REVIEW: Good Little Liars by Sarah Clutton (ARC)

Good Little Liars by Sarah Clutton

Genre: Chick Lit

Read: 5th October 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 2nd October 2019)

★★★ 3 stars

Upon discovering this story was set in Hobart, Australia, I decided I had to check it out. It's been a long time since I was in Tasmania but it is always refreshing to read something from my own country which aren't as prevalent as those in the UK or US. I didn't really check which genre it slotted into such was I in a rush to read it but from the synopsis, I assumed it was a bit of a mystery. And it was, in part, but I later discovered it was more chick lit...and I have to agree.

Set in Hobart, the story centres on three women - Emma, Marlee and Harriet - though it isn't till the end that we discover just how Harriet factored in. The three women, along with Harriet's daughter Clementine, are united by two factors - Denham House School for Girls and the death of their friend Tessa 25 years before. Tessa's death was ruled an accident but was it really? Or was it something more sinister?

GOOD LITTLE LIARS opens with an irresistible Prologue taking place 25 years prior to the actual story, which whets the appetite for something compelling.

We begin with Emma who works in the office of the prestigious school she once attended herself and pondering on the 25 year reunion which has been organised. Attempting to multitask between work and an email regarding the reunion, she is mortified to discover that she has inadvertently "replied all" with some incredibly personal and embarrassing information that was actually only meant for her best friend Marlee. Horrified at her inattention and now distracted from her work, Emma takes herself off home to unload with her husband Phil. Upon arriving home, it appears Phil is out but she notices that their cleaner Pia must be in the cottage out the back which they rent out for guest accommodation. For the second time that day Emma is once again mortified, this time to find Phil and Pia in all their naked glory. Shocked and furious, she packs a bag and heads to her dad's to calm down.

Marlee is an architect and has just moved back to Hobart from Melbourne. As Emma's best friend, she is her daughter's godmother, but her return is clouded by a secret she carries. Beginning a new job, Marlee is attracted to her new boss Ben and after some celebration drinks with the staff, she wakes to find herself in bed with him. Both are somewhat sheepish as Marlee vows not to repeat the incident. Then eight weeks later, after what she put down as a bout of flu, Marlee discovers she is pregnant...something which she thought was not possible after discovering she was infertile. Obviously not. Feeling somewhat vulnerable, the night with her boss is once again repeated at his place...but it is then overshadowed when his estranged wife, step daughter and daughter walk in on them the following morning with a cake for his birthday.  Ben's estranged wife is furious and walks out. His daughter is shocked and angry. Only his step daughter, Clementine, finds it amusing. Marlee, however, is mortified and embarrassed.

Harriet is an acclaimed QC, the youngest woman to achieve silk. At 59 years of age, she has seen a lot but nothing could prepare her for walking in on her estranged husband with a woman her daughter's age. Clementine and Marlee were at Denham House together, along with Emma, graduating 25 years ago. Harriet herself attended Denham House over forty years ago on a scholarship...and she owes the school everything for the education she received and all that has achieved since. But Harriet also has a secret. And has stopped at nothing to keep it hidden. Having fallen pregnant when she was still at school and creating embarrassment for her own mother, to what lengths did she go to remain at Denham House?

Then there is Clementine. She is Harriet's eldest daughter, born just after her mother left Denham House. She is a free spirit, a famous artist now living in Prague and nothing at all like her mother had tried to raise. Clementine has returned to Hobart for the reunion and her mother's approaching 60th birthday.

At the centre of this story is the school- Denham House for Girls. All women had been students there. Emma now works there. Harriet's brother  Jon Brownley, who had been the school's newest teacher 25 years ago, is now headmaster there. And now, with her marriage imploding, Emma lives in one of the staff cottages there - the very same cottage, it appears, that Jon Brownley had lived in when he was a young teacher at Denham House.

But it is soon after moving into the cottage that Emma finds an old photograph hidden in the fireplace - an explicit photo of Tessa, staring boldly at the camera and dated the day before she died. For Emma, this photo is evidence of what she had always suspected - that Jon Brownley had been involved with Tessa. A sackable offence, not to mention illegal, if caught. Had Tessa threatened to expose him? Had he killed her to keep her quiet? Emma had seen them arguing on the day Tessa died and now she is wondering if what she saw that day reveals that Tessa's death 25 years ago was not an accident?

But as Emma begins to dig deeper into the past, she discovers that everyone remembers the past differently...and not everyone wants the past raked up.

While it was an interesting premise, GOOD LITTLE LIARS was nothing like I expected it to be. In fact, I found it more focused on everyone's imploding marriages or relationships rather than Tessa's death 25 years before. Admittedly, I didn't check the genre before diving in and just assumed by the synopsis that it was suspense/mystery/thriller. However, it was more of a chick lit drama with some mystery thrown in. I guess that's why I found it incredibly slow to begin with, wondering when it was going to get to the past and find out what happened, particularly considering that was what I was reading it for.

But I did enjoy the book somewhat...I was just disappointed that it was not the twisty thriller that the synopsis promises. The reveal, when it happened, was a bit of an anti-climax, though it does tie everything together rather neatly as a result.

GOOD LITTLE LIARS is an enjoyable read and is perfect for those who enjoy family dramas and a good chick lit novel with a bit of mystery thrown in.

I would like to thank #SarahClutton, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #GoodLittleLiars in exchange for an honest review.