I didn't know where this book was going, the narrative jumped from past to present through the journals and kept you guessing as to what happened and how it was going to effect the present.

A great page turner. Would read more by this author.

I loved the first half of this as Callaghan creates an enticing scenario of suspicious deaths and a grieving daughter who finds her mother’s memoirs. The first volume of the latter keep the momentum going as naïve, insecure Nina finds herself drawn from a Cambridge college into a weird cult fronted by a charismatic ex-rock star. With shades of Emma Cline’s The Girls and something older that I’ve read (Barbara Vine?) this is a heady portrait of innocence and emotional neediness caught in a web of depravity.

Sadly, the second half of the book starts to unravel and becomes a more conventional domestic thriller with double identities and twists laid on for shock value rather than emotional verisimilitude. Nevertheless, Callaghan proves herself to be a step up on many other writers in this genre: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Sophia arrives home one day to find her mother dead and her father lying in a pool of blood. The police are convinced it’s a clear case of attempted murder-suicide, and Sophia is the only one who can prove her mother’s innocence. As she delves into her mother’s past, she uncovers tales of a secret cult, and learns more about her family, and herself, than she could ever have imagined. A tense psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading until late into the night.

Thoroughly engaging book. Sophia’s world is turned upside down when she discovers her mother’s death. How much does she really know about her parents lives and are they really who they seem. This book draws you into the world of a cult and how easy it is to be drawn in when someone show you the right attention. Very well written with an engaging plot. Something a little different for the reading shelf

Two time periods and a twisty plot keeps Helen Callaghan's Everything Is Lies moving back and forth as a daughter discovers her mother's memoir after Nina MacKenzie's apparent suicide.

After a call from her mother insisting she come home, Sophia reluctantly returns home the next day to find her father in serious condition and her mother dead. The police assume that Nina attempted to kill her husband and then committed suicide, but Sophia does not believe it possible that her mother could have harmed Sophia's father or killed herself.

Upon learning that Nina had finally written her memoir, and that the manuscript is missing, Sophia is determined to find and read it.

When she locates her mother's notebooks, she is immersed in a story of Nina's youth and association with a charismatic personality and a house called Morningstar.

Dark and full of secrets that Sophia could never have imagined about the parents she thought she knew, and yet...there is a final reckoning that is almost too much for Sophia to accept.

Read in November; blog review scheduled for Feb. 5, 2018.

NetGalley/Penguin UK

Mystery/Suspense. February 22, 2018.

This is a complicated murder mystery, with two time lines, the present day with a focus on Sophia and the past with a focus on her mother, Nina. In the present, Nina is the possible victim of the crime and in the past there is another victim altogether. The present time line explores Sophia dawning understanding of her younger mother while the past tells Nina's story from her own point of view.

This is a clever and well managed device, using a first person narrative from Sophia and the written memoirs of Nina, written as if speaking to Sophia and explaining her young self from the perspective of maturity, interwoven to allow the reader to gradually understand the incidents of both the historical and current timelines.

In addition there is the interesting exploration of the impact of a cult movement upon it's members, the impact of one intensely charismatic individual on a number of people, the way in which participants in this cult go on to develop their lives following their involvement.

All in all, a believable and enjoyable murder mystery with a lot of twist and unexpected links along the way.

This is a tale of two halves. The mix of the present with the past is not a comfortable one. As the reader you do not know who to trust. It is an engaging read that I would recommend. As others have said, the references to the cult may trigger unpleasant memories for some people

This is a riveting thriller illustrating how easy it is for a vulnerable young person to be caught up a situation which initially excites, but ultimately destroys. The story weaves effectively between mother and daughter as Sophia struggles to unravel the mystery of Nina's death. You begin to wonder if any of the characters are as they seem. One that you cannot put down!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Sometimes you read and book and it is so good that you do not have the words to describe it. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book, it was sometimes a difficult read, due to personal experiences, but I’m glad I persevered. So often I find the heroine in books to be annoying, insipid and unrealistic - but Sophia is a woman to be reckoned with! Strong, confident, modern and believable. The plot twists and turns, keeping you on the edge of your seat all the time; sometimes troubling, always exciting.
All in all, a good read!

I really enjoyed this author’s first novel and whilst I also enjoyed this, I wanted to like it so much more. The premise on the whole was good but it lacked depth in places wield also being drawn out at times.

