Colette McBeth

I've really enjoyed Colette McBeth's writing in the past, in particular An Act of Silence which I thought was brilliant. Call Me A Liar has a different feel to it, probably due to the subject matter, but it's still a great read.

Joe and Libby met at university and soon formed a relationship. On looking for a position post-studies, Libby stumbles across a newspaper advertisement which simply asks candidates to crack a code. Whatever the job is, it requires the best, young, technical minds. Joe show more and Libby fit the bill, along with three others, Tess, Will and Asha. They are sent to a remote house for a retreat and it's there that things start to really go awry, especially when one of the gang goes missing.

The big strength of Call Me A Liar is the fact that it's never clear which character can be trusted. There are three sections and each one turned what I thought onto its head. It's very cleverly plotted to achieve this, to put the reader on the back foot. It's also full of sinister undertones, with these technical minds doing all kinds of computer wizardry that may or may not be completely ethical, and dangerous people keeping an eye on them doing so.

This is not a book full of easy to like characters but what was interesting was that ultimately I think everyone ended up where they should be, got what they deserved.

This is a complex and twisty read, and a dark one at that. It highlights how much is going on behind the scenes that we have no idea about. I do think the first section was quite slow as we are introduced to the characters and what they have let themselves in for, but the second and third sections really pick up the pace and got me really interested in (a) what was going on here and (b) what was going to happen next and how would it be resolved.

Call Me A Liar doesn't beat An Act of Silence for me, but it's an accomplished story of deceit, morals, fear, and the dynamics between family and colleagues. show less

A tangled murder mystery no less satisfying for the speed at which I unravelled the various threads. Two victims left for dead, with only a gold necklace linking them to their attacker - Melody, who survived, and Eve, who did not - and the suspect accused of hurting them both. Both women tell their story, along with DI Victoria Rutter, taking over her mentor's old case to uncover a series of fatal mistakes made by the police and the women themselves.

I was gripped throughout, despite twigging show more the real killer early into the story by a process of elimination (not that mad bastard, the other one). Colette McBeth brings both the traumatised Melody, with her horrendously bad taste in men, and the posthumously persistent Eve to life (and death) with an eye for detail and characterisation. Before downloading my copy of the book, I read a low-rated review which criticised 'moaning Melody' and self-involved Eve, but both interpretations of the characters are unfair - Melody's neuroses are entirely understandable and deftly shaded, while Eve's biggest concern is not her family's heart-rending grief but Melody's future safety. Personally, I chose the story for the 'ghost' angle, which is subtle but sympathetically played, and then found myself hooked by the battle for justice and the underlying strength of both women. Loved the humour too. Definitely recommended, even if more of a 'why-dunnit' than a whodunnit. show less

I very much enjoyed Colette McBeth's last book, The Life I Left Behind but I have to say that An Act of Silence is on another level. It's nail-bitingly exciting and has more layers than an onion!

We have disgraced ex-MP, Linda Moscow and we have her son, Gabriel Miller, who is a comedian. We know from the very beginning that their relationship is a difficult one and throughout the course of the book we start to understand why. What I liked about McBeth's writing is that she makes us feel show more alternately sorry for each party as they put across their stories.

The tagline is "If your son was accused of murder, what would you do?" and yes, Linda is forced to consider whether her son is capable of such an act after a young woman's body is found. But.....this is essentially a book about corruption within government and takes a lot from the recent spate of celebrities turning out to be not the much loved family oriented people we thought they were.

The plotting is amazing. I found myself turning back several times to reread parts that suddenly came across so differently upon reading another section. There are sections written from the perspective of many different characters and it really was just like watching a scandal unfold.

The storyline is unlike any other psychological thriller I have read. It really felt quite unique to me. It's full of suspense and intrigue and not at all what I was expecting.

An Act of Silence gripped me from start to finish and I found it very hard to put down. It's a superb thriller of a book. show less

Three women tell this story. Melody Pieterson was attacked and left for dead six years ago. Her attacker went to prison but has been released and now another woman, Eve Elliot, has been found dead holding a bird cage necklace, just like Melody. The third woman is DI Victoria Rutter, who was part of the team investigating Melody's attack and is now investigating Eve's murder.

I thought this was a really well-plotted and engrossing psychological thriller. It's sort of a 'whodunnit' but it's not show more a crime solving novel, it's more about the emotional impact that a trauma can have on the mind. I enjoyed all the three voices and felt they all had their place. Eve is dead when the book begins, so she's talking from beyond the grave and that worked really well too, which was something I did wonder about. I kind of had an idea about the end but it still kept me partly guessing.

I liked McBeth's writing immensely and will be looking out for her first novel, Precious Thing, along with future works. I had trouble putting this one down. show less