This book was one of the most boring I have ever read in my life and that's saying something. None of the characters were likeable and the plot was really mundane and dull. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities about this book whatsoever.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Annie Ward for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

This is the first book I’ve read by Annie Ward, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more. Reputation is everything in this one. The characters are a mixed bag, rich entitled and quite bratty.

As we read, we see secrets unfold and really get to delve into the characters situation. Instantly, you can tell that disaster will approach. However, the author provides a great deal of information into the lives of the characters and events leading up to the train wreck. This for me has slowed this one down. I have been waiting for the big OMG moment!

The opening of this is the crime scene, which hooked me quickly. I have been desperate to find out what was going to happen and devoured page after page, waiting with anticipation.

Natalie has been the character that I have disliked the least. However, her dependence on drugs has made her dislikeable. I have to admit, I did enjoy the dilemmas of the characters and revenge plans. It has definitely held my interest.

This has been an entertaining read, unique with plenty to unpick. Definitely a book I’ll recommend.

The Lying Club is a book I read while waiting in the airport for my flight. I was highly entertained by this book and its characters

While I saw the main twist coming from miles away, it was still very interesting to see how the story went

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read this book, because I did enjoy it and once I got into it definitely wanted to find out who the body/ies were in the gym and what exactly had happened. This would, I think, be a perfect holiday read. I can't say that this was a book that I couldn't put put down but it didn't take much to get into and was an easy read. I didn't find that any of the characters were particularly likeable but perhaps that was the author's intention.

Rich people problems are one of my favourite things to read about, in thrillers that is. I too would love to experience what most people consider minor inconvenience while surrounded by immense wealth. But even in this world evil can find you. Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One thing that has to be said is that the title for The Lying Club doesn't feel entirely right. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of lies being told all over the place, but the term "club" just feels a bit off. I do want to make another note, which requires a major SPOILER ALERT right here. Consider yourself warned and skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know. ... The Lying Club deals with a pretty difficult topic, one which can be hinted at gently enough by mentioning "the attractive sports coach" and "teenagers". Considering the heaviness of this topic, I felt a little odd in how it was treated. Not that it wasn't roundly condemned, don't get me wrong. There is no hint in The Lying Club that wrong behaviour, abusive behaviour, etc. is in any way condoned. But since we are dealing with the world of the rich, many things just kind of ... disappear, don't get addressed, don't get properly resolved. And while this can be very fun when it's about a horrible husband, it is slightly less fun in this context. By the end of The Lying Club it is a little too easy to walk away unscathed, if that makes sense. Things have resolved, seemingly, too neatly and now we're meant to think that everything is fine, that trauma can be conquered within a short amount of time and that no lasting damage is done. That isn't the real world and it isn't even really the world of the rich. While a thriller does not have to be a perfect representation of the world, it can hold up a mirror to it. I wish The Lying Club had done that a little more.

We first meet Natalie as she finds a body, then meet her again as she is under police interrogation. Two bodies have been found at the elite school where she works as an assistant. What does she have to do with it? Why isn't she talking? As The Lying Club takes us into the past, we begin to learn of the twisted web of relationships, lies, and jealousies that swirl through this Colorado community of the rich and fabulous. While mothers strive to get their daughters into good colleges, where are the husbands? While the coach does his best to keep the kids on the straight and narrow, why are so many still straying? And how much money really is too much money? Amid all of this, Natalie is the odd character out. While much of her past remains a mystery, she is clearly more of a free, artistic, and skeptical character. As we see her dragged into the twisted web, you can't help but feel bad. One thing I also enjoyed was that The Lying Club does that lovely thing of slipping forward and backwards in time, a la Big Little Lies, in the sense that we get snapshots of current police interrogations and the more extended views of events in the past.

I really enjoyed Annie Ward's writing in The Lying Club. Her prose flows easily and through her descriptions she really brings scenes to life. She also has an eye for the little glimpses and moments that will bring a plot point or character to life. She also makes an effort to bring some nuance into the world of the mega-rich, by establishing some differences. While Brooke is an heiress and has therefore known very little struggle in her life, except the struggles she has caused herself, Asha has an immigration-background and therefore looks at things a little differently, as does her daughter. Meanwhile Natalie lives in a different stratosphere all together, with a view into this rich world but solidly excluded from it by her own past. Yet somehow most of these differences remain at the surface. None of the characters entirely, fully, pop off the page which means their differences also don't really set them apart. There is a lot of the expected characterisation, which is occasionally interrupted by real moments of human pathos, which save especially Natalie from being a trope. Because the characters feel a little thin sometimes it becomes harder to accompany them on their journey and to accept the choices they make. It is also what leads to the main plot point feeling a little icky. However, I'm fully on board with trying another one of Annie Ward's thrillers soon.

