Natalie Bellman works as an administrative assistant at the exclusive Falcon Academy. She has come to know who the big players are at this school. Brooke is extremely wealthy and the mother of Sloane. Asha sells real estate and is the mother of Mia. Both school girls are very active in sports and have been very good friends through school. But as they eye college in the near future with an emphasis on sports, they know that two girls from one place would never be chosen. So, which one of them will it be? Nick is the handsome coach admired by students and mothers alike.

There is disharmony is the marriages of Brooke and Asha which causes much upset for them and their children. Gossip and cattiness abound. Money doesn’t always make one’s life good. These women have a lot of problems.

Natalie has eyes for Coach Nick and ends up being his girlfriend. She has secrets of her own and takes pills to try and regulate her moods. She is unsure about this man she cares for and worries about some of the students he coaches. So when she wakes up in her car outside the school, she knows that some of the medication she is taking has made her pass out. It’s when she goes inside the school and finds something shocking, she wonders what she could have done!

This was a good story that kept me guessing for some time about what was going on. The wealthy women involved are characters that have been well-written. Brooke, especially, is a piece of work. However, she is a good mother. I liked the book and found it very enlightening and why I would never let a school have that much control over my children. Oops! Hope that wasn’t a spoiler. Enjoy.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is full of lies, deceit, and half-truths — it was such a fun + fast read that’s full of unlikeable characters and toxic relationships. Annie Ward is such a talented writer and this was a gem of a psychological thriller.

I also loved that Scissors and Scotch got a shoutout in the book — that’s where my husband gets his hair cut here in Denver. 😂

Thank you to HTP books for my physical copy and NetGalley for my e-copy!

From my blog: Always With a Book

I absolutely loved Annie Ward’s last book, Beautiful Bad, and have been so eager for her to write something new so of course I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the blog tour for The Lying Club and I am so glad I was…this is another book that is captivating and full of surprises from start to finish.

This book is being comped to Big Little Lies and I have to say it definitely has that feel to it, but I think it’s a bit darker which I loved. An elite private school, rich parents who will do anything for their children, adults behaving badly…it’s just a recipe for disaster and yet when you add in some major drama that involves two bodies and three women who are potential witnesses/suspects how can you possibly walk away?

This book immediately drew me in and every time I thought I had put my finger on the pulse of what was really going on, a new twist would be revealed to throw me off-track. There were so many moving parts to this story that kept me glued to the pages and very slowly the layers are peeled back. It is such a juicy, drama-filled story that is full of secrets and revenge and lies and I loved seeing how all the characters interacted with each other. They are definitely not all what they seem to be and I love books like this because it really keeps me on my toes.

I really enjoyed this book – not only is it fun and entertaining, but it is quite suspenseful, too! I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Natalie Bellman lives a quiet life as an office assistant at a private school in Colorado. She often comes in contact with the wealthy mothers of the students at her school. She knows she could never be like them. Then, she falls in love with the school’s athletic director and everything changes.

Brooke Elliman wants what is best for her daughter. As far as she’s concerned that would be getting her daughter into a good soccer program. For that she needs the help of the handsome athletic director, who Brooke wouldn’t mind getting into bed with - especially since her husband left her.

Then there’s Asha Wilson. Her daughter is in direct competition with Brooke’s. Asha will do anything to get the athletic director on her daughter’s side. Meanwhile, she’s also wondering if her husband could be cheating on her.

The tension between all three women increase when two bodies are taken out of the school.

I was immediately drawn right into this story. I was hooked from the Prologue. Throughout the entire book I was trying to identify the good guys from the bad guys. Not an easy task with a cast of characters so secretive, scheming and conniving.

It’s a twisty, sometimes soapy, drama that reminded me of Big Little Lies right from the start. I can easily see this book played out on a movie screen. It kept me captivated until the last page. Just when you think it’s all figured out, it’s really not.

