Meg is a woman on a mission who has no qualms hitting the big guys where it hurts to make sure they pay for their wrongdoings. Kat is a woman who has set out to expose Meg as the con artist she believes her to be. These two women enter a friendship of convenience, but just how easy it is to hide so many secrets?

I really enjoyed watching Meg's character develop throughout the course of this story. She is full of surprises and everytime you think you have her figured out, you find out something else.

Kat also did her fair share of surprising me. Trapped inside an engagement that anyone on the outside can see is not one that should turn into a marriage I outwardly cringed multiple times while wondering how she could be so naive.

There is definitely no shortage of drama or secrets in this story as it seems like everyone has something to hide. Will Kat and Meg each get the revenge they've set out to get? Or will there always have to be winners and losers in life?

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for gifting me the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was awesome!! All the same vibes as The Last Flight - empowering women and exploring female friendships - while weaving in the lies women tell each other and highlighting a shifty con artist. Said con artist is Meg Williams, who is back in LA with the mission to take down the man who destroyed her family years ago. In the time since, Meg has taken many different names, cheating despicable men out of their cash and disappearing as soon as she's gotten what she wanted. But now Kat Roberts is after her too, chasing the big story that will break her out of her journalism rut. Ten years ago, something Meg did ruined Kat's life, too--and Kat is determined to make her pay for it. The resulting dance between the two liars makes it hard to take sides, and readers will empathize with both characters. Meg's cons are epic, so anyone who is a sucker for a good con story (like me) will devour this.

3.5 - I really enjoyed both protagonists and thought their storylines were dually enticing and well flushed out. There was something lacking for me in the overall story and I think it might come down to the fact that Meg and Kat's stories really did not relate to one another. Kat blaming Meg for what Nate did to her seemed like such a flimsy redemption driver that even Clark dropped that as a motive. I really enjoyed the first part of the book with Cory much more than the second half, as once we got into the nitty gritty about the real estate scam, it felt a bit redundant.

I l0ved The Last Flight and wasn't sure if anything would compare, but THE LIES I TELL was phenomenal. I was hooked from the beginning to the end.

I really enjoyed this fast paced suspenseful mystery novel! I enjoyed both POV’s and appreciated how well they fit together. At times Kat came off a tad too naive, but I loved seeing the interactions between her and Meg! I did have one aspect of the plot I predicted, but plenty of others that were a surprise. Take two strong female protagonists, several acts of revenge, a few curveballs, plenty of suspense and a dash of friendship adds up to a complex and fun read! This would make an excellent thriller beach read and I think mystery suspense fans will really enjoy it! 4.5/5⭐️

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for the DRC!

I really loved Julie Clark's last book, “The Last Flight”, so I had high expectations for her new novel, “The Lies I Tell”, and I wasn't disappointed, this was an excellent cat and mouse thriller. Once I really started it, this book sucked me in and I felt like I couldn't read it fast enough. "The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who's telling the story."-my favorite quote from this book and a great description of the novel. “The Lies I Tell” is a captivating story that hooks you in from the very first page. The writing was clear and concise, and created a fast-paced quick and easy read which is important in a good thriller. This is a story of revenge and how nothing is quite as it seems. It tells the story of two women, a con artist named Meg who learned to con people from an early age in order to protect herself and a woman named Kat who blames Meg for something that happened to her in the past. What I loved about this story is that neither character is good or bad. There is a lot of gray area between the two of them. Both main characters are fascinating, multi-faceted, very unique individuals and this book becomes a battle of wits between them as they vie for the upper hand, almost as though I was watching a fight. This story unravels in a way you would not imagine with sympathy for both women, and you’re not rooting for one character or the other to come out on top. You see the reasoning behind each character’s motivations and your feelings toward each character shifts as the story progresses. The author gives a perfect amount of backstory for each character which was important to the story. It jumps back and forth in time, but it never gets confusing or becomes a distraction. Meg’s long cons were so intriguing and detailed and confirmed for me that I’d never be able to pull anything like that off. I love how the ending takes the characters on paths that you would not have imagined for them in the beginning. The ending was open-ended which I don't always like, but it worked for this one. Julie Clark is going to be an author I keep my eye out for in the future! I would definitely recommend reading this one. Thanks to Netgalley, Julie Clark and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc in exchange for my thoughts.

Sometimes you read an article in newspaper or see a story on evening news and think: “ what if this person used their intellect for something good instead of having done what they did”. Meg is going to make you ask that question first and then going to blow your mind.

