Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the fifth book I have read by Hilary Boyd, with this one being my favourite to date.
A family drama, the scenes unfold, as a long buried secret is revealed. One lie, yet so many lives turned upside down by it.
Michael and Romy have been married for 30 years, they have two grownup sons, they have everything, but the lie sees their lives unraveling.
Romy wants to make a new life for herself, is taking tentative steps, building new friendships, when suddenly Michael takes ill and Romy feels obligated to help with his rehabilitation, she is pulled reluctantly back to her old life to help care for him.
The lie still troubles her, she knows her husband is not being honest with her, then the past and the present crash together, causing more turmoil as the truth is revealed.
This is a superb drama, with strong characters to relate to, the story certainly pulls at your emotions, I loved it and if you enjoy a family drama then pick this book up.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3

Romy and Michael have it all. They've been married for thirty years, have two grown up son's, a beautiful London home as well as a beautiful bolthole by the sea. But the arrival of an anonymous letter changes everything. It deta8ls something that happened between the letter writer and Michael a tear ago.

Romy and Michael marriage falls apart. Romy goes to their cottage to try and make sense of it all. She slowly builds her life and makes new friends. But then she gets word that Michael has had a stroke so she returns home to look after him. Romy is desperate to know the truth., but will she like what she hears? This is more a family drama than a thriller.

I would like to thank NetGalley NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Hilary Boyd for my ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The book is well written with believable characters. I had such sympathy for the main character, Romy. At times it seems she has no way out and no chance of happiness, and none of it was her fault. The book is split between Romy’s point of view and Finch’s with a little of Michael at the end. There are flashbacks to the past but the story flows well and keeps you interested. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a family drama. Thank you #netgalley.

The Lie is a book that I didn’t love but I didn’t hate either.
Romy has been married to Michael for thirty years, in that time he has been a barrister and she has brought up their two sons. One day a letter comes addressed to Romy and makes accusations about Michael. Are these accusations true and how well does she know her husband? Eventually Romy moves to their second home and here she meets Finch, a man with a tragic past that Romy feels herself drawn to.
This book didn’t really capture my imagination much as the blurb for it basically gave everything away except for a couple of things. The characters were unbelievable especially Romy as when she’d moved house she changed character completely, I would expect a slight change but not to the extent it did do.
An ok read but not my cup of tea if I’m honest as I’m not really a love story kind of person but others may disagree and love this.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written book containing drama, romance, secrets and lies. Loved the pace of the story and the characters. Due to time constraints, didn't get to read it all in one setting but it was better that way as the story got more intriguing each time! A worthwhile wait to reach the end.

Romy and Michael have been married for 30 years with two boys. He is a successful Barrister and they have a lovely house and a property in the country.
Then a letter arrives for Romy asking if she knows what sort of person she is married to and what he is capable of? She confronts Michael but he denies any knowledge of the accusations but it triggers doubt with Romy and eventually she escapes to the country where she meets someone.
Then Michael has a stroke and needs her. Will she go and if so for how long? and what will happen to her new relationship?

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel....

how do you live with yourself when you have lied....this is the story of one such man and his family....

romy had had a pleasant life two sons with micheal and though she had backed her husband work choices she had thrown herself into being the perfect wife and mother and helped behind the scenes with meals for work colleagues, the all round good egg....

but then one day she received a letter a unsigned letter and from that day on her life and Micheals changed...

brilliantly written with all the nuances of life and what to expect from it and how life can turn in an instant...

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

One LIE and the lives of a family are shattered.
One MISTAKE to live the rest of your life with.
One EVENT and versions of the truth.
This is an unsettling story. At its core is an alleged assault on a 16 year old gild some years previously. It is also about love, trust and new beginnings.
i found the story line and the characters compelling, and once I started the book I needed to finish it quickly so as to see where the story led.
Try it, you will not be disappointed.

I really wasn’t sure about this book. Romy was obviously looking for an excuse to leave her husband and start a new life. Why would she go back to help him when he was sick if she was so disgusted by him. And the appearance of Grace and who she was was too much of a coincidence. The sex attack was overblown into a rape which it wasn’t although not very pleasant. Nit much more to say about this book.

This is a really decent family drama. The writing style is engaging and the story kept me interested throughout. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll definitely look out for her in future.

A tense family trauma with rippling repercussions!

From the outset I became drawn into the characters, because “The Lie” was cleverly woven by Hilary Boyd. It just shows how only one lie in this family trauma can reverberate with ripples spreading outwards, causing severe repercussions for so many people.

Michael and Romy had been married for thirty years and had brought up two sons, who were leading their own lives. Michael was a top-notch barrister which meant that he and Romy had an extremely comfortable lifestyle in London, plus a seaside cottage for the odd weekend break.

Idyllic you might think! Well one day everything changed when Romy received an anonymous, rather disturbing letter. The contents were deeply concerning and threatened the deep bond between Romy and Michael. Could this letter actually be true?

