The Liar’s Sister by Sarah Denzil
The Liar’s Sister is a story of dark secrets of complexities, of a mysterious disappearance and an intriguing murder.
Estranged sisters Heather and Rosie reunite when their mother becomes terminally ill. Heather has always believed that her sister knows more about the disappearance of her friend Samuel Murray than she’s ever let on. The story follows Heather’s quest in discovering what exactly transpired the night Sammy disappeared. She suspects Rosie to be involved as she witnessed a disheveled Rosie climb into her room through her window the night Samuel disappeared. Heather’s confrontation of her sister and the shocking truth revealed by Rosie in the process hurls us readers through a tunnel of intrigue and suspense.
This novel is a psychological thriller in the truest sense and the readers fall hook line and sinker into the plot. The language is typical of any Sarah Denzil novel - engrossing and captivating. She leads us readers to believe one end and as the story progresses we realize how terribly wrong we were. My thanks to NetGalley an advanced readers copy of this book.

This book was fairly average but then the ending had the wow factor
The ending was complex and took me completely by surprise
I recommend this book as a solid read I’d you are a fan of this genre

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping book

wow this story is about two families that live in a village somewhere...a village that is very isolated and the families grow up together

but all families have secrets

samuel goes missing one night and is never seen again

rosie well her life to disintergrated

now heather is back home tending to her mother who is at the end of her life and when she goes things are set in motion that see heather and rosie fighting for their lives

but who is a danger to them....

gripping novel and that ending wow...never saw that coming at all...gonna be adding this author to my ever increasing list of authors to keep an eye out for

4.75 out of 5 stars

I want to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I have ever read a novel by Sarah A. Denzil and I really enjoyed it. Ten years ago a boy named Samuel Murray went missing after Heather's sister Rosie accused him of something terrible. Though Heather really didn't want to she couldn't help but believed that Rosie had something to do with Samuel's disappearance. She never really was able to forgive her sister for what she thinks Rosie has done.

With their Mother in the hospital close to death Heather knows she has no choice but to contact her sister and ask her to return home to their tiny English village that seems to agree with Heather's hidden fear that Rosie killed Samuel.Heather and her Mother have not seen Rosie since she passed out behind the sofa at the girl's Father's wake. Rosie who is a recovering addict doesn't want to return home and face what changed her life all those years ago. She knows the village hates her and doesn't want her to ever return but her Mother and sister need her so she packs up and returns.

A complex thriller wrapped around a family tragedy this novel will keep you reading late into the night. There are aspects of this story that you may very well figure out but there is a twist that will certainly surprise you and entertain you. For all the sweet small towns you find in cozy mysteries there is a darkness that some small towns carry with them. They share secrets, blame the most likely suspects and often have a pact mentality that can ruin a life. I loved the way this book tackled that. I also loved the relationship between the sisters. Both of the pushing and pulling each other. Desperate to share their truths but extremely scared to really open up.

If you like thrillers than this book is one that you wont want to miss. The book is the story of two sisters (Heather and Rose), and the lies and struggles that tore them apart in the past. The story is also told through both
sisters points of view as well as through different time periods, when they were younger and what caused the divide as well as when they are older and how they are coping with seeing each other after their mother's illness. While there was a lot of jumping in time frames and who was speaking that kind of thing the author made it
very easy for the reader to keep track of everything that was going on, which in turn made the story much more enjoyable. When a young boy goes missing its up to Heather to find out what happened that night and unearth all of the secrets that come along with it. The story was very well presented and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen to our main characters. As well the two sisters were wonderfully written and I really connected to both of them. Great read and I can't say enough good things about this book it kept me on my toes and it kept me up all night just waiting to see what was going to happen next.

This book rocked! I was pulled in from the first page. Each time I thought I had it figured out...wrong! Twist and turns galore and an ending you won’t see coming!

Thanks Sarah Denzil for the advance copy!

I have to admit that this was not my favourite book by Sarah Denzil. For some reason, I simply could not get so into it until the last 25% of the story. The book is well written and I enjoyed the format but I guess, I simply could not relate to the characters and that type of sisterly relationship.

The last 25-30% is when everything starts to unfold and at that point, I couldn't stop reading it. There's a lot going on at the end and I specifically enjoyed the surprise on the very last chapter.