This is a new-to-me author, but she’s on my radar now. I will be on the look out for more books by Annie Ward.







FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

There are lots of twists and turns in this thrilling murder mystery standalone story.
I was definitely caught up in the plot. But there really were no likable characters, which is a bit of a pet peeve for me.
It takes place at an elite private school and starts out with two bodies being removed from the school but goes back to the time leading up to that and keeps the reader guessing who the murderer is and also who the victims are!
A wonderful story for fans of twisty plots that uncover cheating and lies all around.
-3.5 Stars-

Review of The Lying Club by Annie Ward

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this book. It was action packed drama from start to finish which mostly unlikeable characters but some who surprised me quite a bit by the end which is unusual but a great twist by itself. I definitely will be reading from this author again in the future.

Quick synopsis: Asha is a loving mom with marriage problems. Brooke is now single but very wealthy and mom to a rising soccer star. Natalie is a young single assistant at their children’s prestigious school. When someone associated with the school dies it brings these women together in ways they could never imagine.
Big thank you to @netgalley and @parkrow for the copy of this book that is out now! Can’t wait for the buddy read discussion with #theyearofnetgalley!!

The Lying Club by Annie Ward is a thriller novel. The story in The Lying Club is one that is done in a before and after format around an event taking place in the Prologue going back to before that event until it catches up and goes beyond. It also is one that changes the point of view between several characters to give all sides of the story.

The Lying Club is centered around an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains. Natalie works in the office at the school and wishes she had the life the rich families that attend have. Asha’s daughter Mia attends the school and is best on again and off again friends with Brooke’s daughter, Sloane.

The women Natalie envies may look perfect on the outside but they all have their own issues. Asha works in real estate and has found out she’s expecting all the while trying to figure out if her husband is cheating on her. Brooke on the other hand is usually the other woman even though she is married. The moms both have Mia and Sloane in private coaching with coach Nick who Natalie has had her eye on at the school.

I have to admit starting off The Lying Club I wasn’t sure if I would end up even liking it as the characters aren’t exactly the most likable, often thinking they were rather despicable really. However, what drew me into the story was the secrets and lies to eventually be followed by some twists and turns. By the end of the book I was loving the complete turnaround the author worked into the story and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out how the tangled web would finally unweave.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Lying Club is my first book by Annie Ward. I enjoyed it and I will certainly look forward to reading another one. Set at an elite private school - the book opens up and we know there are two bodies but we have to read to find out the who, what, when, and where of it all. The book follows 3 women - Natalie - the office assistant at the school; Brooke that wealthy mother who throws her wealth and affluence around; and Asha, a realtor and mother of two with a husband who she thinks is cheating on her. Its really a cast of unlikeable characters but what a train wreck of twists and turns, back stabbing and jealousy. Its kind of like a soap opera on steroids. It took me just a little bit to get invested in the storyline but once I did I finished it rather quickly. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin trade Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I did grab an audiobook from my library to listen along to as i read and I must say the narration was great on the audiobook.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing via NetGalley.

At an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains, Natalie, an office assistant, dreams of having a life like the school moms she deals with every day. Women like Brooke—a gorgeous heiress, ferociously loving mother and serial cheater—and Asha, an overprotective mom who suspects her husband of having an affair. Their fates are bound by the handsome assistant athletic director Nicholas, whom Natalie loves, Brooke wants and Asha needs.

But when two bodies are carried out of the school one morning, it seems the tension between mothers and daughters, rival lovers, and the haves and have-nots has shattered the surface of this isolated, affluent town—where people stop at nothing to get what they want.

What was even happening in this book? All the people in this book were wacked out crazy. I did not like any of the girls, they were all extremely dislikable characters.

This is my first book I've read by this author and I loved it!! Filled with high profile families, their dramas, their deceit, and their deceptions. This is a delightful to read and I was sorry to see the story end!!! Perfect for fans of Jackie Collins.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in advanced in exchange for my honest review! The Lying Club is a slow burn thriller that follows three women. There are secrets, lying, and more to build up the anticipation for The Lying Club. The action picks up towards the end but I enjoyed her writing style a lot!

