A decent read. I found the first section very slow but once the narrative went into the past for the first time, the pace picked up and my enjoyment increased. I found both Claire and Paul to be flawed but sympathetic characters; both made terrible decisions that were at the same time fully understandable.

There are no real surprises in the plot; it's very clear from the end of that first past section what the truth is, and from that point on it's just a matter of waiting for everything to unravel. Which means the ending is inevitable, and a little depressing. I would have preferred things to turn out differently, but I understand why there wasn't really any alternative.

They say “revenge is a dish best served cold” and in this story it is certainly true. Claire was living her life with no idea that things from years in her past were about to cause havoc. I wouldn’t call this book a thriller so much as a drama but that doesn’t take away from the storyline at all. It is still very good, interesting and the author has a fluid easy way of writing. Her journeys into the past were not at all distracting. The characters are well developed - flaws and all.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

A brilliant thriller on how one action can change so many lives.

Claire Carmichael is a happily married woman with two sons, Joshua 17 and Jamie 5. She has married Chris, her school sweetheart and the only problem on the horizon is returning to work full-time and setting up her company with her friend Julia. The perennial problem of juggling being a mum as well as holding down a pressurised job is solved when a neighbour’s daughter becomes the ideal childminder and everything seems yet again to be perfect.

However, Claire is still haunted by a potential scandal that had happened when she was only 16 and with her first boyfriend. Claire had recently been initiated into the Queen Bees, the society for popular girls at her school, and although she was secretly seeing the school swot, Paul, this would not have been considered a suitable boyfriend for her by the Queen Bees, they had already picked out Chris Carmichael.

When Claire and Paul are discovered having sex in an abandoned classroom by the Queen Bee herself, Charlotte, who immediately accuses Paul of rape, to avoid scandal Claire agrees with her. Paul is immediately expelled from school, Claire goes on to university with Chris and is now living a happy and fulfilled life. No one in her family or friends knows that the sex was consensual except Paul and Claire.

The brilliance of this book as to how we discover what has happened to Paul, his dreams of being a doctor shattered, his family ostracised his life in pieces. His only consolation is stalking Claire and her family. He still has an amazing brain and works out the perfect revenge on Claire and her family.

To find out what and how he does this you need to read this book, it would be unfair to give many details as it would spoil the enjoyment but suffice it to say it is brilliant.

I read this book in a couple of days and was absorbed by the story. Ms Osman is a very good writer and apart from the main storyline, describes various other interesting and relevant topics. The problem of being a working mother, the need for boys and girls to be popular, the cruelty for those who are a little bit different and the basis of the whole book, how a lie can change so many lives.

For anyone who loves a great story and an amazing ending, read this book, you will love it.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Basically 1.5 stars, started off decently enough but went absolutely nowhere. And should have kept going from there because eventually the plot became so ridiculous I ended up skimming through the final third of the book. Can't recommend

⚖️|#partner Thank you to NetGalley, Aria & Karen Osman for the free advanced digital copy! This book is available August, 2019!|
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🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟
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▪️MY THOUGHTS
✔️I really enjoyed this book. It went back and forth from present day to when the main character was a teenager. The story was written from a few different perspectives which I enjoyed. It gives you insight into characters that you wouldn’t normally see. I thought the story was very interesting and although I knew by the middle of the book what was going to happen - I didn’t know how it was all going to go down.
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▪️OVERALL RUNDOWN
✔️I thought the book was very well written. It was a story of deceit, lies and revenge. I look forward to reading more from this author!
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▪️TITLE RUNDOWN
Parents
Enjoying
Revenge
Furious
Envy
Children
Truth
Lies
Intriguing
Engaging

Wooo.. what a great book! Kept me interested all the way through. Great buildup to the what the ending was as i was wondering what was going on at one point. Not going to be the last from this author will be picking up more of her books.



Thanks to the publisher and net galley for an ARC of this book.

