this book was a strong 4.5 for me, i graded it above as the first 80% was actually a five, great writing, great twists and other than the ending not being as strong as the rest of the book. but overall a good read

A quick-paced thriller! I always enjoy books about sisters and this one didn't disappoint. Estranged sisters, an inheritance, the death of a sister, there was a lot to work with here. I liked the humor and the plotting was very tight. A great new voice in the genre!

Review #58 THE BETTER LIAR by Tanen Jones and reviewing for Netgalley.
Excellent book! Short chapters, with a fast paced plot keeps you turning pages late into the night. With a twisty-turning ending you aren't expecting.⭐⭐⭐⭐Four stars.

A true page turner drew me right in kept me reading guessing surprised shocked at the twists and turners.For thriller lovers this is one to grab.#netgalley#randomhouse

This is a terrific novel, perfect for any lover of mystery/suspense. When I first started it, I almost set it aside DNF because it seemed like a familiar storyline, i.e. someone impersonating another for the purposes of collecting an inheritance. I am SO glad I kept reading because it was completely original and I was thoroughly surprised by the ending.

The plot is simple enough. Leslie has inherited $50,000 from her father, but there's a caveat. The inheritance can only be collected if both Leslie and her sister show up at the attorney executor's office together, in person. Unfortunately, Leslie's sister Robin left home 10 years ago and hasn't been heard from in years. Leslie finally manages to track her down in Vegas, where she's been living under a false identity, but when she arrives at her apartment, she discovers Robin dead of an overdose. Leslie is truly desperate for the $50,000, so when she meets a pretty, young waitress/actress in Vegas, she enlists her help in a deception to allow her to claim the inheritance. This was the point at which I almost gave up, thinking I've read this story before, but don't do it! There are a lot of questions the reader comes to along the way . . . why did Robin run away? how did their mother die when they were teens? did the sisters love each other or hate each other? why is Leslie lying about so many strange things like claiming she's lost her job and is about to lose her home? But the biggest question is why is Leslie SO desperate for the money???

The Better Liar is one of those rare treasures, a debut novel from a truly talented new author. The pace is brisk, and I couldn't put it down. The characters are also very well developed. Finally, I really appreciated the Author's Note at the end of the novel. I found it to be very compassionate and, not being a mother myself, very thought provoking. Five stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for an candid review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for the gift that is this twisty turny family and sister roller coaster. This book is a winner.

This was a great psychological thriller full of love, lies and secrets. Well laid out story with so many crazy twists and turns. Characters were well developed and easy to love, dislike or empathize with.
Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Better Liar.

I was pleased my request was approved because The Better Liar was better than I expected.

Leslie and Robin Voight are sisters, but are as different as night and day. They haven't seen each other in years, ever since Robin left home.

When their father's death leaves them an inheritance only both women can collect together, Leslie's search for her sister ends up tragically. Robin is dead. And Leslie really needs the money.

Salvation comes in the form of a trouble young woman named Mary who bears a striking resemblance to Robin.

Mary needs to get out of town. Leslie needs a stand-in for her sister. Leslie enlists Mary to act as her sister until the inheritance comes through. Then, the women will go their separate ways.

What could go wrong?

I really enjoyed the premise, a woman agreeing to 'act' as a relative will have all kinds of negative ramifications, especially when neither woman trusts the other.

The 'twist' was a good surprise, though I guessed earlier in the book if that would be the case, and I was right.

I enjoyed the 'double cross' but I especially liked the author's character development of Leslie, a woman torn between family and freedom, a person in which motherhood didn't come easily and the loss of her own mother haunts her daily.

I appreciated the author shedding light on an issue society regards as taboo. Motherhood is hard; depression is real and affects many people in many different ways.

I also liked the fact that Leslie was married to a kind and decent man from a gregarious, boisterous family.

It was so nice to read about a good man in a novel. I rarely come across male characters like these since most of the books I read are thrillers/mysteries and the main male lead is usually some kind of stereotypical homicidal maniac/serial killer. Ha!

There is tension and a sense of unease as Leslie and Mary embark on this caper, leaving readers wondering, when will it all go wrong?

I look forward to reading the author's next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Leslie needs to find her estranged sister Robin and bring her back to their home town of Albuquerque in order for them both to get their inheritances after the death of their father. Leslie tracks down Robin at her apartment in Vegas but she is dead so Leslie asks Mary, a woman who looks just like Robin to play her for a week in order to get the inheritance money.

I thought this was a great book. Lots of twists and turns kept me interested throughout. I really had no idea what Leslie or Mary were up to or what their motivations were but I kept turning pages because I wanted to know. Great debut novel. I will look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This is some twisty-turning perfection! The best kind of mystery that keeps you flipping pages and at the end it makes perfect sense, but you did not see it coming (and you are left a bit stunned that you did not). Really loved everything about this debut novel. Will definitely be looking for more from this author! Highly recommended. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an advanced reading copy. Will be recommending this to all my reader friends!

Wow! This is an amazing book! Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The storyline and characters drew me in completely! The story is compelling as you receive little bits and pieces of information at a time. This is a nailbiting, page turning book that will keep you draw in until the completely surprising ending!

I enjoyed this book- it had a really cool quality that made you feel like something big was getting ready to happen, even when nothing was. It moved at a fast pace but still had that expectant vibe where you had to keep reading to see what would happen. There were a few things that I questioned as not being realistic, but they were explained later; i was left with no lingering questions about how the story fit together.

