What a jumbled mess the main character has gotten himself into. I enjoyed following along and liked how the author built the backstory of his demise.

free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This thriller starts with Paul meeting an old friend Andrew and getting himself invited along to Andrew's vacation in Greece.
Paul is an author with one good book to his name. His success was 20 years previous and he hasn't been able to write anything decent since. When he meets Andrew he inflates himself and so start the lies that he has to maintain throughout the story. He can tell that Andrew is doing well and when Andrew mentions that he and some other mutual friends are going to Greece, Paul wrangles himself an invite to join them.
Paul is living in London with a friend who wants him out. Paul is basically broke and the idea of a holiday in Greece couldn't have come at a better time Paul can't afford to travel the way Andrew is, so the lies start when he gets a cheaper flight and completes his journey by bus.
When he finally arrives at the vacation home in Greece he meets up with Alice who is there to try and locate a girl who went missing 10 years ago when they were all together in Greece.
From the beginning Paul tells them how successful he is and starts his tale of lies to which he has to keep adding more and more to try and make himself credible.
The story progresses through until the police get involved with the girl's search and Paul has to stumble his way through to try and back up the lies that he,has been spinning.
The story does keep you reading as more and more of the group seem to be suspects . I feel that this book is set up for a sequel.
I thank the publishers and Netgalley for my ARC for my honest review.

This one was a bit slow for me. It does pick up toward the end and takes some twists and turns. Then you realize why all of the tales were important to the story.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this prior to release.

This is a bit of a slow burn mystery that took while to find its legs. However, once it did (around the time everyone departed for Greece) I was on firmly on board. It's full of lovely descriptive passages and complex characters.

Our narrator, Paul, is douche but he knows it. I like that he makes bad choices and doesn't think too highly of himself (the people around him don't either) but he isn't portrayed as flat out evil. He's just a insecure bro, the likes of which most of us will cross paths with at least once in our lives.

Thankfully, you don't necessarily have to LIKE Paul to empathize with the situation he finds himself in. One small quibble on that, though. There is a brief flash forward midway through the book--its oddly the only one in there--that tells us pretty explicitly how this book will end. I found it jarring. I think we get enough foreshadowing that things won't end well from the way Paul narrates the story.

Overall it was a solid story, with a fairly complex mystery that makes logical sense (even if you can kind of figure out where it's going before it gets there.) Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I begin on reviewing this intriguing novel? Paul is a self-absorbed, totally egotistical low life of a man who was once an up and coming young author who actually sets up a chain of instances that comprise the sum total of this story. As each instance occurs it is like a layer that is slowly being built up and we find Paul one day running into an old acquaintance and the reuniting of more people from the past that he doesn't quite remember or what transpired back then with them. He then finds the opportunity to invite himself to a Greek island with said acquaintances that begins the momentum of this story. Like other reviewers I really detested Paul's character but yet have to say I needed to know where this was all headed with him and though I thought the novel was intriguing the parallel story line with character Alice in the end wasn't up to snuff for me. Worth picking up and rounding out your own conclusion to this.

3 1/2 stars. Interesting story with some twists but I felt it took too long in the build up.

Reading Lie With Me I had already decided Paul (the main character and certainly not a hero) was pompous before he labeled his "friend" pompous, also very stupid about his lies. Very slow at times. I had decided to give this story a 3 star rating. With the story about 85 to 90% read the surprises began and are definitely worth another star. I am almost tempted to read it again with hindsight. I was given an early copy to review.

