A beautifully written and tense family drama here, a long buried secret having a ripple effect across time set firmly in the Me Too age.

When you are writing a novel like this character really is key, as a reader you need to care but also to accept and Hilary Boyd does an excellent job of getting you on side- Romy is a sympathetic, likeable character trying to move on with life whilst torn in half by a stunning revelation- having walked away, unexpected events drag her back to her old life..

There is a lot to think about here- not least what you may do in that situation- who to believe, what action to take. The author sets her group dynamic against a single question and you are completely hooked into the various life happenings unfolding.

Immaculately plotted, utterly riveting, relatable characters and authentic quandaries make this a read I'm more than happy to recommend.

I enjoyed Thursdays in the Park and so had high hopes of this book which I’m sorry to say were not fulfilled. Romy Claire is sent an anonymous note about her high profile QC husband Michael which makes certain allegations against him which he steadfastly denies. It’s a classic he said/she said scenario. Eventually Romy leaves him and relocates to Sussex where she meets widower Robert Fincham known as Finch. Things are going well with him until she gets a phone call to say that Michael has had a stroke and Romy is dragged back reluctantly from her promising new life. This is the premise of the book but with very large coincidence which stretches credulity and unfolds at a snails pace.

I do like some of the characters especially Romy and Finch and I think their characters are believable. However, I am not convinced that a person would rush to the aid of a husband who you think has done something as wrong as Michael probably has. I know I wouldn’t. The story is padded with a lot of unnecessary detail which detracts from the storyline and a lot of that is dull. It’s a real shame as this could have been a really interesting story with crisper writing.

Overall, it’s an ok read that passed an afternoon. I would have liked more suspense as I feel that is missing.

I enjoyed this book but it was more of a family/domestic drama/romance than a thriller. Lots of topical themes and I did like the main character Romy. Quite a lot of descriptive details which although set the scene, I felt were slightly surplus to the main story.
A few moral dilemmas here which definitely make you think and I loved the complicated family dynamics going on. Very enjoyable book, a good quick read.

Romy is married to Michael, a respected QC in London chambers. They have been happy for a long time and have two sons. They also have a lovely weekend cottage by the sea. Romy receives a letter, which changes all their lives, Michael has hidden a secret and lied to Romy for years. Romy leaves her husband and her London home to live in the cottage, where she settles and is starting to make a new life for herself. Michael then has a stroke that puts Romy in a very difficult position, should she stay in her cottage with her new life or return to London and help Michael recuperate. Then the lie becomes a reality which changes everything. I love Hilary Boyd’s stories, her characters become real. This book is fast becoming my book of the year.

The Lie, Hilary Boyd

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance, Women's Fiction
Gah, I hate Women's Fiction as a genre heading, so outdated. Men and women can read the same books....its 2019, not 1919.
anyway, that moan over, on to the book. Fabulous read, I loved it. I read Hillary's Thurdays ion the Park years ago, and more recently The anniversary and loved both of those, and this sounded intriguing. It was, I was wondering all the way, should Romy just believe in Micheal? After all they've been married a long time, they would have had the boys when this event happened, and he's never given any indication that he could have done something so awful, so horrific. I think most folk would be like Romy, feel their husband ( or wife) is telling the truth when they say they've no idea, that it never happened. Yet somehow Romy still has the tiniest, tiniest sliver of doubt. That little niggle keeps working at her, making her relive over and over Michael's reactions when she told him about the letter. He's clever, quick thinking, he has to be to do so well at his job, and something just didn't feel quite right about his answers. Still, with no idea who wrote the letter how can she look further?
That little niggle though gradually affects their marriage, shows up just how things have been slowly changing between them, other tiny things come out and small, almost incidental lies emerge. Things build up until she decides she needs to step away, and goes to stay at their country cottage. She's just picking up her life when – bam – she's pulled back into her old life, where the past starts becoming the present.
I was a little eye rolling at the way the characters were interwoven until I got to that part of the story, when it was explained and I could see that actually, its pretty reasonable for events to unfold given the connections between people.
There are lots of surprises to come out, lots of events for Romy to deal with, and all the characters end up being hurt by past actions. Not just Romy, but her sons, her fledgling romance and of course the girl involved and her family.
Its one of those books where slowly what seem like unconnected events and people slowly gel, when the circles of distance start to close in and we can see how one out of character event ripples and widens, catching so many folk in the wake. I loved the book, and the way events were unfolded carefully, giving us just enough to satisfy at that time, but leaving the reader wondering what else happened, did it happen like that really? What would they do? I so felt for all involved who were hurt by the actions and was so angry at those who worked to hide things or just smooth them over. Its a story that really show how nothing happens in isolation, how one event can end up hurting so many people.

