4☆ Full of Intrigue, Danger and Mystery.

House of Lies is a gripping Mystery with so many tangled webs of secrets it was thoroughly intriguing.

Thomas is looking after a rare and very valuable artefact only a few people know about.
His partner Cat runs a shelter called Saint Monica’s for abused women running from their husbands. Offering them safety and a place to gain a job and start a new life.

But Cat doesn't realise not all the women she takes in are quiet what the make out to be and could put Cat in danger!

Then there is Hugh and Margaret, stuck in a loveless marriage. Margaret an adulterer having numerous affairs and lavish spending lifestyle, means Hugh is in trouble. He has been given an ultimatum from his Mother the pair decide to part but what is Margaret up to! Why did his best friend kill himself and why is Margaret in the middle!

There are so many characters to this book, yet don't let that put you off as all of their stories just weave together seamlessly.
As I said earlier this story is a tangled web of lies, secrets and deceit. It's thoroughly intriguing and the air of mystery and danger just spices the plot even more.
I can't recommend reading this Gorgeous Book Enough.
This is my first encounter with Terry Lynn Thomas and I can't wait to read more!

Thank you to HQ DIGITAL for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

At the center of this story is a chalice from the Middle Ages being smuggled out of France to avoid it ending up in the hands of the Nazis. It gets hidden in a police detective’s house, while criminals are trying to get to it. Adding a psychiatric patient into the plot and we have an exciting, unpredictable story where an abuse victim is found dead.

House of Lies is book #3 in Cat Carlisle Series and is about local detective Thomas Charles who has agreed to keep the valuable chalice safe in his house until the war is over. That seems to not go well as the thieves discover where it is hidden. The plot seems to start out as several independent looking stories. I enjoyed realizing that these were elements which enriched the plot and they all tied nicely together a few chapters in. The plot kept me gripped and entertained throughout. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I felt nervous about what would happen. Perhaps I am a bit of a thriller novice, but for me there were some nail biting parts.

Main character Catherine-Cat Carlisle is wealthy widow running a safe house for abused women and is engaged to Thomas Charles. While I find her gullible, bordering on irresponsible, not taking danger seriously enough, I can relate to the do-gooder side of her which seems to take over. Fortunately her fiancé worries for her safety. He seems a really good man with a kind heart. I really like his caring and responsible demeanor and fortunately he seems a level headed person not easily scared. Best of all, for a man of the 1940s, he is conscious not to limit Cat’s activities in any way even if it should lead to danger. Easily my favorite character of this story.

There were plenty of other interesting characters in this book, of which I particularly enjoyed mentally unstable and dangerous Margaret Bettencourt. She turned up at Cat Carlisle’s women’s shelter claiming to have been abused by her husband. She added some serious drama to the plot. To read about her, I found a hair-rising-in-my-neck kind of thrilling. In all her madness I found her as interesting as she was scary.

I loved the setting of 1940s British countryside, mixed with danger and drama that seemed to follow the two main characters. I love the descriptions of 1940s English environments and sceneries as well as all the tea breaks. I also found the parts describing how the war affected the way people lived on every level of society very interesting.

House of Lies (Cat Carlisle #3) by Terry Lynn Thomas is the first I have read by this author. I found it exciting and thrilling with a bit of romance. No problem reading it as a standalone, but I prefer to start series with installment #1 to pick up on reoccurring characters and storylines throughout. House of Lies is recommended for fans of Terry Lynn Thomas and readers of historical fiction.

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

This is one of my favorite historical fiction mystery series and book 3 did not disappoint. I highly recommend for all historical fiction readers that enjoy a touch of mystery.

I loved this book, as I have throughly enjoyed the other Cat Carlise books.It was fast paced and gripping with interesting new characters. I especially liked how all the seemingly disconnected stories came together by the end. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction.

3.5!

