Rainy has a past that she hopes has been put to rest, but while on a girls' weekend in Vegas, things start coming out of the woodworks and she must confront it head on whether she likes it or not. Told through chapters labeled then and now, Rainy's past will collide with the present and she will have to make a few big choices.

I love a dual narrative and I especially love it when the reader knows the connections between the two storylines early on and can just sit back and enjoy as each storyline develops. With a little bit of a cult situation, I weirdly enjoyed the storyline from the past as we watched Rainy and her mom join a group and hope for a better future, I wanted more about what they joined and the consequences of this group.

While the solution to the perpetrator was interesting, it felt like a bit of a let down after the big rise to the end. I didn't have a guess early on, but I was surprised by the character she chose and wished for more.

My first Tarryn Fisher read and I definitely have a few from her backlist that I am intrigued to read and see about how I feel about their conclusions.

4.5 stars!!!

I was HOOKED from the first page! This book is captivating, suspenseful, fast paced, and full of some crazy! I HIGHLY recommend this one to thriller fans!

With a perfectly done past and present time-line, you get to know Rainy. Her past leaves you on the edge of your seat as she navigates her way to escape…her present gives you an unsettled feeling as her “friend” group seems untrustworthy.

And then shit hits the fan when she receives the message, “𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

I found myself holding my breath during some intense scenes that made me want to jump through the pages and yell obscenities at some characters. If I could drink right now, I would have needed stiff one to get through some of it 🤣 - which is a sign of how infatuated with the story I was!

This is one where I got lost in the story and nothing about my real life mattered while reading it!

I do recommend looking up triggers warnings as her past was sometimes hard to swallow. The writing was superb with the perfect amount of description where I could easily picture everything going on. This one would make an excellent movie!

Thank you Netgalley and Graydon House for my e-arc in exchange for my review!

An Honest Lie

In An Honest Lie, Tarryn Fisher, tells us the story of present day, Rainy, a successful artist recently moved from NYC to the Tiger Mountains to be with her significant, and her childhood self, known as Summer, a 13 year old who, along with her mother, seek refuge with her mother’s childhood friend turned Cult leader.

Rainy, struggling to fit in with the women of Tiger Mountains and against her better judgement, is convinced to take a trip to Vegas, the home of some of her deepest traumas.

Fisher weaves a psychological thriller that blends together the brutal realities of growing up in a cult and the enduring trauma faced by it’s survivors as well as ugliness that women can inflict on each other.

The first half of the book was slow and it’s not until we’re well into the Vegas trip, that anything exciting happens. The second half of the book felt, well, a lot like Vegas; chaotic, a little showy, mostly messy albeit slightly entertaining. I found the “twists” mostly unbelievable and a little too convenient.

Plot holes aside, I would say the most well written part of the story were the parts told from Summer’s point of view. Her experiences were well told and her fear felt real.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Overall this book was fantastic!! It drew me in, kept my attention, had me going back for more, but. Yeah there’s a but. I found the present parts a bit slower and not as intriguing at times as the past. There were a couple times where things didn't jive or present itself as smoothly as it could but those were far outnumbered by the very great aspects of this book.

A very gripping, enthralling, intriguing mystery to try to wrap your head around.

Kudos to Ms. Fisher for another brilliantly twisted book!!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

3.5 stars

Tarryn Fisher takes us to a convoluted journey in An Honest Lie. Secrets. Deceptions. Twists. Dangerous past and unstable future. This story has wonderful suspense in every layer. The characters are complex and twisted.

Emerging artist Rainy moved to Tiger Mountains with her boyfriend Grant. On his insistence, she starts going to the local womens' group hangout lead by Braithe. She is not outgoing and her past has dark parts she never wants to revisit. Vegas is the last place she wants to go on a girl trip because this is too close to her nightmarish past. But she goes and things go chaotic. Braithe disappears and she starts getting mysterious texts. Who is that person?

It took a bit of time for me to get into the story. It felt a bit disjointed. I was given a lot of informations about Rainy's present life those didn't make real sense to me. I felt like the details are important but I don't know how. Only when the author started talking about her childhood and her twisted traumatic experience, I started getting interested into the story. The story goes back and forth in timeline so you need to stay vigilant. That part of Rainy's life was all kinds of insanity. Fear. Pain. Desperation. A need to leave and be free. And all of them shaped Rainy. The past may or may not have come back to hunt her. The last 30% of the story was fast paced and held the most action as Rainy finally decided to take her revenge for once and all. You will start connecting the dots but the surprises will still be there. This is not my favourite Tarryn Fisher book as I could not feel emotional connection to the characters. But it was still a good suspense to read.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

2.5/5⭐️

A fun girls’ trip to Vegas + a cult= an amazing plot, right?! WRONG!