When Sophia returns to her family home, she is not prepared for the sight that greets her. In the garden, she finds her mother hanging from a tree and her father, close to death in a pool of blood. As far as the police are concerned, it is an open and shut case of attempted murder-suicide but Sophia is not convinced. When a few strange things start to happen, she begins to feel that there is someone watching her, leaving her to wonder just exactly what the circumstances are behind this terrible tragedy.

I loved Helen Callaghan's previous book, Dear Amy, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read Everything is Lies pre-publication. I was expecting something in a similar vein for the follow-up but Everything is Lies is completely different to what I was expecting although equally gripping. From the blurb, I envisaged a whodunnit with intrigue but from the moment we are introduced to the notebooks left by Sophia's mum, detailing her younger life spent in an infamous cult, I knew that this story was going to go in a completely different direction.

At first, I was not totally enamoured with the notebook sections as I was desperate to know more about the investigation into the death of Sophia's mum. I was soon drawn in, however, after realising that these notebooks would give the background knowledge to understand exactly what had occurred. I could imagine how difficult it was for Sophia, trying to visualise her quiet, neurotic mum as this free-willed young woman as portrayed in the notebooks. I think that deep down, Nina (Sophia's mum) knew that there was more to this cult than met the eye, but the draw and excitement was too much for her to walk away from, even when the alarm bells began to ring for her.

The cult scenes were well-written, Helen Callaghan showing how easy it is for an impressionable young woman to be swept along with the whole situation. From the outside, looking in, it was apparent how self-centred and obnoxious the cult leader was, and I was willing Nina to come to her senses before tragedy struck. The other members of the cult were equally unlikeable but, in spite of this, the author manages to keep you reading, wanting to know more.

In the present day, as well as trying to find out the true cause of her mother's death, Sophia is struggling with her own personal and work life after several incidents at the firm where she works. When her work appeared to be sabotaged, this added to the general unease she was already feeling. Was it related to her aborted assignation with a colleague or is it linked to the notebooks that her mother was seeking to publish? I got to the point where the only person I felt I could trust was Sophia herself as I tried to figure out exactly who was to blame for the numerous mysterious occurrences.

As the book progressed, I did have an inkling as to what the outcome would be with regards to one part of the plot and I was pleased to find I'd worked it out! My theory helped to add to the general unease I felt throughout the book as Helen Callaghan delivered more and more intriguing problems. Everything is Lies is definitely one to be watching out for in 2018!

With thanks to Penguin UK -Michael Joseph and Net Galley for my ARC.

This book drew me in from the first page, a fantastic psychological thriller with many twists. A real page turner and another great book by this author.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
Sophia is living her life in London away from her parents, Nina and Jared. Nina is a fragile woman who berates Sophia for not staying at their family home and being involved in their business. When Sophia receives a call from her mum late one Friday night she feels guilty and returns home early Saturday morning to find her mother has hung her self and her dad wounded.

Sophia uncovers some journals of her mum’s which tell her life and explain everything that Sophia held dear is not true. Is Sophia being paranoid or are there events happening that relate to these books?

This was not what I was expecting at all and after a slow start I was soon mesmerised by this story. Brilliant read.

I swung back and forth on this one as to whether I was enjoying it. I struggled to engage with the sections from the notebooks that recounted the backstory from years ago. Can't quite decide if the huge amount of italicisation had anything to do with that (pet hate if it's overused), but in the main, it didn't come across as genuine enough. Bearing in mind it was a mother writing a memoir directly to her daughter, it was a little graphic in places. Not that I have any personal issues with this, but didn't get the sense fro the rest of the book that they had that kind of openness in their relationship, so didn't strike a chord with me.

Okay, onto the more positive side, I do like Helen's writing as a rule. The present day sections are great. She captures the bleak emotional state of her characters perfectly and I do like the overall premise. I thought I'd had it figured out midway through the book, and I almost did, until the ending delivered a nice sucker punch that I didn't quite see coming.

A good gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns

This is only Callaghan's second book but she is fast becoming one of my favourite thriller writers. I very much enjoyed her first book, Dear Amy, but I think this may be better. There are still a couple of issues but it's a really gripping read and one that really surprised me with some of its twists.

