Let Me Lie

Since I had to get this back to the library this week, I moved this up and am wrapping up my "Watchers" read as well. I have to say that I could not put this book down last night! It was insanely good and the twists I didn't see coming well expertly done. I also like how Mackintosh plays with POVs via some of the narrative choices she chose. I thought this worked from beginning to end and I have to go back and read some more of her thriller/suspense novels.

"Let Me Lie" follows 20 something year old Anna Johnson. Anna is a new mother in a new relationship mourning the loss of her parents (Tom and Caroline Johnson) the year before. Both her father and mother committed suicide and Anna has always thought that someone has murdered them. show more When she gets a post in the mail that alludes to something sinister happening she goes to the police hoping they will re-investigate her parents' suicide. From there "Let Me Lie" follows not only Anna's POV, but someone close to her (no spoilers) and a retired police detective who finds himself intrigued about Anna's parents' case.

So I really liked Anna and felt for her. She had a great upbringing with her mother and father and feels a bit adrift after having her daughter. Once she receives the anonymous post in the mail about her parents she starts going back over her family's history and meeting with her father's brother and wondering if she ever really knew her parents. When her long-time family friend Laura trying to help Anna let go of the past, she starts to wonder if she's just looking for a reason behind her parents suicides or if there really was something more sinister going on.

I thought that Anna's boyfriend Mark was kept underdeveloped on purpose. You have Anna constantly protesting the relationship internally and saying how it works, but even at times you have her popping her head up and wondering about them being together no matter how many times she protests to her uncle and Laura.

The retired detective Murray Mackenzie's POV was welcomed in this one. I felt so much sympathy for this character. Mackintosh shows how relentless he is in order to figure out the truth and how much inner pain he is due to the constant episodes with his wife Sarah that have caused her to be voluntary committed to a psychiatric hospital.

The writing was really good and the flow works. Mackintosh ensures the chapter headings show us when Anna and Murray are "speaking." And then we get another POV and then a fourth POV that I just shivered in delight with once things get revealed. I went back and re-read those knowing what I know now and just went "ah so clever." I loved the fact that Mackintosh takes a hard look at people's memories of an event and flips it around so many times in this one.

The setting of the book focuses mostly on Anna's family home and how hard she is trying to hang onto it. You get why Mark wants to move since I felt a lot of times that once again Anna was seeing the house in the past (happy families) and Mark was seeing it as it was (place where two people who killed themselves lived and dark aura around everything).

The ending was fantastic! Loved it from beginning to end. show less

There are SO. MANY. thrillers out on the market these days. Some are good. Some are bad. Most are okay. The thing is that when there is a glut in any market, it takes a lot for one particular story to rise above the rest. The odds of that happening with every thriller you read are not very good; for that reason sometimes it is okay to temper your expectations. It is perfectly acceptable to hope for a thriller that will mostly keep you guessing with mostly believable characters and plot and decent writing because they are still entertaining and fill a need for decent books that will get people excited about reading again. This is how I feel about Clare Mackintosh and her latest novel, Let Me Lie.

It may seem that I am damning Let Me Lie show more with faint praise, but I assure you I am not. Her novels are never going to be Gillian Flynn big. She doesn’t have that flair for the dramatic that splashy thrillers tend to have. What she does have is a consistency to her story-telling with careful pacing and characters that are not larger than life in any way. They are simply ordinary people in rather extraordinary circumstances, and that makes her stories more believable, more relatable, and in a way more interesting.

One of the best things about Ms. Mackintosh’s novels is the fact that she does not rely on plot twists to shock the reader or create tension. Rather, she excels at the use of misdirection, allowing readers to believe one thing before adding a piece of the puzzle that changes your perception of the entire story. She puts this to particularly effective use in Let Me Lie. This sets her apart from the masses of other thrillers because it is a subtle effect that can have even greater reactions than a plot twist. With a twist, you see it coming or you don’t; either way, it is something that shocks you once and from then you move on with the rest of the story. With misdirection, it sneaks up on you no matter what, and instead of being able to move on with the story you find you want to go back and read certain passages again now that your understanding of them is different. Misdirection resonates more and longer, and it requires a special skill to be able to create it.

The unfortunate thing about misdirection is that it is so easy to spoil. Just one wrong word or sentence could be enough for new readers to pick up on clues earlier than intended or to guess the misdirection from the outset. When this happens, the story loses its magic because all of the suspense is built upon the misdirection. Once that is gone, it becomes just another story without the benefit of plot twists or cliffhangers to keep your interest. For this reason, Let Me Lie can never be another Gillian Flynn novel. People would simply not be able to keep the secrets while expressing love for the story and to read it without the secrets is just an exercise in disappointment.

However, reading it with the secrets intact is an exercise in fun. The clever shift in perspective does force you to go back and reassess your understanding of certain clues. It also keeps you from guessing the big mystery, which is always a good thing in a suspense thriller. Even better, the shifts in perspective force you to rethink your understanding of certain relationships and the assumptions we all make based on very little information. This is my third novel by Ms. Mackintosh that I have read, and I do believe it is the one I enjoyed the most while reading. Ms. Mackintosh is honing her skill with every novel, and I look forward to seeing what she has next for us. show less

LET ME LIE is a dark and clever psychological thriller, and the perfect cure for my reading slump. This is the third book by Clare Mackintosh that I’ve read, and I always enjoy her writing. She has a talent for creating emotional, character-driven suspense with amazing twists that really mess with your head. She makes you love/hate/sympathize with characters, and then bam! A big twist comes along to make you question everything.

