I found it very hard to get into this book, mostly because I could not relate to any of the characters. While the basic premise of the novel is enjoyable and I liked the plot twists, I was annoyed by the main characters. Lucy is very childlike and feeble, like her development was stunted after the disappearance of her brother. As others have mentioned, I found it very odd that an adult woman would have an imaginary friend who controls many of her actions. Her behavior is so bizarre (responding to internal stimuli, auditory and visual hallucinations) that the only logical explanation is that she has a serious mental illness like schizophrenia. However, I don't know how she made it this far in life, as a wildly successful author, without anyone picking up on these concerning symptoms. While Lucy is somewhat bothersome, her husband Dan is despicable. He is self absorbed, controlling, selfish, and insecure about his own failings as an author. I wish that there would have been more dimensions to his character instead of just completely loathsome. I also didn't feel like the end of this book gave any real closure. I appreciate NetGalley giving me the opportunity to review this book.

4.5 stars. Macmillan's best one yet!

"To tell you the truth . . . everybody lies.

Lucy Harper’s talent for writing bestselling novels has given her fame, fortune and millions of fans. It’s also given her Dan, her needy, jealous husband whose own writing career has gone precisely nowhere.

Now Dan has vanished. But this isn’t the first time that someone has disappeared from Lucy’s life. Three decades ago, her little brother Teddy also went missing and was never found. Lucy, the only witness, helplessly spun fantasy after fantasy about Teddy’s disappearance, to the detectives’ fury and her parents’ despair. That was the start of her ability to tell a story—a talent she has profited from greatly.

But now Lucy’s a grown woman who can’t hide behind fiction any longer. The world is watching, and her whole life is under intense scrutiny. A life full of stories, some more believable than others. Could she have hurt Teddy? Did she kill Dan? Finally, now, Lucy Harper’s going to tell the truth."

Where to begin? This book is SO good! The first 60% or so alternates between present day Lucy and what appears to be a novel or diary about her brother's disappearance. Good twist with that plot device that I am not going to ruin. Lucy is also able to talk to the main character of her novels - Eliza Gray. Eliza has been her imaginary friend since childhood. Is she really a friend?

The pacing of the book is excellent. I flew threw it in about a 24 hour period because I just wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. The characters are all quite interesting. Is Lucy going crazy? Is she being gaslighted? Can she trust anyone, including Eliza? The ending was perfect, even though not everything is resolved.

Lucy Harper, famous crime novelist, has a past that haunts her: her little brother Teddy disappeared when she was nine. As the last person to see him alive, she faced questions from both police and parents, and she spun tales about what might have happened, hoping to eventually be left alone. But she carried the guilt ever since.

Now it's her husband who has disappeared. And as the police close in on her once again, she can no longer hide behind her stories. She has to finally tell the truth: did she hurt Teddy? And could she have killed Dan?

I've got mixed feeling about this one. I thought the plot was intriguing and the prose good, but I hated the characters. Had I not felt obligated by a review, I would not have finished this. Dan is as detestable as they come and I didn't feel bad at all about his demise. I felt Lucy's character was annoying--in particular her spinelessness with regards to her husband and her imaginary friend as an almost 40 year old.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this copy for review.

I started this book hating it but as it progressed enjoyed it more and wanted to find out what happened. Lucy Harper has written bestsellers, making a lot of money. Her husband, Dan, wanted to be an author but has ended up managing Lucy's finances, the housekeeping and anything else, freeing up Lucy to concentrate on writing. Dan ends up disappearing. Lucy's brother also disappeared but many years ago and was never found. The book focuses on Lucy trying to figure out what has happened to Dan and what ties he may have had to her past.

The plot: Lucy Harper’s talent for writing bestselling novels has given her fame, fortune and millions of fans. The best-selling novels come at a price though-Lucy isn’t just writing about the main character but she sees and hears her. It’s also given her Dan, her needy, jealous husband whose own writing career has gone precisely nowhere.

Now Dan has vanished. But this isn’t the first time that someone has disappeared from Lucy’s life. Three decades ago, her little brother Teddy also went missing and was never found. Lucy, the only witness, helplessly spun fantasy after fantasy about Teddy’s disappearance, to the detectives’ fury and her parents’ despair. That was the start of her ability to tell a story—a talent she has profited from greatly.

The review: I devoured this book over two nights. It was hard to put down. The book keeps you wondering and guessing throughout. The addition of Lucy’s “friend” adds to the mystery and suspense throughout the book.

4.5 stars because I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending.