It seems that cult-ish books are in right now, and there are so many of them out there right now that I suggest you pick up before this one. I love reading books about cults, or anything cult related for that matter. Unfortunately, this one did not work for me. The book did not flow well and it was not able to keep my attention. I contemplated DNF this one, but I kept going and made it through, but I was highly disappointed.

I was not invested in the storyline, or any of the characters as they were unlikeable, and had absolutely no depth to them, which made it hard for me to connect with them. There was really no twists or any suspense, I was pretty bored with this one from beginning to end.

Don’t get me wrong-Tarryn Fisher has written some incredible books, and I will continue to read anything she writes, but this one just did not work for me.

I’ve come to love Tarryn Fisher’s twisted stories and this one didn’t disappoint! This is whip smart, fast paced, and so intriguing that I had a hard time putting it down! I loved how we got to know our heroine through not only her present but the things from the past that motivated her story. All in all, this is a solid read and once of those thrillers that every reader should have in their beach bag this summer.

I really don't know about this book. I felt that I should have enjoyed this book, but I didn't. Not that it is bad, but I didn't enjoy it as much as others

I have to say I didn't know much about this book going into it. I am a sucker for a cover with water on the cover. I'm not sure why but I always find it so pretty. It's funny that I mention that because I'm a little confused what the cover has to do with the story. Regardless of that, it drew me in.

Anyway, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I went in not really sure what to expect but overall I really enjoyed this story. The story is about a girl named Rainy. She just moved to live with her boyfriend. His friends invite Rainy away to Vegas for a girl's trip. Rainy doesn't want to go because she doesn't really know these girls and she has history in Vegas. However, her boyfriend informs her that they told him about the trip and he already bought Rainy the plane tickets. The trip turns out to be a lot crazier than everyone expected.

As I stated before, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I was feeling a bit iffy at first but the more I got into it the more invested I was. There are definitely a lot of rough topics that are dealt with in this book. I did really enjoy a lot of the back and forth with the present and past. I got really invested in this book quickly. The more I learned about Rainy the more I didn't want to put it down. I do have to say there were a couple of things that I was questioning after reading. I get it's not super important but it almost felt like it should have been explained. I don't want to say what for spoiler purposes. I definitely plan to read more books from Tarryn Fisher.

I definitely recommend this book. It's fast paced and I never felt like there was a dull moment in the story. As I stated before it does deal with some heavy topics. The story doesn't really go into too much detail so it's not very descriptive. If you're looking for a new thriller I highly recommend checking this one out.

This was a face paced thriller read and I was very intrigued in the beginning. This book had a "cult vibe" to it but the dual timeline POV did not match up for me. In the end, it was enjoyable and I did want to know how it ended. A solid 3 stars for me

I read this book in one sitting - one very long bath tbh. Just over two hours from cover to cover. It was all over the place and wild and depressing and exciting. A rollercoaster of feels. I couldn’t put it down - my major critique is that it was sometimes hard to follow but that can happen with any book - especially when you can’t stop turning the pages.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Told in dual timelines, we follow Rainy as she navigates two major problems in life: Her mother joins a cult and takes Rainy along with her; and her new group of friends seems to not like her very much.

This book was so well written. Taured’s character was just as charismatic and horrifying as you’d expect a cult leader to be.
There weren’t really any twists that I didn’t see coming but the action was nonstop and I loved every second of it. Tarryn threw in some really well thought out tiny details that I appreciated. Highly recommend.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

“Her past is a wound. But it’s also a weapon.” How awesome is that tag line?

But then The Honest Lie starts with: “At the end of the highway sat plain old town, not completely dead, but on its last breath.” 🏚🌳. Can’t you just visualize that exact setting?

I think that’s why I loved most about Tarryn Fisher’s upcoming release (4/26), I mean aside from the suspense and non-drama, was the ability to picture the settings and know the characters, right down to Shep and his clicking nails. (Bonus points for cute dog characters 🐾)

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

LInk to 4/21/2022 Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnzV4ir7Dk/

Thank you @graydonhousebooks @htpbooks @netgalley for my review copy!

📖Rainy gets talked into a girl’s trip to Vegas with a group of girlfriends she doesn’t know very well. When secrets are revealed, Rainy’s past comes back with a vengeance.

💭I couldn’t put this thriller down. I love Fisher’s books because they’re twisted and dark and oh so binge worthy. I loved the dual timelines and the way the past and the present were revealed. It kept me turning the pages, and I was equally interested in both timelines. If you’re a fan of dark thrillers, make sure to preorder this one!

