An intriguing story, told earnestly - albeit in a slightly unlikely fashion. Worth reading to see what the secrets are.

This book intrigued me. When I started it I couldn't put it down. Nina was an amazing character and I loved her vulnerability. Seeing her life through the eyes of her daughter was so unique. I did have an idea of the twist that came at the end but I wasn't disappointed. An amazing story that makes you go through so many emotions.

How well do you know your parents? Sophia thought she knew everything until the day she went to visit them, only to find her mother hanging from a tree and her father lying in a pool of blood from stab wounds.
There is no way she believes what the police are saying, that her mother hung herself after trying to kill her father.
While her dad is fighting for his life in hospital she puts her life on hold. She not only wants to clear her mothers name, but she needs to find out what really happened on that fatal day. She's shocked to discover that although not yet published her mum had been writing an autobiography, The people mentioned in it will do anything to stop it going on sale. What's in there not only puts her life in danger, but those of others.
This is a brilliant thriller that I would recommend and gets five stars from me. It's full of twists, turns and shocks along the way. As the tittle says, for Sophia life really is full of lies. I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. This is my honest and unbiased review

A story relevant of times past, probably 1960/70s through to current time. A very good read with an end that tugs at your heart strings. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was fresh and engaging and I was guessing right until the end what was going to happen.

Everything Is Lies is the second book by Helen Callaghan, and it is just as engrossing as the first. This is a powerful coming of age story, set against the dark backdrop of sex, drugs, and violence in the 80s.

The characters are deep and real, drawn expertly to create a cast that you almost recognise. Being a 90s kid, I missed the revolution that began, slowly, with the suffragettes, and paved the way for second wave feminists. A time when more women were realising that, actually, it wasn't enough. Domestic violence was rife, and marital rape was made illegal in my lifetime (1993, if I recall correctly). With this in mind, strong, powerful men preying on vulnerable young women doesn't seem so far fetched.

An enjoyable novel, dark at times, but important, enthralling. Callaghan is an excellent writer.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the author's debut too, but this is a step up in my opinion!
It's dark (very dark in places) and mysterious and has you hooked within the first few chapters. You can't help but be desperate to know what happens, and then the final twist is a shocker!

Fantastic!

I loved this psychological thriller and was gripped from the first chapter. The story begins when Sophia goes back to her childhood home to visit her parents and finds her mother dead and her father seriously injured. The police say it's suicide but Sophia doesn't believe it. This is such a great premise and hooked me in straight away. Sophia digs deeper into her parents' past to find out what really happened to her mother, Nina. When she uncovers some notebooks from Nina's past in the late 1980s things become even more twisty and turny. I devoured this thriller and can't recommend highly enough.

Another gripping psychological thriller from Helen Callaghan. I loved dear Amy so this book had a lot to live up to, but it did just that! Full of suspense and twists and turns, a great read.

There a lot of bang for your buck in this book. Family secrets, a cult, mother and daughter relationship and oh did I mention a sect? The mother Nina has left diaries of her past and this is whatSophia reads as she discovers her past.

Sophia’s mother was an interesting character and it was her story that I felt was the main thread in the book and the most interesting. Sophia it turns out, knows nothing of who or what she is. The time period of her mother’s story is far and distant but not that much when you think about it. A very unique and disquieting story.

Utterly gripping .. new and refreshing talent in the genre ..wow . I could not put it down .. READ IT!! she's great; I cared about characters enough to really want to know how and why things were happening . In fact, I read ending and then went back to see how we got there .. and it was solid, very original and adept.

Brilliant read, an engrossing suspense thriller about Sophia’s past and dark secrets unveiled when she goes back to her parents’ house, a book with twists, a dark psychological thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and highly recommended. Clever writing and very engaging.

