To Love A Liar by LV Matthews
Publication Date 11/9/25
Published by Penguin Random House

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No Spoilers

Great topical thriller which kept me guessing throughout.

I really enjoyed this one. It's a very dark thriller with a compelling plot. I also love the setting in a remote part of Scotland. The novel centres around Chris Fletcher, an ex-undercover detective. Nineteen years ago, Chris's lover was killed in what appeared to be a tragic suicide. Now, Chris's past has come back to haunt him. His wife has discovered his deception and his face is all over the media. They are hiding in Scotland, awaiting an inquest into his ex-lover's death.

This is a deeply moving novel about the impact on living life as an undercover detective, both on the victims and also the undercover officers. It's a beautifully written book that packs a real emotional punch. Highly recommended.

I have loved all the books I have read by this author so I was delighted to be approved for a copy to read ahead of publication.
This one is full of twists and turns and really keeps you thinking from the offset. I loved the undercover detective side of the story and it was very well researched and written. Definitely an autobuy author for me and would always recommend!

This one just didn’t do it for me really, unfortunately. Too long, too contrived and not enough meat on the bone.

The story of undercover policeman Chris Fletcher whose lover was found dead in an abandoned house 19 years ago. Having fled abroad with his wife, he is now back in the UK to face a tribunal on the case after the deceaseds sister published some damning evidence that raises serious questions about the official verdict of death by a drugs overdose.

When his wife goes missing as well, Chris wonders has his secrets, the police’s secrets and enemies from his past come back to bite him.

I wanted to like this one more than I did unfortunately. None of the characters are in any way likeable or indeed interesting so it’s hard to be invested in their plight.
I felt the story was way too long for what it ended up being, with many chapters that I wondered why they were included and felt like padding.

Told from multiple points of view both in the present and the past, it’s also interspersed with social media posts that speculate on the cases but some soon become very tedious and add little to the story.

I did think the inquest would play a more central role to the story but it’s like one chapter or so and almost felt like an afterthought, where I felt it could have been a good vehicle to answer some questions from the past. It certainly felt like it was set up for that from the opening chapters but the author chose to go another route.

There are also some surreal like chapters in the second half of the book where Chris is struggling to comprehend what is real and what is his imagination. It felt an incredibly clunky way of making the point that undercover work means the officer takes on many personas and may struggle to adjust back to their true self. Like I get Chris has been under pressure, harbouring secrets for decades and having Deja vu about losing a loved one but it just came out of nowhere and then he returns to being his normal self.

Ultimately it’s a book about love and deceit and secrets, about how decisions made in the past will ultimately surface at some stage etc but I felt the tone and indeed length of the book missed the mark for me.

Many thanks to the publisher for the Arc through Netgalley.

Took me longer than usual to get into the storyline but I did enjoy it overall

It was well written with lots of twists to contend with and the characters were interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

The raw material of the flawed, regretful former police offer plunged into “one last case” to unravel is a familiar trope for suspenseful contemporary fiction – but L.V. Matthews handles it well. The protagonist here Chris Fletcher, is trying to get over a tragedy that occurred almost two decades ago, when the corpse of his wife was found in an abandoned house. Tragedy has just repeated itself as how his wife has disappeared. Will Chris, growing increasingly fragile by the day, be able to investigate these two tragic mysteries and bring to justice those involved of the demises of the two women he loved?

Well-written and with plenty of twists and turns, as well as believable insights into the human psyche, this is a novel I recommend for lovers of the crime genre. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for this honest and unbiased review of this book.

Christopher who was an undercover police officer and his wife Jill have to return to the UK after a case he was involved with many years ago is now undergoing an investigation because of new evidence.
A psychological thriller with some twist and turns told by different narrators in different timelines. This also has snippets from several social media platforms.
It has an interesting storyline with some unsavoury characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a thought provoking story about the role of an undercover police officer; the impact the lies and subterfuge necessary to infiltrate criminal gangs or activist groups have on a more wide ranging group of people than you imagine when you read the real life news stories of the undercover police scandal.

The narrative is told from different pov and different timelines, as well as using social media reactions to show public opinion, creating an emotionally complex story that doesn't try to make any judgements about the situation.

It's a well researched book, and very well plotted, but for me, was just too bleak to be enjoyable

There has been quite a bit about undercover policemen having relationships with women with some of them resulting in children so this is very much a book of the times. As the tale developed my sympathies swopped between the main characters; it was not always so straightforward as to who was being played and if anyone was entirely innocent.

A great thriller!

This book left me with a lump in my throat. Exploring the murky world of undercover police officers who put their lives at risk but sometimes cross the line, putting others in danger.

Chis is one such officer. He has retired to Sardinia with his wife Jill, but his past has caught up with him and he has to return to give evidence at an inquest in a case he had previously been involved with.

When two world collide is one phrase which came into my mind whilst reading the book. Can someone truly love two people at the same time? How would I feel if I found out my life with my husband had all been a lie? Would it make a difference to know it had all been part of his job? These are just some of the questions this thought provoking book gave me.

I felt a lot of sympathy for all the characters in the storyline, the implications of undercover policing had impacted all their lives, most of the time unknown to them.

I raced through this book, an excellent piece of storytelling with an ending which tied up all parts of the story well. One I would recommend.

I really enjoyed this book, despite being confused right from the beginning about what was going on!

With an unreliable narrator who has spent his whole life lying, and now seems to be losing his mind, we don't know what is happening or why.

I've read a bit about undercover police officers and the relationships they formed with people they were spying on, and I'm not a huge fan of the police in general, so found this really interesting.

Chris was an untrustworthy and unlikeable character although I did gain some sympathy towards him after learning about ‘Dawn’. Sophia (and Leila, although we never really know her) were interesting characters and I liked the snippets from social media and the tv documentary.