Meg was a con artist and she never considered herself something else. She targeted men who could wholeheartedly trust her and see her for who she was. Her goal was never to get rich; her goal was to be Wonder Woman. The only problem was there was another woman waiting for her to resurface within California state lines because Meg’s one miscalculation resulted in biggest trauma of this other woman’s life.

I finished this book in one sitting. With its short chapters and flowing language, it’s pretty easy to get sucked into these women’s lives and see the method to their madness. If you like girl power stories with good twists and turns, you should definitely pick this up.

"The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who's telling the story." This is proven as the plot unfolds in The Lies I Tell. "A good story can be suductive." This story seductively pulls you in as the tension rises and the line between right and wrong is blurred. Meg, the protagonist, reminded me of a cross between Dexter and Gloria Steinem. Is she heartless or selfless? Undoubtedly, she is one of the most complex and interesting characters I have read. The story is entertaining, compelling and unpredictable. The original plot left me captivated and obsessed with knowing where each twist would lead. This is the epitome of a page turner! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC.

4.5 stars
Talk about holding a grudge – and this book has two of them! Kat Roberts has been waiting 10 years to expose Meg Williams for the con artist she is. Meg has been waiting even longer to ruin Ron Ashton’s reputation and life.

This story alternates between Kat’s and Meg’s perspectives in basically two time periods – the present day, which is 22 weeks before the senate election, and ten years prior, when Meg pulled her first con and Kat was helping the lead reporter with the story. Ten years prior, Meg was working at the YMCA and living in her car. Her goal was to go on enough dates to get several meals each week with leftovers. It was a way to survive. She didn’t set out to be a con.

One day as she’s scrolling through her dating app, she discovers the profile for one of her high school teachers, Cory Dempsey, who is now the principal of the same school. It’s then that she realizes this could be an opportunity because she knows he has an “affection” for young girls, particularly a girl who always defended Meg in high school, claiming “girl code” when no one else liked her. Meg sets up a no-show blind date so she can “accidently” meet Cory and bond over her own no-show blind date. When he doesn’t recognize her, she realizes that this is more than just an opportunity to blackmail him over his past.

Even though she knows that there will have to be a sexual element to their relationship, Meg decides that she can easily manipulate her way out of her car at least a few nights a week. Over the course of several months, she manipulates her way into a lot more, but when she discovers that Cory still has an affection for young girls, she decides that it’s time for revenge. This is when she sets out to be a con.

I don’t want to give anymore away because there was one part when I told my daughter, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t see that sooner!” And I was totally wrong. And I didn’t see the ending coming. I couldn’t decide at first whether I liked the ending or not, but I was definitely satisfied with the ending. But I can’t say anything more!

The only reason I dropped this half a star is because when it comes time for Meg to con Ron Ashton, we are supposed to believe that he didn’t recognize her. Granted, he lived with her and her mother probably 15 years before, but I find it hard to believe that you wouldn’t know someone you lived with and completely screwed over…or at least remember the name and make the connection. That was a pretty big leap.

This was my first Julie Clark book. It won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Julie Clark for an advanced copy of The Lies I Tell in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed that this book was written from two different points of view but also across alternating timelines. I found Kat and Meg to be very interesting characters but didn't 100% trust either one of them.

I ultimately didn't end up loving the "why" of the plot, though I did find the end resolution to be pretty satisfying. I also had kind of a hard time with Kat and Meg's relationship for one reason (but I won't spoil it).

At the end of the day I love Julie Clark's writing and I will absolutely pick up her next read without hesitation!

The Lies I Tell will be on bookshelves June 21.

I love a girl story where the girl decides her own destiny. Where she makes her own path despite everything against her.

This novel by the author of The Last Flight - very entertaining - follows two main characters. Meg a con artist who goes by many names, and Kat, a want-to-be journalist, who wants revenge against Meg for a phone tip 10 years earlier that resulted in an assault that transformed Kat’s life in a devastating way.

Meg is the character we’re not supposed to like, but this anti-heroine rocked. She is devious, cunning, and smart. We learn her motivations for conning a long list of men are not what they seem.

Kat gets her chance to expose Meg - who is now a luxury real estate agent - for the swindler she is by conning her right back. She gets close to Meg by becoming her assistant and the two start a keep-your-enemies-close relationship. But who is conning who? Kat can’t help but admire Meg and even grows to like her.

“The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who’s telling the story.”

Told through both voices in alternating chapters, this story was a quick entertaining read. The ending made me cheer and I can’t wait to read more from Julie Clark.