The story begins with main character Sophia out on another pretty much compulsory night out with her work colleagues. She receives a call from her mum while out begging her to come home as there's something important they need to discuss. Having had a few drinks and with a handsome architect showing some interest in her she brushes her mum off. When she goes to see her the next day however she discovers her mother dead and her father seriously injured. The police believe her mother killed herself and attacked her father when he tried to stop her but Sophia doesn't believe her mother could ever do something like that. The plot thickens when she discovers some notebooks her mum had been using to write about her past revealing secrets that some people will do anything to conceal.

I don't really want to say much more about the plot than that but despite another reviewer spoiling it for me I did still find it to be completely different from what I was expecting. The story begins in the present then flashes back to the past via the notebooks and while I did like the present day story I have to admit it was the flashbacks I found so much more intriguing and actually felt like that was the more developed part of the story. It certainly held much more intriguing characters than the present day.

Sophie was a pretty likeable lead, intelligent, principled and determined but I'm afraid I couldn't feel much connection. I think because there just wasn't enough of her in the first half of the story. I may have connected a bit more if the notebook sections weren't quite so chunky. As it was though it seemed like she was it here mostly to find out her mother's history.

Her mother's story was fascinating and quite frustrating in a lot of ways but still understandable. I found it very difficult to put down those sections of the story.

Callaghan can definitely write an engaging story and this was one book I found myself reading late into the night and thinking about at odd times. I do think maybe too much time was spent on some things and not enough on others but for the majority of the book the pacing is just right. I did see a few of the twists coming but there were certainly elements that caught me by surprise something which is pretty rare.

If I had one main criticism of the book however it would be the ending, not so much that I disagreed, more that it went on a little too long. Again I felt the balance was off between what I wanted to know and what I was happy not to.

Overall a great story and I can't wait for Callaghan's next one.

Helen Callaghan has another winner on her hands with Everything is Lies. A gripping thriller, it moves comfortably between Sophia's efforts to discover whether her mother was murdered by her father who was found lying injured nearby. and the draft of a novel her mother was writing about the life of a Fresher at Oxford. She did not buy the police theory of murder and a failed suicide .because it was so out of character. But how well do we know people? Her mother had sounded agitated on the phone but then she always wanted to come home. But learning that there had been recent break in attempts and that her parents had bought a shotgun was also out of character. Going through the house, Sophia found two notebooks which described a fringe existence at Oxford where " sex, rock and roll and drugs" featured together with a fading Rock Star who had a close young Cult following. But was this just fiction or biographical and where were the missing concluding Chapters? What might they tell? And was life at Oxford related to events of the present day? Questions Questions Questions!
"Everything is Lies" weaves a vivid and intimate picture of life around the Cult whilst Sophia seeks others who might have been involved at the time. Can you believe anyone and do you want to? Tension mounts as Sophia digs deeper. She finds the missing Chapters. A confrontation follows but does it solve anything? It all depends on what you believe and what is lies.

I got thoroughly immersed into “Everything Is Lies” almost immediately – excellent lead in to an emotionally charged story that was absolutely gripping.

Sophia comes home to find her mother dead and her father critically injured in an apparent murder/suicide – but she is not convinced and when she discovers her mother has finally written a book so begins a journey into a dark past that has never let go…

Helen Callaghan has written a story about personality, manipulation and perception, wrapping it up into a tense and genuinely intriguing family drama. Using the past and present to great effect (I, admittedly, found the past portions the more engaging of the two, the slowly unfolding truth about Sophia’s Mother brings her to stark, beautiful life) we find out that nothing about Sophia’s origins are as they seem. The characters in this drama are both enigmatic and beautifully drawn, the notebooks Nina left behind bringing an era to life – a time, not that far in our past, where certain things were viewed differently – the central theme here is enduring and changeable but I won’t spoil anything.

Secrets abound, still I found the whole thing endearingly realistic – often quite heartbreaking – whilst the final reveal so to speak was nothing like surprising, this is not a book that lives and dies on being unpredictable but more an emotional journey of one daughter discovering her parents’ past and seeing them as people separate from herself. It is clever, yes very twisted with psychological thriller elements – but I came out of it feeling melancholy and this is one of those books where the characters are very real and you wish you could go back in and change the bad things into good.

Definitely recommended.