Natalie Bellman is an office assistant at the Falcon Academy, an elite school nestled in the Colorado mountains and attended by mostly the children of the town’s affluent families. But it’s their charismatic soccer coach Nicholas Macguire, better known as “Coach Nick,” who has her attention and heart. Coach Nick is popular with all the ladies and moms, including Brooke Elliman, the town’s wealthiest who also has a roving eye despite being married. Her daughter Sloane is one of the two soccer team standouts, along with Mia Wilson whose mother Asha is anxious to have him help her daughter get accepted at the university of her choice. Things get dicey when two bodies are brought out from the school one morning and police are there to investigate. But there are a few people there who know exactly what happened.

There was a comparison of this story to Big Little Lies, which got my attention. While there’s a similar, underlying vibe, it’s a completely different tale and one I enjoyed a lot. It opens with the event where two bodies are dispatched from the school and then goes back in time to tell the story leading up to that day. Told from the points of view of Natalie, Brooke and Asha, it was impossible to know where it was going but I got a clear view of all three of these characters, boils and all. I liked Asha a lot but Natalie and Brooke weren’t as likable, more like two trains on the way to wreckage you couldn’t stop watching. In the midst of it all was Nick who was sort of an enigma, someone you struggled to figure out whether he was a good guy or up to something.

I finished this book in a day because it was such a puzzler and I was desperate to get answers. Whenever teens are involved, you can count on them being unreliable narrators who muddle up the mystery. It’s just natural for them to keep secrets from adults and it was clear that was at play here. It’s a slow build while time is taken to fully flesh out Natalie, Brooke and Asha, which I’ve learned to be patient in the process. Thank goodness I did because it was worth it by the time the last third of the book unfolded. It’s a complicated and diabolical plot that was a popcorn-worthy listening experience. I’m such a fan of the narrator as Teri Schnaubelt is a talented storyteller. She mastered this story, keeping it edgy and well paced. I had a good time with this one, even though I was fairly clueless until close to the reveal. Someone needs to make this into a movie!

Natalie Bellman is an administrative assistant at an exclusive private school in an affluent Colorado neighborhood. She spends much of her time off attending real estate open houses, wishing that she could afford one of these beautiful homes and also using the opportunity to steal whatever pills she can find in each house. As part of her job at the school, she has to cater to the rich and sometimes demanding parents of the students. One of the worst to deal with is Brooke Elliman, whose freshman daughter, Sloane, is an excellent soccer player. Another star player is Mia Wilson, whose mother Asha is the real estate agent at many of the open houses Natalie attends. They are all affected when one morning, two bodies are carried out of the school and police detectives try to get to the bottom of what occurred.

This is a book with characters that are hard to connect with, but most still have some rooting value. I was hoping for the best for most of them, even when they made poor decisions. The book is very engaging and although the book is fairly long, it was a quick-moving, entertaining story. It switches back and forth between two timelines and different points of view. It starts out interesting and has a light, gossipy feel as you learn about the main characters and some of the affairs and scandals going on in the wealthy neighborhood of Big Elk Estates. However, as more things are revealed, the story gets darker. There are several suspicious characters and it takes a while to figure out everything that is going on. Some of the subject matter is disturbing because there are characters being manipulated and abused.

There really isn’t a “lying club” in the book, but there are a lot of lies! Detectives Beth Larson and Ken Bradley try to separate the truth from some of those lies to find out what happened at The Falcon Academy. I have mixed feelings about the ending. Parts of it are satisfying because most of the characters get what they deserve, either good or bad. Other parts of the ending require the reader to suspend disbelief, but I can get past that. What I didn’t like was the ambiguity of how things are left at the very end. Some readers will like the chance to make their own assumptions, but I prefer to have a more buttoned down ending. This is a suspenseful book and I recommend it as long as you know going into it that it isn’t a cozy mystery and some of the events that occur could be hard for some to read.

