Elizabeth Kay (2)

A book about lies? With an unreliable narrator? Count me in!

Jane Black is the narrator of Seven Lies. This is a story of female friendship, of being needed by a contemporary when family seem absorbed elsewhere, and of the strength of that kind of relationship. Jane and Marnie have been friends since they were at school and have been through thick and thin together. Jane has rather a lot of trouble dealing with any situation where Marnie's full gaze isn't on her though.

This is such a riveting show more read and so completely not what I expected. I was thinking fast-paced thriller when in fact this is much more of a literary thriller, one in which the reader is fed titbits by Jane as the story unfolds. Whilst it's a relatively slow build up, I found that all of a sudden I couldn't put this book down. As you might expect, there are seven lies and I thought it was fabulous plotting by the author to bring them all into Jane's narrative at just the right times.

I veered between feeling extremely uneasy about Jane and her actions and reactions, and feeling rather sorry for her. I think she's one of those people who has high expectations and a yearning within her for more than she's probably ever going to have, and although some people would cope better with what life has thrown at her, she just clings onto Marnie even more. Whilst not obviously chilling due to Jane's matter of fact delivery, when I look back I'm more than a little bit freaked out by her and the ending was brilliant. I approached it with a shocked look on my face!

Seven Lies is a fabulous debut. It's intense and gripping, and it made me feel as though I was Jane's personal confidante. I feel like I shouldn't say it but I loved her tone. I'll be looking out for Elizabeth Kay's second book. show less

Jane and Marnie have been best friends since they were 11-years old. They’ve done everything together. As adults, though, Jane is now confessing (to the reader) that she told Marnie seven (big) lies; the first one was a lie that she liked Marnie’s boyfriend, Charles.

It’s not fast-paced, but I wanted to know what would happen. It’s one of those potentially unreliable narrators, as you wonder if Jane is telling the truth, or what really happened. I’m not sure I really liked any of show more the characters, but that didn’t change that it was still compelling reading for me. show less

Many thanks to NetGalley, Elizabeth Kay, and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of Seven Lies. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Here we are with another book about liars. This is an extremely common theme that I have ranted about before. Don’t worry I’m not going to rant now. I just wish that we didn’t always have to deal with liars. Yes, I know that is inherently a problem when you are show more dealing with bad people. They tend to lie. So, ya, I’m starting to go down the rabbit hole.

What I liked and very much appreciated with this book is that the narrator is reliable. I was a little concerned that I was going to get to the end of the book and find out I had been lied to the whole time. It’s happened before. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t the case.

This is a story about two best friends. Marnie and Jane. They met in middle school and have been inseparable since. Sharing secrets, sharing an apartment, their lives were intertwined. Then Marnie met Charles. And everything changed. Marnie moves out and all of a sudden Jane finds herself on the outside looking in. Not only does she feel like she is losing Marnie, she does not like Charles. But Marnie is in love and when she asks Jane if she likes Charles, Jane says she does. That is lie number one.

There are six more to go, but Jane believes that if she didn’t tell that first lie, maybe Charles would still be alive. This was a really good story. Jane, as a narrator, has vowed to tell the whole truth, just this once, to get everything off of her chest. Each chapter is another lie that Jane tells and is another step in the solution of how Charles died. The story has some really good elements and I was swept away. The ending is unexpected.

The friendship seems so sweet in the beginning but by the end you definitely get Single White Female vibes. Jane’s descent is slow and I felt for her because she almost had a shot at a happy life. How different her life would have been if it had worked out. You wonder about Marnie who seems oblivious to the cracks in Jane. I was also curious how Marnie never noticed the tension between Jane and Charles. I would have loved to have read the same story through Marnie’s perspective.

Even though you know Charles dies, there is still lots of story to be told. This is a great thriller and a really enjoyable read. show less

Seven Lies is Elizabeth Kay's newly released debut novel. And what a debut it is!

Jane and Marnie have been the best of friends since childhood. They have forged what seems to be an unbreakable bond despite being polar opposites. Jane is the first to change their dynamic by marrying. But when her husband dies, she wants to retreat back to the ways things were. But Marnie's life is moving on as well - she too has found a man. But....Jane doesn't like him very much. When Marnie asks her if she show more does in fact like him... well, that's the first lie she tells Marnie.

Kay does a fantastic job drawing these two characters. Jane is flat out scary. And obsessive. And she wants Marnie all to herself, to have Marnie need her. Marnie is eminently likeable. It's hard to see what she sees in Jane. But that just tells the reader how good Jane is at, well, at lying. Kay does a fantastic job at drawing the dialogue and interactions between the two. Jane's mother and sister are just as wounded and add to the dysfunctional feeling of Jane's life.

The reader sees everything through Jane's eyes. The book is told almost as a confession, with Jane detailing how things got to where they are. The next six lies are revealed as we come closer and closer the final pages. I didn't see what was coming with the end of her confession. Brilliant! And then to discover an epilogue that was just as unexpected. But perfect!

Disturbing, unsettling and an excellent original debut. No lie. If you like domestic noir and suspense, you need to pick up Seven Lies. show less