Well, to be perfectly honest, this wasn’t a reading choice laden with expectations. I wasn’t in love with the author’s previous thriller Good Mother, but it was decent enough and these types of thrillers are impossible to avoid these days, so I figured I’ll check out how the next book is. And guess what…it is a definite improvement. Nothing mind blowing, the writing remains well within the prototypical women thriller confines, but the actual story here is really quite good, a tale of revenge served as a dish decades in the making by the man destroyed by a lie. The thing here is that the book is much more of a drama than a thriller of any kind, thriller presupposes plot twists and plot twist wise here you might be disappointed, because they are fairly predictable. There isn’t enough mystery to go around. Instead you have an essentially character driven psychological drama with a moral. But, of course, that wouldn’t sell enough copies, so it ends up being somewhat misadvertised for the sake of popularity. At any rate, it was a good revenge tale. It won’t stand out in the overpopulated world of similar women authored women driven stories, although it was nice that for a change there was no tiresome split narrative thing going on with three female characters (like in Good Mother), the narrative time travels here instead, but at least has the decency to mostly remain told from a single perspective. But plot wise it is a considerable improvement upon the author’s previous effort, it shows the psychological complexity the other lacked, so that’s something. Basically, don’t go in expecting much and you’ll be sufficiently entertained. The page count of this one (and the cover for that matter) are inexplicably unavailable at the time of this review writing, but at a guess, it’s about mid 200s and reads very quickly. Thanks Netgalley.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! Premise was awesome, but overall the book didn’t “flow” as well as it could have. The first half of the book was slightly disjointed and didn’t set up as well as it could for the plot twist to come. The plot twist however, was great! Definitely a good story line. Overall, was hoping that this book would be as likable as “The Last Mrs. Parrish” but it just didn’t get there.

It seems as if Claire can't just get everything right. Her sons are ages 17 and 5. Claire wants to get back to work, full-time, at her career in law. But! She needs her husband's approval and a nanny. Once back, Claire had forgotten the long hours and the innate stress her job entailed. This, especially since she partnered with her longtime friend, Julia. We see a lot of background on Claire and this is interwoven into the present day Written well, by Karen Osman.'

A good suspense story with great character development.

Many thanks to Aria Books and NetGalley for a great read!

Finished this book in two days. A great domestic thriller. Claire is a happily married housewife, living the good life. She decided to return to work when her second child started school. She is living with a terrible secret, that destroyed a young man’s life years ago. This book is filled with great characters, and the story kept me wondering. I will definitely recommend this book to all my friends and family. Thank you for my advance copy.

Clever and creepy with plenty of twists and turns. This is so well written that I was drawn in from the first page. Loved it.

The Perfect Lie by author Karen Osman is another GREAT domestic psychological thriller book! Love the feeling of entire novel and the characters gave me the emotions I like to have when reading! Definitely recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A tale of revenge, and disruption to the perfect life. Whilst I predicted the ending it was nonetheless a satisfying read. It made me think about An Inspector Calls - as to how actions can have long lasting ripple effects.

Wow, the opening pages if this book pulled me in immediately and didn't let go until the very last page. This is a fast paced psychological thriller that kept me reading into the early morning hours because I simply could not put it down. It is good through alternative point if views and from the present day to back in the late 1980s. I I found the characters well developed and very relatable and found myself really enjoying each of them. I thought the dual plot line to be original and well thought out and i thought it worked really well with the story. This one has me guessing until the very last page and I have to say the ending caught me completely off guard. This story was gripping, chilling and thrilling. I absolutely loved it.
I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was twisty and sick, and I really had no idea where it was going until the end. Very clever. A stand out in the genre. I enjoyed this book even though I hated everyone in it. 4 1/2 round it up

The Perfect Lie by Karen Osman is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you riveted until the very end. This was my first read from this author, but it will certainly not be my last.

Claire is a woman who appears to be living the dream. An adoring husband, two beautiful sons, and a law career that, while on a temporary hiatus while her sons were young, seems to be back on track and as successful as ever. But Claire has a secret from her past that she has tried for years to forget. Yet some secrets will not be silenced, and can return even decades later to ensure that justice is meted out. Will Claire's perfect life be shattered by her unresolved past?

This is a chilling tale, told from the alternate timelines of present day, and Claire's time at school in the late 1980s. An extremely well-contrived dual plotline that meshes perfectly,and had me guessing until the very end, this is one that will linger long after the final page has been turned.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Another chilling page turner griped me from the first pages took me from my reading chair into the town the characters the story.?This is an author who has a great storytelling style will look forward to her next book.#netgalley#ariabooks.

Having loved the Good Mother, I couldn't wait to read Karen Osman's next book.

This is a gripping psychological thriller where the past collides with the present with tragic consequences.
Claire seems to have the perfect family with a loving husband and adorable kids. However, in the shadows lurks a figure from Claire's past seeking to avenge a wrongdoing committed by Claire and her group of popular girls during high school.

One perfect lie would bring Claire's world crashing, would she survive and protect her family or would blind revenge destroy everyone? Highly recommended.

Thanks Netgalley, Aria, and author Karen Osman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.