This is the first book I've read by Sarah A. Denzil and definitely won't be the last. I was hooked from page one until the surprise ending! I definitely recommend this book.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Denzil's latest, The LIar's Sister, is the first of her work that I've read. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. It tells the story of two sisters and the disappearance of a young man from a nearby farm. It seemed to me that the premise would have made a good short story, but Denzil dragged it out to make a novel. The "twist" at the end is convoluted and unbelievable. There's no way that many people could have known about a crime and not cracked at some point. I can't, in good conscience, recommend this book.to anyone.

Really enjoyed this book, some twists and turns that I didn’t guess- was hooked all the way through

A girl wakes to see her sister sneaking back into their bedroom. Looking desheveled and muddy. She gets sorted and back into bed. This was the night Samuel a friend from the local farm went missing.

For ten years Heather believes her sister Rosie was involved in Samuels disappearance. The two have become estranged, however they are thrown back together with the death of their mother Lily. Following the girls arrival back in the family home, it is apparent the village does not want them back.

Heather feels the only way she build a relationship with Rosie and stay in the village is to discover what happened to Samuel.

The liars sister is a very easy read with a great twist at the end.

I’ve had The Silent Child in my queue for ages, but this is the first book by Sarah Denzil I’ve actually read.

Two sisters have been estranged for years but their mother’s cancer finally brings them back together. Ten years before, the neighbor boy went missing. The same night the elder sister was seen returning home, disheveled, by her younger sister. For all those years, Heather has wondered if her sister Rosie had a role in his disappearance.

This book kept my interest but I can’t say I found it believable. The two sisters never seemed fully formed. And the ending just didn’t work for me although I will admit to being caught by surprise at the big twist.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

I quite enjoyed this book as it was different.  I really wanted something that wasn't all about police investigations and all of the murder.


This really hit that spot as despite the fact that there were crimes it was more about the family dynamics.


Heather and Rosie are sisters but are not close.  It was sad to see the two have such a strained relationship but yet still see much of love in it.


Heather is such a gentle and innocent soul who seems to just want to be loved.  Her first love disappeared under strange circumstances and it always seemed to haunt her.


Rosie the older sister who was the protector of the family.  Too much was placed on her at such a young age and it seems to have broken her.  Now she has put the pieces of her life back together but for how long is the real question.


The story is about a love and a betrayal.  It goes from when the girls were teens up until the girls mother passes away over 10 years later.


It was a great read that you see from the way she ties together the families and makes the shadows so powerful.  This book had such a great draw and was so dark and powerful. You can't help get sucked into the emotions of this story and really feeling for Heather.

I really enjoyed this. Lots of twists and turns and I love novels that have time changes or different perspectives and this one had both. This really showed how small communities are affected by trauma and tragedy.
Great book!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Liar’s Sister talks about the conflict between two families in a small, narrow-minded village. The two families are the Sharpes and the Murrays, who have known each other for a lifetime, but the secrets that exist between the various members lead to a split that has lasted for ten years. On one side there are two sisters, the main characters of the book Heather and Rosie and on the other side Samuel and his adopted brother Peter. Ten years ago something happened, something serious and obscure enough that will put the two sisters in danger.

The book starts with a letter that Heather writes to her older sister Rosie and here we discover a fact that will be the main theme of the whole book. In fact, ten years ago Samuel disappeared and Heather is sure her sister knew something. Both return to bid farewell to the dying mother and at the funeral the two are treated coldly, but Heather wonders why she, too, is treated poorly and knows that everything started by Samuel’s disappearance and therefore wants to shed light on what happened. But will it be a smart move? Or will she only endanger herself?


I read Only Daughter by the author and bought Silent Child so when I saw this book on Netgalley I had to request it.

I must say that I like the story because I like the case and it is quite complex. The case is like a puzzle and a small piece is given at the time and until the end you don’t have a complete picture of what really happened. Throughout the story the author gives that little extra information but it isn’t explained till later and I really like that. I also like the style of the author, narrating everything in first person and mixing past and present to the end. The present is narrated by Heather and the past by Rosie.

Heather is the one who reflects, Rosie the one who acts before thinking, Heather takes no risks, instead risk and danger are Rosie’s middle names. The country in which they lived as children and where they return to bury their mother doesn’t seem like a country where I would like to live. The bashful people subjugated by a person who should not do that job, I would run away like hell, instead Heather wants to stay to understand what happened. I don’t understand her. Of course without this, the book would not exist.