While The Lying Club has its heart in the right place, some aspects of it feel a little sticky. When dealing with the world of the rich and (not so) fabulous in thrillers, it is important to still find consequences that stick.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book by Annie Ward.

I absolutely loved The Lying Club, it was such a great read. As the title suggests (well to me anyway), most of characters in this book are lying to some degree - some are only small lies, others are a lot bigger. However one thing that this book does well is no matter of what your background or how wealthy you are, everyone can lie, but then are they doing it for the right reasons? I will let you decide when you read it!!!

There are some really strong characters in the book. The three main adult female characters are great and throughout the book, you like them, then you think that you don't but then you do.

There is murder and revenge in this book and with the twists and turns that you will find out whilst reading it, it makes a fantastic shocking read!!!

I would highly recommend this book!

People living mundane lives but underneath the seemingly quiet community lies simmering competitive tensions.
Great characters each with their own backstory but dovetailing neatly into the story.
Nasty character,I really disliked especially the further into the book I read.
Absolutely loved the ending!

Brilliant - so engaging, particularly in the final act of the story. A slow burn at first but I’m so glad I stuck with it as the plot twists I was not expecting. 4/5, I will be recommending this one.

The Lying Club was a book that I found hard to put down. Huge thanks to NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication, and I’m fairly confident that this will gain many fans upon its release.
The book focuses on a group of students/staff/parents linked to an elite private school in Colorado. It opens with office assistant Natalie waking up in her car in the grounds of the school. She sees her footprints leading to the school gym and when she goes to examine the scene, she discovers a body in a pool of blood. We are given minimal information about what happened, but it certainly served to hook me.
As the book progresses we learn a little more about Natalie and the school environment. We are introduced to a cast of characters that are intense, driven by a desire to come out on top and not particularly likeable.
From the outset it was clear that we were going to be given something of a shock, and the deliberate lack of information about the crime made it an intriguing process to try to guess just which of our cast would be involved.
For a large part of the book we are focused on learning more about the characters and their relationships. Things were bubbling along under the surface and, in the latter stages, picked up very quickly. When we finally learned the identities of the two bodies discovered at the start it was something of a surprise…and even with our understanding of the buildup to the crime, there was still an unexpected twist.
A book focusing on some less than pleasant events, but great fun.

I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that it took me a while to finish it!

It was well written, with some great twists that I didn't see coming.

I wasn't sure about some of the characters, but they ended up redeeming themselves by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annie and Quercus Publishing for the chance to read this book.

This was very much a book of two halves, the first 70% was a slow burn, building a picture, establishing characters. The final 30% was action packed, hard hitting and brilliant.
If I’d stopped at 70% this would have been a 3 star book, if I’d started at 70% it would have been a 5 star book.

Although the novel starts with the discovery of 2 bodies, most of the novel takes place in the 6 months prior. It’s told from 3 different viewpoints; those of Natalie, an assistant at the school, Brooke, an heiress with more money then she can possibly spend an Asha a high end real estate agent. The story centres around the daughters of Brooke and Asha and their soccer coach, Nick, who is also Natalie’s boyfriend.

I’m glad I made it through the first half of this book as the second half was brilliant, the ending was unexpected but brought it all together really well

This is the story of Natalie, a private school administrator, and her unexpected romance with Nick, a sports teacher at the school. The headmaster is a sycophant, and doesn't manage the school properly.
Brooke and Asha are the mothers of Sloane and Mia, who are getting extra sports coaching ready for college. The girls, their friends and classmates are all wealthy, spoiled, and can be badly-behaved.. There's lots of rivalry and bitchiness between the students, and the mothers, which can be funny at times. There are lots of twists as the secrets are exposed, and the women take action. Very good read.

I can never resist a good thriller and it is always good to discover a new author and this proved to be a great page turner, full of rich, entitled characters you love to hate, all of them harbouring secrets and plenty of twists that kept me guessing to the end.


The book starts with two bodies found at the school - who are they? And how did they get there? The tangled web of secrets begin to unravel and you soon realise no one is quite as they seem. Told from alternating points of view, it kept me guessing as I wondered who to believe and I struggled to put it down.This was a fun and addictive read and I have now added Ward’s previous book, Beautiful Bad, to my TBR list.

I found this exciting, engaging thriller hard to put down. This is the first book I have read by this author, but it will definitely not be the last! Full of intriguing characters who all seem to be have their negative behaviours and lack of boundaries, with a lot of money but not many morals. I did find these characters difficult to relate too, having not ever experienced private school or from a similar background, however, this did not put me off reading.