In a nutshell, the story revolves around sisters Leslie and Robin, who haven't seen each other in many years- Robin took off, as a teenager, and Leslie was left to pick up the pieces at home. When their father passes away, he instructs his attorney to not let the girls get the money he left in his will unless they are together, and Leslie sets out to find Robin and bring her back. Lots of twists and turns ensue after that!

The ending was perfect for the story, but I am not sure I was personally completely satisfied with it- I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this. IT didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book, though- I recommend it. I was surprised this was the first book by this author- looking forward to others!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I thought it was a well written, intense, addictive and suspenseful psychological thriller.
I couldn’t believe that this was the author’s 1st book.
I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

We meet Leslie who has just found her sister, Robin, dead. Since Robin lived in Las Vegas and Leslie in New Mexico, Leslie was not sure about the logistics of the entire thing. She leaves her sister in her squalid apartment and has something to eat while thinking...

Meanwhile, Mary, a stranger, is sitting on Leslie's car. She eventually talks Leslie into having a couple drinks at the restaurant where she works. Leslie does go to met Mary- both get drunk and end up staying the night. Leslie has a $50,000 inheritance coming from her dad IF the estranged Robin collects along with Leslie.
Since Robin has not been home in 10-15 years, Leslie thinks Mary can pull off being "Robin" so she begs her to do so telling her that her house will be foreclosed if she doesn't get the money. Mary eventually agrees but we find out that this is where the twists and the many-faceted mysteries only begin...

Many Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for a super Read!

It’s funny to think that a mystery could have too many twists and turns, I felt this one did. When Leslie seeks her missing sister, it’s too late she has died. Yet, that is only the start of all the confusion and memories of the past.

As far as I am concerned, I really never found the initial motivation for the action and I certainly didn’t find the ending satisfying.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this mystery.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in years. This is an outstanding, brilliant, smart, funny, devious, clever and delicious novel. Yes, it’s a psychological thriller and is a five star read on that level - it’s also an extraordinary literary novel about family, motherhood and the love/hate bonds of sisterhood. Told through three different alternating POV’s of the three women involved in this twisty, fun and heartbreaking tale moving the story towards a fireworks display finale complete with me saying ‘oohs and aahs’ out loud at all the devilishly clever reveals. Thank you Tanen Jones for a remarkable novel and I can’t wait to read you again. In the meantime, Leslie, Mary and Robin will stay in my head. Brava!

WOW!!! I finished this book last night and I'm still letting it all absorb. First of all- I normally hate chapters that bounce back and forth between narrators- in this case there are three. I normally find it confusing and hard to follow. Not in this case- this book was seamless and so well written. I won't recap the plot, but I can confidently say that I will pre-order Tanen Jones next book. Amazing author. I had no idea what to believe and when the book was over, I was still in disbelief. Thank you #netgalley and #tanenjones for keeping me up ALL night readying #thebetterliar. 5 stars

Robin starts the book off, she is the sister and wants to explain to the reader what happened. So right away, the reader is informed that something bad happens to Robin.

The Better Liar is a tightly woven novel of suspense, secrets, betrayals, sisters, and friendship. Leslie finally tracks down her missing sister only to discover that she is dead. She leaves the scene abruptly and takes off because she is so upset. She winds up meeting Mary, outside a restaurant and sees that Mary could use a way out of her own life. The two come up with the idea of having Mary pose as her sister Robin, so that Leslie could claim her inheritance and let Mary keep Robin's share of the inheritance. Cool plan, right? Only Mary doesn't just play along with the role to get the inheritance...she starts prying into Leslie's life to uncover her secrets and she's driving Leslie nuts by being so unpredictable. Mary, Robin and Leslie are characters that I tried to relate to. At times I liked them and at times I am not sure I did.

Mary might be the wild card in this novel, but as the plot twists and builds tension... Leslie is the one with secrets she hides from everyone. The ending managed to surprise me and left me thinking hard about how the novel set everything up. Also made me think hard about the themes within the book that were not revealed until toward the end. Definitely a good read!!!!

Wow, this one was even better than I expected! I was drawn in by the description of Leslie getting to receive her inheritance only if she had her long-gone sister, Robin, there with her to claim her own share. Leslie finding Robin dead puts quite the damper in the plans. I thought it made perfect sense when Leslie meets Mary, an intriguing young woman about Robin's age who is in just the right spot in her life to be able to travel back with Leslie and pretend to be Robin. She looks so much like her and no one has seen Robin in years, so what can go wrong? I mean, it's not Leslie's fault that Robin died, right? And sure, she can contest the will, deal with all the red tape, etc. but Leslie needs her money NOW. Why is that? Well, Mary-as-Robin is just the right person to figure that out. She's welcomed in to the family and no one appears to be any the wiser. She takes advantage of the time until the inheritance is paid by learning everything she can about Robin, including meeting up with Robin's old friends. Surely nothing can go wrong with that...

This is a true page-turner, and you will be dying with anticipation to find out if the girls get away with their plan. It's hard to say anything more because there are definite twists in this tale! I can say that I'm so glad I chose to read this and I now have a new author to follow. And this is a debut! I can't imagine what more is in store for readers in the future.

Man Oh man what a page-turner!! I was in shock the ned is huge. Brilliant.

Thank you, NetGalley for the advance copy to review.