Review: Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

Let Me Lie
by Clare Mackintosh

March 13, 2018

400 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
In the newest psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go and I See You, Clare Mackintosh brings us a gripping story about how those who love us never really leave us...

Two years ago, Tom and Caroline Johnson committed suicide, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their adult daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents' deaths, unable to comprehend why they chose to end their lives. Now with a young baby herself, she feels her mother's presence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as Anna digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her. She soon learns that nothing is as it seemed.

Review

I will start off by saying Let Me Lie is not my usual type of read. However I was tempted into picking it up after reading the vague synopsis. I'm always up for a little detective work and Let Me Lie sounded like a good opportunity to exercise my brain.

The first half of Let Me Lie was a little dull. Too much telling with little happening. I confess I skimmed a lot of the bigger passages. They didn't seem all that crucial to the story or even to solving the main mystery. I almost put the book down but my patience paid off. Boy was I not expecting what I got.

The one question that kept circulating in my head while I was reading was "what's going on?". The dark foreboding atmosphere never let up. Just when I thought I've got things figured out I was thrown for a(nother) loop. And I was already paying closer attention to the chapters belonging to a certain voice. That's some clever writing. Definitely what I'd call a mindf**k (please excuse my language).

I really felt the emotions in Let Me Lie. Many lives were affected by the actions chosen by others. "The aftermath of a death is an unwanted gift to our loved ones." (ARC, p. 60). Secrets weighed heavily on each character. In a way the truth(s) were far more damaging than the losses endured. I was very sad for how things turned out but happy to put my mind at peace.

While a bit slow to start Let Me Lie held my interest with surprising twists and emotions. I've heard Ms. Clare Mackintosh is an excellent mystery writer and this book certainly lived up to my expectations.

 

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.