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!!!!

Imagine paying someone to pretend to be your recently deceased sister. That is what Leslie Flores decides to do in order to reap her inheritance from her father. She hires Mary, who looks enough like her sister Robin that Leslie thinks she can pull it off. But Leslie doesn't know that Mary has an agenda of her own ... THE BETTER LIAR is well-written with fascinating, unique characters. but the plot will get you - it's full of twists that are truly impossible to anticipate and yet make perfect sense within the context of the book. Thoroughly enjoyable read and I will definitely look for more from Tanen Jones.

4.5 stars

"If I tell you how it happened, maybe you’ll remember me as well."

The Better Liar is a quick, clever, mind-bending thriller about a young woman who must reunite with her sister in order to claim their joint inheritance, only when she arrives at her apartment, she finds her sister...dead.

The book starts with this main perturbation, continues with slow-building suspense, which relies on providing the reader with intrigue and curiosity regarding two girls' ridiculously insane plan, all the way to the cuckoo ending. That's where the author ratchets up the suspense by using emotionally-charged aspects of the sisters' pasts and then turns it into twisty bombshells when you least expect them. I found that very exciting - the unpredictability.

When I reached the middle, I thought I had everything figured out but boy was I wrong. You just have to sit back and let the story take you on this ride that's intriguing enough to keep you turning the pages before the book comes through with the crazy revelation and follow-up twists.

The story ventures into a world that explores a complex side of sisterhood, and the meticulously explained topic of maternal drive - how is "maternal instinct" cultivated? All of this is narrated through the POV of the two sisters - two complex, fully-rounded characters, taking us to their awful, harrowing past. This was definitely a powerful debut thriller.

A good story. You definitely have to pay attention as it visits the past a lot. I thought the book was a little plodding at first, because you are just waiting for someone to explain why these messed up people and doing all these weird things. I thought about not finishing the book, but somehow it kept me on the line. I wanted to walk away, but I couldn't, I had to know what in the world was going on! So, you race to the end for answers, and keep turning those pages just knowing the next page explains it all:)

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.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Less of a psychological thriller and more of a (deliciously fucked up) family drama, this gothic tale entertains even when it’s not saying very much.

You could not ask for a better thriller. THE BETTER LIAR is thought-provoking , keeps you on your toes, and is written in beautiful un-put-down-able prose. This book is sure to be a hit and Tanen Jones is sure to be a star.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Better Liar!

I honestly don’t know what I just read... This was such a quick read because there were so many secrets (Who is Mary? Why does Leslie need this money so bad? What happened to Robin and Leslie’s mother? Is Dave, Leslie’s husband, having an affair?) that I just couldn’t wait for all to be revealed. And let me tell you, I was NOT prepared for this shocker!! I actually had to go back and reread the big reveal to make sure what I read was actually what I thought it was. I feel like I can’t even say anymore without giving something away, and this was just such a great book, you have to read it yourself and just wait... Books like this are what make me want to read and keep reading! The author wrapped everything up in this little package and when she was ready for you to open it, it was like SURPRISE!! And this was a debut novel?? Unbelievable! If I could give more than 5 stars, I probably would have!

When Leslie's father dies, she's about to inherit $50,000 from his will, a sum of money that will surely help save her house after she lost her job. The only catch is that she and her sister, Robin, must go to the lawyer to sign the estate paperwork together. The problem? Robin ran away from home ten years ago and Leslie hasn't seen her since. Leslie's problems worsen when she finds Robin dead in her Las Vegas apartment. However, a chance encounter leads Leslie to an aspiring actress named Mary, who just so happens to bear a startling resemblance to Robin. Suddenly, Leslie comes up with a plan that will solve all of their problems: Mary can pretend to be Robin, accompany her back to Albuquerque to sign the paperwork, and they'll inherit $50,000 each, which Leslie can use to save her house and Mary can use to get started in L.A. Simple enough, right? As the story unfolds, readers learn more about Leslie, Robin, and Mary as they attempt to uncover which of them is lying.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought Leslie, Robin, and Mary were well fleshed out. They were complex characters that I was eager to know more about as I read. The plot was also excellent. I thought the beginning was a little slow, but once I started to learn more about the different secrets involved in the characters' backstories, the tension started to amplify and I got much more caught up in the story! I really liked that the perspective shifted between Leslie, Robin, and Mary's points of view. It made the mystery of who, in fact, was "the better liar" more fun to piece together.

I totally didn't see the twists at the end coming AT ALL. I had lots of theories about what was going to happen, but I was shocked by the last few chapters! Sometimes I feel like suspense books are too focused on having a surprising twist that they don't really have an ending that makes sense in the context of the rest of the book. But "The Better Liar" wasn't like that at all. This ending was great because it tied up all the loose ends and answered my questions from the beginning of the book (especially those concerning Mary's backstory) while also still managing to surprise me.

At the heart of this tale of deception, the overt conundrum of 'who is the villain' slowly turns in on itself and becomes a question of 'who is the victim'. The surprise came not with the story's resolution, rather it was in the message woven within the fibers of this clever novel. In the telling, the only thing that rivaled 'The Better Liar' in its profundity was its poignancy. Excellent story about an often untreated mental health condition.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Tanen Jones for an ARC of 'The Better Liar' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Absolutely loved this book! The story flows, the characters are fascinating and I couldn't tear myself away. Highly recommended.

The forward in this book is written by the victim, Robin, already dead, who is lamenting the fact that her estranged sister, Leslie had arrived at Robin’s apartment just a little sooner, she might still be alive. Leslie held her family together after her tempestuous sister, Robin fled the nest. Leslie stayed to take care of her father as he died, sacrificng time with her own family. Now Leslie has learned that her father has left his estate to both sisters equally, they would share the inheritance or get nothing at all. Leslie needs that money so she hires a woman who looks like Robin to impersonate her for just long enough for Leslie to get the money. That’s when things get really strange. Be prepared, no one is what they seem in this thriller.