✍️How I rated other books from this author:
Atheists Who Kneel and Pray 3⭐️
The Wrong Family 3.5⭐️
The Wives 5⭐️
I Could Be a Better You 5⭐️

What a suspenseful read! I saw someone describe this as a “soapy mystery” on Goodreads and I think that fits it to a tee. It’s definitely got soap opera vibes! Rainy was an intriguing and sympathetic character. The dual timelines really hindered this book - they basically served to break up the drama and I was more interested in Rainy’s youth with the Vegas storyline seemingly out of place. The ending was a bit messy but it was fun nonetheless.

𝐀𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ✈️

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣: @tarrynfisher
ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖: April 26th 2022
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕖: Mystery/Thriller/General Fiction

4.25 / 5⭐️

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 💭:
This is my third Tarryn Fisher book - and I am a Tarryn Fisher fan.

This book has Tarryn's signature writing, but the suspense in this one really reeled me in. I needed to know what the HECK was happening. I am a sucker for books about cults and this story was a crazy ride!

The book goes back and fourth between now and then (past & present) and really showcases strong women characters in both timelines.

I WAS A FAN OF THIS BOOK!

Thank you @netgalley & @harlequinbooks for this ARC of #AnHonestLie #Netgalley #HarleQuinBooks

An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher is a psychological thriller about an artist whose dark and twisted past comes to light during a girl’s trip to Vegas.

Present day is told from the POV of Rainy, an artist from New York City who moved to Washington with her boyfriend Grant. To please Grant she begrudgingly joins a group of female friends, known as The Tiger Mountain group. These cutthroat friends invite Rainy to a weekend girls trip to Vegas, she cringes but gives in even though she knows there’s a chance that her secretive past could be exposed.

Then chapters are told from Summer’s POV, a 13 year old girl, who is mourning the loss of her father when her mother makes the decision to move to a cult run by her childhood friend, Taured. Their life in the cult is one filled with terror and abuse.

Rainy’s chapters were truthfully a bit slow, and when switching back to her after a Summer chapter it killed the momentum at times. Her chapters were filled mostly with her dealing with the overbearing and bitchy “friends” of hers, until a certain point in the Vegas trip where it gets a little crazy.

Where Rainy’s chapters could be slow, Summer’s chapters were filled with chaos and terror that you could feel as you read. Her chapters kept me engaged, and pushed me to read through Rainy’s because I wanted to see how they were going to connect.

All in all this was not a bad book, I just suffered from not being fully invested in reading anything at the moment. Summer’s chapters are what really kept me going with this book, but I also was dying to see how Rainy was going to have to deal with her past catching up in Vegas. This was my first Tarryn book after following her on Instagram for years and always wanting to pick up one of her books, but never being in the mood or just intimidated from knowing how much friends around me enjoyed her books. I now have even more motivation to read her other books over the rest of the year.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ebook ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Compelling, intriguing and unputdownable. 3 words to describe An Honest Lie. If I wasn’t reading An Honest Lie I was thinking about it. Delving into 2 timelines, now and then, I couldn’t decide which timeline fascinated me more. The then time period had all the information I needed to know to fully understand the now period but the now period was surrounded in so much mystery and secret that I just needed to know what was happening! I loved the cult vibes; cults have always interested me in how they work and what happens so this was a happy surprise. I went in completely blind and applied for this ARC because I love Tarryn’s work. And I wasn’t disappointed.

I really liked this at first. Rainy is a fun, likeable character, and her interactions with some of the women are really entertaining. The flashbacks to her childhood are also fascinating and horrifying, and keep the book moving quickly.
*
Unfortunately the last 75 pages or so completely fell apart for me. Rainy makes some really stupid choices that have no logic behind them, there were a lot of plotholes, and red herrings brought up that didn't end up making any sense in retrospect.
*
I'm disappointed because I think it had a lot of potential, and I really enjoyed the characters and some of the twists, so hopefully some of the inconsistencies are addressed by the final version.

I enjoyed this dual timeline revenge thriller featuring a woman trying to forget her past trauma. Summer and her mother sought refuge in cult thinking there were worst ways to live - boy were they wrong. Fast forward to when Summer is now an adult going by the name Rainy and starting over in a new city, her boyfriend tries to get her to make friends with the wives and girlfriends of his friends. A wild weekend in Vegas ends up triggering her past but she uses the opportunity to get revenge on her mother's killer. Twisty and edge of your seat thrills. This was an easy read that was hard to put down. Add it to the list of great cult thrillers out this year. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!