I really didn't enjoy this book, Lesley has written some lovely books but this one just didn't work for me. I read a good quarter of it but I couldn't warm to Amelia's character and found myself getting bored and struggling to pick it up. Normally Lesley's books enthrall me, but sadly not this one.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book

It’s 1970, Mini Skirts are in as are General Strikes and Power Cuts. Amelia White works for her local newspaper selling advertising space but what she really wants is to be a Journalist. When Amelia finds the body of a woman murdered and left in a pile of rubbish she is able to write a first hand report of the murder for the paper but she quickly realises that other reporters are only interested in spreading lies and scandal about the victim, Lucy Whelan
Feeling for Lucy and wanting to help her grieving family Amelia goes to meet them to find out more about her background.
When another young woman is killed in the same way Amelia is convinced there must be some link between the victims. The police seem to have hit a brick wall and Amelia’s boyfriend Max isn’t keen on her involving herself in the case, fearing for her safety.
Amelia’s quest to find some justice for the dead women will lead her to confront some of her own demons and question who she can really trust.
I have read most of Lesley Pearses' books and although this felt very different I really enjoyed it.

What a fantastic read!

This book was set in the seventies, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the way this era is written about is brilliant and really authentic, thanks to the great detail and key landmarks mentioned from this period in time.

The book focuses on the remarkably likeable Amelia. Amelia didn’t have the best start In life with an alcoholic mother and abusive father, but she is determined to turn her life around and escapes as soon as she can! Working selling advertising space for a local newspaper, she dreams of being a journalist and one day, due to an unlikely event this happens!
Amelia comes accross a dead body of a young girl near her home, being the first on the scene her boss at the newspaper is keen to get the scoop and puts Amelia to the test with writing the article.
Amelia is soon doing more and more journalistic work and her life seems to be coming together when she meets ‘Max’ who she falls for, but he isn’t all he seems!
There is a real sense of grit and mystery in this book and you are kept in suspense throughout. I genuinely couldn’t put this book down and kept wondering what would happen next!

I found the book to be an easy and fast read. Especially the 1st half of the book was very enjoyable and kept me entertained. The last bit frustrated me a bit because how many bad things can happen to 1 person, but hey you get a lot of good people who are magnets for bad things.

All in all a good fun read about a nosy girl from the wrong sides of the track trying to make something of her life but landing herself in a lot of bad situations while she is trying to solve some murders....*insert Murder she Wrote music*

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK, Michael Joseph for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

London 1970's: Amelia White works for a local paper selling advertising space. She Hope's one day to make it as a reporter. She doesn't have much money so when she sees a pair of White boots that shes been yearning to have sticking out of the rubbish that's piled up on the side of the street, she has to have a closer look. Unfortunately, the boot is still attached to a leg. It's not long before another womans ody is found. Amelia decides to do her own investigating along with her new boyfriend, Max.

Lesley mentions some of the events that happened in the 1970's: decimalisation, power cuts, the Vietnam War, the refuse collectors strike and the fashion they wore. Amelia has not had an easy life. Her father used to be at her and her mother was always drunk. Amelia is a strong character. She is determined to find out who her killer is. I thought the pace was slow around first 20% but then the pace picked up. The book is well written and easy to read. There's lots of twists but some parts are predictable. But who was the Liar? You'll need to read the book to find out.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Lesley Pearse for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Lesley Pearse for many years so I am always excited to hear she is releasing a new book. Yet again this was another great read. As expected, the period of time the book is set in (1970s in this case) is described so well you can imagine being there yourself. Definitely one to read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Liar is set during the seventies. Amelia’s start in life wasn’t a good one, her father was free with his hands and her mother lost herself in drink to escape. When her father beats her worse than usual she ends up in hospital and is helped to find somewhere to live where she slowly builds a new life for herself. We meet her after a few years living alone and working at a newspaper selling advertising space. When she discovers the body of a young woman on a pile of rubbish her boss sends her to visit the victim’s family to get their exclusive story. He allows her to write it up and publishes it in the paper. Suddenly Amelia starts to be noticed and when she meets the man she believes to be ‘the one’ she feels for the first time that her life is turning around and going in the direction she had hoped.

I raced through this book and because of the title kept wondering who the liar in question might be. Lesley Pearse is a brilliant writer and this was a great, fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns and a satisfying conclusion.

My thanks to Penguin UK – Michael Joseph and NetGalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the arc of LIAR by Lesley Pearse.