Book Description
It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.
And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...
Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...
... well, by then, it could just be too late.
Long listed for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year

My Thoughts
Lie With Me is the first book I've read by Sabine Durrant. The author has done an amazing job creating the central character and narrator. Paul is definitely that guy that my mother warned me about. He drinks too much, he sleeps around, he believes he is better than everyone, he hasn't got a penny to his name so he freeloads and he is a compulsive liar. Normally, this type of character would have me rolling my eyes and potentially becoming a book I did not finish. I can only credit the author's skill because that is not what happened. I found myself engrossed in Paul's train-wreck of a life and needed to know if he could possibly sink any lower or if he would grow up and find some redemption.
Once Paul manages an invite to Greece from his latest conquest Alice, the story really heats up and heads in a direction that I didn't expect. I must admit that the loathsome Paul actually had moments when I felt sorry for him. What can I say without spoiling the story? It starts out slow and steady, the tension then mounts and the ending blew apart Paul's world. Alice and her family and friends perfect life may be more than Paul's lies can handle. A good mystery, an intriguing plot and some unforgettable characters made this the perfect book to read in front of a warm fire while a blizzard raged outside.
Thank you, Sabine Durrant, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the digital copy to read and review.

I did not particularly like this book at all. The summary on NG really drew me in but the book did not deliver. The narrator was very unlikeable and there is just way too much going on to follow the main story. I really had a hard time figuring out the plot and sticking with the book in general. Paul was AWFUL and just bad. Maybe I didn't like the book more because I didn't like the main character. I had a hard time finishing it but I did. Just not for me.

I had read so many good blurbs about this book that I am afraid that I set my expectations too high. It was very slow going, and the main character had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. If you can hold on long enough, the ending is quite enjoyable though.

I would like to thank Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Unlike the main character in Lie With Me, I'm not going to lie to you...I almost gave up on this book. Paul Morris, the main character is, let's face it, slimy and rather vile. It seems as if he's a compulsive liar as well as a womanizer and a gold digger. Reading about his antics gave me a rather sick feeling inside that made the act of reading somewhat unpleasant.

I think that the only thing that kept me going was the hope that in the end, there would be a satisfying conclusion where he got what was coming to him.

I'm not going to spoil the story for anyone reading this, but I will say that while the book starts out a bit slow and doesn't seem like it will be worth it, the mystery, in the end, was pretty satisfying to me to read. Because of this, I'm glad that I kept reading through to the end, even though I only rated this 3 out of 5 stars in the end.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I am never compensated monetarily for my reviews.

I tried to get into this - I struggled to about 30% - but just couldn't connect. I didn't leave a review. Sorry!

The main character is very unlikeable. I don't think he has a single redeeming quality and when things start going downhill, I don't feel bad for him. None of the side characters are likeable either. I did connect with any of them and thought the storyline was extremely predictable except for the one twist at the end that just felt like a natural twist and not a big shocker. I like the idea of the book and I think it could have been written better so that at least one of the character were likeable or that I could relate to.

I enjoyed this book immensely! I was very much captured by the characters and the storyline.

Boy did I struggle to get this finished. The only reason I did was an obligatory reason to do so since I was provided a copy of this from NetGalley for my review. I hope not to lose favor with them for giving this such a poor review, but I cannot in all honesty recommend this to fans of psychological thrillers.

First there was nothing thrilling about it. It was boring most of the time. Some psychological impressions are evident, but getting to the point that you want to know more just doesn’t happen, at least not for me. The protagonist Paul Morris, is a free-loading womanizer, who lies about everything to everyone just to impress. The rest of the cast are rich self-centered hob-knobbers on holiday in Greece, and Paul has joined them, pretending to be of their class. Nothing about these shallow people interested me. I’d fall asleep reading. Even the plots, and there are more than one, lack substance. I struggled to pick it up each time and seriously considered abandoning it more than once.

There is not even ONE likable character in this novel. I thought maybe Tina offended the least, she seemed the kindest, and that I might like her if her character was better developed, but after finally getting to the end, I realize that it wouldn’t have mattered, and that I really didn’t care who, why or what anyone was doing what they were doing with whomever.

I read the e-book format provided by NetGalley. There were a few typos, but not bad. I do appreciate the opportunity to offer my honest and unbiased review, and sincerely hate to give such a low rating to any author, but this really fell short of my expectations after reading so many stellar reviews.

