Lies She Told: A Novel

Wow! I really enjoyed this intense, psychological thriller. The author swaps chapters with her protagonist, Liza, who is a romance/suspense writer, and Liza's protagonist, Beth, who is a character in the book Liza is writing. As the storyline between the two women unfolds, you have to pay attention, or the crossover will quickly lose you.

While Liza is taking fertility drugs and trying to get pregnant, Beth is already a new mother. While Liza deals with experimental fertility hormones implanted in her arm, migraines, and mood swings, Beth's infant, Vicky, descriptively drains her of milk throughout the book. I found these differences/similarities significantly tie the two characters together while they both disintegrate into show more murderesses.

Liza's husband, David, is distracted by the disappearance of his law partner, while Beth's husband, Jake, is distracted by another woman. While Liza contemplates having an affair with her agent, Trevor, who is a well-built, handsome man with a British accent, Beth has an affair with her psychologist, Tyler, who could be Trevor's twin.

At first, it appears Liza is only transferring bits of her life into her book, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear it much more than that. Beth is the one telling Liza's secrets. The twists and turns will leave you guessing until the very end...and even after the last page, you still have to think about it. Both women survive and get away with murder. Oh, wait. I mean, Liza does. Beth doesn't exist. Or does she? show less

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I enjoyed the writing style, and it was a fast-paced read. On the other hand, there was no suspense, no real revelations since all the twists were clearly communicated ahead of time, and no mystery element at all. So… I’m pretty torn.

Unreliable narrators are all the rage now. They’ve been super popular since GONE GIRL (which I adored) and GIRL ON THE TRAIN (which I thought was just okay). This one has to be the weakest of the bunch, in my opinion. The unreliable narrator was very clearly unreliable. Typically these types of stories work because they leave a shed of doubt in the reader’s mind; but there was no doubt in mine while reading LIES SHE TOLD. I knew show more exactly how the story was going to unfold from the beginning, and without the mystery element I was really just reading to see how the author decided to wrap things up.

None of the characters were likeable - and clearly, they weren’t meant to be. And they were pretty stereotypical, too. As were the descriptions of marriage and new motherhood… very rote, paint-by-numbers stuff. Nothing profound here, no deep insights into character or the human condition.

But for a thriller, it was a decent read. Once I committed to reading it, I flew through the entire novel in a couple of days. show less

Liza has thirty days to write a thriller that could put her back on the bestseller list. Her real life isn't going so well - she desperately wants a baby and her and her husband are struggling with that and he's distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. Liza focuses on her latest heroine, Beth. Beth is a new mother. She suspects her husband has been cheating on her while she's been taking care of their newborn. She sets out one night to catch them together and the next thing she knows she's throwing the body of his lover into the river. When Nick's body has been found in the Hudson River and Liza's husband is arrested for his murder, she realizes that the lines between reality and fiction are blurred.

I read Holahan's show more last book, The Widower's Wife, and loved it! So when I saw this on Netgalley I had to request it. I didn't even care what it was about; I knew it'd be good. This was one of those books I had to stay up late to finish even though I was extremely tired. This is a book within a book and it's so well-written and so clever. The characters, the places, everything has depth. Both stories were equally as good and the switch back and forth between the two was seamless. It felt as though it was happening in my own life and not just on the pages I was reading. Soo good!

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC. show less

4.5 stars.

In Lies She Told, Cate Holahan skillfully utilizes the book within a book format which makes for an extremely riveting read as chapters alternate between author Liza Cole and the protagonist in her work in progress, Beth.

Liza is extremely stressed as she and her husband, David, struggle with infertility. Adding to their difficulties is the disappearance of David's close friend and law partner, Nick Laundau, who disappeared a month earlier. Liza is also on a tight deadline for her next novel so she is immersed in her latest project as she departs for a writer's conference. With her editor Trevor pressuring her for a sexy romantic suspense novel that will put her back on the bestseller's list, Liza is exhausted, hormonal and show more frustrated by David's preoccupation with finding Nick while at the same time trying to keep their law practice afloat. Liza is soon unable to tell fact from fiction as events in the present begin to bear eerie similarities to the novel she is writing. Is life imitating art? Or is there a far more sinister reason for the shocking parallels?

Until recently, Liza's twelve year marriage to David has been quite happy and fulfilling. Until she failed to conceive, the only blight on their happiness is the fact that Nick intensely dislikes her and he makes no effort to keep his feelings about her secret. Her infertility has begun to take a toll on their marriage but she refuses to give up on becoming pregnany even though David is no longer an active participant. Liza is resentful of her husband's lack of support and she is not exactly sympathetic to his concern over Nick's disappearance.

