Tell Me Lies by Teresa Driscoll
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 1st May 2023
Published: 18th April 2023
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
From bestselling author Teresa Driscoll comes a chilling thriller of past secrets and present terror. Deep in a rural hideaway, it’s only the owls watching them…right?
After a betrayal that sent their marriage into freefall, Hannah and Sam are desperate for a fresh start with their eight-year-old daughter Lily—and where better than picture-perfect Owl Cottage in beautiful Cornwall. But something about the holiday home stirs dark memories for Hannah…
When she finds dead creatures on the doorstep and hears mysterious knocks at the door, Hannah can’t help wondering whether someone is messing with her—or whether the past she’s been running from has finally claimed her sanity.
As the disturbing events at Owl Cottage seep out into the local community and the police become involved, Hannah turns to Sam for help, but when he dismisses her worries, she wonders if she was wrong to ever trust him. Are the memories making her paranoid, or is this something more sinister than she dares imagine?
MY THOUGHTS:
Two couples. Four good friends. What could possibly go wrong?
Now THIS is what I call a psychological thriller. Something that messes with your mind. Makes you believe in things that may or may not be there. Has you imagining all sorts. Dreams; nightmares...are they memories? Or is someone playing with your mind? TELL ME LIES is the fifth thriller by Teresa Driscoll I have read and it has reminded me why I enjoy them so much. Not only does she play at gaslighting us (just a little, maybe) but she brings back two of her characters that have featured in at least three other books of hers I've read - "I Am Watching You", "The Promise" and "I Will Make You Pay". I certainly hope they continue to pop up in future thrillers.
Hannah's past has kept her from maintaining fulfilling relationships until she met her husband Sam and he swept her off her feet with a heartwarming trip to Bellagio in which he wanted to give her new memories to help overcome the old. She never thought she would ever find happiness, never thought herself deserving. To everyone else, she had always been "the girl from the woods" and ever since she was a little girl she has tried to put that traumatic part of her life behind her. Unfortunately, her past seems intent on catching up with her, haunting her at every turn in nightmarish dreams almost every night. At least with Sam she knew she was safe and they were happy...until he betrayed her.
Now months later, after intense counselling and the promise of a fresh start, Hannah and Sam decide to take a holiday to picturesque Owl Cottage in Cornwall with their 8 year old daughter Lily. It is their greatest hope that this time away will help them to reconnect and find their way back to each other.
As soon as they arrive, Hannah is overcome with the beauty of the place and the owls dotted all over the cottage. She tries sharing her excitement with Lily but her daughter finds the birds' eyes scary. Hannah, though, has always found solace in them. The cottage is as remote as it gets with only one neighbour and a secluded beach that is just a stone's throw away. Almost at once, Hannah begins to feel at ease here and relaxes into the hope that this is just the fresh start that she and Sam need.
But then strange things start happening from their first night with Hannah waking to a dead owlet (baby owl) on the mat and a knocking on the door only to reveal no one is there. Lily, already spooked by the owls surrounding them, is frightened and begs for a night light to remain on. And then when the lights go out one night as she begins to descend the stairs, Hannah falls resulting in a bad sprain and her foot having to be strapped in a boot for the duration...thus making holiday trekking impossible.
And just when things couldn't get any more tense, friends Amy and Adam turn up unannounced for a surprise visit. Hannah has felt increasingly uncomfortable with Amy after the arguement they had before she and Sam left for their holiday. And she certainly didn't want to go over old ground...not when she and Sam were working on putting the past behind them and moving forward. But Amy has more news to impart regarding Sam's betrayal that she feels Hannah has a right to know. And once the thought takes hold...
Maybe Sam is behind the disturbing events trying to frighten Hannah...but then why would he? Still, there is no one else around for miles but them so it could really only be Sam. Maybe his affair is ongoing and he wants rid of her to be with his mistress, gain access to her trust fund and be set up for life. But is she just seeing problems that aren't really there? But someone is doing this. She can't be imagining it, surely? Is she? Is Hannah losing her mind or is someone doing it for her?
I thoroughly enjoyed TELL ME LIES. It was the perfect reminder why I love Teresa Driscoll's thrillers so much and leaves me questioning why I have taken so long in picking up another? I was delighted with the reappearance of DI Melanie Sanders and Matthew Hill, who I first met in "I Am Watching You" closely followed by "The Promise" and then "I Will Make You Pay". It's refreshing to have recurring characters in stories that aren't actually part of a series. I certainly hope they continue to pop up in the future.
TELL ME LIES is a psychological thriller with atmospheric proportions. Cornwall is the perfect setting for a such a thriller and is one of my favourite settings for such tales. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the entire book that something sinister is afoot. The story becomes quite dark with a few unexpected twists along the way. This book serves as the perfect reminder that I must dig out Driscoll's other thrillers I have yet to read and add them to my TBR pile that is bound to overtake me one day.
Overall, addictive and compelling reading that will have you turning the pages until you figure out just who or what is behind the sinister happenings at Owl Cottage...or if it really is all in Hannah's mind?
I would like to thank #TeresaDriscoll, #Netgalley and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #TellMeLies in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Teresa writes women’s fiction as well as thrillers and her work has been optioned for film.
During her long career as a journalist, Teresa worked for newspapers, magazines and television, including 15 years presenting the BBC TV news programme Spotlight. Covering crime for so long, she was deeply moved by the haunting impact on the relatives, the friends and the witnesses and it is those ripples she explores now in her darker fiction.
Teresa lives in glorious Devon with her family and blogs regularly about her “writing life” at her website
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