As 2017 comes to a close, it seems only fitting to take this opportunity to revisit memorable reads from the year. Today’s focus? The twisty, book-within-a-book psychological thriller LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan! LIES SHE TOLD is pure, binge-worthy entertainment—the kind of effortlessly engaging read that can only come from the author’s intelligent plotting and careful construction. Holahan’s thriller will be an instant-hit for fans of EXQUISITE by Sarah Stovell and THE WEIGHT OF LIES by Emily Carpenter; readers looking for an addictive, layered suspense novel will feel right at home in Holahan's world.
Thanks to the generosity of the author, I’m delighted to share a giveaway for a signed copy of LIES SHE TOLD with CBTB’s US readers today! Peruse this blog post for:
- More information on LIES SHE TOLD
- A chilling book trailer
- A sampling of the fantastic praise this book has received
- An excerpt from my review of the book
- An opportunity to win a signed copy of the book!
Plot Information:
The truth can be darker than fiction.
Liza Cole, a once-successful novelist whose career has seen better days, has one month to write the thriller that could land her back on the bestseller list. Meanwhile, she’s struggling to start a family, but her husband is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. As stresses weigh her down in her professional and personal lives, Liza escapes into writing the chilling exploits of her latest heroine, Beth.
Beth, a new mother, suspects her husband is cheating on her while she’s home caring for their newborn. Angry and betrayed, she aims to catch him in the act and make him pay for shattering the illusion of their perfect life. But before she realizes what she’s doing, she’s tossing the body of her husband’s mistress into the East River.
Then, the lines between Liza’s fiction and her reality eerily blur. Nick’s body is dragged from the East River, and Liza’s husband is arrested for his murder. Before her deadline is up, Liza will have to face up to the truths about the people around her, including her own. If she doesn’t, the end of her heroine’s story could be the end of her own.
Watch the Book Trailer!
Praise for LIES SHE TOLD:
ONE OF KIRKUS' BEST BOOKS OF 2017
“A suffocating double nightmare…‘To be a writer is to be a life thief.’”―Kirkus starred review
“Recommended for anyone who enjoys Paula Hawkins or Gillian Flynn, primarily because it’s better.”―Library Journal
“Engrossing…Holahan keeps the suspense high…until the surprising denouement.”―Publishers Weekly
"Holahan's gripping, commercial storytelling slips this self-reflective examination into what is first and foremost a compelling thriller, allowing Lies She Told to be both indicative of a genre and outstanding in its field."―Shelf Awareness
“An eerie and chilling read…Unexpected and explosive.”―NY Journal of Books
“A swift and intriguing psychological thriller heavy with surprises.”―Foreword Reviews starred review
“If you can only pick one psychological thriller to read this fall, it needs to be Holahan’s Lies She Told…”―RT Book Reviews
Excerpt - CBTB Reviews LIES SHE TOLD:
Catch my full review of the book here! // Read my interview with Cate Holahan here!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again (and probably a few more times after that): there’s something especially intriguing about psychological thrillers set in the literary world, and LIES SHE TOLD by Cate Holahan is yet further proof of just how true this is. Centered around a thriller writer (Liza) struggling to get her name back on the bestseller list while her personal life crumbles around her, LIES SHE TOLD alternates between Liza’s narrative and chapters of Liza’s work in progress. Readers watch as Liza’s life begins to mirror the fiction she writes—or is it the other way around? Holahan deftly explores what it means to write fiction—where writers’ inspiration comes from and how their work can begin to take on a life of its own—in a story that’s as commercially-appealing as it is quietly thought-provoking.
Perhaps the thing that impressed me most about LIES SHE TOLD is how effortlessly it balances accessible entertainment with intelligent plotting. The ease with which readers jump between the story’s main narrative and the protagonist’s crime novel is a testament to the author’s meticulous planning and detail-oriented writing process. When I met with Cate at ThrillerFest 2017, she described the incredibly detailed strategy she used while writing what is essentially two books in one. As she explained it to me, both of the stories included in this book must both stand alone and complement one another, and she has a meticulously-organized system of ensuring that each story does exactly that. Cate’s effort pays off in a big way—LIES SHE TOLD is effortlessly engaging and totally readable. The interplay between the story’s main narrative and the protagonist’s crime novel is twisty, compelling, and wholly addictive.
Find LIES SHE TOLD at your favorite bookseller:
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // IndieBound // Books-a-Million
Enter to Win A Signed Copy of LIES SHE TOLD!
US entrants only - Giveaway closes 1/3/18 - Winner will be notified by email
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