Stars: Five. Lots of surprises, heartbreak, angst, and shows how well one persons actions affect others.
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publisher

This book managed to raise some very interesting concepts.;the effect on a long term marriage of suspicion,the loyalty one feels to that long term relationship and children, and finally the blossoming of a new romance.I thought it was very well written with interesting ,believable characters. It had a good pace to the story.

Romy and Michael have been happily married for years. Their lives seemed perfect until Romy receives an anonymous letter with an accusation against Michael. Michael denies the accusation but a little niggle of doubt causes Romy sleepless nights. Does she believe her husband of 30 years or the anonymous sender of the letter?

A good family drama with an intriguing storyline which was an entertaining read.

I read The Lie over a few days but I did struggle with this book. I found it very slow to get going and felt it just never really gathered any kind of momentum. Having read the synopsis I was expecting and hoping for something that would draw me in but sadly I felt the whole book was somewhat lacklustre.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

Having loved Thusdays in the Park, but been disappointed with another novel by Hillary Boyd, I was looking forward to giving her another chance. I won't be picking up another book by her, sadly. The Lie is well written, but I found the whole story quite frustrating, from the assumption that a wife who has left her husband would then abandon her new life (even temporarily) to care for him, to the ludicrous coincidence later on in the book. I would not recommend a friend to read this, hence only 3 stars.

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of ‘The Lie’ by ‘Thursdays in the Park’ Hilary Boyd thanks to netgalley in return for an honest review.

Speaking of honesty, I didn’t like ‘Thursdays in the park’ at all. I couldn’t believe how it was so popular to be brutally honest, however, I’m not one to judge an author on one novel so I was super excited to get my hands on this book and to hopefully change my mind.. AND I DID!

It wasn’t one of the best books I’ve ever read but I enjoyed it and I appreciated Boyd’s attention to detail and simply put, how well she can tell a story.

I was engrossed in the story and was flying through the pages (sometimes skim reading) because I just couldn’t wait to find out the truth.

What really scared me without giving too much away was how I believed one persons version of events for so long and it’s a real problem in society today. We automatically trust and believe people with power & it’s only been in the last decade or so that we have found our voices and learned that this is NOT OK!

This story follows Romy and Michael. A couple married for over 30 years. Their relationship has been strained for a long time with Michael always putting Romy 3rd. His work and himself come before her.

Romy is loyal though and loves her two sons and husband. Not being put first was worth having the family she had created but this was all to change when Romy receives an anonymous letter with an accusation that is about to blow not only her relationship but her whole life apart!

The reason for my 3 star rating is that it’s a “good” book. I enjoyed reading it and found the story to cover important themes that need to be heard, however, it wasn’t amazing. It didn’t blow me away and I feel it was dragged out in parts.

I would recommend for someone who enjoys previous work from the author and is looking for an exciting yet easy read.

I loved Thursdays in the Park by Hilary Boyd and was delighted to receive the ARC of The Lie to review.

Romy has left her husband Michael, a top lawyer. She received a letter from a young woman who claimed that Michael had sexually assaulted her fifteen years before. When she asks him about it his response doesn't satisfy her and they start to drift apart with Romy eventually moving out to their second home in Devon. She has just started a new relationship when news comes that Michael has had a stroke and bit by bit she is drawn back into his life.