Often times I dislike a character and that will ruin the story for me and make me throw it into a DNF pile. I didn’t like the main character here but I think perhaps I wasn’t meant to which would be clever on behalf of the author. The ending wasn’t something I was expecting and I love being tricked. This book was right in the middle for my rating scale.

My most favorite style of book to read is historical fiction but occasionally I like a good thriller and this far surpasses that style. From the unsolved mystery of the lost girl to the lies that are told and covered up, this novel will have you turning pages to discover the outcome. Paul Morris is a failing author who had one best seller in his 20’s. Now in his early 40’s, he gets thru life by sponging off friends and stretching the truth. He has a reputation as a womanizer but has finally met a woman who he thinks he could settle down with. Problem is, they had a run-in years ago while he was intoxicated that he struggles to remember. The story hurtles to an unpredicted end as lies pile on top of each other for an unexpected outcome.

The author does an extraordinary job of spinning a plot with an unpredictable outcome. All the pieces fit together to make you think the story is heading in one direction and then you find out differently. She uses the creation of her character’s personalities to make the story believable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-moving, suspenseful story. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last! Although it involves adult situations, they are handled tactfully and can be enjoyed by teens to adults. Grab a blanket and a warm cup of tea and snuggle in for a rollicking ride!

I loved LIE WITH ME! It's hard to explain exactly why I loved it so much without spoilers, so I'll say that it gets an A+ for twists and my favorite kind of is-he-or-isn't-he unreliable narrator. I read so many books in this genre and only a few of them really hit all the right notes and leave me turning the final page with pure satisfaction. LIE WITH ME is one of those. I'll read anything Sabine Durrant writes next. I'll be recommending it in my next Tinyletter: www.tinyletter.com/sarahknight

I looooooved this book. BUT - not at first. It took me a while to get into it. I didn't like that it was a male lead, I went into it thinking the lead was female. So, maybe that's my fault. I couldn't connect with him, and I didn't like him. But maybe that's the point? By about 1/2 way through I was HOOKED. I could not stop reading to find out what the heck was going on! And the ending! WOW! SO not what I expected or what I've ever read before. I coulnd't believe it. So clever, and so unexpected - I wanted to hate the ending but in the end I ended up LOVING it! Nice job!

Sometimes God does not have to chase you with a stick nor beat you over your head with one, to get your attention. Sometimes he just lets fate deal with you. Perhaps one might say karma also can come to those who deserve a good swift kick.

In this book, Paul Morris a true cad, if ever there was one. He is a liar, a cheat, a minor thief, and a person you would hope never to cross paths with. In fact pretty much of his own life and existence is built on lies. Paul is a user, he uses women, friends, family to attain what he needs and wants. What Paul wants is to be a sponger. His one hit book that he authored while in college is the acclaim he treads upon. Paul is now forty two, pretty much washed up in the literary world, lacking money, prestige, and accolades but then he finds a chance out of his current situation. He comes across his old friend, Andrew, from college and begins to associate with his Andrew's friends ultimately ending with an invitation to spend (and sponge) off Alice, a wealthy lawyer, who owns a place in Greece. Paul, of course thinks he will charm the pants off of Alice because that is what he does and the Greek villa offers him just what he needs, a place to stay and the life he so aspires to.

However as in all psychological thrillers, things are not always what they seem to be. Paul twists and turns, and like oil he coats his relationships with others in a layer of grease.

Ms Durrant has written a story of a psychologically, misogynistic man who possesses all the qualities many of us have come to abhor. She entices the reader with a fist person narrative that sends one down many avenues until it ends with quite a surprising conclusion. I recommend this book to those who enjoy not knowing what will happen until a book concludes. "You can only chase a butterfly for so long."

Thank you for Sabine Durrant, Hodder & Stoughton, and netgalley for providing an arc of this novel.