The Liar's Daughter (previously titled "The Missing Sister") by Rona Halsall
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 19th April 2021
Published: 26th April 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The call comes on an ordinary Sunday afternoon to say your sister has been admitted to hospital with a serious head injury. But you don’t have a sister… do you?
You’ve never doubted your parents. You’ve loved them without question your whole life. But your stepmother is uncharacteristically speechless, and your father isn’t well enough to understand.
So you get in your car.
Turn the key in the ignition.
Knowing everything behind you is a lie.
Not knowing what lies ahead: the truth… or something far darker?
A deliciously dark and twisty tale of deception, secrets and family ties, The Liar’s Daughter is perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and The Family Upstairs.
*Previously titled: The Missing Sister
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Rona Halsall's exciting new thriller THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER (previously titled "The Missing Sister").
Ever since I read "The Honeymoon", I have picked up each of Rona's books with an expectation of something exciting to come. But none of them quite lived up to the thrillride I got from that first book...until now. A deliciously dark tale of deception and family secrets, THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER is twisted, it's creepy and addictive from start to finish. And it did not disappoint!
Eva has put her life on hold to help her stepmother care for her ailing father who is suffering dementia. Until the day her life is thrown into turmoil with a phone call saying that her sister is in hospital with head injuries.
But...Eva doesn't have a sister.
Sitting down with Linda, the only mother she has ever known, Eva soon learns that she did indeed have a sister called Nancy who, at sixteen and just after the death of their mother after giving birth to baby Eva, disappeared leaving nothing but the words "I hate my life" scrawled on her mirror in lipstick and a pile of clothes with a note underneath the pier where they had lived in Blackpool. It was thought that, distraught by her mother's death, Nancy had taken her own life.
Eva is shocked by this revelation. Why would they not tell her that she had a sister? Even if she was dead, why would they keep that from her? Though her mother had died when she was born and Linda moved in to help her father raise her, there had never been any mention of a sister. Now she wonders what else her parents have kept from her.
Energised by this new information, Eva decides to head to Snowdonia in North Wales to help care for her sister who wants to be discharged but needs someone to care for her while she recovers from her head injury. Linda is mortified and tries persuading Eva not to go, telling her she doesn't know Nancy or how difficult she could be. But Eva is adamant. Nancy needs her help while she recuperates...and she is excited about the prospect of getting to know the sister she never knew she had.
Driving hundreds of miles to pick up her sister from hospital, Eva then drives them home where she will care for her sister until she recovers. But home is a remote farmhouse nestled on a Snowdonia hillside with not another person or house in sight for miles. The atmosphere is decidedly creepy and Eva soon finds herself jumping at shadows or the merest sound. And yet the prospect of staying on a farm stirs up the wildlife conservationist in her that she can't help feeling somewhat charged by this new challenge ahead.
But after a few days, Eva realises that all is not as it seems. That Nancy is not all that she seems. There is a hardness to her stare that is there one minute and then gone the next as her face radiates in a smile, gushing platitudes of gratefulness for Eva's loving care. Questions also arise after Nancy reveals the truth behind her departure and what their father was really like. But what Eva really wants to know was what happened to her sister in the time she left home twenty four years ago? Why did she not try and contact them over the years? And there is Nancy's sudden snappiness and hostility that seemingly comes from out of nowhere with her moods all over the place. But that's just her head injury...right? She cannot claim to have known what she was like beforehand but surely she couldn't have changed too much...could she? And then there is the "accident" that lead to her head injury. Nancy claims it was just a farm accident but Eva wonders if her sister had been attacked and is now in danger? If they are both in danger?
And when food she knows she bought starts going missing, Eva begins to think that the sisters could be in trouble. Whoever attacked Nancy could still be out there...watching...and waiting...
Set mostly on a remote hill farm in Snowdonia, THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER is an absorbing, atmospheric and somewhat unconventional thriller. So completely different to what I have come to expect from Rona but I was pleasantly surprised by this dark and tense tale of secrets and deception.
The story unfolds through the eyes of Eva and Nancy in parts one and two respectively, followed by part three that combines the two perspectives to complete the narrative as the truth, and all its secrets, is slowly revealed. And while some of it may be predictable, there are a few twists that are bound to shock.
THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER is distinctly creepy and the setting of the remote hill farm in Snowdonia only added to the sinister atmosphere and was perfect for this thriller. The story is eerily disquieting as family secrets and deception are laid bare but most chilling of all is the ease with which the questioning perceptions the characters have that seemingly dissipate into the silence of the hills in which they find themselves. There is a feeling of powerlessness that echoes and builds as the truth finally comes to light.
Well-written and by far one of Rona's best thrillers yet, THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER is a chilling tale that has it all: suspense, mystery, family drama, secrets, lies, deception and gas-lighting. It is deliciously dark, tense and chilling, and will have you locking your doors and flipping pages right to the very end.
A fast paced read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
I would like to thank #RonaHalsall, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheLiarsDaughter in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Rona was born in Nottingham, grew up near Blackpool and went to college in Leeds. She then moved to Snowdonia, North Wales where she brought up her family while working as a business mentor.
She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful beaches on the Island while she's plotting how to kill off her next victim. She also makes sure she deletes her Google history on a regular basis, because... well, you can't be too careful when you spend your life researching new and ingenious ways for people to die.
She has three children and two step-children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!
Rona lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She has been a bookworm since she was a child and now she's actually creating stories of her own, which still feels like a dream come true.
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