The story took place within 1970’s London. Amelia has had a very tough upbringing and childhood, mother is an alcoholic and becomes very cold towards her and her siblings and her father was always using his hands in which to to get out of anything including towards her. As soon as Amelia could leave home she indeed did so . She also ends up getting a job selling advertisement space in the newspaper in her area. Her total ultimate dream is to be able to become a reporter and a novelist. When walking home one day she ends up finding a body which has been dumped and thrown in a rubbish pile in the daylight. She thinks to herself in which Who would do such a thing? She asks Jack her boss in which if she can investigate the murder. he is reluctant and blunt about it but ends up agreeing to this. Then mysteriously other bodies end up turning up, so she ultimately know that there is a serial killer on the loose and the paper wants her to stop investigating because her own life could be in danger from investigating this......

5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Definitely recommend

I found the author's description of this time completely authentic. I did, however, think that I had worked out who the killer was at an early point but there were ample twists and turns that soon proved my assumptions to be incorrect.
Amelia's character was well presented. She was likeable and it was interesting to see her grow and mature as she is faced with a series of dishonesty, deception and lies. Throughout the whole book I was questioning who were the people that she could really trust as, unlike Amelia, I found that I could not accept most of the characters at face value.
However, as a reader we were able to witness Amelia's strengths and weaknesses. She is resolute in the way she deals with issues that she is confronted with alongside a naivete and vulnerability.
Ms. Pearse is a good storyteller. I have read some of this author's books before but have not done so for some time. It was nice to reengage with her writing and I will not leave it so long before I read another.

I have read lots of Lesley Pearse books, she is one of my favourite go to authors and once again she didn't disappoint with this latest offering.

Set in 1970, Amelia White sells advertising space in a local newspaper with hopes of becoming a reporter. Walking home one day she discovers a dead body in a pile of rubbish. Her boss sends her to visit the family of the murdered girl and when more murders come to light she starts her own investigation............

This a well written compelling read with well drawn characters and lots of twists and turns.

4 stars****

Whenever I hear that Lesley Pearse has a new book out I am always eager to read it. Yet again this author has not let me down and has written another brilliant story. I was hooked on this book from the first page . A great read..

I have read all of Lesley Pearse's previous books, and I was pleased to receive an early preview copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher.
This book is set in 1970s London, and the protagonist is Amelia, a strong and determined young woman who has made a new life for herself in London. She escaped from her childhood home, from a violent alcoholic Father. She works for a local newspaper and hopes to become a writer and journalist.
She stumbles across a body on her way to work one morning, and soon finds herself embroiled in the hunt for the killer.
There characters are well developed, and it is easy to visualise them and the locations, as the book is very well written. There is a gritty realism, that is a trademark of Lesley's books, as well as a strong female protagonist. I would say that this book is not as long as her previous books, and not quite as shocking or gritty. It is a good read though, and the storyline had me gripped.
The book is very well written, and easy to read. There were plenty of twists and turns. Some parts were predictable, I did guess who the killer was. I also predicted that some of the characters were not as nice as they firstly appeared to be. I enjoyed reading this book, and I'm looking forward to reading Lesley Pearse's next book.

LIAR is a tense read full of suspense, that keeps you gripped and turning the pages. An unputdownable read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I always enjoy a book by Lesley Pearse and this latest is another great read. Amelia, the main character, has had an unhappy past with uncaring parents and an abusive father. This story is set in the early 70's in London where she now works for a newspaper selling ads. One night, she discovers, by chance, the body of a young woman dumped in a bin. She then meets a man - a neighbour she hasn't noticed before - and the two become romantically involved as Amelia turns super sleuth and tries to find out who the killer might be. Two more murders follow, both of them young women around the same age and type as the first, and as she delves further into their killings, thinking they may be related, she becomes a target herself. It is from here - a few chapters into the book - that things really step up and there is a lot of tension, and some heart stopping moments as well as an unnerving feeling that certain of her friends might not be quite who she thought they were. In fact several characters start to look rather suspicious and this is where the book's title comes into play as you really don't know which of them is the liar - or might there be more than one? I enjoyed the fact that the book was set in an era that I can relate to as I was in my late teens in the 70's and the clothes, music and many other references to that time brought back lots of memories. Lesley has a wonderful gift for description and the era was perfectly depicted. Amelia is also dealing with the trauma of her early life, something she has to come to terms with and the truth of which is revealed towards the end of the book. I had a few suspicions as to who the murderer might be but the ending came as a surprise. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to Lesley's next intriguing saga. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I haven't read a book by Lesley Pearce for some years she used to be a favourite of my in my early twenty's and used to book share with Auntie.

So when I saw her new release and I brought back fond memories I thought I'd request a early read and it was granted.

