🌩️ ⚡ 🔪 👀 Behind Every Lie 👀 🔪 ⚡ 🌩️ (2020) - Book Review
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| [Image ©ChristinaMcDonald/Facebook] |
MY REVIEW
“Behind
Every Lie”
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (February
4, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1501184032
ISBN-13: 978-1501184031
[Click on cover for order link]
“If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t
do it?
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
Thank you in advance to BookishFirst, and
Gallery Books for providing an advance uncorrected proof to review. All words
are my own in this review and a positive review was not required.
First off, as I do review many types of books, this
book is not a Christian or clean read in any way. There is coarse language
throughout, with several variations of the “F” word used.
Both British and American English are used
throughout this story. Since I have read a few UK “chick lit” books, I sort of
understood the British English words used.
There is some sex talk in this novel, though
nothing overly graphic. There are no sex scenes in the book.
Trigger warnings include:
Trigger warnings include:
* Domestic Violence
* Rape
* Murder
* Gaslighting
For those who have experienced some of the
traumatic events mentioned, they might want to have someone else read this book
first.
I was very eager to read this as I had been
hearing about this book since late last year. It sounded SO good. And, I had
been TRYING to win a copy through different channels with no such luck. The
author’s “The Night Olivia Fell” was highly acclaimed and I suspected this
wouldn’t be any different.
This book is NOT connected to the previous
novel at all. Both are standalone reads.
I was able to get “The Night Olivia Fell” from
the library and it was definitely a four (4) star read, despite the sad
premise. You can read the review here: [https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2019/10/night-olivia-fell-2019-book-review.html]
In that book, it was the daughter who “died”
and the mother trying to research what happened and lead up to that night. And,
in the course of doing so, she uncovered a lot of secrets her daughter knew and
some she tried to find out.
This time, in “Behind Every Lie”, Eva is
suspected of killing her mother, but can’t remember what happened due to being
struck by lightning. Determined to clear her name, she travels from Seattle to
London and begins to uncover her mother’s secrets, and how they connect to Eva’s
life. However, there is someone who doesn’t want her to know. And, it is for a
very good reason.
Like “The Night Olivia Fell”; “Behind Every Lie”
is also told in alternating POVs from Eva in the current and Kat (Eva’s mother)
in the past. “The Night Olivia Fell” was told with the mother in the present
and daughter in the past.
Kat’s past is told in increments: 25 years ago,
17 years ago, 4 years ago, the day before, and the night of the murder.
McDonald has a masterful way of weaving complex
mother/daughter relationships along with twists, turns, surprises, and
suspense. The first novel was a taste of that talent, this got even more twisted.
One common complaint is that this has a lot of
drama and plot twists going on. So much so that it could’ve worked as two
different novels. That didn’t bother me, but did keep the book moving at a
fast, engaging, and “almost couldn’t put it down” pace. There were more twists
than a NASCAR road course. So, it could be hard for some readers to keep up
with.
The writing style did make the story flow quite
well.
About a third (⅓)
of the way in there is a HUGE reveal which sets up what might be a motive with
misconceptions and assumptions swirling around.
But, that isn’t the only reveal. And, this was
chock full of secrets.
The characters of Eva and Kat were complex and
conflicted. As I continued on, I figured out why. The support characters were
just that – support. I disliked Liam even before the end of the novel. There
were things Eva kept praising him about how much he took care of her. Yet, it
seemed more like “controlling” her. Eva seemed strong, yet weak.
There was an event in her past that was relevant,
though some might find it was brought up far too often.
This was such an engaging novel, and the cover
was tempting. It was hard to put it down for the night. And, once I got past
chapter 36, I HAD to finish this novel.
This was a haunting, sad, and page-turning
read. Every bit, if not better, than “The Night Olivia Fell”. So, I wasn’t too
disappointed overall. I was glad that I was able to get a copy of it.
The title comes from a phrase - behind every
lie is a reason, and behind every reason there is a person.
A four (4) star read that teaches us we can be
strong, brave, and still broken.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ –
Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐–
Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
Other Books By the Author:
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“THE NIGHT
OLIVIA FELL”
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (February
5, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1501184008
ISBN-13: 978-1501184000
“A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.
In
the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call
no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a
bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life
support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling
Olivia’s wrists.
When
the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out
what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the
threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far
more sinister?
Christina
McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships,
devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s
own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how
well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christina McDonald is the author of The Night Olivia
Fell, which has been optioned for TV by a major Hollywood Studio. She has
worked for companies such as USA TODAY.com,
The Sunday Times, Dublin, and
Expedia. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she has an MA in Journalism from
the National University of Ireland Galway, and now lives in London, England.
She can be found on the following social media
accounts:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinamac79/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Christinamac79
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