Liar by K.L. Slater
Genre: Psyhcological Thriller, Domestic Thriller
Read: 23rd September 2018
Overbearing mother or obtrusive new girlfriend?
I honestly don't know where to start. LIAR is just brilliant! When I started the book I expected it to be a tad mediocre as the narrative switched between the two battling females in Ben Jukes' life. However, it was anything but. I thought it would just be a battle of wits between Judi and Amber and their disturbing hatred of the other, but it turned into so much more.
Unlike other books, LIAR begins at THE END and then swiftly takes us back to THE BEGINNING where it all starts. But don't worry - it doesn't give anything away. You know what happens but not to whom or who was responsible.
Families are complicated. And mother-in-laws are often referred to as "the other woman" in one's marriage/relationship. So what does that make a new girlfriend?
Meet Judi. She has always been the matriarch of her family and yet as meddlesome she might appear to be she does actually care for them. Married to Henry for some 3 decades, she had two sons - David and Ben. We learn early on that David died as a teenager yet the details surrounding his demise are a bit sketchy at first though we do discover them in due course. So that leaves Ben, the apple of her eye. He relies heavily on her in caring for his two sons - Noah and Josh - since losing his wife two years previously. Caring for her family appears to be her whole reason for living as her relationship with husband Henry is barely existing.
Meet Amber. Young, beautiful and mysterious. A woman with a past we know nothing about to begin with. A woman who is not who she seems. A woman intent on worming her way into Ben's life and his affections, whilst in the process systematically shutting Judi out. Yes, Amber is conniving. Yes, she is hateful. But why? What is her reason for doing this? Did she just wake up one morning and decide 'this is what she wants' and set about destroying a mother's relationship with her son and grandchildren? Whatever the reason, Judi is the only one to see Amber for who she is with Ben and Henry both blinded by her dazzling smile and looks. Which then begs the question - how is it that only Judi can see through her?
Then meet Ben. He's sandwiched in the middle of these two sparring women. His problem is he loves both of them and wants dearly for them to both get along...but it's just not happening. He has no idea why his mother hates his new girlfriend as in his eyes Amber is doing everything she can to appease his mother and get along with her. He sees Amber a kind and generous woman just trying to do her best for everyone. But Judi is staunch in her opinion and is devastated that Ben is allowing Amber to come between them. In the end it can only drive a wedge between them all. And who is the one least likely to come out on top?
Both Judi and Amber evoke a range of emotions that will send most of us into cardiac arrest. From almost the beginning, I hated Amber. With a passion. To the point I wanted to hurry through the book just be rid of her. I felt tainted and almost like I needed to shower after being in her presence. As Judi is the primary narrator, it is Judi we form a bond with, it is Judi we sympathise with. And to begin with, I actually did like Judi. I could almost taste her Sunday lunches, which my dad said was a big tradition in England. But then we begin to see a different side to her as we watch her slowly unravel. Even from within her perspective we could see that something isn't quite right. We begin to see that Judi is in fact quite controlling and when that control starts to shift into Amber's hands, Judi's life unravels in a monumental way.
In the end, both of these women are largely unlikeable. Both will do anything to get what they want. Shocking secrets and lies - even I didn't see coming - could change everything for them. But who is the liar?
Told from multiple POVs - Judi and Amber mainly - LIAR is superbly written. It is simple yet intruiging, and best of all - the chapters are nice and short which I finds only adds to the suspense and making it an easy yet compelling read.
What may have began as mediocre ended up being one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read! K.L. Slater does it again and does not disappoint. Highly recommend!
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