This book really brings to the forefront the great nuture debate for me as in are we shaped by the upbringing we are given and a

Amelia was a great character whose strength, courage and determination showed that if you want something bad enough and work hard enough and you can escape the desolation and shadows of the past.

An easy read for me with a massive twist I didn't see coming kept me engaged and
Lesley writes just as I remember 😀

Lesley Pearse has done it again, another brilliant book! There is so much detail in her writing style, regardless of the time in history you really feel the story through her descriptions of landmarks and situations from that era. (This was early 1970s)

Amelia is a likeable character and you think you know how the story is going and then it moves in a different direction, I thought I knew who the murderer was during chapter one and right throughout until he was arrested and then shocked when it wasn’t him! The balance the Pearse strikes between grit and good is spot on as usual.

I couldn’t put this down, I thought about it during the day and wanting to get back to it as soon as I could. I am a huge fan and have read all of Lesleys books... I have my favourites & this sits halfway down the list for me but with such a high calibre of work, that isn’t a bad thing!

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from netgalley in return for an honest review.

The story begins in the 1970’s when journalist Amelia White meets her boyfriend-to-be Max in the most horrible of situations. She notices some white fashion boots on the edge of a skip in Shepherds Bush on the outskirts of London during a dustmen’s strike. They are very like boots she coveted in a fashion magazine she read recently. As she pulls a boot towards her to see if they are her size, she sees that it is attached to a leg. She screams and runs towards a man she knows by sight that lived in her street. He phones in a report to the local police station and comforts Amelia as they wait for the police to arrive. He introduces himself as Max and she tells him that she is named Amelia. Romance is fizzing in the air.
Now if that beginning doesn’t get your reading juices going, I can’t imagine what will. The story continues as a psychological thriller and murder mystery story with Amelia given the chance to write up her scoop after interviewing the victim’s mother. The Creeper, as the murderer is nicknamed, has an agenda with a certain type of girl but the police are unable to find the clues they need to build a case and apprehend the perpetrator. Amelia becomes involved in a somewhat clandestine investigation of her own, determined to find a link between the growing numbers of female victims, all choked by a weapon and disabled before being stabbed. A wicked serial killer is on a vendetta, leaving no trace evidence behind and merging in with the crowds of Londoners, craftily avoiding detection while in plain sight.
Meanwhile Max and Amelia’s relationship reaches dizzy heights, Amelia becomes sought- after for her empathetic newspaper reports and gets herself a second job as a feature writer for successful women in a niche society. As she gets nearer and nearer to the truth, the Creeper is keeping a close eye on her, determined to stay under the radar of the investigation. There are plenty of thrills and spills, blind alleyways and red herrings that will keep you turning the pages, agog with wonder, amazement, all the time hoping that Amelia will be careful. She is a character you will come to see as tender-hearted, determined and extremely plucky.
I remember reading ‘Georgia’, Lesley’s first novel I believe, and others that followed were often entitled with other female Cristian names. Like Amelia, their historic stories were enthralling, if often very poignant. These strong ladies faced many battles and were to be much admired. I used to believe this type of novel was her ‘tried and tested formulae’ for a stable of bestselling novels that kept Lesley in the limelight, and Amelia fits in well as a role-model too. Lesley has great talent for bringing her characters to life in all their glory whilst also creating characters unworthy of any admiration at all – really brutish, odious characters to be despised and outed. She is also a very talented story-builder and teller, with a back catalogue of many other stories to be read and enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Penguin through my membership of NetGalley. It was sent in return for an honest and unbiased review and I would like to thank them for my copy of the novel. It’s a 4* review from me and the part I loved best of all was how the author actually rounded off her novel. Be alert for surprises, tension, and a rollercoaster of action, but you’ll be certain to enjoy your rocky ride.

There isn’t a single book written by Lesley Pearse that I have not yet read and I was so delighted to have the chance to read and review her latest book.. Yet again Lesley has written an absolutely fabulous book and one that had me glued to every page. This book was such a page turner and I devoured every page. Just wonderful.

Once again another brilliant read from Lesley Pearse.
Yes the main character is always downtrodden at the start and she always gets a happy ending, but the interesting thing is what happens in the middle. The attention to detail was great. A good insight into life in the early 1970’s.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

amelia works at a newspaper selling adverts for companies but she dreams of being a journalist but she knows she wont ever get the chance...until

a young girls body turns up...and the editor sends amelia to speak to the family and somehow amelia gets the scoop

but when another body turns up with the same injuries as the first girl, could there be a serial killer about....

and as amelia goes from one crisis to another, which i suppose can happen, you begin to think she has the worst luck in the world...

i cant say this was my fav book by this author but i did want to know what happened to amelia...but hey ho you cant win them all..it was still compelling