this book actually kept me on my toes and I tried to figure out the plot before it was revealed. The ending actually had me stunned!!! The imagination and gall of the author to leave it like that - definitely recommending this one.

4.5/5

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers

Description

Leslie Flores is a woman like many others living in a nice suburban neighborhood, with her husband and one year-old little boy. She has spent the past year working, taking care of her family and caring for her dying father. Her sister, Robin, has long since exited the family. But, upon her father's passing, she learns that her inheritance is dependent on finding and reuniting with her lost sister. Leslie has to find Robin to get the money she desperately needs to secure her future, but when she tracks down Robin, it's too late. Robin is dead from a heroin overdose. No one has seen Robin for 10 years, so when Leslie has a random encounter with a young woman, with a strong resemblance to her lost sister, she strikes a bargain with this stranger. Pretend to be Robin for a week and receive half the money, it's that easy.

It doesn't take long for both women to realize that that other is not what they seem. Each has secrets that will alter the future, and the past.

The Better Liar is the debut novel from Tanen Jones, and I was shocked when I realized this fact. Jones is masterful in her ability to draw the reader into the character's stories.  I actually felt like I was in the room with these women, could smell the smoke from the cigarettes, and could not put the book down. Jones writes as if this was her fiftieth novel, not her first! I was genuinely surprised by the ending, and I love it when an author can do that😊

I highly recommend The Better Liar, by Tanen Jones

Leslie and Robin are sisters. Robin left home at sixteen and has not been in contact with family since then. Leslie is married and has a year old son. She works full time and also cared for her father until his death. He left his daughters each fifty thousand dollars in his will, but the only way they can collect is to both appear together before his attorney. Leslie learns her sister is in Las Vegas and goes there to find her. When she does, the person she sees at the apartment is a drug addict who has just die, whom she identifies as her sister however the woman had been living there under another name and Leslie does not notify the authorities of her true identity. Shortly thereafter she meets Mary who is almost a duplicate of Robin and who has acting ambitions. She offers Mary the fifty thousand to impersonate Robin and help her get the money. Both women go to Albuquerque where the family lives. The major portion of the novel follows their lives during this time in Albuquerque. Each one is an accomplished liar and both are hiding so much of their past that each chapter releases another story. The plot is complexly written although it is rather straightforward. The characters, whom I found to be more than somewhat unlikable, were gripping and complex. One doesn’t know who’s on first until close to the climax and learning the truth makes them more tenable. Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an ARC for an honest review.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book by Tanen Jones. I liked the short chapters and that they were written from 3 different POVs. I felt the pacing slowed in the middle. I had the twist figured out pretty early, but was not disappointed in the ending. Overall, I would recommend this title.

Thank you NetGalley for the free read!!

I really enjoyed this book. A quick read that keeps you guessing, be prepared for whiplash.

Highly recommend, can't wait to see what Jones writes next.

I was completely and totally prepared to compare this book to Thelma & Louise up until the very end.

Leslie and Robin are sisters who haven’t always had the easiest relationship. The book opens with Leslie traveling to Las Vegas to identify her sister’s body, dead from a heroin overdose. Leslie meets a girl named Mary as she races outside of Robin’s apartment. It is here that the lies begin and they don’t stop until the very end.

This book was so well written that I found myself physically frustrated and wanting to yell at the characters multiple times. It also deals with post-partum depression which doesn’t come up a lot in the books that I typically choose. I would definitely recommend this to my friends who are fans of thrillers, familial drama, and complicated relationships between sisters.

This book starts with the death of the younger of two sisters. You are then presented with the story of their lives, flashing back in time to when they were kids in a troubled home with two dysfunctional parents. Using a now-popular narrative device of switching points of view between the two of them, you gradually find out their shared history, and where their perspectives diverge from each other. I can't tell you much more without revealing too much of the plot, but it does keep you engaged until the very end. What I liked about this novel was how you constantly shift back between each sister as to judging their past deeds as mostly bad or good. The duo is set up for some great tension and difficult moments, and both are scheming against each other while appearing to work together towards a common goal. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this book and… I have no idea what I just read - in the best way! Leslie’s father recently died and to collect portion of her inheritance she must reunite with her sister… only by the time she tracker her down, her sister is dead.

This is Tanen Jones’ debut novel and I would have never known! I will be on the lookout for more books from this author. It is spectacularly crafted! The characters in this story are unique and interesting; Jones’ writing lets you feel like you are in each POV’s head, but do you know anything about them? Everyone has secrets.

I have to admit, I was a little weary at first. The story is told from 3 POVs, one of them being the dead sister. But it works. In the end, I loved it. This book was a mind-bending page turner and I could not stop reading!

Review will be up on my instagram feed in January - closer to the publication date.

Leslie needs to find her sister Robin to claim her inheritance from her father. When she tracks Robin down, she is dead. Leslie meets Mary who resembles Robin enough that Leslie has a crazy idea - Mary can impersonate Robin and Leslie will give her half of the money. After all, Leslie doesn't need all of it anyway. Mary agrees to this as she has reasons of her own for getting out of town. Will her stay with Leslie and her husband help Leslie or does it expose more secrets and lies?