The only thing I don’t like about the book is Heather, in fact. I couldn’t stand her from mid-book onward. But despite everything, I adore Rosie, the “bad” sister, despite all she did, I find her a complex and strong character. I like the rivalry between the two families, why Rosie did what she did, all in all it was not easy to understand even though I understood the truth, without revealing it here, the rest was not easy to understand.

I like the fact that the book begins and ends with a letter.

I recommend this book.

Jealousy is the root of all evil


Two young sisters, Rosie and Heather Sharpe, befriend an ostracized boy and their lives are forever changed.

Rosie is older than her sister and new friend Samuel Murray. She is flamboyant and often impatient with Heather’s more mindful ways. With another long and boring summer on the way, the girls are excited to work on the Murray’s farm for seed money. This starts a relationship between Heather and Samuel that grows over the next few years.

As a teenager, Rosie’s nervous energy transmits itself into sometimes promiscuous behavior and earns her condescending looks from the villagers. None of that matters to her though, what does is her growing attraction to Samuel.

Things come to a head one night when Rosie stumbles home claiming Samuel tried to rape her. Heather is shocked and horrified and not sure who she should believe, her boyfriend or her sister?

Then Samuel goes missing.

Ten years later, Heather has returned to the village to care for her cancer-ridden mother. She reaches out the the sister she’s had little to do with for the last decade, all the while fighting the mistrust she’s carried in her heart since Samuel’s disappearance.

After their mother dies the girls begin the task of going through her things, but some of their findings raise more questions about the past. Heather is obsessed with learning the truth, but at what cost? If Rosie killed Samuel she could go to jail, and if she didn’t…

This book started out so good for me. It travels between the early years when the girls met Samuel and later, when everything falls apart. I enjoyed the tension and mystery aspect between Rosie and Heather, but it soon became repetitive. There were some questionable elements introduced about halfway through the story and from there on it just got weird for me.

The author does a good job of reeling in the reader, but in my opinion she dropped too many hooks to make this a truly great novel.

I give The Liar’s Sister 3.5 lovely kisses

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of "The Liar's Sister" by Sarah A. Denzil in exchange for an honest review.

"A SHOCKING DISAPPEARANCE. A VILLAGE FULL OF SECRETS.

Ten years ago, a boy named Samuel Murray went missing from the quiet village of Buckthorpe and was never seen again."

I wasn't sure what to expect because mystery and suspense novels are so tough to keep readers on their toes without giving away too much of the whodunit aspect. Sarah A. Denzil kept me on my toes throughout "The Liar's Sister" and kept me guessing until the end. So many times throughout the story I thought I had it figured out - where was Samuel? What happened to him? In many respects I was on the right track, but oh so wrong.

I look forward to reading future works by Denzil.

I’ve read most of Sarah Denzil’s previous novels and they are always good solid psychological thrillers and The Liar’s sister can now be added to that list. Ten years after a young boy disappears two sisters come together at their childhood home and the awful night that one sister saw the other sister creeping back into the house that very same night her friend disappeared resurfaces. A story of trust and betrayal between two sisters, this is s slow build with an explosive ending.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

The Liar’s Sister starts out as what seems like a regular psychological thriller with a focus on family, secrets, lies and both illness and grief. The story is told mostly through a dual POV, set both in present and ten years ago. The main stars of this story are the two sisters Rosie and Heather, and as the story alternates between their point of views we slowly learn more about the past and the present. Because this is not just about strained relationship between them or about grief and trying to deal with the death of their mother. Rosie coming back to Buckthorpe is a cataclysm for a whole lot of dirt and secrets about to come to light…

The plot starts out simple and slowly gets more tangled as we learn more about what happened ten years ago and how this affects the present. The story will have you guessing for a long time, wondering what Rosie is hiding and what really happened all those years ago. I do believe the final reveals are a bit farfetched, but there is no doubt that this story ends with a bang and definitely crossed the line to action/crime thriller before you reach the final page. The Liar’s Sister is a psychological thriller filled to the brim with secrets and lies and without doubt packs a mean punch. Both focused on family relationships, grief and something possibly sinister happening in past and present, this story will appeal to both fans of more domestic thrillers and those who enjoy a healthy dose of suspense and action.