“This is the mark of a true con artist, when the people she leaves behind can know what she’s done and still want the best for her.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Julie Clark does it again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The dynamic between the two women is incredible and I loved seeing the character growth of both women throughout the book. They both grow in ways you wouldn’t expect. Julie Clark expertly weaves their stories together and she’s made me an automatic reader of any book she releases.

I went into this one completely blind and was shocked by how sinister it was. It was far more twisted than I imagined (and I loved it)! I will certainly be checking out other books by this author. Thank you for my arc copy!

Let me tell you! I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. Julie Clark keeps you on toes with this wickedly twisted domestic thriller/revenge story!

The Lies I Tell has you asking the most important question— who’s the con?

This is the first book by Julie Clark that I have read and I really enjoyed it. The clever premise revolves around two main characters, Meg and Kat. Kat is a less than successful journalist. Meg is a grifter. Ten years ago their paths crossed with dire consequences both personally and professionally for Kat. Kat is intent on tracking down Meg and exposing her. When Kat attends a political fund raiser and espies Meg she sets out to score the biggest story of her faltering career. But will Meg be able to keep one step ahead of Kat's exposé?

Chapters in the book alternate between Kat and Meg as well as past and present. This is not a technique that I am overly fond of but Ms Clark handles it with finesse. She reveals just enough to flesh out the characters, their motivation and their personal tragedies in each chapter to keep the reader turning pages. There is a surprise twist or two to add tension near the end which are believable. And at the end the reader is left to speculate what Kat and Meg will do in the future. This reader wishes a sequel is planned to answer the questions left hanging at the end of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Read Now for my chance to read my first, but not my last, Julie Clark novel.

Another fast paced read from one of my favorite author finds of 2020. This book tells the story of two women, a con artist named Meg who learned to con people from an early age in order to protect herself and a woman named Kat who blames Meg for something that happened to her in the past. What I loved about this story is that neither character is good or bad. There is a lot of gray area between the two of them. Thus as the story unfolds you are not rooting for one character or the other to come out on top. You see the reasoning behind each characters motivations and your feelings toward each character shifts as the story progresses.

This is definitely a page turner, with surprises and twists galore. I love how the ending takes the characters on paths that you would not have imagined for them in the beginning.

Another fast paced read from one of my favorite author finds of 2020. This book tells the story of two women, a con artist named Meg who learned to con people from an early age in order to protect herself and a woman named Kat who blames Meg for something that happened to her in the past. What I loved about this story is that neither character is good or bad. There is a lot of gray area between the two of them. Thus as the story unfolds you are not rooting for one character or the other to come out on top. You see the reasoning behind each characters motivations and your feelings toward each character shifts as the story progresses.

This is definitely a page turner, with surprises and twists galore. I love how the ending takes the characters on paths that you would not have imagined for them in the beginning

Meg is a con artist; Kat is a journalist. When Kat recognizes a woman that upended her life 10 years ago at a political fundraiser, she needs to find out more. Why is she here? What is her game plan? Who is she pretending to be now? Kat is determined to find out everything and write an amazing expose about Meg Williams and all the lives she has destroyed. However, as she befriends Meg, she realizes there is more to Meg than meet the eye.

The story is told from the POV's of both Meg and Kat, also jumping back in time to what happened years ago to both of them. There are a lot of twists because there are a lot of secrets. A psychological thriller that will keep you reading and wanting to find out what happens at 'the end' when all the secrets are revealed.

The Lies I Tell is a fast-paced, sinister thriller that will keep readers enthralled throughout! I loved every minute of this unputdownable novel!

I have a thing about con artists. I’m always curious about what makes them tick and how they infiltrate the lives of the people they con. So, this story called out to me.
Meg Williams has a beguiling back story - a young high school girl loses her mother after her mother fell victim to a con. She’s reduced to living in her car and vows vengeance on the man who stole the family home from her mother. But in the process, she becomes a con artist herself. But one with a moral code, a “girl code” she picked up from a high school friend. And then there’s Kat Roberts, a reporter whose life was upended by Meg ten years ago.
The story alternates between the two women, going back and forth in time. It takes a while to set up the premise, but I soon got caught up in the story. There were some interesting twists, especially with Kat’s storyline. Once the two women intersect, the suspense ratchets up and there’s a lovely tension to the story. “I’m stuck with the irony of two women, each of them trying to spin a web of lies and manipulation around the other, never knowing whose strings are wrapped around whom.” Both characters are richly drawn and equally engaging. Both are also surprisingly relatable. The story flows well and it was easy to see the scenes unfold in my mind. This would make a great miniseries. And I’m betting it’s going to be one of the favorite summer reads.
I didn’t read Clark’s first book, but I’ll soon remedy that.
My thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy of this book.