The plot involves a lot of scandal with many plot twists which grabbed my attention from the very first few chapters. The conclusion was unforeseen and this is definitely one to put on the TBR list.

If psychological thrillers are your favourite genre, then this is a must read! Highly recommended and definitely worth picking up!

The Lying Club is set in an elite private school in Colorado and focuses on Natalie, a school administrator, two parents, Brooke and Asha and how their lives interact with the school's athletic director Nicholas. This novel is pure escapism and filled with unlikeable characters but it is a well plotted and gripping psychological thriller that offers something original to the genre and kept me gripped over the course of 24 hours. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Exciting page turner - clever, with lots of twists, turns and psychological thrills. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A twisted and dark psychological thriller set in the world of the 2%. Everything is perfect on the surface but there's plenty of secrets, jealousies, and complex relationship.
It's a well written, gripping, and well plotted story that kept me reading and on the edge.
Some parts requires a bit of suspension of belief but this didn't disturb me.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

My thanks to Quercus Books for an invitation via NetGalley to read and review ‘The Lying Club’ by Annie Ward and to take part in their blog tour to celebrate its publication on 3 March 2022.

I am a big fan of crime and psychological thrillers and it’s always exciting to discover a new author.

I found this a superbly plotted crime/psychological thriller set in and around an elite private school in the Colorado mountains. It’s the kind of novel that features an ensemble cast reminiscent of the books of Liane Moriarty.

Three very different women are at its heart. Natalie is the school’s office assistant, who dreams of having the kind of life that the glamorous mothers of the students appear to have. Brooke is an heiress currently separated from her husband. Their daughter, Sloane, is acting out in various ways. Asha runs a successful real estate business and is the overly protective mother of Mia. The girls are best friends and both are gifted athletes. Their mothers are moving heaven and earth to ensure they are accepted into the best universities.

The fates of these women are bound by their relationships with the school’s charming assistant athletic director Nicholas. In this isolated, affluent town there are plenty of secrets and lies, rivalries and jealousies.

While the story unfolds through various points of view there are occasional transcripts from police interviews linked to an incident at the school. Ward teases her readers with these before revealing what had happened.

‘The Lying Club’ was a treat in terms of providing a strong plot, compelling characters and plenty of twists which led to me being glued to my seat happily page-turning to see what happens next.

Overall, I found this a highly engaging and satisfying thriller. I definitely will be reading more of Annie Ward’s work.

A thrilling tale perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, this novel explores love, jealousy and betrayal in a twisted town where everyone has secrets to hide. I found the story a little confusing at first since there are multiple POVs that seem quite separate. However, once their stories started to intermingle, I quickly found myself wrapped up in the drama of their lives. I couldn’t help but read on with morbid curiosity to find out which rumours were true after all. With chapter one kicking things off with a questionable murder scene, my intrigue was hooked straight away.

Without spoiling anything, I’ll point out that I don’t love it when a character’s main flaw is untrustworthiness as a result of their history with mental health and substance use. However, although this bothered me slightly while I was reading, I think the ending was still done well regardless. While the main characters each had a small redemption arc, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable from the start, but I think that was done intentionally by the author. Lastly, there is a long list of potential trigger warnings for this book since many of the characters experience or mention having experienced some form of trauma in their lives. As such, I would recommend checking out the trigger warnings on Goodreads/Storygraph before picking up this book. All this being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading Annie Ward’s latest thriller and will definitely be picking up more of her books in the future!

A glimpse into how the other half live but with a very dark undercurrent running throughout.

An elite school where wealth and winning are the most prized attributes and the lengths some parents will go to get their kids to the very top. With the girls soccer (football!) team a main feature of this plot line yet the competitive isn’t the girls on the pitch, it’s most prevalent between the parents, in this case the mothers!

These people on the surface have it all, wealth, houses, designer clothes, cars, talented children in an elite school at the top of their game, and yet, not all is as glossy as the magazines they all read.

The well loved and coveted sports coach who is as driven by winning as both parents and students alike also appears to be living the dream with his job at this elite wonderland of a school, his famous movie star girlfriend and love of his job and good standing in the community. Yet as with most things, take a peak under the surface and things are never what they seem.

This is a really well written, fast paced suspense that has enough plot twists to make your head spin! The characters are all flawed with some more likeable than others, you can’t but help to get involved in their lives and situation and route for them, right up until the very end. And what an ending it is!!

A brilliant book, great characters, plots galore and an ending that will both shock and delight.

The Lying Club is published today – 3 March 22 so you can grab your copy straight away as this is a book you don’t want to miss! Get you copy from the link below to start reading straight away!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08ZKBRJ8T/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1646180645&sr=8-1

Thank you to the publishers Quereus, the author Annie Ward and NetGalley for my arc of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.