~ Christine

Oh wow I really enjoyed this mystery thriller read. So engaging from the beginning, so many drama and conflicts and twist and turns, everyone is lying, everyone has secrets, everyone has dark past, so yeah it's quite complex. This book is a multi POV story, so it's kinda upped the mystery and suspense for me, it makes me suspecting lots of people, and makes it fun to read.

It was started with a body found at an elite private school, then the story went back to the past where drugs, lots of alcohol and crazy messed up disturbing stuff happened. I love how the author keep me guessing who's the victims and who's the culprit the entire time, it keeps me turning page after page, when I think I figure it out there's always a new twist that makes me change my mind.
As for characters, this book is full of crazy characters, well some caused by drugs and alcohol but there's that someone that just pure evil. There are some characters that even though I hate them at the beginning, the more I read the more I invested with their story and in the end I totally understand why they did what they did and I sympathize with them and in the end I admire these people who will do anything to protect their family and to be a better person.

Love the story, love the plot, admire the main characters, so overall I really love this book and I highly recommended this book to anyone who's looking for a fast-paced page-turner mystery thriller that full of drama.

What a great book. Natalie, a admin assistant for an elite high-school wakes up in her car with no memory of the previous night, but gripping a mans tie. She has recently moved to the area to help care for her brother who has recovered from an accident.

Asha and Brooke are parents of 2 young girls who are soccer stars. We then meet Nick, the drop dead coach who Brooke and Natalie are vying their attention for.

This book takes you on a wild ride. I look forward to reading more by this author!

📚BOOK REVIEW📚
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This psychological thriller is the definition of unputdownable! The first night I read until my husband woke and nicely suggested I turn off my light and get some sleep, whoops! First time ever, lol. The second night I decided to quit at a reasonable (kind of) time. There wasn’t much left by the third night.

When I heard Annie Ward had another book coming out I flew to NG. Then I saw the cover and fell in love! Colorado as a setting was a bonus. Because I was wild over “Beautiful Bad”, I was ecstatic to get my hands on this ARC! I would like to thank Kim at Harlequin Books for recommending BB. You opened many doors in the book-reviewing community and I will be forever grateful!

A private school, wealthy parents, entitled students, and jealousy are the perfect storm! It is scandalous, clever, and viciously satisfying, attempting to expose the liars and lies.

The students are hiding something. Or are they protecting someone? The women? These catty ladies are great at investigating and presuming. How about the committed coach? He devotes considerable amounts of time to his students. Apart from training them, he’s a confidant and advisor in personal matters.

Thank you to Park Row Books / HTP Books for providing this complimentary copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#thelyingclub #annieward #bookstagrammer #htpbooks #parkrowbooks #marchreads #cantputdown #justfinishedreading #htpinfluencer #bookaholic #booknerd #psychologicalthriller #booklove #bookrecommendations #mysteryandthrills #readallnight #thrillerafterthriller #bethrillingbookclub #thrillerfiction #lovereading #readwithme #bookaddict #thrillersofinstagram

#TheLyingClub:

I hadn’t heard of this until Tonya and KC put this on my radar. When I got the opportunity to listen to it thanks to Harper audio, I triple checked to make sure I requested it correctly because I needed it. This book did not disappoint, and I loved how juicy the drama was.

I loved the different lies, half truths, wild accusations that were in this book! I didn’t know who to trust or what was real. Page by page, we got the truth and it showed just how complex the “perfect/affluent” life really was. I really enjoyed Asha and Natalie’s storyline the most. They were great characters that had me at the edge of my seat.

Let’s talk audio. Teri Schnaubelt did a great job and really kept my interest. I felt like I was listening to three separate characters, and it helped me not get confused. Highly recommend the audio!

