A thought provoking, morally angsty kind of a read was this book by author Jane Corry, and at the same time it was quite compelling.

A mother’s love for her child was tested in this where 15 year old Freddie came home after committing a crime and both parents were on opposite sides. Sarah wanted to hide it, Tom was all for calling the cops.

A brilliant, but slightly slow paced, I was completely kept in the dark, befuddled, about the direction the story would take. Two POVs in dual timelines of the past and present, along with hints of scenes in the court where all 3 were present. I couldn’t stop reading the story.

A marriage could be broken by hidden truths, and the same happened here between two people who were already so different from each other. The child added to the strain between them, a crime nearly broke them.

Suspense built up slowly and steadily, intricate was the weave of the scenes, the author’s writing made it captivating, leaving me with a sigh at the end.

This was a really brilliant book, full to the brim with lots of twists and turns. I found myself wanting to pick it up and read more at odd times in the day instead of doing my household chores. This was another new author for me and this book certainly made a big impression on me. It would make a brilliant film. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

it was amazing

The lies we tell is a story of a family, brought together by a web of lies that ultimately pulls them apart. This is the Story of Tom and Sarah, retelling from their own points of view what drew them together and what changes their relationship and their lives. The book is about a mother’s love and what she may be prepared to do to protect her child.
The Lies We Tell is an easy, enjoyable read and personally I would read more books by Jane Corry.

I was supplied a review copy of the book by NetGalley

This was not the first and certainly will not be the last book I read by author Jane Corry. We are first introduced to Sarah, a mother anxiously waiting up for her teenage son, Freddie, to arrive home. When he does finally appear he drops a bombshell altering all their lives forever. I love that we then go back in time to find out about Sarah and Tom before they became parents. Both have very interesting backgrounds which ultimately influence the decisions they make and their reactions to the situation they find themselves in. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a gripping thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, however, it was long, I felt it could have been slimmed down a little and still be as good. It did have lots to maintain interest, but in places it was slow, so I would take a break from reading. However, when I picked it up again it regained my interest pretty quickly. Overall a good read but I do prefer my books a tad shorter.

I was really disappointed with this book, i usually really enjoy a Jane Corry. I felt the characters had no depth, it just wasnt really believable some of the decisions made

How far would you go to protect your child? One mother lying awake waiting for her son to come in, will soon have to answer this question. Sarah is waiting, watching the clock until Freddie gets in. All sorts of scenarios play through her mind. He said he would be in by midnight, but now it's nearly three. Waking up her husband he seems disinterested and soon goes back to sleep. Soon Freddie arrives, but what he blurts out is more shocking than Sarah could have ever imagined.

The book is in two parts. The first takes us through Sarah and Tom's relationship, how they got together and how they have got to where they are today. It is a tale of opposites attracting. Sarah is a free spirit and Tom likes everything in its place. They want a stable family life, but tragedy and circumstance test the couple. The secrets gradually come to light and we find out how they got to where they are today. Knowing we will get to the point of Freddie's confession adds a suspense and a sense of dread to the reading.

The second part of the book deals with what the family do after Freddie's confession and Sarah's response. It makes you wonder what you would do in the same circumstances. Is Sarah right to do what she does? It is a rollercoaster ride to a dramatic court case.

This is a fascinating book that is a domestic family thriller at its best.

What can I say but another amazing book from Jane. I read it in 24 hours. I feel the story showed an amazing strength of character in sarah as the main character. She went above and beyond what any mother would do to protect her child. Some may not agree with it but the story is so well written that the outcome shows real life in all it’s good and bad.
After finishing I wished it had continued as I fell in love with sarah and what she stood for. Thank you Jane for another fantastic read.

“Mum, he chokes, I’ve killed someone.”

The book opens with this confession.
Freddie’s Mum, Sarah wants to protect her son at any cost. But, his father, Tom, doesn’t think that anyone is above the law-including his own son.

PAUSE

The next 60% of the book now examines how two VERY different people have ended up married to each other, and why each will react differently to this confession.

A relationship will never work when you HIDE the truth of who you are, and try to be the person that you think your partner wants you to to be. Or when you marry because someone is offering what you NEED instead of what you may WANT.

Tom and Sarah have married for the wrong reasons- and each has come to the realization that they have married the wrong person.

And, while this is a PART of the story, it shouldn’t have been THE entire story for the first 60 % of the book!
I wanted to get back to the CONFESSION!

Once we do, the book moves in a much more interesting direction,

We also get glimpses into the court proceedings and wonder if Sarah can watch someone else’s son get tried for the crime that her son committed.

