I’m giving this review based upon being able to read the ARC version. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and kept me guessing. When you think you have it all figured out,you don’t. I love books like this! Looking forward to more by this author.

The Lie She Wears is my first Elle Mar read, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I love a psychological suspense so I dived in.
The first few chapters seemed rather slow and confusing, but I persevered and thank goodness I did! The characters, the twists and the suspense had me hooked and flipping pages so fast!
I loved the snippets of backstory, they helped build up the suspense and get me guessing right till the end. I like to be able to brag that I had it all figured out but not with this one!
It’s creepy, it’s compelling and it’s very well written. If you like mystery and twists, this one’s for you!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Elle Marr’s books, it’s that she doesn’t just hand you a mystery, she coils it around your throat and dares you to breathe.

The Lie She Wears begins with something that should have been simple: a strained mother daughter relationship, forever caught between love and distance, abruptly severed by death. But then comes the letter. A confession. Murder. And with it, a storm of doubt that Pearl, our quietly determined museum curator, cannot escape.

From the first page, I could feel the claustrophobia of unanswered questions pressing in on Pearl, and on me. Each cryptic note from her mother was a whisper from the grave, tugging me further into a past I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. And when the garden gave up its secrets, bones tangled in roots, I swear I felt the soil under my nails.

This is not a “solve the puzzle” mystery. It’s a descend into the shadows mystery. The kind where truth is slippery, danger has a pulse, and every answer you uncover only leads to a darker, sharper question. Marr’s pacing is ruthless, just when you think you’ve caught your breath, she cuts it short.

By the final chapters, I wasn’t just reading for answers, I was reading to survive alongside Pearl. And when I turned that last page, I sat in silence, wondering if some secrets are meant to be carried rather than solved.

Chilling, addictive, and unshakable, this is Elle Marr at her most dangerous.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25 STARS!!

Thank you the author, NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for this advanced reader copy in return for an honest review.

We follow Pearl Davis, who inherits her mother's deadly secrets after her death. Pearl receives a letter from her deceased mother confessing to murder, as Pearl dig into her mother's past she finds buried human remains in her mother's garden & more cryptic notes. Pearl later realizes her mother was terrified & that she's now burdened with her past secrets, which could cost her her life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, however I didn't feel as connected to Pearl as I would have liked & it didn't fully blow me away. I liked the multiple POV's & dual timelines - that dual timeline kept me guessing until the very end!

This was a slow burn for me, it only became a page turner around 60-70%. Also, personally this feels more like a mystery to me than a phycological thriller.

I do feel like this may be for a younger audience or beginners in this genre. More avid readers probably won't enjoy this as much.

I like that this had a creepy aspect to it with the masks and the bodies.

I thought it was very entertaining, but I also thought I was going to have to get a bulletin board and some push pins and string. 😂

There was never a dull moment in this book!

“The Lies She Wears” had an intriguing premise that drew me in, and I was really hoping for a suspenseful, emotionally layered story. While there were definitely moments that kept me turning the pages, I found it difficult to fully connect with the characters. Some plot points felt a bit too predictable for me, and I personally struggled to stay fully engaged throughout the book.

That said, Elle Marr’s writing style is a bit harder to follow, but I can see how others might enjoy the blend of mystery and chaos. It just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for providing the copy of The Lie She Wears by Elle Marr. I always jump at the chance to read a new Marr book, but this one never quite caught my attention. I liked Pearl and her story, but the chapters set in the past didn’t grab me. I never felt any emotion from or for the characters, so it was hard for me to care about them. It was an okay read, but not memorable. 3 stars

Elle Marr is an auto-read for me and I was thrilled to see her latest book posted on NetGalley. The Lies She Wears is a smart, slow-burn psychological thriller, in which Marr threads creepy undertones while increasing the tension. Suspenseful and twisty, this book, for me, is absolutely a five-star read. What can I say? Marr has done it again!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC ebook. All opinions are my own.