Hmmm. This was weird from the get-go. The writing didn't exactly flow well with me ans I felt myself thrown off by the many different perspectives of the characters.. There was a lot going on at once in too little time which happens with suspenseful thrillers but with this it felt cobbled together.

Not to say that this didn't have redeeming points. The characters and plots are different and the writing did pick up near the middle. I just don't think this book was for me and the author shows great promise and I'm looking forward to what's next from her.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC.

I thought I would love this novel. Leslie needs to find her sister Robin in order to cash in on her inheritance left from her father. But robin dies right when she finds her. Then she finds some random girl Mary to impersonate Robin to get the money. And it just went downhill from there. I didn’t enjoy it, I just got bored. Too much plot that was boring.

Thanks so much to #netgalley and Random house publishing for letting me read and review The Better Liar by @tanenjones. I didn’t really know what to expect with this book but it was AWESOME! So many twists and turns and the ending is not at all what I expected. I didn’t really like the characters at first but they grew on me as the story went on. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this one! It’s told from three different perspectives, giving you a holistic view of the story. The twist at the end was unexpected. I did want just a bit more from the ending (or for it to have ended one chapter sooner). Definitely worth my time and I would highly recommend it.

This is a book that will have your mind engaged in trying to theorize how the ending will turn out. I had so many ideas and thought about what was going happen or be revealed, but I was wrong at so many places. So very cleverly crafted as a plot, with great psychological elements to explain the actions of the sisters. Title was great....WHO is/was the better liar. I did want the ending to be drawn out just a little more. I thought it was. pretty abrupt for how the story played out, but it doesn't really take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

A deep and disturbing book that has more turns than a backroad. It is such a good book that makes you want more.

What a fantastic debut novel! The Better Liar is a twisty-turny domestic thriller that had me guessing the entire way through!!! This addictive read played out like a movie in my mind (and I am really hoping that comes to fruition)! The timing was perfect and I could never find a good spot to pause my reading which is the reason I stayed up into the wee hours of the night to finish! I really think most readers will not be able to predict the outcome—love that! The Better Liar is a 4.5 star novel that would make an excellent book club selection—sooooo much to discuss!!!! I will definitely be putting Tanen Jones on my radar and I can guarantee I will be 1-clicking whatever she comes out with next!!

I felt the book began well and it held my interest overall. I'd read in reviews online that there were many plot twists and surprises, which I enjoy. However, about 1/3 of the way through, a main female character and another woman began having sex. Foul language too. This hadn't been advertised with the book description and wasn't something I wanted to read, so that's as far as I got. Disappointing; had promise.

Are you ready for a mind-bending, psychological, surprising new novel that full of lies, brain storming exhaustion, WTH just I read, what kind of end this themes!

Come on I slap the characters but instead of characters slapped me this time because I was way too naïve and lost my spider senses for consuming too much stress nails (They weren’t my own thankfully but paramedics who pumped my stomach had different thoughts!) Okay 4 big stars and this is one of the greatest books of upcoming year!

Three POVs of book are completely secretive, mysterious, batshit crazy women.

POVS ARE ONE SISTER-DEAD SISTER AND FAKE SISTER

One sister a.k.a. Leslie looks for Robin a.k.a dead sister for their joint inheritance because two of them should meet at the lawyer’s office to sign the papers to take their shares and upss when one of them left the world forever, this could turn into an impossible task. ( At last Leslie didn’t take her sister with her everywhere, pretending she is alive by putting glasses on her face and taking an adventure like Weekend At Bernie’s. That’s an entertaining comedy concept, but we’re dealing with really serious psychological thriller!)

As Leslie finds her sister passed away from drug overdose, she randomly meets Mary at the parking lot and asks her act like her sister in exchange half of the inheritance share. This beginning is a little questionable for me because how could you find anyone reminds of your sister in one day and even if you’re miserable and hopeless, how could you ask something to a shady stranger who became shadier as we learn more about her story? This beginning made me cut my points. But as I resume my reading and learn more about back stories, motives, character analysis so many pieces of puzzle fit with each other.

Pacing a little slow but it is still intriguing and fitted well with mysterious and foggy atmosphere the three women created with their stories and their lies. Three of them competing each other to distort the truth but finally only of one can win! (One of them is only dead, so we have two competitors!)

I didn’t expect the final. APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE! HURRAY! SCORE! So satisfying, epic and memorable ending. I was about to give five stars just because of the final parts of the book. But I still had some connecting issues with characters. I understand their struggles, problems, wrongdoings for surviving. But it didn’t mean I liked them. First time, they were the ones who slapped me by dropping the bomb in my lap.

This was highly recommendable, not entertaining mostly disturbing but very smartly written reading for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for sharing this amazing ARC COPY in exchange my honest review and Tanen Jones for creating this remarkable story.

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!