I would definitely read more by this author in future.

A gripping, emotionally layered read that kept me guessing all the way through.

From the very first chapter, I was pulled into the unsettling world of a woman caught between grief, memory, and disturbing revelations. The author writes with such tension and precision, peeling back the layers of deceit and vulnerability with every twist. I really appreciated the psychological depth and the way the story explored how far we’re willing to go for the people we love—or think we know.

It’s sharp, smart, and deeply unsettling in the best way. A standout thriller that lingers.

A solid thriller - this had me on the edge of my seat a few times and kept me guessing a lot. A good read.

Chris is an undercover police officer. Working to infiltrate activists and report back on their dealings, he takes the unofficial motto of the division to heart - to obtain information by any means necessary. Chris’ actions put not only his colleagues lives in jeopardy, but completely destroys the lives of innocent members of groups that are no threat to the country or the government in any way. Needless to say that the powers that be always ensure that the department and its operatives come out of any tricky situation squeaky clean.

When some evidence surfaces many years after a tragedy involving the undercover team, Chris, who has since retired to Sardinia, and his wife Jill, have been requested to give an account of their whereabouts on the fateful day to an inquest.

Being back in the UK after many years, Chris is finding the secrets and lies too much to handle and struggles to cope, with his mental health much in question.

This is a subject that is certainly in the spotlight at the moment, and has been handled well in this fictional account. The events covered are eerily similar to those that have been front page news over the past year or so, along with tv documentaries giving the victims accounts.

The arc I received was messy, far from easy to read, but the plot was interesting, good storytelling and I enjoyed the characters. It did go all a bit weird about 75% of the way through, but then managed to get back on track with a good, though not entirely surprising ending.

A well thought out story of undercover police operations that I look forward to rereading when gremlins sorted and book published.

A good 3*.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General Uk

This book was based on a fascinating concept and one which kept me engaged and curious. Chris the main character works as an undercover cop and the plot unravels when the two parts of his life come together. Chris has told lies during the course of his career making him the perfect unreliable narrator - we as the reader are simply not sure what to believe.

We quickly find out that Sophia, a woman Chris lived when he was undercover is dead and her murder never resolved. Was Chris there? Involved somehow? Sophia's sister certainly thinks so and is not prepared to let things go. At the same time that the press and social media are hounding Chris, his wife Jill also goes missing. I mean losing one partner is bad enough, now things really aren't looking good for him.

The plots plays out well and the ending was satisfying, giving us a level of sympathy for all the characters involved. It was a thought provoking read and one which had me wondering what I would do if I found out my husband had been living a double life and was a serial liar. It is a crime thriller, but it's also about relationships and love and making decisions when the truth comes out.

I think this would make an interesting book club choice and would generate some interesting discussion;

To Love a Liar
L.V Matthews
Read and Reviewed: June 2025
Publication Date: September 2025
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Thanks so much to the author LV Matthews and Penguin UK Publishers for gifting me an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This one 'To Love a Liar' is set to be released September 2025 and I defo recommend you add it to the TBR lists.

This isnt just your standard thriller read - it is a combined psychological thriller/dark love story/police drama.

I have never read anything by this author before but I will make sure to check out her other books now after reading and enjoying this one so much.

To Love a Liar was a great read that pulled me in from the very start. It's a very character driven story - the characterisation (particularly Chris, our male main character) is so well executed and developed - I was absorbed in the story from the first chapter.

The story follows Chris Fletcher, an undercover policeman who is currently at the centre of a mystery that has recently come to light from his past - His young mistress was found dead in a derelict house nineteen years ago and the case is being investigated again after new evidence has come to light. Chris is under scrutiny as the case is investigated and to add to things during all this, his wife has now disappeared without a trace.

Is Chris guilty of either crime???

That's all I'm gonna say cos I don't want to spoil it for anyone but this one was full of secrets and will defo keep you guessing until the final pages.

Unlike a lot of others in this genre this one is very thought provoking and is definately a very unique read and unlike anything I've read before in this genre.

It is a dark psychological thriller - the storyline all gets tied up neatly by the end but it really makes you think whilst reading it how past mistakes really do affect the present.
This was full of suspense and I raced through it in anticipation of each revelation.

A page turner for sure.

A fantastic piece of storytelling

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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. It had me sucked in from chapter one. An absolute brilliant read. Not to pushed on Chris. Thought he was just very snaky and not to be trusted. Sophia seemed to be a nice person and didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Jill a bit strange. But the characters seem to gel well together with the storyline. Well written, great storyline. I couldn’t put this book down. I needed to find out what really happend to Sophia and Jill.. I did think Jill had just left of her own accord and not lost at sea. Which is obvious. She was just right too. Definitely a 5 star read.

A dark, gripping psychological thriller with a toxic love story at its core, this book completely absorbed me and left me astonished. It’s thought-provoking, immersive, and easily one of my top reads of 2025 so far. To Love a Liar is layered, original, and packed with emotional weight. The dual timeline adds rich depth and clever twists. The atmosphere is tense and isolating, the mystery brilliantly crafted, and the emotional twists expertly executed. An unforgettable, clever read—I loved it!

A gripping psychological thriller following the murky world of undercover police. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed it, finding it all a bit dark with all the subterfuge but appreciated how well written it was, and it certainly draws the reader in. Mainly set in Scotland where everything unravels for Chris, the main character. It was a slow start but gathered pace quickly with many unexpected twists and turns. Strong characters and who can't but love Jackson the dog.

This was a really gripping book which kept me turning pages to find out what would happen. Chris' anguish and trauma was really well explored as well as the sacrifices he had made in the line of duty. The descriptive language was used to great effect. I would recommend and read this author again. Many thanks