The Lie by Kathryn Croft
Genre: Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 20th April 2023
Published: 20th April 2023
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
My son said he walked his girlfriend home. But now she is missing…
Our new home was meant to be a chance for us to start again, to make new friends and forget the past. And as I look around the barbeque we’ve thrown for our neighbours, I dare to dream that things will be all right. I watch my husband joking as he flips burgers and my daughter turning cartwheels on our sun-bleached lawn. And then my gaze falls on my son Jacob, and his new girlfriend Rose, in her light blue jeans and her green crop top. There is a worried expression clouding her beautiful eyes…
The next day I get a call from Rose’s mother that chills me to the bone. Rose never returned after our party.
I wake my still-sleeping son, who walked Rose home the night before, and beg him for answers. Jacob promises he saw Rose to her front door, and I know he would never lie.
But when the police find Rose’s house keys hidden in our garden and a witness claims to have seen them arguing in the street, everyone insists I can’t believe what Jacob is telling me.
I will do anything to protect my boy. But I need to find a way to make the questions stop. Because there’s something about our family that nobody can ever know. And as the search for Rose closes in, how can I keep him safe and keep our secrets hidden?
A gripping and jaw-dropping page-turner with twists to die for. If you love Lisa Jewell, K.L. Slater and Jackie Kabler, you’ll love The Lie.
MY THOUGHTS:
My son said he walked his girlfriend home. But now she is missing...
Lucy and Tom have moved from London to sleepy Surrey with their children Jacob (16) and Ava (12) for a fresh start. Several months after their arrival, they decide to host a barbeque in their backyard for the neighbours and friends. Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves...but beneath the surface secrets threatened to bubble to the surface.
Jacob had been seeing girlfriend Rose for six months but today she seems to be spending most of her time with Ava. Lucy is too busy hosting to see that Rose's mum is flirting with her husband Tom and he appears to be enjoying the attention. Jacob spends most of the afternoon trying to get Rose's attention while she seems to be spending most of it trying to escape his. Heated words are exchanged and she decides to head home. Jacob offers to see her to her door.
The following morning, Lucy's phone rings. It's Carrie, Rose's mum. Rose didn't come home from the barbeque. Is she there? Jacob was the last one to see her and he insists he walked her home the night before. But now she is missing. And all signs are pointing to Jacob despite there is no evidence against him...yet. So where is Rose?
Over the ensuing days the police search Rose's house and then Lucy and Tom's, having been the last place Rose was seen alive. And her keys are found hidden in the bushes not far from their house. Did she drop them in her rush to escape? Or were they put there by whoever is responsible for her disappearance?
Carrie is certain Rose wouldn't just disappear. Lucy is certain that Jacob had nothing to do with her disappearance. Ava knows Rose was angry with her brother and she is angry with him on her behalf. Tom doesn't know what to believe. But which one of them is lying? Where is Rose? And what happened to her?
The story unfold through the alternating perspectives of the two mothers - Lucy and Carrie - with Rose's narrative told from the beginning right up to the night of the barbeque in progressive form. Nothing is as it seems and there are layers of secrets and lies as each of them holds something back. I didn't warm to Carrie much, though I felt sorry for her in part, but then I found her behaviour somewhat ridiculous and confusing. None of the characters were particularly endearing. I figured out the truth way before there was even an inkling so I wasn't at all shocked...but that could be I'm used to expecting the unexpected from this genre.
Overall, THE LIE is a good solid thriller that does get a little drawn out and I felt it could have been shortened a little. But apart from that, it is a compelling read that will keep you guessing as each layer is peeled back to reveal another more complex secret.
I would like to thank #KathrynCroft, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheLie in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kathryn writes full time and is now hard at work on her next book.
After twelve years living in London, she now lives in Guildford, Surrey, the place she grew up, with her husband, two children and two crazy cats.
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