Who could have killed Eve Knox?

Everyone liked her - it was a shock to the small town of Grotto.

Her troubled sister, Nola, and best friend, Maggie, found her.

There were quite a few suspects, but not enough evidence so the case was dropped.

The book opens to a grizzly scene of Eve running out of a cave, but not being able to escape.

Twenty-five years later, new evidence is found. Maggie is now a police officer and takes over the case. What will she find?

We go back and forth from 1995 to 2020 and see Eve's life as a teenager and then in 2020 we see the investigation taking place again with we the readers trying to guess who the killer is.

You will say it's her, no it can't be, it has to be him, no it might be that person. You will go back and forth trying to figure it out, and I bet you will guess incorrectly unless you are a super sleuth.

THIS IS HOW I LIED is very engaging, tense, and so good you won't want to put the book down.

Suspense and thriller fans will not be disappointed.

Ms. Gudenkauf will keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering, wondering, wondering.

What a twisted, fantastic, unpredictable tale with characters that lived with secrets and lies and that made me nervous at what they were doing.

Do not miss it. You will be on the edge of your seat by the end. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my second Heather G book and I have to say it was just as good as the first! Heather has a way of sucking you in on the very first page and not letting you go until the very last page.

If you love edge of your seat, page-turning, complex characters (which are sometimes mind-boggling), murder with roads leading everywhere and to everyone than you are going to love this book.

While there are a few things happening all at the same time, the road does eventually end where I thought it would. I really did enjoy this journey and if you love suspense thrillers than you will too.

#ThisIsHowILied #NetGalley #Maggie #Eve #Nola #LovedIt

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a free copy of this book.
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What I Liked: It was a fast paced thriller. Though I had my thoughts on who it was, it was quite the ride getting there. Also, though I ended up being right, I still second guesses my way through a lot of the story because there were so many people who could have killed Eve. I was satisfied with the ending, which is not always the case in thrillers.
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What I Didn't: I personally am over alternating time lines. We go back and forth. Many thrillers seem to not be able to be written without this now. Nora's therapy notes I felt were truly an unneeded addition since she happily told you everything when she spoke. Many gaps can get filled in without using multiple POVs and timelines
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Though I am over alternating time lines, I would still recommend this thriller because that is a personal gripe. That is not a gripe towards the author or this book, which was well done overall!

I am no stranger to Heather Gudenkauf’s books. I’ve ready every one so far so this one won’t be my last.
This book was a real page turner with many twists and turns.
Maggie snd Eve are best friends, but a secret tears them apart and one snowy night before Christmas Eve was found dead.
The book goes from past to present and is told from multiple standpoints.
Had me turning the page over and over anxious to find out what happened and how it happened. But what I did find out is that things aren’t always what they seem.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one early. Great book that definitely does not disappoint. Reserve your copy for publication on May 12,2020!!!

Thanks heather gudenkauf for another page turner.

I’m sorry I love to read but I admit I’m not the best review writer but it’s not lie that this book is really good!!

Excellent page turner that’s impossible to put down. I am a huge fan of Ms. Gudenkauf’s books and I think this is my favorite one so far. When the unsolved murder case of a 15 year old is assigned to Maggie 25 years latter, it hits a little close to home since the victim was Maggie’s best friend at the time of the murder. As the daughter of the detective assigned to the murder when it occurred, Maggie feels extremely pressured to find the truth. But can Maggie really comes to terms with the truth when it may involve her. Multi layered story with so many twists and turns it will leave you guessing until the very end.

This is how I lied is a page turner that will grab you and keep you reading until the end. The characters are intriguing . After 25 years can a best friend solve the murder that she thinks she may have committed. Very intense.

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf is a standalone intense thriller. The storyline switches between 1995 and the present, 2020, with three POV’s. Police officer Maggie O’Keefe becomes involved in the reopening of a murder that took place 25 years ago, when new evidence is found. In 1995, Maggie’s best friend Eve Knox was found murdered in a cave discovered by Maggie, and Eve’s sister Nola; we do get the POV in both time periods for Maggie and Nola.

In flash backs, Eve, who is 15 years old, lives at home with her mother and her sister and has a boyfriend, Nick who has become obsessive and abusive. Nola is considered weird, showing sociopathic things with animals, and she also taunts Eve over the abusive marks on her body. Maggie and Eve are together a lot, until Eve discovers something very wrong that Maggie is involved in.

In present time, Maggie is pregnant, and is assigned to work on the newly opened case, since she is better off staying at her desk or doing local interviews during the last stages of the pregnancy. Maggie’s father was the police chief, who handled the case in 1995, but now he is in the stages of Alzheimer, so it is difficult for Maggie to ask him questions.

What follows is an amazing gripping thriller filled with so many shocking secrets and twists along the way. There are so many suspects, including Maggie with her own secrets; Nola was a scary character who you knew was dangerous. From start to finish, this was an intense, heart pounding, exciting, nonstop action story that had me unable to put the book down, especially with the many surprises that threw us for a loop, and kept us confused as to who really was the murderer.