The idea behind The Lie She Wears was very solid but it failed to pull me in or keep me interested. For a psychological thriller, there was no real suspense. As this review is showing, it was an entirely forgettable story.

suspenseful, fast paced read. This was packed full of secrets and *gasp* that I could not wait to find out what happened next. First from Elle Marr and I will def be reading more by her!

After the death of her mother, museum curator Pearl Davis is shocked to find a letter from her confessing to murder. Worse, Pearl finds a body buried in her mother's garden. Pearl begins her search for answers, uncovering a twisted past of lies and deceit....

I enjoyed this novel. What initially intrigued me was that the main character, Pearl, was a museum curator and that the thriller was set partly within the world of museums and heritage. I found this refreshing. The narrative itself was fast-paced and kept me hooked. I especially liked the fact that this story was told from alternate perspectives, one of which is set in the early 90s. The reader is left guessing just exactly who this perspective belongs to until the very last pages of the book!

I am looking forward to reading more of Elle Marr's work!

This was my first Elle Marr novel and it did not disappoint. Pearl's mother Sally unexpectedly died, but to Pearls' surprise,, she confessed to murder in a letter she left. As Pearl delves deeper into her mother's past, she finds more notes that reveal Sally was terrified for her life. Was Sally's death murder? You will have to read the novel to find out!

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for a review.

This was a slow burn thriller for me. The first half took me a while to get through but the last half I couldn’t put down. I definitely didn’t guess the ending, but there were so many layers I don’t see how anyone could have! There are still some parts that I’m not super clear on, but that may due to my limited attention span instead of the actual story. Overall, this was a solid thriller and I will definitely read more of Elle Marr’s work!

This one had the potential to be really really great but it fell just a little bit short for me.

I loved the suspense and the premise of the book but the ending felt rushed and the characters just weren't likeable.

I loved the creepy vibes and the tense undertone- you felt it as you were reading and she did a phenomenal job at it.

I personally found this one so confusing, at first I was enjoying it but shortly into it I was just getting so confused with the various different characters and stopped enjoying it. Any chapters that weren't Pearls confused me and it felt like nothing really happened for the first 60% and then everything was just thrown in all at once in a confusing way

Pearl struggles in the aftermath of her mother's sudden death in an accident after a period when she seemed to be reduced mental capacity. In the aftermath a series of letters and postcards force her to review what she knows about her mother and her past. The book started well and was engaging and fast moving. But I found all the characters confusing, especially as there often seemed to be little depth to them. In the end, I couldn't wait to finish so that I could at least understand what had happened and who was responsible. Enjoyable but not the best.

The Lie She Wears was unfortunately not a winner for me. While the story line had promise, there were just a LOT of characters to try and keep track of. I wasn't really able to connect with any of the characters. I also felt like there were parts that could have been cut down a bit and the ending fleshed out a little more. It felt that the ending was rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Genre: Mystery & Thriller

My thoughts 💭:
Pearl dreams of making it big in the museum world. But when her mother Sally dies suddenly, Pearl stumbles upon old letters hidden in the house—letters that reveal Sally committed murder. As Pearl digs deeper into her mother’s secrets, human remains turn up in the garden, and the past starts closing in. If Pearl isn’t careful, she could be the next target.

Highlights:
✉️Suspense woven with raw emotion
✉️Buried family secrets and unexpected drama
✉️ Slow burn psychological thriller
✉️Mysterious letters that uncover murder
✉️Human bones found in the backyard
✉️Twisty, creepy plotlines
✉️Told through multiple points of view

This is my first novel from Author Elle Marr and it didn’t disappoint. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you @netgalley and publishers for approving the ARC,
The Lie She Wears publishes 18/11/2025, so be sure to grab a copy.

This story had intrigue, mystery, and suspense. The writing was excellent and the characters were dynamic, believable. There was a lot going on though. Too many loose ends to keep track of. So much thrown at me made things a bit confusing.

What a ride "The Lie She Wears" is! Buckle up and make sure to jot notes down; as there are multiple POV's and timeline hops. Pearl who just lost her mother is now having to solve her mysterious past as past is clashing with the present. The plot unraveled perfectly to reveal the past and how it relates to the present. A fantastic read! Thank you NetGalley