Firstly, I love me a bit of historical fiction so I was so excited to read this and I wasn’t put off by the fact that it is number 3 in a series. It read perfectly well as a stand-alone. ⁣
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I do have to admit that to me this didn’t feel like historical fiction, I was imagining everything that happened with a modern day view and I couldn’t seem to stop doing that.⁣
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However, I do think this is a well written book, it explores the characters and their relationships well whilst keeping you guessing on who is involved in what. I loved the dynamics between the characters and how the links between them were revealed. ⁣
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A surprising twist and a good ending. Will be keeping my eyes peeled for others from this series. ⁣

I loved this gripping historical mystery by Terry Lynn Thomas, House of Lies is book 3 in her ‘Cat Carlisle’ series, however it can be read happily as a standalone story. Personally I think I enjoyed it more for having read the previous two books as I knew more of Cat’s backstory.
The book is set during World War Two and Cat is running a women’s refuge for wives suffering from domestic violence at the hands of their husbands. The shocking murder of one of these women has a major effect on Cat’s world, Cat and her fiancé Thomas desperately want to find out the motive for this murder, was it a violent husband or something closer to home. Cat and Thomas share a secret, they are hiding a valuable and precious golden chalice and hiding it until after the war to prevent the Nazis from stealing it. Is someone after their treasure? No spoilers, you have to read this book to find out.
I was gripped from page one and the story flows nicely making it a great read for an afternoon’s escapism. It is wonderfully written with such details that I found myself immersed in Cat’s world and life during WWII. The characters are all multidimensional giving them a realistic nature and I fell in love even more with Cat’s character. I like her character has developed throughout the series. The author has obviously done her research regarding the historical aspects of the story.
House of Lies is an atmospheric read which I really enjoyed and I definitely recommend it.

My Review: This is a solid 3.75 for me. The only historical fiction I've ever tried is WW2 and this for me ticked all the boxes bar one. It's a solid, well written murder mystery with a decent sub plot. I loved and was intrigued by the characters, and finished the book in one day. The only box it didn't tick? There wasn't enough history for me. I want something steeped in more references and nods to the era. I am not saying this would detract from the book for anyone else, as I would highly reccomend this book. Just where it fell short for me. .
This is a comfortable and easy read, and would have never guessed it was part of a series. The twist was fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable.
.
Thank you to @hqstories for providing me with a copy on return for a review

Cat runs a refuge for abused women in Rivenby. Her fiancé, Thomas, is a constable who is protecting a rare artifact. This turns from a historical domestic drama to a mystery when one of the women is killed. This is the third in a series and I read it as a standalone- mostly it was fine that way but I was initially a bit befuddled by the number of characters until it settled down. WWII is always in the background here. It's nicely plotted and well written. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is the story of Cat Carlisle who is running a safe house for women who are victims of domestic abuse.

This book is a historical fiction novel set around the time of WW2. This is the third book in the series but I read this as a stand-alone.

This book is filled with many characters who are well developed. The pace of the book is quite slow at the beginning but speeds up in the second half of the book.
This book is well written with a plot that is intriguing. I didn’t guess the ending at all.

This is a well written thriller full of mystery and intrigue.

Ooooh how I absolutely loved this book!! This is a first for me in a historical thriller!! I devoured this book in one sitting!! I love this Author so much that I'm buying every book she has written!! I cannot recommend this book enough!! Fantastic, descriptive, and just plain amazing book!!

Set against a wartime backdrop, this book opens some way away from Rivenby in rural Cumbria, where Cat and Thomas have chosen to make their new life. We find ourselves on a Scottish estate, where Hugh discovers the extent of his errant wife Margaret’s treachery, and is ready to surrender his inheritance to escape from the marriage. Back in Rivenby, Thomas is now working with the constabulary – but still has links with his former life of espionage, having been asked to help with the safe keeping of a chalice coveted by the Nazis and gangland elements alike.

Cat is now providing a safe haven for victims of domestic abuse, securing them training for work and a route to a new life. Meanwhile, a master thief (with more than a passing resemblance to Robin Hood) becomes unfortunately entangled with a gangland boss with a seemingly inescapable reach. So many threads, so many characters – and you wonder how on earth they can in any way be linked or related.

And then, one of Cat’s house guests – who might never have been quite what she seemed – is found in the woods, bludgeoned to death. Just after the wife of that gangland boss fled to safety too – and the two women do look quite alike. Perhaps there’s an obvious culprit? But then again… the different threads and characters draw together, become tangled, and the layers of secrets and intrigue become just deliciously convoluted, the pages turn faster and faster, the red herrings become a shoal, and I had no idea whatsoever where the whole book was going.

It’s gripping and enthralling, with moments of high drama, and the author has a really firm hold of every single strand – incredibly cleverly done, and the intricacies of the planning must have been really something to behold. And just when you think everything is resolved, you let your guard down, and think it might coast towards a happy ending… oh no, we’re off again, and it’s quite wonderfully done.