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I very much enjoyed Dear Amy and was very excited to read this latest novel from Helen Callaghan.
The book tells the story of Sophia as she returns to her parents' house after receiving a call from her mother.
On arrival Sophia finds her mother dead and her father dying. It appears to be a murder suicide but as she is unable to accept that her mother would be capable of this, Sophia looks to her mother's diary for answers. What she uncovers is a shocking history which may provide the clues to what happened to her parents.
I loved this book. I became totally invested in story of her mother's past, perhaps even more so than the present. Very interesting characters and a twisty, exciting storyline.

This book wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the chopping and changing, it felt difficult to keep up. I found myself, even before reading others review, drifting off at times which added to my confusion.
It was so descriptive, which sometimes can be too much - I like to feel I am present when reading a book, but everything is described constantly - which is why it’s so long I suppose! There were times when I wanted to stop reading, because I found it such hard work to read!

This was one very confusing story I spent so much time trying to work out what was going on and the more I tried the more the book did not flow.
I wanted to escape for a little while but this book was just too hard to work out what was going on.
There was not much description and I felt a big let down for this book.

Loved the premise of this book. Nothing is as it seems. Sophia, the main character, returns home to a tragedy that she must figure out what has happened.

Wow, I completely loved this book! At 400 pages it's quite long but I read it in just under two days as I couldn't put it down; I was hooked from the very beginning.
I very much enjoyed Helen Callaghan's book Dear Amy but in my opinion Everything is Lies is even better.
Sophia returns home after a fraught telephone call from her mother. When she gets home the house is weirdly quiet and she finds her mother hanging from a tree in the garden and her father wounded but alive next to her. Sophia can't quite believe what is happening, her parents Nina and Jared are quiet, unassuming people who run a small cafe and nursery business. They would not be involved in a murder-suicide pact as the police are suggesting. With Jared in hospital and unable to speak, Sophia must seek the truth. She is led to some notebooks of her mother's but she is in no way
prepared for the contents. Her mother writes of a cult that she was part of in the 80's, an enigmatic leader called Aaron Kessler and a murder. Nina was convinced these people wanted to silence her; is Sophia's mother completely mad and making all these events up or has all of Sophia's past been a lie?
Helen Callaghan has written a tense, psychological thriller. The book flits between Sophia's present situation and her mother's life in 1989 where it seems she became caught up in a cult led by Aaron Kessler who she met at university. I was so intrigued by Kessler- I could totally see how Nina was taken in by him. The chapters taken from Nina's notebooks were my favourite, it was so interesting to see how Nina was drawn into this group of people she barely knew.
Everything is Lies was a fascinating read, the pace and plotting were both excellent and I think it is a book that will get many people talking.

Having read and enjoyed Dear Amy, Helen Callaghan’s first book, I was excited to receive this review copy via NetGalley.
It is the story of twenty something architect Sophia who is living and working in London. Her parents live in the country running their family garden centre: Sophia’s Mother Nina really misses her and is always ringing and asking her to come home. One evening she calls and Sophia fobs her off as usual although she thinks her mother sounds a bit odd. When Sophia drives back home the next day she finds out something terrible has happened. With both her parents in no fit state to explain Sophia resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out why her parents have suffered such awful injuries, refusing to accept the police explanation.
She finds two notebooks her mother has been writing as a prelude to an autobiography and these serve to tell Nina’s story as the reader and Sophia are transported back to Nina’s teenage years and her membership of a strange cult which Sophia knew absolutely nothing about.
There are many revelations as the book progresses both in the present and in the old notebooks and Sophia learns more about her family and what has led to the tragic incident. There are quite a few twists and turns as the story moves along which serve to keep the reader guessing. Nobody is as they seem and many lies have been told.
The author has obviously done a lot of research into cults and how people become drawn in which I found interesting to read about.
This is an enjoyable psychological thriller which kept my interest and a good follow up novel to Dear Amy.

Overall this book is a good read. There was enough shocks and surprises in it to make it gripping and make me read to the end. It is however long and drawn out and not totally believable in places.

I loved this really interesting read.
There were many twists and turns to Sophias journey and although some of them were predictable they were brilliantly executed. Great book