Heather Gudenkauf wrote a fantastic adventure, as she kept throwing us so many surprise revelations and suspects that kept changing the game in this gripping thriller. This is How I Lied was an amazing read that was so well written, as well as being an intense twisty exciting thriller with some fantastic characters, and a mystery to the very end.

4.5 STARS - This Is How I Lied is a spine tingling, page-turning, whirlwind of a read. Wowzers! It grabbed me immediately, took me through some great twists and didn't let go until the final pages.

Ya, it was soooo good.

Maggie is a police detective in a small Iowa town where she's lived her whole life. When new evidence emerges in the unsolved case of her best friend Eve's 25-year-old murder, Maggie jumps at the chance to find her friend's killer. This atmospheric read bounces from 25 years in the past to the present giving readers a look into Eve's life leading up to her murder and Maggie's current day hunt for the elusive killer.

The characters are an assortment of small-town citizens who are well-developed and many with secrets to hide. One character in particular stands out from the crowd. Nola, Eve's sister is one complicated, delightfully sinister character that added a layer of creepiness that I enjoyed. While not a woman I'd befriend (eeks!), she's an interesting, wounded character that added a lot to the story.

There was one rather large twist and an event that had me suspending disbelief a little outside my comfort zone but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is a well-crafted, powerful and gripping novel that had me guessing and second guessing the identity of the culprit. With its compelling cast and engaging story, I highly recommend it to fans of Suspense. Look for it May 12, 2020!

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Harlequin for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Another knock out from this author! Original and unique. I could barely sit the book down to function. Highly enjoyable and a must read!

Opening line:
"Eve wasn't even suppose to be in these caves."

And that is where Eve dies and is found hours later by her best friend, Maggie, and Eve's younger sister, Nola.

Eve's last day of her life was horrible. From an abusive boyfriend to a crazy sister to her BFF yelling at her...and on and on. Twenty-Five years later, Eve's cold case is reopened when some kids find her lost shoe in the cave, and Maggie is the detective.
Maggie is in her last term of pregnancy. She lives with her husband on acres of an apple farm. She loves her husband and her home and is anxious about her pregnancy since they've tried to hard to get pregnant. But is this investigation good for Maggie to take over?
Nola is Eve's younger sister and a bit of a sociopath. She doesn't care about anyone but herself, she thinks everyone else is the problem, and she likes to dissect animals. Is it possible the younger sister is a cold-blooded killer?

The chapters alternate between Maggie and Nola's point of view, Eve's story twenty-five years ago, and random (or are they) transcripts of interviews. In each of these chapters, we see a different side of not only the character, but their world and the people in it.
There were a few loose ends I wanted to see tied up, but they weren't hugely important. They stuck out in my head. For instance, that one bit of evidence that's missing? How did it get where it was and where is it now? Did that one suspect come to grips with their actions? How in the heck did all that DNA get on that piece of evidence?
This story kept me intrigued from beginning to end. Holy cow! I even stayed up way past my bedtime to see who murdered Eve! The author sets up enough suspects to keep the reader turning pages until the end.

There are a few scenes that might be disturbing: a killing, abuse, sex with a minor, and violence, though none are graphic.
There are a few 'F' words and other swearing

Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

1995: Eve is sixteen, and when she goes into some dangerous caves one evening, she doesn't make it out alive.

2020: Maggie Kennedy O'Keefe, Eve's former friend, is now a Detective. Eve's case has been reopened and Maggie is assigned to investigate. With a wide circle of suspects and some new evidence, can Maggie help solve the mystery of who killed her friend all those years ago?

This was twisty, fast-paced, and even though I am desperately suspicious of every character in a crime novel, that worked to my advantage here. Nola, Eve's sister, was a fantastic character, she was so unpredictable, and I loved the structure of the chapters, I enjoyed how the story unfolded by going back.

Full review coming to behindgreeneyes.com in May as part of the blog tour.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to a copy via Netgalley.

(partner @parkrowbooks ) I’ve come to count on @heathergudenkauf when I’m in the mood for an engaging, gripping thriller and her newest didn’t let me down! It has multiple viewpoints, a cold case mystery and enough unreliable suspects to make your head spin. I really couldn’t ask for more in terms of a solid thriller. Since my review mojo has basically disappeared that’s all I’ve got, but look for this one next month and in the meantime if you don’t want to wait the author has an extensive backlist that I can highly recommend, start with These Things Hidden it’s SO good, right @beauty_andthebook_

Well written, dynamic characters and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Another winner by Heather Gudenkauf!

Thank you #netgalley and #harlequin-trade for the eARC.

