove the story together. I particularly enjoyed knowing what was going on and then turning around and watching Eva unfold it all. I thought the story-line as a whole was nicely paced. Not too rushed - not too slow.

Literally there was twist after twist after twist. Now, it may not blow your mind and you may sit there and say "yeah, I knew that was coming" but you know what? Maybe that is true. But I think if you're like me, you'll still appreciate how believable and real it all seemed.

No matter if you're the type of reader who enjoys being surprised or even if you are the reader who can see a story-line coming from two miles away, I think every type of reader will enjoy this book. I enjoy the way Christina McDonald makes us see the things that we do when we read her books. I am most definitely a forever fan.

I just love every book she writes and this one was no exception! It draws you in and keeps you “swiping” the pages to the very end. No spoilers, but this is a book you can’t put down even if it means sacrificing sleep!

Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Behind Every Lie.

When Eva Hansen wakes up in the hospital after being struck by lightning, she is given the devastating news that her mother is dead. Murdered. And she may have killed her.

As she works to clear her name, Eva must unravel her mother's past, exposing herself to shocking secrets, and a dangerous person out for revenge.

I really enjoyed the premise, a woman traumatized after getting struck by lightning has little memory of what happened the previous night. This makes her an unreliable character, nothing new in novels, but at least her unreliability is due to surviving a shocking ordeal, not because she's mentally ill.

As Eva's paranoia and confusion increases (is it the result of the lightning or is she trying to block the moment she killed her mother?), the readers are left doubting (or not) the veracity of Eva's memories. Coupled with a recent sexual assault, Eva is understandably fragile.

But, is she a killer?

The timeline is set between the present, and the past, where readers are given an inside look at how Eva's mother, Kat, survived a tumultuous marriage and the choices she made that ended up with her dead.

There were some twists, nearly all of which I figured out, especially one I wished the author had kept hidden awhile longer but I understood the need for it to be revealed early because it drove the story forward.

When I started reading, I didn't like Kat, but in the end, I understood her more. I didn't want to be friends with her but I respected the choices she made and what she had to do to protect her daughter.

Eva read like a shallow character in the beginning, always needing to lean on her boyfriend for moral and mental support. But, in the end, I was pleased to see she found her strength and stood up for herself, her body, and her mental health.

The climatic finale is dramatic, and requires a bit more suspension of disbelief than I expected to give but I did so because I enjoyed Ms. McDonald's writing and the story so far.

This was a decent story about a mother and daughter, the lengths we will go to protect a child, and how people will always run from their past, yet rarely escape it.