Highly recommend if you like thrillers and mysteries.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ending to this story....completely unexpected! I just KNEW I had it all figured out. I was SOOO wrong. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

A speedy fast read! I'm a big Gilly MacMillan fan, so I was excited to get my hands on this one. I enjoy a book where you question the reliability of the narrator but find yourself rooting for them anyway, which I found myself doing with Lucy. I enjoyed most of the story and found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed by the ending and felt it came out of left field, but it wasn't the ending you might predict. Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins, and Book Club Girl for the advance digital copy!

To Tell You the Truth is a taut psychological thriller with the epitome of the unreliable narrator, which will keep you in suspense, wondering who can be trusted, including the narrator herself.

Lucy, currently a crime fiction writer, was involved in a mystery of her own when she was 9 years old and her 3-year-old brother went missing. She took her brother into the woods near their home late at night to witness a pagan spring equinox festival. She stowed him in a bunker she had discovered, but when she went to retrieve him, he was no longer there. The case reached national prominence and as a result, in adulthood Lucy changed her name to escape the past. The details of this event are told in a series of flashbacks interspersed with the current narrative.

In the present, Lucy lives with Dan, her overbearing husband who has taken control of her life and her finances while she sequesters herself to write her crime fiction thriller series. The series involves a main character named Eliza, which is based on what appears to be a hallucination that began as an “invisible friend” from her childhood, who has over the years morphed into a person that Lucy sees, hears and obeys. Without her knowledge, Lucy’s husband uses her money to buy an expensive mansion near the woods where her brother disappeared, which also happens to be located on the same lane as a woman with whom Lucy suspects Dan is having an affair. Lucy comes to believe that Dan is “gas lighting” her, first by making her think her memory is faulty and then for buying the house near the scene of her greatest trauma. In addition, he criticizes the quality of her writing, the success of which has made them both rich. When her husband disappears, Lucy wonders if “Eliza” had something to do with it.

This thriller will draw you in with the tension filled events surrounding Dan and her brother’s disappearances as well as richly drawn characterizations of herself and her neighbors, all of whom seem to be suspects. Add to this the creepiness of sharing Lucy’s delusion-filled thoughts, and you have a tantalizing read.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read this ARC, It started out great! The problem was I didn't like any of the characters, so was not really invested in the story, I liked the idea of the flashbacks, but was not totally sure how they fitted in to the overall story. The end was kind of out there, so that was disappointing.

Our main character is Lucy who has written a several best-selling crime mysteries with an amazing detective character who happens to be based on her imaginary childhood friend, Eliza. Years ago, Lucy's brother disappeared and we find out that her husband has disappeared too which is too eerily similar. Lucy is an unreliable narrator which sometimes, surprisingly, I end up enjoying. This was a good thriller, very tense and haunting!

People around the famed author Lucy Harper have a habit of disappearing. There is the story of her toddler brother Teddy suddenly vanishing when she was seven years old, and now her husband seems to have also disappeared. The question is, is Lucy, who is brilliant a twisting a tale, telling the truth, and who can we really believe?
After such acclaimed novels as “What She Knew, “I Know You Know” and “The Nanny,” British writer Gilly Macmillan has produced another page-turner with her latest book “To Tell You the Truth.”
Leaving her shaky childhood behind her, Lucy has gone on to become a famous author with her Detective Eliza Grey books becoming best sellers and making her a lot of money. Husband Dan looks after her finances, but can Dan be trusted and is he looking for more than all the goodies his wife provides with her fortune? Author Lucy is helped in her writing an imaginary friend Eliza, but is this friend becoming a hinderance? Who can we really believe?
Suddenly the private Lucy, is being scrutinized by her neighbors, the police, and her fans. She is not sure who she run to and who can she trust. The trouble is, Lucy has spun so many fantasies herself: in her mind, and in her books, that is hard to find out who really is being honest.
This book is hard to put down as the plot twists and turns as Lucy’s life becomes unraveled. What really happened to her brother Teddy in the local wood decades before? Lucy is desperate to keep this a secret from the prying media and her adoring fans. She is also facing pressure from her publishers, who are not happy with her latest book. Which does beg the question: How much independence do famous authors really have once they create a fan-demanding, popular central character?
Macmillan, who bases many of her books in her hometown of Bristol, England, has not failed us again, producing another riveting, atmospheric, psychological thriller-mystery, that keep you guessing until the final pages. If you enjoy writers Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, Liane Moriarty, Rosamund Lupton or Tess Gerritsen, you will enjoy Macmillan’s latest due to be published on September 22, 2020.
I wish to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
#totellyouthetruth #netgalley