So this is another mystery that is written like in the future and past aspects jumping back and forward from three different characters! Eve was murdered, Maggie, and Eve's sister Nola. Maggie is now an officer and is looking into the 25 year old case. This story is not for the faint of heart because there is a lot of different things going on in this novel: abuse, murder, family drama and some domestic violence between Eve and her boyfriend Nick. This is a fast paced thriller, full of lies, secrets and a mystery that needs to be solved. I really enjoyed this thriller and I will admit once you start this book prepare to be a couch potato until you finish it because it will have you guessing who killed Eve and have you hooked from beginning to end! This is a nail biter, sitting on the edge of the seat type of thriller!

This Is How I Lied
Heather Gudenkauf
May 12, 2020

Maggie Kennedy grew up in Grotto, Iowa. She and her brother, Colin were at home with their father. Her father was chief of police in Grotto. Her mom had passed away from a brain aneurysm when she was 9 and Colin was 11. Life had not been easy but she loved her dad. The empty neighbors house had a truck out front. Maggie had so hoped that someone, a girl her age might move in. As she watched the movers hall furniture into the house, she only saw a young child running around in the yard. As time passed though, out of the house came a girl who looked just about Maggie’s age. Maggie ran out of her house and next door to meet Eve Knox. The two became instant friends. They walked to and from school and by early teens were best of friends.
Eve was dating Nick Brady. He was a fellow student who ran with the wrong crowd. His temper flared easily and many times he would take his anger out on Eve. Maggie babysat for the family across the street. The father of the twins was Cam Harper, a man who was friendly, handsome, and preyed on teen girls sexually. The girls shared their problems but Maggie never shared the relationship that developed between Cam and herself. Eve’s sister, Nola was a strange girl. She had no friends and was bullied by other students. As the novel goes on it reflects on a timeline of 1995 and 2020. Maggie eventually became a detective in the Grotto Police Department. Nola was very intelligent and became a Vet. Eve was murdered in 1995 and the case was still unsolved in 2020.
Gudenkauf gives us the story of each of these girls, their families and quite the unexpected situations that develop throughout the novel. Each chapter’s heading is one of the names of the girls with dates presented under the heading. The intense mystery that unfolds is very similar to Heather Gudenkauf’s style of writing in each of her books. I know when I pick up one of her novels I will be in for a terrific journey. This Is How I Lied is no different. I was totally involved in the story-line. Her readers will recognize the Gudenkauf suspense trail that she unfolds for us. Once again, I cannot give out many details as there would be spoilers. I do encourage suspense lovers to get a copy of her latest book due for publishing May 12, 2020. This Is How I Lied is being published by Park Row Books in arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. I wish to thank them for allowing me to read and review this pre-published edition of her latest book. I enjoyed Heather Gudenkauf’s latest offering, This Is How I Lied, sure to be a 5 star hit.

Twenty-five years ago her best friend was taken from her and this earth, murdered and left in a cave, and no one was ever arrested or charged with the crime. And for twenty- five years this event has haunted detective Maggie Kennedy O’keefe. Being the one to find your murdered best friend is bound to rattle your world, but the not knowing who did it is just as bad.

Armed with new evidence, Maggie is determined to find the answers no one else ever has, she feels like she owes her friend that much, and nothing is going to stop her from doing her job! Just as she starts to make headway on the case things start to take an unexpected turn... a dangerous one that could cost her everything!

This is How I Lied is a startling little page-turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. Following Maggie on her journey for answers was quite exhilarating and emotional. Page after page I fell deeper into her world and more addicted to the words, I just couldn't pry my eyes away from the pages. Wow what a read!! I have got to say this first time read impressed on all fronts, the words held my attention intently throughout, and the characters were perfectly drawn... loved every minute of it!! Highly recommend!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on May 12, 2020

This is How I Lied is a thrilling read. So well written and kept me wondering almost until the very end whom was actually responsible for the murder. As most of this authors books it was so well written, with many twists and turns. I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy a good suspense thriller.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Loved it! This was so good and I love that some secrets were revealed early on instead of dragging things out forever and ever. Couldn’t put it down!

4.5 stars

Maggie O’Keefe’s life changed irrecoverably when her best friend was murdered at fifteen. For twenty five years she was plagued by the nightmare while the killer was never identified. Now a detective, she was determined to solve the crime when new evidence emerged. But opening up a cold case might uncover the small town secrets she was not ready to face.

This story was an engaging read and got me questioning every character for most of the book. I loved the shift between past and present as the storyline uncovered. I enjoyed the overall storyline even though I felt the ending could be tighter.

The characters were intriguing from sweet, helpful ones to vile, evil ones. My favorite was Nola who drew me in right from the beginning with her unconventional interest and provocative personality.

This Is How I Lied is a story of manipulations and buried truths. It would appeal to readers who enjoy being immersed in a domestic thriller read.

I'm not surprised that Heather Gudenkauf has written another 5 star thriller. All her books are fantastic and whenever I go into a new one I know for a fact that I'm going to love it! There's just something about her writing style and her genius ideas that surround her plots that keep me coming back for more. That's no different with This is How I Lied and I devoured this one!