Book Review: The Lies We Told

THE LIES WE TOLD | Camilla Way
10.09.2018 | Berkley Books
Rating: 4/5 stars

Clara’s boyfriend, Luke, has disappeared. He’s been late coming home before or crashed at a friend’s house after a night out of one too many drinks, but he’s never just vanished. Luke has had issues with a stalker for quite a while now and Clara thinks he may have been kidnapped. It seems that Luke’s family has a history of disappearances, as his sister Emily vanished twenty years earlier without a word. Clara entrusts the help of the couple’s closest friend, Mack, and together they dig into Luke’s past.

Hannah was the bad seed growing up. She was the definition of a sociopath. As the years went on her personality and actions continued to worsen until eventually they landed her in court. After that fateful incident her family lost touch and her whereabouts are unknown. Hannah learned a secret about her parents when she was young and she’s never stopped seeking revenge. Just how are these two families connected?

Just let me talk about it. I need to. I think about it all the time, don’t you? I wake up with it on my mind – the lies we told, that girls poor family…

THE LIES WE TOLD is written between two alternating points of view – one focusing on Clara’s investigation into Luke’s disappearance and another looking back to the 1980’s and the life of a girl named Hannah. Each POV is unique and engaging, but the best aspect of THE LIES WE TOLD is guessing at how the two are connected. I mean, no one puts two POVs in a book if they’re not connected, right? This story is delightfully devious and filled with secrets. I listened to this book as an audiobook and it was an experience comparable to binge watching a TV show. I didn’t want to stop!

The reaction of pain was what motivated her.

I will gladly admit to you that there are several pieces of the plot to this story that could be deemed unrealistic or implausible, especially when it comes to the connection of the two families. However, what I will also admit to you is that this is what made the book so much fun to read! The characters are for the most part all terribly unlikeable, they’re all hiding something, and they’re all about to have their dirty laundry aired out. Crime fiction and thrillers can sometimes get to be really intense reads, but Camilla Way has found a great balance between the drama and thrills we all love.

A special thank you to Berkley for sending me a free review copy!