The last 40% was GRIPPING!

But at 500 pages, it just took TOO LONG to get there!!

If Tom and Sarah’s relationship ARC had been trimmed by about 100 pages, we would’ve still understood their motivations but had a much more COMPELLING and TENSION filled story.

I really enjoyed the second half.
3.5 ⭐️

I received a gifted copy from the Publisher via NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
Available now!

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I wasn’t expecting this to be quite as character driven as it was, I liked that the story jumps around in time as it manages to keep an element of mystery to it especially in the build up to the end. I found the start a bit tedious with going through Sarah and Tom relationship from the start, especially coming off quite a dramatic part of the story although as the story progressed I could see why the author had chosen to do it that. All in all, although it wasn’t exactly the type of book I was expecting, I ended up really enjoying it.

How much of ourselves do we reveal to others? How often do we twist the truth? How many of us change who we are to belong? How many of us would lie to protect a loved one? A tale about our actions, our in-actions, our failures and the consequences they bring...
This book has a good plot, and strong characters. it started out really fast paced, however, it seemed to lose direction in the middle, and then an anti-climactic ending. Not a terrible story, verging on the border of average.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I really enjoyed this book. The storyline and writing pulled me in from the beginning. I’d recommend it as a good read!

An acute moral dilemma is interlaced with family secrets and a terrible crime. Freddy has done something unthinkable what will his parents Sarah and Tom, do? Do they protect him at all costs or let justice run its course?

This is an intimate story, as the reader first explores the parents' previous lives through their viewpoints. The fallout from Freddy's actions seen through Sarah's viewpoint leads to surprising revelations and twists, but can she be trusted?

The characters do not inspire the reader's empathy despite the gravity of their circumstances, but the intensity and sense of foreboding keep the reader engaged.

This is an intricate and intriguing story with a variable pace to mirror the family's circumstances. The conclusion is suspenseful and satisfying.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The Lies We Tell is a book full of lies - the lies we tell ourselves, the lies we tell to protect others and the lies we are told. At its heart is a thought-provoking question for any parent - how far would you go to protect your child? When their teenage son Freddy comes home one night and confesses that he has killed someone, this is the question Sarah and Tom find them asking themselves. The choices they make will impact their family forever.

It's a dramatic opening by anyone's standards - the book then goes back to when Sarah and Tom first met, an unlikely couple from very different backgrounds, and we get to understand them and why they are the way they are, as well as the secrets they keep from each other. Neither Sarah nor Tom are entirely likeable, but Corry does a good job of making the reader somewhat sympathetic towards them. By the time we reach the second part of the book, which focuses on Sarah and the decisions she makes following Freddy's confession, it is hard not to at least empathise to some degree.

It is a relatively long book but it kept me turning the pages as Corry cleverly drip feeds the reader information, the tension builds and the twists keep coming as the truth becomes clear. It is a book that makes you think and one well worth reading.

I love Jane Corry books as you're never quite sure what's going to happen next and that's definitely the case with her latest page-turner, The Lies We Tell. Bursting with secrets and lies, there's an underlying tension throughout as the full picture is gradually revealed over the course of the novel.

Sarah and Tom have a marriage built on lies but love for their son has held them together...until one more lie threatens to tear them apart. It's clear that they got married far too quickly without fully knowing each other inside out so Tom really does only have himself to blame. I did feel sorry for him though as it felt like he was the third wheel in the family when their much longed for son Freddie came along.

At each twist and turn of the story, you can't help but wonder what you would have done in the same circumstances. It's a mother's instinct to protect her child but at what cost? Sarah is used to lying and burying secrets so one more lie isn't going to hurt, but it's never just one...it's called a web of lies for a reason!

Reading The Lies We Tell is like opening Pandora's Box as no-end of secrets and lies erupt from the page with earth-shattering consequences in this amazing page-turner from Jane Corry. It's quite a chunky book at 512 pages but I read it much more quickly than I expected as I couldn't wait to discover every single secret it had hidden.

Tense, gripping and constantly asking the question: 'what would you do?', The Lies We Tell is another quality novel from the pen of Jane Corry. I was hooked from the start and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Tom and Sarah are an unlikely pairing, and their marriage has always raised a few eyebrows due to how different they are from one another in appearance, experiences and even parenting styles. One evening, their rebellious 15-year-old son Freddie is the reason for another argument between the two. After flouting their rules, breaking curfew and mixing with the wrong crowd, Freddie returns home late in distress. He admits that he has killed someone but won't give further details. Tom wants to tell the police, whilst Sarah wants to protect her son at any cost, so there are high stakes from the offset on what will happen next - will he get arrested? Will he go on the run? Following his confession, the story switches to the alternating perspectives of Tom and Sarah, charting from the past (including their first meet) to the present day in Truro Crown Court.