The strain took its toll on their relationship, so that Romy temporarily moved out into their holiday home on the coast. In her effort to fit in with the locals, Romy meets an attractive widower, but will things work out well for her? Just when Romy finds a chance of happiness, Michael has to cope with a debilitating health issue.

I usually prefer reading deeper, gritty psychological crime thrillers, but I have to admit that I couldn’t wait to find out how just one lie early on, could develop into an appalling tangled mess. “The Lie” was a great page-turner and I couldn’t wait to find out how all of the strands would unravel.

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

I enjoyed this family drama, it was beautifully written, and a nice easy read, hard to put down. Will be looking for more books by Hilary Boyd.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This book is more a family drama than a thriller. The pace of the book is good and it kept me hooked.

It's a story about Romy and Michael, who have been married for 30 years and all it took was a lie that was the reason for their separation. They have 2 sons who are settled in their own ways and who dont seem to understand why their parents have separated and hope they will reconcile.

Michael is a super successful lawyer and Romy is happy to play the dutiful wife, always by his side, supportive. One anonymous letter is all it takes for Romy to question how much does she really know her husband. She questions her husband, but gets no straight answers.

As their marriage falls apart, Romy goes to their cottage to make sense of it all. Gradually she rebuilds her life with new friends. On the cusp of finding love again, Romy finds herself called back to tend to Malcolm, who has suffered a stroke.

I liked that Romy finally finds closure to her doubts and finally gets the life she wants and how we humans tend to look at things differently based on our situation in life at that point in time.

I was completely immersed in the lives of these characters and eager to find out the resolution to their situation.

But I thought the pace a little unbalanced - too much detail on the romance and everyday lives, and then all the crises dealt with rather too swiftly and lightly in the last third.

I didn't really believe in Romy's handling of the letter and Michael's lie. She didn't believe in him enough to stay with him, yet she defended him when she met his accuser.

I enjoyed it, but felt it could have done more.

I will recommend it. My review is here: https://www.moreaboutbooks.com/review/1105

I was a bit disappointed with this book. The story was ok but very boring. There was no excitement. Nothing gripped me.

‘I just thought you should know who you’re married too…’

After 30 years of marriage, Romy is shocked to receive a letter confirming her husband Michael is not who she thought he was.

Fleeing to their second home in Sussex, Romy is drawn into the possibility of a fresh start with he handsome Finch.

But then the phone rings; Michael’s in hospital and needs her help.

Caught between two very different lives - and two very different men - Romy is torn between her heart and her duty.

But as secrets begin to unravel, will the truth finally come out?


For me, this book is really hard to review, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I just plodded along reading it, enjoying it enough to continue but not eagerly racing through to find out what happens.

Firstly, the positives. I really like Romy as the main protagonist. I could empathise with how torn she felt between her new relationship with Finch and what she felt was her duty to Michael. I think this was a really realistic part of the storyline. Many who read it will likely disagree with me, as quite frankly Michael is an arse, but they also had many good years of marriage and were once deeply in love. I also felt the change in Romy was well portrayed, her whole demeanour and even her speech was different when she was having conversations with Finch or someone from her new life in Sussex. In fact, the whole story was very well written and I found Boyd’s style effortless to read.

Now for the negatives, although that’s probably too strong a word. I thought it was fairly obvious from early on how things were going to turn out, so I didn’t have that feeling of suspense or urgency that often sets one book apart from the rest. My only other slightly detrimental point would be, my feelings towards Michael. I assume I was meant to find him unpleasant, as he was the “villian” of the tale. However, at times the way the author wrote his scenes I felt endeared to him. But then again perhaps this was purposeful on Boyd’s part, to create resonance between the readers and Romy’s feelings.

All in all a good story, and I would likely read another from this author in the future.

This is a well written, tense family drama that I'm sure will appeal to certain readers. For me it was an easy 3* Good Read.

Romy has left her husband and escaped to their country home by the sea. This follows an accusation made about her husband in a letter to Romy has created suspicion and required her to leave.

The lead character of Romy is very likeable and her story a sad one and because it's so well written, despite the storyline, I did quite enjoy it. I just wasn't particularly hooked or wow'ed.

This will definitely have an audience and I wish it every success.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

Well crafted story, tension, hard to put down! Great characters that are totally believable. Features some great discussion points that others may avoid including sexual assault
Great read

A really good read. Enjoyed the story, the characters and especially liked the locations. Even though you could predict the outcome there was plenty of issues for everyone to deal with before they all finally let go of the past so they could find happiness in the future

A good domestic drama with a dark underlay. Romy and Michael seemed to have it all. Michael a successful barrister, a beautiful home and two grown up sons making their way in life. it all goes wrong for Romy after receiving a letter with a horrific allegation about Michael. A really good read with a dilemma on who to believe. Some good secrets, twists and shocks.