Anna Johnson is a daughter grieving over the suicides of her parents the previous year. Then she receives something that makes her suspicious, makes her think that maybe they were murdered instead. The story alternates between Anna and other players in this twisted tale, including a retired detective named show more Murray who checks into the Johnson’s case. I loved Murray’s character, and his relationship with his troubled wife was heart-rending. The book goes from a slow-burn in the beginning to a thrilling roller coaster ride at the end, and I enjoyed it all.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

Suicide...or murder?

I finished this a while ago and decided I'd wait until I'd heard the author talk at our annual Lit Fest, before writing my review - never a good idea as that was several months ago and now I wonder if I can do it justice.

What struck me most about listening to the author, was that she'd been a police officer herself, and knew first-hand, exactly how things worked behind the scenes. She also told us that the reason she left the force, was because she felt she was giving more of herself to her job than her family. When the reality of this dawned, she decided it was time to call it a day. Now we get to enjoy her writing instead.

So, on to the the book. The main character is Anna Johnson, a new mother whose father had show more committed suicide the previous year, closely followed by her mother. The loss of her mother, in particular, is bothering her now that she has a child of her own. If only she could share the experience with the one person who would understand. On the one year anniversary of her mother's death a strange card arrives, with the three words: "Suicide? Think again".

There is also a side story relating to the detective who investigates the case after Anna comes into the police station, convinced that her mother did not kill herself. Murray has retired, he's only supposed to be working on the reception desk, but he can't resist getting involved. His story runs alongside that of Anna's and, I have to confess, is the more believable of the two.

At first I thought this was heading towards being a ghost story and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But persevere, it got better and sped up as I progressed, until the ending rattled towards me, almost faster than I could keep up.
Most of the story is told by Anna, but there were some interesting additions and other POVs from a few of the other characters too.

I was listening to this, rather than reading it, and I feel that the narrator, Gemma Whelan, deserves a mention here too. She did such a good job that I forgot I that was being read to.

This novel covers issues of mental illness and domestic violence and was a good read. It was my first book by the author but I'm sure it won't be my last. show less

Anna Johnson is still reeling from the suicide of her father, Tom, when her mother, Caroline, dies as well, in a suicide that copies that of Tom's. A year later, Anna is grief-stricken, parenting a young baby, and trying to put together the pieces of her life. She lives in her parents' old home, surrounded by memories of their life together. On the anniversary of her mother's death, Anna receives a suspicious note that prompts her to dig into her parents' past and their deaths. She quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems--not their suicides, nor the happy childhood memories she holds so dear.

I really love [a:Clare Mackintosh|8509533|Clare Mackintosh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1485953562p2/8509533.jpg]; her first novel, show more [b:I Let You Go|36137407|I Let You Go|Clare Mackintosh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503908220s/36137407.jpg|42673812], is one of my favorites, and she's one of those authors I follow on Twitter and find very relatable. So I was very excited to finally get a chance to read this one. I'm still in awe of Mackintosh--who spent twelve years in the police force--and her writing talent. She has such a talent for creating some of her characters. And boy, can she really shock you with a plot twist.

I must first preface that if you have issues or triggers with suicide, this might be one to skip. Having lost a loved one to suicide, I can tell you that this can be a little hard to read. But Mackintosh treats the subject very delicately; she also presents us with a character with BPD, and I thought her treatment of mental illness was very well-done.

The novel is told mainly from Anna's point of view and that of a former police detective, Murray, who gets involved with her case. We do get snippets from someone else--we are left to imagine to try to figure out who it is, when they are speaking, and what has happened to them. Once Anna receives the note questioning her mother's suicide, she takes it to the police, where Murray--an investigator/detective now relegated to desk duty post-retirement--starts looking into it, which is a bit against the rules. This doesn't matter to us, because unless you have no heart, you'll immediately love Murray. He was the star of the story, to me, and I immediately adored him. He's also a great detective and a wonderful force in the book. (Can we have another story with Murray, please, Ms. Mackintosh?)

The book is ominous, creepy, and and tense, as the story slowly builds to its conclusion. It's not a fast-paced thriller, per se, but I was definitely fascinated in what had happened to Anna's parents. I was kept guessing for good chunks of the book, which I certainly appreciated. There are a bunch of twists and turns, several of which had me quite surprised. I just love how Mackintosh can throw you off track and then shock you quite convincingly.

For me, part of this book was a little far-fetched, and I thought Anna acted a little odd at times -- though in her defense, the poor girl is put through a lot. The book is best if you roll with the surprises and just enjoy them. Even better, you have Murray, who offers a touching character (his interactions with his wife are beyond lovely and show a deftness in writing that is quite impressive) as well as superbly-written detective. The book was compelling; nearing the end, I kept going "what? what did he find? who?!" so I know it was effective in creating suspense. It's also creepy at times and surprising until the end. Well-done. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).

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I think I am breaking up with this author. Her first book, [book:I Let You Go|23125266], was an absolute five star read for me - it's easily in my top 10 best books. Her second book, [book:I See You|26233572], dropped down to a three star read for me even though it started out with a huge bang as one of the creepiest and most disturbing concepts I have ever read. This last one - a two star read. While it was a quick read and a page turner, I think I was turning pages to find that huge twisty, aha moment I had with her first book. While there were twists, I had figured them out well before they were revealed. Are authors "one-hit wonders"?

The set up for this story was intriguing, but then it was at least partly de-mystified very quickly. I found it over long and seemed to guess each twist well before it occurred (although I never guessed the identity of the accomplice).

My favourite strands were those involving Murray and Sarah, whose story I thought was touching and well done. There were some very bizarre and jarring references to "diapers" and "JCPenney" - in a novel set in Eastbourne???