Member Reviews
I loved Beautiful Liars. This is a chilling read filled with secrets of the past, the dark side of teenage friendships, distorted memories and ultimate betrayal.
The narrative alternates between Martha and Casey. Martha, TV host of a new true crime show, is looking into the disappearance of her childhood friend, Juliet. She has a compelling voice - most of her story is in the present day, but it's dotted with memories containing snippets of the past - revealing that there's a lot bubbling under the surface as the story develops. Casey also has a very distinctive voice. She's sad and lonely, renting the house of Martha & Juliet's other friend, Liv. When she reads a letter from Martha to Liv about the search for Juliet, she's determined to help - or maybe hinder - the investigation.
Beautiful Liars made me gasp in several places, as it's cleverly plotted and suitably twisty, and its tangled web of lies certainly played with my mind. The strong distinctive characters felt very real - all were unreliable and well-drawn - and the setting was very well described.
This unpredictable read left me with a chilling sensation and saying 'ooh' under my breath. Highly recommended for psychological thriller fans.
Only a sampler, but didn’t feel drawn into the book. Maybe it takes more than 3 chapters to set the scene for the rest of the book.
Totally gripping read! This story is told from several different viewpoints but mainly from Martha & Casey. The story gradually unfolds a cold case about the mysterious disappearance of Juliet, a close friend of the now famous Martha. I found the story very easy to get caught up in, the characters came to life and the scenes easy to envisage. The story has many layers which gradually peel back towards the final reveal, many totally unexpected alongside the back stories from each character coming into play as well. I was totally absorbed! Great read and highly recommended.
This has only given me a sample... Part 1 and 3 chapters. I am on the blog tour for this book and my stop is friday so need the full version of this book ASAP otherwise I cannot review... What I did read had me intrigued and wanting more.. good start.
Sorry I didn't realise this was only for the first 3 chapters! Unfortunately I don't have time to read just part of a book even if it is to whet my appetite to read the full book in the future. I was interested to read the full book, as I have read and enjoyed earlier books by this author and also seen early positive reviews for Beautiful Liars.
Hope to read the full book sometime later this year.
A cracking opening. I loved this sample and am keen to discover if the rest of the book lives up to the expectation raised here.
I would like to say thank you to Isabel Ashdown for writing such a brilliant and psychological thriller. I would like to thank Tracy Fenton for arranging this blog tour. Also would like to thank Orion Publishing Group and Trapeze for letting me review this book.
OMG, what an explosive storyline. At the beginning I wanted to give up as it was like where is this going. It was so confusing me at times and I was like why am I reading this. But as I carried on reading and the story was opening up where it was making sense. I’ve really had my OMG moments and as they say “Shut the door” moments as well.
Without giving the story away, it will make you carry on reading and to find out what happens when your perfect friends really do turn out to be perfect strangers. You have to download or buy and read Beautiful Liars - Isabel Ashdown to find out all about Martha, Juliet and others.
I cannot wait to read this full book! Isabel Ashdown is fast becoming an author whose books I will jump on as soon as they are published. I just read the sampler and it has whet my appetite. I can't wait to see where the author takes this story. I will update my review once I have read the full book! Thank you so much to the publisher/author/NetGalley for the sampler!
A little sampler of a story that looks to be a goodun . Looking forward to reading more . My thanks to the publishers and netgalley for this sneak peak
The first couple of chapters were laying the ground work which was going to end up into a fab read at the end. I know that now, but at the time I was really having to concentrate on what I was reading, so don't get interrupted when you first start to read this, it really is an amazing plot.
We have lie, we have deception and most of all we have secrets.
Based around three main characters, all different but all friends. Each come from a different background.
Each person tells their stories in alternating chapters some of the past, the now and the present.
Then another character who steals the show.
Its such a wonderful plot that I loath to give anything away, the twists in this is so awesome you won't guess.
I warmed to each character in their own right because each experience was unique.
A young girl going missing.
A devoted husband who was seen to be to blame.
This is definitely going into my top 2018 shelf.
Highly recommended.
Great opening. Excited to find out how the narrator feels she can impersonate a friend
What a start! Absolutely gripping, can't wait to read the rest of the story.....
My Review: Ooooh, well Ms Ashdown certainly knows how to weave a twisty and dark tale! This is my second book by Isabel and Little Sister went straight into my Top Ten Books of 2017 so I was hopeful and slightly apprehensive that Beautiful Liars could live up to my high expectations.
I really needn’t have worried – Beautiful Liars is absolutely BRILLIANT. With a disturbing but intriguing first chapter the reader is quickly hooked and before you know it, you have totally immersed yourself in Casey and Martha’s world.
The book is narrated by Martha, a successful TV star who has a new reality show investigating cold crimes and haunted by the disappearance of her best friend Juliet 18 years ago. Deciding to investigate this particular case for her pilot show Martha tries to get in contact with her old friend Liv and through a series of events Casey, a lonely and very peculiar woman somehow gets involved in the investigation and tells her alternative version.
Without giving anything away when we are first introduced to Casey, my immediate thoughts were OMG – she’s batshit crazy and then I spent most of the book shaking my head at her behaviour and actions and thinking “No, Casey don’t” or “Why, Why, Why?”. I was utterly riveted by her actions, her behaviour and her quirky and odd ways. She is definitely one of the most interesting characters I’ve met in a long time.
This book is certainly full of excellent twists, a superb plot, fascinating characters and definitely should come with a warning that once you start this book you really won’t want to put it down until the final chapter. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.
A really intriguing sampler., I’m looking forward to reading the whole book
Loved this sampler and cannot wait for the book to be released.
A good start. Particularly liked the beginning which made me want to read more. I'm not sure the pictures were necessary. Would be interested in continuing reading.
My review is based on the three chapter sampler at this point. Full review will go on good reads and amazon once I read full book. Ms Ashdown sets a great scene with Martha trying to track down an old friend for a tv show about their friend who went missing years ago. Unfortunately the correspondence sent by Martha reaches the new occupier of the house who decides to pretend to be Liv. What’s going to happen!!
The first three chapters are amazing! I am very much looking forward to the rest!
This is the first book that I have read by Isabel Ashdown and I have obviously missed something special. These first three chapters are amazing and I can’t wait to see what happens next. It is full of intrigue from the beginning and I feel that it will be a book I read in one sitting. A full review will follow for the blog tour