Escaping her real life problems by focusing on her work in progress, Liza finds it surprisingly easy to get inside the head of her protagonist, Beth. Beth is a new mother who stumbles across irrefutable proof her husband is cheating on her. Instead of confronting him, she becomes obsessed with him and his mistress. This obsession culminates with a horrific act and eventually the events in Liza's novel begin to mimic the harrowing experiences happening in real life. Which begs the question: is Liza's work in progress a product of her imagination?

From the chilling prologue until the action-packed conclusion, Lies She Told by Cate Holahan is an engrossing, suspense-laden read. Liza is a fascinating protagonist whose flaws make her sympathetic and relatable. The chapters from the work in progress are intriguing and just as interesting as the drama unfolding in Liza's everyday life.This intricately plotted novel has plenty of twists, turns and a brilliantly executed book within a book concept that will keep readers on the edge of their seat until the shocking dénouement. An absolutely outstanding mystery that fans of the genre do not want to miss! show less

Liza Jones has graced the bestsellers list for a novel about an abused teen, but since Drowned Secrets took the book world by storm she can’t seem to find her groove. Coming off of a failed book, Liza now has thirty days to produce a manuscript for a thriller that will get her back to bestseller status. Liza’s personal life is threatening to derail her plans for success as she struggles with infertility by using hormones that seem to be affecting her personality. Her husband is far too distracted with the disappearance of his law partner and best friend, Nick, to see the spiral his wife’s life is taking.

In order to escape the troubles of reality, Liza buries herself deep in her manuscript, which centers around Beth, a new mother show more who suspects her husband of cheating on her. Beth feels betrayed and furious at her husband for going behind her back with another woman while she stays at home taking care of their newborn. Desperate to uncover the truth, Beth resorts to stalking her husband in order to confront him about his affair. Before she knows it, she’s shoving the body of her husband’s lover into the river and burying the murder weapon. Back in Liza’s reality, the body of Nick has just been dragged from the river and the case is stacking up to be eerily similar to the story she’s writing. Can Liza determine the lines between fiction and reality in order to reveal the truth about what happened to Nick? Will she survive the secrets she uncovers along the way?

Cate Holahan creates a binge-worthy piece of crime fiction with LIES SHE TOLD. The reader is instantly submersed in a novel written as a book within a book, as Holahan alternates chapters between Liza’s narration and chapters in Liza’s manuscript. Quickly it becomes clear that there are many similarities between the two tales and at times it can be hard to distinguish fact from fiction. While I was able to figure out the plot to this novel early on, this knowledge didn’t stop me from sitting at the edge of my seat and flying through page after page to get to end. For me this book wasn’t so much about the answer to what happened to Nick, but getting to understand Liza’s life through both her work of fiction and the reality she narrates. Sometimes it’s not about the whodunit, but the why and this novel is a perfect example of that. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a lighter, fast-paced, suspense filled take on crime fiction. show less

"I'm sorry," I mumble as I shut it behind me. "It was either you or me."

Beth and Liza have two stories going in the book. Liza is the author story - she is the one writing Beth's story. Liza is a bit stressed in her life. She's trying to live up to the glory of a highly rated Debut novel that was, unfortunately, followed by a few books that just didn't seem to hit the same mark. She needs to write another best seller.

Liza is also desperately trying to have a baby. She is happily married to David and is part of a trial fertility drug that will, hopefully, help her and David conceive. But in the midst of her looming deadline for her newest story and her stress of hormones and fertility, David's best friend Nick (and law practice show more partner) has gone missing. It's not that Liza doesn't worry about him - it's just that her life is a bit stressed as it is at the moment. She needs this Nick drama to go away.

Beth is the story that Liza is writing. Beth believes she has caught her husband cheating and is trying to decide what to do with the information. She doesn't want to leave him. This life, their life, is one she feels she deserves. She has put in the time and has recently had a baby - she has pictured this life and it did not involve this other woman. She wants her to go away and let her have her life.

Each woman is stressed in her life in different ways and each is trying to tie the pieces of their world and their marriage together. It's a stunning story, one that kept me hooked and flipping the pages until I just had to finish it in one sitting. I will definitely look to read more by this author! show less

By virtue of a Book Riot review, this made it to the top of my interest list. I put it on hold through my library. The alternating perspectives thing isn't a new idea, but I thought this had potential for an interesting twist.

To each their own, but IMO, this book was WAY oversold.
Does the world really need one more unreliable female narrator book? No. No, it does not.

As other reviewers have said, this book has it all - too much actually.

It's like a lifetime movie in book form - illicit sex with authority figures! murder fantasies about cheating spouses! baby drama! childhood sex abuse! repressed memories! paranoia! fertility issues!

I mean, I am a woman and a mother and not over-sensitive, but when every other chapter features detailed show more description of leaky nipples and nursing that is incidental to the plot, it's just too much.

I would not have been happy to buy this and sort of disappointed in myself for seeing it through. Life's short--spend your time with a better book. show less