The Lies We Told by Camilla Way
Genre: Thriller Mystery
Published: October 9, 2018
The highly acclaimed author of Watching Edie returns with a new novel of dark psychological suspense that explores how those closest to us have the most to hide...
When Clara's boyfriend, Luke, disappears, everyone believes that he's left her, but Clara thinks she knows the truth. Recent evidence suggests that Luke had a stalker, and Clara worries that he's been kidnapped. Then Luke's older sister, Emma, who vanished twenty years ago, suddenly reappears.
Emma wants to help Clara with her search for Luke, but she refuses to talk about what happened--even though it nearly destroyed her family when she vanished. And the deeper Clara digs into Luke's mysterious disappearance, the more convinced she is that the two incidents are connected.
Review
4 Stars
Layered and suspenseful, The Lies We Told tells the stories of main characters Beth and Clara, their alternating perspectives switching from past to present. Beth is a mother with serious concerns about her daughter Hannah, Clara is a distraught girlfriend after her boyfriend goes missing one night, and somehow their stories are connected. The two stories are very different, one the picture of a loving family, the other of a relationship that might not have s secure a foundation as they thought. While the storylines are different, the fear is the same, someone is or already has been hurt. As Beth tries to protect her family and others from Hannah she uncovers holes in her relationship and realizes that her corner is empty, there is no one to fight alongside her. As Clara leans on those around her, hoping that diving into Luke's past will help them find his stalker, she realizes that no one is what they seem. The secrets that have shaped their lives are about to be revealed.
I really enjoyed The Lies We Told, though I admit I am always a bit freaked out by any book with genius smart children that lack empathy and exhibit seriously concerning behavior. No thank you. I'm glad I read on though, because it felt like I got a reprieve from Hannah while I read about Clara's hunt for Luke, at least until the stories met in the middle. There are so many secrets and lies, with those from the past, from Beth's chapters, still affecting life around those in Clara's chapters. The two do read very differently though, with Beth's perspective presented in first and Clara's perspective presented in third. When the stories do meet and the initial mystery is solved Camilla Way shocks readers with several new twists that both grab your attention and wrap the story up quite nicely.
The Lies We Told was a fairly quick read for me, the suspense really pushes you to want to know more and as soon as possible. The story is certainly plausible, which I appreciated, and I felt a lot of sympathy both for the main characters and the secondary characters that make up the lives of Beth and Clara. Though I did predict one of the secrets the rest were unexpected and surprising for me, which I find pretty rare with domestic thriller type novels. If you like your books suspenseful and your characters a bit creepy, The Lies We Told is a must read.
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