Title: The Lies I Tell
Author: Julie Clark
Publication Date: June 21, 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Pages: 320
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//I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review//
She’s back.
Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She’s a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she’s done, you’ve likely lost everything.
Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat’s long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg’s true target is.
The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.
First, a HUGE thank you to @netgalley for this ARC! When I originally went to request this book, unfortunately all of the spots were taken so I wish listed it. A few days later, NetGalley emailed me saying that wishes come true and I was randomly selected to read this one. I am SO grateful I was chosen because this book was PHENOMENAL!
CONTENT WARNING: There is sexual assault in this book. It’s not descriptive but it’s a driving force of one of the main characters’ life.
“A good story can be seductive. Most people are inclined to believe one rather than examine the evidence piling up in front of them. But what they don’t know is that no one is a reliable narrator. Reliable narrators don’t exist.”
Kat Roberts was at a fundraising party when she spotted Meg Williams: the woman who changed the course of her life. Depending on what or who you need determine which Meg you’ll receive: college students, life coach, real estate agent, you name it. 10 years after Meg Williams disappeared, she popped up again and Kat was determined to reveal Meg Williams as the con artist she is.
Meg and Kat are the alternating points of view in this book. I loved following the developing pseudo-friendship Meg and Kat developed. It was a friendship where both were keeping secrets from the other and neither trusted the other, yet they still grew to care about each other as much as they could. This was a really good psychological thriller, but beneath the surface, it’s also about the resilience of the human spirit, it gave some great insight into the human psyche, and it promoted strong female empowerment. This was a really quick read and once you get started, it’s almost impossible to put it down.
My only complaint about the book is that I wanted more of it. Especially with the semi-open ending Clark gave us.
This was my first Julie Clark book but it is DEFINITELY not my last!
