The history was interesting, but I never quite connected to the main character. Her personality was past quirky and headed toward disturbing. I kept hoping the ending would redeem the book, but this did not happen for me. ( )

What is the truth and what is a lie? Is a fib a lie, is an omission a lie? And what would make you lie? To save yourself, to save a loved one? Is it okay to lie in war? I read this book without keeping the title in my mind, but at the end I knew what the title meant.
The island of Guernsey is the setting for this family story told through the eyes of two children: in 1985, Catherine is 15; in 1940, her uncle Charlie is 12. He sees the German soldiers arrive to occupy the small island; a generation later, Cat still feels the after-effects of the lies told then. More lies are being told now, the difficulty is in identifying truth from lies.
Cat is central to the novel. She is an irreverent narrator who tells us not only her own story but also the history of the island and her family’s war story. She was told both stories by her father, and now that he is dead Cat wishes she had asked him more questions. Cat’s voice is a true teenager, her banter is littered with humour, insecurity, crushes, curiosity and indignation. Charlie’s story is told in flashbacks, but mostly through the transcripts of tapes made of his conversation with his brother Emile, Cat’s father’, telling the truth of what happened to him.
Keep reading, the twists and turns of this family, its tricks and lies, its love and secrets, ends in a twist I didn’t see coming. Forty-five years later, the truth still hurts.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

I found The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock to be both interesting and informative, but unfortunately I also found myself struggling to finish the book. I didn’t mind that I disliked all the characters, they were well developed and distinct, but the stories just didn’t hold my interest or were able to draw me in. I say stories as the book, set on Guernsey Island, actually covers two, in one we are introduced to a 1980’s teenager, Catherine, who informs us that she has murdered her best friend. She is writing down the events that led up to this tragedy and we learn how insecure, truth-stretching Catherine was ever so grateful for the friendship Nicolette offered, that she apparently didn’t see how Nic was using her for her own benefit. Nic eventually turned her back on Catherine and ensured through her bulling and belittling that Catherine once again was a social outcast. Along with Catherine’s story, is that of her uncle’s anguish over events that happened on Guernsey during the German occupation of the 1940’s.

These are stories that are about the truth, but as seen through the eyes of one who only knows half the story, the truth becomes rather flexible. The lines here are blurred and fluid. I did feel that the author, who grew up on Guernsey, captured the claustrophobic feeling of living on an small island where everyone either knows or is related to everyone excellently

I found it slightly jarring to be in one time period and then suddenly in another. I was surprised that of the two, I actually preferred Catherine’s story and I did quite like how these stories were wrapped up. Overall, The Book of Lies was an original idea but for me, it just feel short of the mark. ( )

It's not often that one meets an accidental teen murderess who offhandedly describes the scene of the crime as "like Friday the 13th (Part 1 or 2)" and sums up the moment her former best friend fell off a cliff with "How cool was that?" So begins Horlock's remarkable first novel, which will forever erase for readers the treacly taste of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Catherine Rozier, an overweight loner at an all-girls school on the Channel Island of Guernsey, circa 1985, makes her first friend, newcomer Nicolette Prevost. Nic is a manipulative mean girl, and Cat soon learns that friendships come at a price. Cat's unapologetic, unreliable retelling of the events that led to Nic's untimely end is interspersed with chapters about Cat's Uncle Charlie, who struggled during the Nazi occupation of the island. Cat is not as quick or deliberately vengeful as Winona Ryder's character in the film Heathers, but she is unique and captivating. Library Journal

Couldn't say it better than the above review from LJ!
Riveting tale and off-putting 1980s teen protagonist plus factual footnotes of the German Occupation of Guernsey during WWII equals one strange and captivating fictional inquiry into the nature of truth/falsehood and friend/enemy. The Guernsey patois adds authenticity and local flavor, as do Cat's asides, e.g. "Je don't think so!" The text is shared by two stories: Cat's in the 1980s and her uncle's in WWII. Ms Horlock's research vividly defines the bitter legacy left by the Occupation to the inhabitants of Guernsey.

8 out of 10 Highly recommended to readers who enjoy well-researched historical narratives. Also recommended to fans of literature. ( )

I did and I didn't like this book. I liked the voice. I thought the dynamics of the teenage relationship were well observed and written. I thought it had a really good sense of place which I found believable.

What I didn't like - the secondary story: the account of what happened in the war. I found that slightly *too* confusing and it didn't quite sit properly for me re motivations. I feel it missed a trick or two with what could have been done.

As a side note, this book has footnotes in it. I was reading it on Kindle and, if you've never experienced them, footnotes on Kindle are epically annoying. At the end of every chapter the footnotes appeared without a paragraph break or owt. I'd recommend picking up a hardcopy rather than the Kindle version (unless you're less easily narked than I am, obviously.) ( )