Leslie is looking for her sister Robin. She hasn’t seen her in 10 years but now needs her to inherit from her Father. She is too late finding Robin, she has just died. Leslie finds someone who looks like Robin and gets her to impersonate her.

This story had a lot of twists, some obvious. It is told from multiple viewpoints, not my favorite format. The ending disappointed me. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

'She’d loved me, in her own disgusting, sharp-toothed way.'

It is often said there is no relationship more fraught than the one between sisters at odds with each-other. In The Better Liar, a joint inheritance forces Leslie to find her little sister Robin Voigt. Robin, who ran-away from home one night when she was just a teenager, leaving Leslie to always be the responsible daughter, tied to their dying father, forced to care for him to the bitter end. Sure, Robin dropped a line here and there when she needed saving from one jam or another, and daddy always came through, but she never earned a bit of his love and loyalty. Tracking her down in Las Vegas Leslie discovers she is too late, her drug addicted sister is dead, and now what? It’s just like Robin, to do this to her, as if she hasn’t already ruined her life. She isn’t going to see a penny of it now, where is the fairness in that, the inheritance was to be split between them both or no one gets their share, there is nothing she can do, right? Until… she sees Mary.

Mary looks so much like Robin. What if… what if Mary pretended to be Robin, just long enough to sign the paperwork, she can have Robin’s share and go off on her merry little way? Mary understands all too well the need for money, this is ‘the perfect job’, she wants to be an actress, how better to test her mettle than to pretend to be someone else? She is sick of working at the restaurant, and she has her own troubles to escape, it’s a way out of town. Leslie’s plan is wildly crazy, even if she does share a resemblance to the deceased, how could it work? True, Robin was never a part of Leslie’s adult life, never met her husband nor child and has been gone so long surely no one would know what she would have looked like now. Still, it’s a madcap plan, but likely will be a lot of fun and Mary is always one for fun. Leslie tries to keep just enough distance while letting Mary in on the sister’s shared past, there always seems to remain a little mystery and something isn’t right about her. Why does she need her half of the money, what is she hiding? She has quite the cozy life, a handsome, successful husband, beautiful son whom she doesn’t seem to want Mary (aka Robin) to be around. Why is she so unhappy? Is she involved in something, she doesn’t seem to be in financial trouble at all. Why is she lying? She may control the story of her past with Robin’s death, but Mary isn’t so easily led about. She is getting too close for Leslie’s comfort, and Leslie doesn’t owe her a thing beyond their agreed upon plan.

Robin’s fading, she’s nothing but a ghost now reminiscing about the relationship she had with her sister. Dear Leslie, who once used to care for her like a mother, since her own couldn’t be bothered. Was Robin really too much for people, as her sister seems to have believed, because Robin remembers things quite differently? As Leslie tells Mary things in order to help her become Robin, it doesn’t ring quite true. In fact, with this farce, who is the real schemer now? In her memories, Leslie wasn’t always the stand in mother she tells everyone she was, full of tender love and kindness. There were times she wanted Robin out of sight, when she was tired of caring for her little sister’s every need. She pushed her away first, with her cruelty, Robin well remembers it, there were reasons, things that made Robin’s heart hard. The way Leslie tells it the change in her sister’s temperament happened in junior high, suddenly she was hateful overnight, no rhyme nor reason. As soon as she got her own room she was mean and ugly, but there are two sides to every story, just which version is the truest? Robin loved to feed people stories, as much as she loved the attention she got from boys, even girls, and later men. There was a time she loved her big sister but she knows that Leslie isn’t the responsible, flawless person she portrays to the world. It reminds her of their damaged mother. She tells stories too. Ghosts are all seeing, and with her death, she is able to be more present than her choices in life allowed her to be before. She is now the held breath in the room, lurking in a sense.

Everyone is a liar, but who is The Better Liar?

A dark story about sisterhood and twisted loyalty. The biggest liar wins.