Gilly Macmilian's latest novel, To Tell You the Truth, follows a very famous crime fiction writer, Lucy Harper, as she tries to unravel the truth behind her husband Dan's disappearance. Lucy has made millions writing about the exploits of her protagonist Eliza Grey, a tough no-nonsense detective. Everyone loves Eliza, but Lucy is harboring a secret- Eliza was her childhood imaginary friend, who still appears to Lucy, even more so now that she has written about her. Eliza was there with Lucy when Lucy's 3 year old brother went missing, and Lucy thinks Eliza may have done something to Dan. The novel flashes back to the night of the midsummer's night party Teddy went from, hidden in a secret bunker Lucy had discovered. To the current situation, which Lucy is desperately tying to get to the bottom of. Only, is she responsible for both?
I loved this novel. Lots of twists and turns, that all end up in the same place. A great read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan. All opinions are my own!

I really enjoyed this book allllll the way up until the very ending. And then, it completely tanked due to lack of information. I can't stand reading something and not getting closure, and that's what you unfortunately get with this book. It was super creepy and full of twists and turns up until then. I wish that it had ended differently, but it fully had my attention until then, so I'd consider it a good read. Definitely not my favorite Macmillan book, but not my least favorite, either.

This was a pretty good suspense novel. I had a hard time putting it down, it was written well, and it wasn't too predictable for me. Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

To Tell You the Truth by Gilly MacMillan is the kind of intense psychological suspense I most enjoy. The story goes deep into the lead character’s mind and heart, with no jerky point of view switches and no sense that the author is constantly straining to come up with ever more shocking twists. The twists in the plot are organic and completely believable, just as the characters are.

Lucy Harper is a British author of internationally bestselling mystery novels. Pushed to produce a new bestseller every year, Lucy is so immersed in her characters and stories that she allows her husband, Dan, to control every other aspect of her life, including the enormous royalties that pour in. But Dan, a failed writer, is jealous and greedy and can’t be trusted.

Without Lucy’s knowledge, Dan uses two million pounds of Lucy’s money to buy a mansion in the worst possible location. The house overlooks the woods where Lucy’s little brother Teddy disappeared when they were young children. Nine-year-old Lucy was suspected of harming her beloved brother and hiding his body, which has never been found. The trauma of that experience has haunted Lucy into adulthood and led her to hide her identity as she became a famous author. The last thing she wants is to live in a house overlooking the woods where Teddy disappeared. But she has no choice to move because Dan has already given up their apartment and they must get out. Angry and hurt, and reeling from an unexpected career setback, she moves into the dreaded house with no intention of remaining there.

Soon after, Dan disappears and Lucy becomes a suspect.

Alone and besieged by police and reporters and even a drone that hovers outside her windows, Lucy wonders if Dan is actually alive and is gaslighting her. The truth that emerges in the end is a surprise that no reader could see coming, yet it is fully satisfying. Lucy’s unusual relationship with Eliza, the wildly popular heroine of her novels, is a bonus that should please mystery readers and writers alike.

Predictable story that did not surprise or shock like I had hoped it would. No mystery or suspense to be had.

I'm an absolute sucker for an unreliable narrator, but this chick takes the cake. I'm talking Gone Girl levels of messed up here.

There is such a glut of suspense novels on the market, when I start a new book in the genre if it doesn’t grab me right away I can’t be bothered to continue. I had exactly the opposite problem with To Tell You the Truth since I couldn’t put it down. At first I thought the book was too short until I realized I had stayed up all night reading, and the writing was tight, which is a good thing. I was so emotionally connected to this book I hated the husband from the beginning and found myself getting mad on Lucy’s behalf. The suspense was played out beautifully and I was on the edge of my seat so much I wanted to flip to the end and see who did it, but stopped myself because the writing and plot were so good I didn’t want to ruin the ending. And that’s another thing, usually I can figure out what’s happened before the end, but not this time. There were many red herrings as the author took us in one direction then another. I heartedly endorse this book, and will buy multiple copies for our library.

This one was just okay for me. The suspense and uncertainty were fine, but I couldn't really pick a character to champion, so, I couldn't really invest.

My first book by Gilly Macmillan, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, did not disappoint!

Written in second person, the (italicized) chapters intrigued me the most. While I thought I knew how they fit into the bigger picture, a well-timed plot twist proved me wrong. Vivid descriptions of the couple's new house (and new neighbors) drew me into Lucy's eerie atmosphere. Questioning what, if anything, existed solely in Lucy's imagination intrigued me as well.

Eliza's role in the novel is an interesting one! For me, it was a fresh take on the genre, especially considering that the protagonist is a mystery writer herself.

The ending didn't quite deliver the closure I had hoped for on either front; nevertheless, both threads were unexpected. Definitely recommend for fans of the psychological thriller!