Title: The Lies You Told by Harriet Tyce
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery, Suspense
Length: 291 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
From the acclaimed author of Blood Orange, a dark new psychological thriller about the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect family — and the perfect murder.
In the playground it’s the law of the jungle
But at the school gate, there are no rules at all…
When Sadie Roper moves back to London, she’s determined to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. First, she needs to get her daughter settled into a new school-one of the most exclusive in the city. Next, she’s going to get back the high-flying criminal barrister career she sacrificed for marriage ten years earlier. But nothing goes quite as planned. The school is not very welcoming newcomers, her daughter hasn’t made any friends yet and the other mothers are as fiercely competitive as their children. Sadie immediately finds herself on the outside as she navigates the fraught politics of the school gate.
But the tide starts to turn as Sadie begins to work on a scandalous, high-profile case that’s the perfect opportunity to prove herself again, even though a dangerous flirtation threatens to cloud her professional judgment. And when Liza, queen of the school moms, befriends Sadie, she draws her into the heart of the world from which she was previously excluded. Soon Sadie and her family start to thrive, but does this close new friendship prevent her from seeing the truth? Sadie may be keeping her friends close, but what she doesn’t know is that her enemies are closer still…
Dark, addictive and compelling, The Lies You Told is a compulsive psychological thriller from a master storyteller.
Review:
The Lies You Told by Harriet Tyce is a suspense-laden domestic mystery.
Following the inexplicable end of her marriage, Sadie Roper and her ten year daughter Robin relocate to London. Bound by the rules of her deceased grandmother’s trust, Robin will inherit the estate as long as they reside in the family home and she attends Ashams, a private school. Sadie is not at all thrilled to live in the house she grew up in, but she does not have much choice. She and Robin settle in but the transition to Ashams is not at all smooth. Sadie accidentally antagonize the leader of the school mums while Robin struggles to make friends.
Sadie still bears the mental scars of her dysfunctional childhood but she is a wonderful mum. She is fiercely protective of Robin yet at the same time she does not stifle her daughter’s independence. Their lives are about to be vastly different as Sadie returns to work as a barrister. A new friendship with school mum Nicole is a life saver as Sadie juggles motherhood with her career.
Sadie’s best friend Zora helps her get back into court when she recommends her to help on her current case. School teacher Jeremy Taylor has been accused of a very improper relationship with his student Freya. Jeremy steadfastly claims he is innocent and Sadie is tasked with combing through a new cache of Freya’s social media and various messages. With the trial about to start, the defense team do not want any surprises to pop up during testimony. Sadie must push aside her empathy for Jeremy’s accuser as witnesses begin testifying.
Meanwhile, on the school front, Sadie’s relationship has drastically improved with the school mums and Robin is making friends. Despite this newfound acceptance, Sadie is troubled by the pressure some of the girls are under as they compete for entry into the next level of school. When tragedy strikes, her uneasiness grows but she is grateful for Nicole’s help with Robin.
The Lies You Told is a multi-layered mystery that is quite riveting. The characters are well-drawn although some of them are more likable than others. The storyline is engrossing with plenty of tension that really ratchets up in the second half of the book. With stunning twists, Harriet Tyce brings this tautly plotted domestic mystery to an edge of the seat conclusion. Readers of the genre do not want to miss this clever mystery.