Publication Date: January 14, 2020

Random House

Ballantine

'

The Better Liar surprised me with its unpredictable plot and layered characters. Based on the synopsis, which I read before requesting this book from the publisher, I expected a psychological mystery read but I got a lot more than that. The author digs deep into family relationship issues and explores the subject of postpartum depression. What sounds like another psychological thriller book, turns out to be a thought-provoking story with a less than perfect main characters. This was a fast-paced, well written, and full of secrets read with a surprising ending. Overall a great debut novel.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine Book and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

Family drama, secrets and deception are the name of the game in The Better Liar, a debut novel from Tanen Jones. Leslie needs her sister in order to claim their father’s inheritance, but when she arrives in Vegas, she finds her sister dead of a heroin overdose and convinces a local waitress to take Robin’s place to claim the money.

There are some good twists in The Better Liar and some utterly ridiculous ones but overall a fast paced, enjoyable thriller that will surely have people talking when it releases in 2020!

Leslie's father has passed away after a long illness. He left a small problem in his will however. Leslie only gets her half if she finds her sister who ran away as a teen so she can also receive her half. Leslie finally tracks down Robin, only to find her dead of an overdose when she arrives. Leslie is lost as to what to do. She needs that money. Until she runs into Mary. Mary looks alot like Robin. And Robin was living under a false name. Mary could pretend to be Robin to get the money and then go back to her life right? Nothing can go wrong....

3.5 stars

This book was crazy. I didn't really like any of the characters which automatically makes it harder to enjoy, but I didnt really hate like any of them either. I enjoyed the story and I definitely didn't see the twist coming. Overall I enjoyed it but it was just missing that extra umph.

The Better Liar rockets along with so many twists and turns it leaves you feeling dizzy! The story is told through the eyes of 3...no 2... women that keep divulging background information that leads you down random paths that you think are headed in one direction only to be jerked backward and sent in the opposite direction. This compulsive read makes you think about the effect of postpartum on families, especially the babies, as well as the devastating effects disinterested parents can have on their children as they suffer the consequences. Couldn’t put this one down as I read until 1:30 am to finish! Can’t wait until my many reading friends have a chance to read this one so we can discuss it! Book club alert- this is the perfect book for you! Keep writing Tanen Jones. Many many thanks to Tanen Jones, Random House, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of this book scheduled for publication on January 14th. So...who do you think was the better liar?

Thank you to NetGalley an Ballantine for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this title.

The Better Liar is a strong debut - an immediately intriguing plot of two sisters, one looking for an inheritance from her father, one unexpectedly dead, was enough to make me request this one. Leslie travels to Las Vegas to get her younger sister, Robin, whom she hasn't seen in at least a decade in order to bring her home so they can claim their father's inheritance together (dear Dad insisted the two claim it together or not at all). When Leslie finds Robin dead of an apparent drug overdose, she recruits a free-spirited woman named Mary to come home and pose as her elusive sister.

This is told in three perspectives which I really appreciated. I thought Jones did a great job of weaving a compelling mystery. I did manage to guess where the story was going in certain ways, but it honestly wasn't the author's fault - I just got thinking far too much about it haha. I loved getting a look at this wildly dysfunctional sibling relationship - both between Leslie and Robin in flashbacks and Leslie and her faux-sister Mary who starts acting a little too much like Robin.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes their thrillers/mysteries with multiple perspectives, weird family dynamics, and unreliable narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book even though I had it figured out pretty early. It is a quick enjoyable read.

The Better liar weaves in and out the stories of two sisters and a woman who takes on the identity of one of the sisters. The pace was really slow and it took a long time for the mystery to develop. While the ending was twisty and satisfying, my interest by that time had faded significantly.

Dark, full of twists.
Started this book and two chapters in I am thinking, meh same old same old...but I plodded on . Was not disappointed. Story takes turns I did not see coming. Ending is a little abrupt....still a great read

Deception begets more deception. That's exactly what you can take away from Tanen Jones' first thriller, A Better Liar. Every chapter unravels more of the true self of the main characters, Leslie and Mary. Jones does a wonderful job shedding their layers chapter by chapter and showing us just who each of these women really is. Just how deep does deceit really run and can your really ever separate yourself from the past or are you doomed to repeat it? Those are answers that Leslie will come to find out after she sets out to find her long lost sister in order to collect a family inheritance. When an obstacle is set out an unexpected solution seems to land in her lap and suddenly there's no turning back. Will it work? Or was she doomed before she even started?This book is so much more than your average thriller!