Desperately trying to avoid spoilers, I was incredibly impressed by some of the characterisation. Cat herself, as always, draws your eye whenever she’s in focus – I really liked the underlying thread of her relationship with Thomas, their flouting of convention, and she’s as irrepressible as ever when DCI Kent (I liked him very much too!) warns her not to interfere in his ongoing investigation. But all the characters are layered and multi-dimensional, even the domestic help – and the focus on the mental health of one particular character is particularly well done.

When I reviewed the author’s last book, I (rather unforgivably really) used the word “cosy”. Not this time – it’s certainly an engrossing mystery with a domestic focus, but also has a palpable undercurrent of threat and real danger that really takes it outside that classification. Should I use that comparison with Foyle’s War – familiar to UK TV viewers – again though? Yes, I think that’s still totally valid. There’s a quintessential Englishness about the whole book, impeccably researched, presented and sustained throughout – a really remarkable achievement for a US author.

And just a small postscript for anyone who might worry about this being the third in a series – other than perhaps understanding the background to Cat and Thomas’ relationship and about a few peripheral characters, nice to know but in no way essential to the plot, this book is totally readable as a standalone. And if you try it, you might just love it as much as I did – I thoroughly enjoyed it, a quite wonderful read.

(Will add review to Amazon UK on publication day)

The third in the Cat Carlisle series set during WWII. Cat has set up a women’s refuge in the village of Rivenby whilst her fiancé, Thomas, is working with the local police. Thomas is hiding a jewel studded golden chalice at his house, trying keep it out of the hands of the Nazis, and one of the women from the refuge is found murdered.

Having read the first two books in the series, I was looking forward to House of Lies. It didn’t disappoint. It’s nicely written and well paced with an intriguing plot. There are a few twists and turns which kept me turning the pages. I like the characters of Cat and Thomas and love revisiting their lives. These books are quite gentle reads but well worth taking the plunge.

An enjoyable and entertaining historical mystery, a great addition to the series.

In this book, we follow Cat and Charles as they are now living in Rivenby and are presently engaged.

Cat is running a shelter for battered women, giving them a place to live and getting them back on their feet, providing them with an education to eventually get a job and a place to stay so they become independent strong women away from their abusive husbands.

Charles is working for the constabulary while also lending his home to important artifacts so they are out of reach of the Nazi’s. One of these being a chalice covered in precious gems that belonged to a church.

When one of the women at Cat’s refuge turns up murdered, Cat and Thomas suspect it may be the work of one of the husbands of the women who took refuge with Cat. This man is a known criminal with a large network.
We are also introduced to new characters in this book who have become intermingled in this crime at times. Thomas gets an unexpected visitor from his past. A married man and woman, both stuck in loveless marriages reconnect and rekindle their young love.

While the mystery in this is wonderful as always, very intricate and at times has you guessing who done it- I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Cat didn’t do more investigating of her own as she has done in previous novels. While she’s still very much independent, I feel now that she’s ‘tied down’ she isn’t as spontaneous and full of curious zest as she used to be.

I do enjoy the romance between Cat and Charles, it was great to see the storyline with them play out more now that they are together. The ending as always was great, very suspenseful.

Although it is a good story, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed in this one especially compared to the other book in the series.
3 stars.

**ARC provided by HQ Digital and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Mar 4, 2020

The third book in the Cat Carlisle series, I haven't read the previous two but I was able to keep up with the book. The book is very well written and my first book by this author. I found it to have an intriguing plotline, and kept me turning the pages. I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy historical fiction.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of the book from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my fair and honest review

House of Lies
Terrt Lynn Thomas
Publication date -3/4/20
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love historical fiction and while I really enjoyed the storyline I felt it somewhat slow moving at times. I also didn’t read the two books before which made me confused in the first third of the book. I do recommend reading the first two books so you have a better understanding of the characters and events from the start. This was a page turning thriller, with a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of House of Lives for my honest review.

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Cat Carlisle is the survivor of an abusive marriage who has set up a shelter for other abused women who need somewhere to go. She provides them with access to education and helps them get jobs to start their new lives.

What happens when the violent husband of one of the women Cat shelters comes looking for his wife?

Thomas is helping to hide a precious artefact, smuggled into England to protect it from the Nazi's. There are people so desperate for this item that they are willing to go to any lengths to steal it.

Hugh is in a terrible marriage with Margarette. She has ruined him financially and humiliated him publicly. He fantasies about killing her and having a life free of her. What has Margarette got up to now, and can he stop her before someone else gets hurt?