The Lies We Tell is a slow-burn of a domestic drama that features Jane Corry's signature style of multiple perspectives and dual-timelines allowing you to piece together tidbits ready for a simmering reveal of information when you learn how the two timelines link together. The characterisation is immaculate and learning about Tom and Sarah's past is both insightful and at times unsettling, especially when darker aspects are revealed. There are some more lighthearted idyllic descriptions of Cornwall, and the dysfunctional family aspect of a mother and son vs a father really reminded me of David Nicholls' Us but with a more severe undertone.

Aptly named, this story looks at the lies we tell and the repercussions of them, even if the lie was small to start with. The troublesome marriage between Tom and Sarah including several miscarriages, omissions of their own personal histories and staggering differences in their moral character leads to a complicated look at how this might have affected their child and ultimately whether they are responsible for his omission and ill-behaviour. I really liked the prospect of the moral dilemma facing the parents about protecting their son or following the law, and I think Corry handles this in thought-provoking means. One downfall that usually faces psychological thrillers of this kind is the pacing, but within this, I never felt like the onslaught of info about Tom and Sarah was too much or irrelevant. Instead, my only qualm with this one is that I do feel as though the ending is a tad too neat and tied up for my liking, it almost feels too conclusive and unrealistic, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping slow-burn

Tom and Sarah are put in a quandary when their fifteen year old son Freddie, comes home and tells them something which turns their lives upside down. Sarah’s natural instinct is to protect her precious only child whereas Tom feels he should contact the police.

The story then goes back to when Tom and Sarah first met. An unlikely couple who both harbour secrets and struggles throughout their relationship. Their wish to become parents is not straight forward but after several miscarriages, Freddie is born. Sarah is a natural mother whereas Tom finds his role more of a challenge.

The story continues to alternate between the present and the past. and I was reading sometimes a little confused, until the two timelines merged and all the pieces fitted together perfectly.

As a mother of three sons, this book had me wondering what I would do if I were in Sarah’s shoes. My unquestioning loyalty to my child or the morally correct thing to do. It’s definitely not a situation I would like to experience personally.

I love Jane Corrys writing and this book was no exception. A fast paced page turner. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this brilliant book .

This is very much a family drama and I found it to be an OK read.

A couple with secrets in their past have a teenage son who comes home to tell them he's killed someone.
What follows is about how far a family will go to protect their son and it's also about the hidden secrets both parents have in their past.

I have previously enjoyed this author's books, but, I found this one a tad slow and tedious and lost interest a good few times. However, if you persevere, it's a decent enough read just not quite the page turner I was hoping for.

2* OK

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

The Lies We Tell - Jane Corry

We start this book seemingly at the end of the story, then go back to see how we got there, which I found a particularly enjoyable aspect. Sarah and Tom really go through the mill in this book, and drag the reader along with them, there are plenty of unexpected twists all the way through, with the main characters secrets being discovered at different times in the story. Overall a great page turner, which focuses on how far a parent will go to protect their child even at their own expense or safety.

A family saga covering four generations and how the tragic mistakes of the older three generations will ultimately decide the future of the youngest member. A bohemian young woman, mother of a young girl, Sarah, is tragically killed, leaving her child in the care of cruel uncaring guardians. This will ultimately affect and influence every event in the formative years of this young girl. A young boy, Tom, has a difficult childhood, loses his mother but also suffers childhood abuse. Two damaged individuals, through improbable circumstances end up together intent on righting the wrongs of the past. Totally unsuited and I’ll equipped to deal with the intimacy of family life they project their inadequacies onto their only child. A catastrophic incident involving the son leads to a life or death decision, with each going in a totally opposite direction resulting in choices that will ricochet down through the years. This storyline was raw in emotional angst, with any conclusion to have serious repercussions for all concerned and little opportunity for redemption or forgiveness. Perhaps the only misstep in this harrowing story is the author’s intent to tie up lose endings into an acceptable conclusion. Perhaps too much a realist I believe this story raised so many moral and ethical issues, the conclusion did not do justice to a book that left the reader asking many unanswerable questions as to what would they do in similar circumstances. Many thanks to Author, publisher and NetGalley for this hugely thought provoking book.