I have been reading quite a few contemporary romances after reading many, many psychological thrillers. It was a nice break, but I was looking forward to reading something I could really lose myself in. Boy, did this book fit the bill!
Start with three viewpoints, not necessarily reliable, then ramp up the intensity of the story with each page. There are quite a few names dropped, some important and then some not so much. It’s all about a woman wanting to collect her inheritance, but cannot do so without her sister also being present. However, she hasn’t seen her sister in many, many years. These multi-dimensional characters are very complex, and not very likeable, but they create a story full of suspense and intrigue.

A wonderful psychological thriller. Like all good thrillers, I though I had things figured out and I did have some part figured out but then. . . the surprises occur keeping me reading and reading and reading - until I finished the book.

Daringly plotted- an intriguing thriller that is deep and dark right up to the finale.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is so hard to write a review on without giving away any of the story! So many twists and turns yet never confusing. I never wanted to put this highly suspenseful novel down!

The Better Liar by Tanen Jones is full of twists and turns. Every time you think you know where the story is going you discover you're wrong. I love books like this, that I do not see what's coming. This is the type of story that when you finish it you almost want to reread it. I want to thank Ballantine Books and Net Galley for an early copy to review.

Standing ovation for Tanen Jones for crafting such a wonderful book that was full of suspense and twists.

I'm not going to rehash the story, the blurb tells you the basis of the book, but buckle up when you turn to page one. You are in for quite the ride! First, there is one character who assumes the identity of many. You would think that it might be confusing to figure it that character out and it is, but in a fun sort of mess with your head sort of way.

Tanen Jones wrote this book as if she was the reader. It has just the right mix of misleading, but able to keep it on track. Just the right amount of mind playing, but able to stay on track. Nothing was to "In Your Face" nothing was to crazy. Messed up, yes but not crazy or over the top like some wind up being. This is a great debut novel by Tanen Jone! Put it on your 2020 TBR Now!!!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC.

Good idea. Poorly constructed. Every scene is obvious where it is leading to. The author follows a 1, 2, 3, 4 pattern. 1. She finds her sister dead 2. we know from the start that she can only inherit with the sister (of course that premise is ridiculous from the outset) 3. She meets Mary. 4. Mary is cooincidentally fired from her job that day and finds her boy friend with someone else. No surprises what is going to happen when Mary and Leslie get together in the hotel room. And then too much description of things that are not important.... like a ton of description of the restaurant where Mary works. A few sentences would have given the idea.

The book needs to be rewritten.

Wow! This book made me lose sleep. In the best way! I couldn’t put it down! Leslie needs to locate her younger sister who ran away years ago in order to collect an inheritance from their late father that she desperately needs. When she finally does locate her sister she’s dead. So Leslie meets Mary and hires her to impersonate her dead sister and they’ll both collect on the money. Seems simple enough. But Leslie isn’t telling Mary everything. And this book took twists and turns that I’ve never seen done. Chapters are told from the perspective of each sister plus Mary and everyone was hiding secrets! I usually think I’ve got a story figured out about half way through but nope, I’m proud that it took me to the very end to see the big twist. And what a twist it was! Would love to read more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review The Better Liar by Tanen Jones. This is a story about Leslie, who needs to locate her sister in order to collect her inheritance from their father's estate. When Leslie finds her sister Robin deceased, she teams up with Mary, in an effort to receive this money she so desperately needs and wants. Throughout the story we learn more about the relationship that Robin and Leslie had as children and what caused the wedge that was driven between them.

I enjoyed the many twists and turns that this book took. I gave it a 4 star rating because I did find that sometimes it was difficult to remember who's view the book was in and would have to scan back through to recheck.