I loved the ending. It was so sneaky and fun and that kind of open ending smirk is what I live for! The detective work in the end and the revelation was mind blowing to me and I loved it. The sinister, sneaky, dark explanation was everything.

Thank you so much @parkrow and @harperaudio for the gifted copy! The Lying Club is out now!

** thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me an early copy in exchange for my honest review **

This book starts out really good, with the description of the crime scene and one of the characters wondering what had happened. Then it goes back to months before and it slows down. It gives us different perspectives and there are 3 main characters, however, you grab the concept real quick of who is who. Also, it took a while to get to the meat of the story but the drama between the moms was really good, it got me thinking that maybe the dead body was one of the moms. This was one of those thrillers that you don't know its a thriller until the last chapters because you see drama developing but don't know where it's all going except for the certainty that there will be two dead bodies at the end. Then, as the story keeps unfolding you see who the villain is and that's when you start experiencing the gut-wrenching feeling that all good thrillers give you. If you are into slow-paced thrillers this is for you, it doesn't have you at the edge of your seat the whole time but the drama is enough stimulation to keep you going until the climax of the story. By the end, you think you know everything and it gives you one final twist that is jaw-dropping.

“Here’s to, getting away with it”

One of my favorite tropes is dark academia, and it’s even better when it’s an exclusive school for rich kids, but also how their parents aren’t always the most upstanding citizens either despite their wealth.

Two soccer moms with BFF daughter’s with a prestigious soccer coach has told both they could have a chance of playing Div 1 soccer if they partake in extra private training with him. Money isn’t an issue and these moms will do anything if it helps their daughters get into college. However, the girls become distant to each other and it becomes aware that they both been lying and hiding things from them.

The middle aged moms have their typical cattiness and cheating husbands/cheating friends. Not to mention a school secretary who seems to be everywhere.

This was a rump shaker of a great ballsy takedown of a read, but who will get taken down and why?
That is the part that is ultimately appalling. I highly recommend this one.

TW: drug abuse and misuse, sexual trauma, child trauma and pornography

Thank you @htpbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Annie Ward's new novel The Lying Club opens with Natalie waking up from a blacked-out state clutching a man's necktie and seeing a dead body lying in a puddle of blood on the school gym floor. What did she do now? What did she do now- how can you resist reading on to find out? (And what did she do before?)

Natalie is a young woman working as an adminstrative assistant at a tony private school in Colorado. She helps to care for her brother who is recovering from an injury, and spends her free time selling her art on Etsy and showing up at open houses for homes she can't afford to check out the expensive art in them.

Asha is the realtor at the open houses, and her teenage daughter Mia and younger son Oliver attend the private school where Natalie works. Mia is a talented lacrosse player, and is often pitted against Sloane, another excellent lacrosse player. Sloane's mother Brooke is one of those moms who believes her daughter is headed to a Division 1 lacrosse scholarship and will make sure nothing or no one gets in the way of that.

Popular and charismatic lacrosse coach Nick McIntyre has connections with college coaches and he believes he can help both girls get into the best schools, but that will require dedication and hours of private coaching that cost lots of money. Brooke is totally onboard, Asha wants that if Mia truly wants it. Mia's father does not believe Mia wants to do it.

The book moves back and forth between a police interrogation and the events leading up to the dead body on the gym floor. The reader will recognize the character types in this propulsive story- the young woman who wants what she sees the wealthy women have, the moms with too much free time on their hands, too much money and are too invested in their children's identities as a reflection of themselves, the coach who lords his power over a community who value sports too highly.

Parents of teenagers will cringe at some of the dangerous things these teenagers do, unable to realize the consequences of their actions. The rivalry between parents is also something many people may recognize, perhaps unfortunately in themselves.

Reading The Lying Club will appeal to people who enjoy putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Annie Ward turns up the tension with each turn of the page until the explosive conclusion. Fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies have found themselves a new author.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Winter Reads 2022 Blog Tours.