Set in the middle of WWII in England, this story is filled with a lot of different characters and plot lines that intertwine in a really interesting way. The fact that it is set during WWII is not something that dominates the story, but gives it depth, and an explanation to certain sentimentalities that some of the characters have. This book is a really good example of how to set a fictional story in a different timeline, without making that the centre of everything.

This is actually the third book in a series of books about Cat Carlisle, but I read it as a stand alone novel and experienced no problematic plot holes for doing so. However, the fact that it is the latest of a series and not the first book, has set my OCD tick reeling and I have added the first of the series to my to-read mountain.

There were a couple of cool reveals that I really enjoyed, although I did find the last four chapters rather predictable. The story was enjoyable and I did find myself wanting to come back to the story but not to such an extent that it was all I could think about. In a world where someone reads a lot this is certainly a good one, but I'm not convinced that it is memorable enough that I will have a clear memory of what it was about this time next year. Perhaps when I read the rest of the series that will change.

I received #HouseofLies for free from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When your house is built on lies, unrest simmers just below the surface. Cat opens her home to shelter abused women but a guest's secret unlocks a painful past. Despite turmoil seeping its way into the community, Thomas and Cat's romance provides a lifeline that threads throughout the story.

Hugh and Margaret's marriage is a house of cards. Although the couple is perceived as the toast of society, the farce is cracking. Making the difficult decision to end the charade, he gives Margaret an ultimatum that deals a shattering blow.

Cat's benevolence topples Thomas' world. Will she survive to have a fourth encounter or meet a tragic end?

Thank you to the HQ Digital team for providing an early read in exchange for an honest review. The mystery kept me second guessing until the final chapters. Even when I though it was over, similar to horror films, the monster kept returning until the hero vanquishes the villain. House of Lies is the 3rd Cat Carlisle mystery but I was able to read the book as a stand-alone novel.

BOOK REVIEW (ARC): HOUSE OF LIES ~ Cat Carlisle Mystery Book #3
Author, Terry Lynn Thomas

This is my first read by Terry Lynn Thomas, and I have to say, I truly enjoyed it...

WWII ~ A time of upheaval, the unknown, a time when some will do whatever they have to, to survive~ while others find themselves lending a hand to those looking for escape from their desperate situations. Cat Carlisle is one woman who finds herself in the middle of it all.

With a story full of secrets, crime and romance, Ms. Thomas also weaves the sensitive subjects of domestic abuse and mental illness in a way that adds yet another layer to the story...

The myriad of characters- to include the shifty, the wicked and the kind, are written as strong and believable, some you'll love~ some you won't as determination and hope throughout this narrative, prevail.

This is a gripping tale of the historical, the mysterious, that will keep you turning the pages as Cat Carlisle takes you on her ever-changing journey through the most threatening of times, heartbreak, and the fulfillment of true love when nowhere seems safe.

4 Stars

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5 Stars

This is the third book in the Cat Carlisle series by Terry Lynn Thomas.

Wow, what an intense and great historical cozy mystery!

This is my first foray into the world of Cat Carlisle. Set in the 1940’s in refuge for suffering women, Cat accepts wayward women into her home. One such woman has a husband who is a very bad man who figures prominently in the case her boyfriend and officer of the constabulary is working concerning a jeweled chalice.

We are also introduced to Hugh and his wife Margaret. The book starts off with their story and since this was my first venture into this world, I originally thought they were the stars of the show. I discovered later that this was Cat’s book. Hugh has been separated from his partying wife and has just found out she swindled him out of much of his inheritance. Thanks to his mother’s interference, she didn’t get all his money but his mother put him on a stipend that would reign in their spending, During this time there is food rationing and some people are going without a lot of the necessities. This was a interesting side step into the couple’s life and I am not sure it had a ton to do with the mystery of the book. But it did play a slight part giving us a great amount of background.

The mystery started with a death of one of the girl’s at Cat’s woman’s refuge. They learn this woman was taking advantage of Cat’s kindness and using her. This story took the long way home so to speak. We learn all sorts of things about these people. The setting and cast is amazing, I loved the entire atmosphere.

I hope there are more books after this one but it almost felt like an ending of sorts.

If you love a good historic cozy mystery, you have to check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I love historical fiction and this did not disappoint. I did however find the first half of the book rather confusing but this could be due to the fact that I have only read the first in the series so I would recommend reading the series in order. A very well written thriller.