I enjoyed this story and felt the various dilemmas that Romy faced. I found her reaction to the letter quite believable. It sows doubts but she has to weigh these up against her knowledge of her husband. Who should she believe? Him or the writer of an anonymous letter. She was prepared to believe Michael but his response of refusing to discuss it with her led to their marriage falling apart. I also felt for her as she is dragged back into her husband's life after his stroke. The assumptions of everyone that she would be his carer infuriated me but I found it understandable that she would be torn.

Overall an engrossing family drama. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin books for the ARC>

I was a little disappointed in this book, and found it to be a very slow start and yet also very lightweight. The story picks up about halfway and you can comfortably cycle downhill to the end. Which to be honest is a bit how it felt. Perhaps just not a book for me.

I enjoy Hilary Boyd’s novels and was very pleased to read this latest one. It’s a beautifully written family drama that kept me guessing until the end. Often I thought I had worked out what would happen but I was wrong! It’s a definite page turner, with believable characters and a ‘Me Too’ storyline. Romy, married to successful, ambitious Michael, has always trusted her husband...until an anonymous letter arrives and casts doubt on their life together. The novel is full of twists and turns... perfect read for these winter evenings!

Lies and deceit sit at the centre of this novel. It’s a “me too” theme and discovery of a lie that happened 15 years ago. It’s a three star from us.

Hilary Boyd writes for a target audience in a genre now designated rather off- puttingly as ‘gran lit’.
She covers the same sort of literary territory (though perhaps not quite considered in the same league) as Joanna Trollope, with characters inhabiting a similar middle-class surburban backgound, mores and lifestyle. Although the plot takes a while to get warmed up, and the soul searching did seem to go on longer than necessary, by the two third mark I began to get absorbed in the moral dilemma posed for the main characters and interested to see how it was resolved. It’s certainly worth pursuing to the end, which - though less than conclusive, - was true to a complex real life situation.

Just shows....a lie will always find you out.
Romy has recently received an anonymous letter detailing a near rape on a girl working in her husband's office. Why it was sent so many years after the event I am not sure.
He is a high flying lawyer and she find it unbelievable, almost, to think that he can have abused the girl. Torn apart, she leaves him and begins a new life, which is quickly interrupted by Michael, her husband, having a stroke. Somehow she has to put her new life and budding romance with Finch aside, and care for Michael in his recovery.
Now here is where I found difficulities. Why should everyone assume that she was going to be the Carer? If one carer cant be there there are numerous agencies who provide care at very short notice.
Why was Micheal so pathetic, quite obviously playing on her hearstrings to the nth degree.
So many complexities arise, not only with her demanding husband but also with her new love, Finch, who has put up with a great deal.. It works out, but I was at times annoyed with the chief characters who all fell short of what could have been expected.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

Michael is a successful lawyer with a secret. An anonymous letter to his wife, Romy, starts her wondering about her life and she decides to leave her husband. Romy starts to find herself and rebuild a new life but circumstances compel her to return to Michael. Romy is still haunted by the letter and a twist of fate leads her to answers but should the past stay a secret and will duty keep her with Michael? A well constructed novel with believable characters.

A gripping story of the disintegration of a marriage following an anonymous letter Romy, the wife, receives. She starts to build a new life but is forced to become her husband's carer, then her new life collides with the life she was establishing due to "the lie".

This is well-written and the story flows nicely so you want to keep reading. It is the topic of our times - "Me too' - when men are being accused of abuse of women now and in the past, and are having to defend themselves, usually with strong denial. This is what Michael does and the doubts of his wife Romy are what eventually causes her to leave him. She is settling into a new life and has found a potential soulmate, Finch, when Michael has a stroke and she is forced into caring for him for a while. Romy and Finch are privileged - both own houses they can retreat to and neither has a visible income! Then Finch's stepdaughter appears on the scene and throws a spanner into the works. The whole truth comes out eventually and after much soul searching there is a happy ending, maybe a little too twee as they fill their thermos with milky tea and hop off to do their voluntary work into the sunset!

Brilliantly written family drama illustrating the deep and dark ripples that follow a long buried untruth. One lie unravels so many lives. Couldn’t put it down.