A fantastic book! Such a plot twisting read. I’ve not read any of Gillys work before but this was great. I think mainly because I was never sure how it was going to end - you sometimes figure it out- but this I didn’t. The ending completely got me! Well done. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC for this review.

A creepy story with lots of twists to keep the readers interest. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend

"To tell you the truth" was my first Gilly Macmillan read and a pretty enjoyable one, although truth be told that may be in part cause I love stories where the main character is a writer him/herself.

When Lucy was a kid her little brother Teddy went missing and police suspected she wasn't telling the truth about what happened that night. Now she is a bestselling thriller writer and is married to Dan, another aspiring writer. When Dan goes missing history seems to be repeating itself. Was she involved in his disappearance?

As the story unfolds we find some of the typical tropes of this genre:
- Unreliable narrator: ✔️
- Gaslighting: ✔️
- Despicable husband: ✔️✔️✔️ (I seem to be on a roll of books with despicable husbands).

I found interesting Lucy's character and her interactions with Eliza. Is she just a fictional character brought to life by her creator or is Lucy suffering from split personality?

This was tense and gripping all throughout the story but the ending fell a bit flat and weak for me as it felt a little out of the blue. I would have like for the resolution to be more of a link between both past and present lines and to have some answers to some secondary plots that were left hanging there. Also that last chapter left some things open to reader's interpretation.

Overall it was a well written, quick and easy read that kept me guessing till the end so I would recommend it no doubt.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for providing and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To tell YOU the truth...I'm a slow reader, and yet I read this in 3 days, that'll give you a clue how obsessively compulsive this book is.

Lucy was 9 years old when she took her little brother Teddy into the woods...and only she returned. He was never seen again. Fast forward a couple of decades and now she's a best selling thriller writer, and her imaginary friend Eliza from her childhood is the star detective. Her husband Dan goes missing...did she have something to do with it?

This book is compulsive, I dont like her husband, he seems jealous and with the potential to be cruel. Lucy's imaginary friend seems able to take over her body and thoughts, and Lucy didn't tell the entire truth when she was a child about the events leading to Teddy's disappearance.

This book shows how to do an unreliable narrator perfectly, even Lucy isn't totally sure whether she's innocent or not, whether Dan was gaslighting her before his disappearance or not. The tone of the book is perfect, it's fast paced and the chapters don't drag on. The chapters alternate with present time and with the reading of a book, about the time when Teddy went missing. Usually I find this sort of jumping around tiresome but it was well executed and not overdone.

And the ending...

***spoilers ***

What Dan was doing to Lucy...cleverly portrayed and yeah I hate him! What happened to Dan? Sort of came out of nowhere really, I mean there was one sort of hint earlier in the book, and his arrogance fit with the character, but in terms of actually being able to work it out...not a chance. Did I buy it? Well, I'm generally happy to suspend disbelief and it made the final chapters pretty exciting so I'm OK with it. Only thing that bothered me was I doubted the planting of blood in the house would really have fooled a forensics team? As for what happened to Teddy? Perfect ending. Sad and yet so believable.

Engrossing read that had me feeling unsettled for much of the book - credit to Gilly for having this feeling permeate throughout.

Lucy Harper is a famous author. Her main character is her childhood imaginary friend - who she still talks to ! When she was 9, Lucy's 3 year old brother went missing. Now in adulthood, her husband goes missing. Lots of secrets revealed along the way in this one

Lucy is a bestselling author of the Detective Eliza Grey novels, she's just coming to the end of her latest novel when her husband Dan buys them a new house as a surprise for her. She's completely wrong footed by this, and the location of the house brings back so many memories from her childhood. Memories of when her brother Teddy went missing one night and has never been found.
After an argument, Dan goes missing and there's blood on the floor when Lucy wakes up. What exactly happened the night before? Did Lucy have something to do with it? Now that two people close to her have disappeared she's under a lot of suspicion. But can you believe what she says?
Read it! You won't be disappointed.

A very well written story with some great characters! I loved Lucy, and wished I could give her a hug and help her through her crazy life. The plot twist in the middle kept me awake at night as I wanted to find out more and more with each chapter! Defiantly one to re-read and enjoy over and over again!

The opening, in italics, tells of two little children sneaking out to watch a Solstice celebration.
I was tempted to close the book at once, fearing a dual narrative with time shifts...and predictability!
But this was not the case.
MacMillan jostles us into the lives of Dan and Lucy, a successful writer with an alter ego. Dan's surprise purchase of a house near where she grew up forces Lucy to revisit the loss of her little brother and what really happened.
Dan's death complicates everything; for Lucy and the reader, as Dan was supposed to be the villain. Or was he?
There are a few threads left askew, "gaslighting" of Lucy and her weird imaginary friend, Eliza but this is quite a satisfying read. MacMillan does not fall into the trap of resolving everything and so what we are left with with a little "unfinished", just as are our lives.
Even the dreaded italics-substory has another life, making my decision to continue, worth it after all.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.
An interesting read that had me gripped from the start. A pure edge of your seat novel with a twist that left me stunned!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, thank you Netgalley.
Lots of little twists and turns and an excellent twist to the end of the story. Very well written and easily digested in a few days.

My first read from this Author and I loved it and will certainly be reading more of her books. Very creepy and sinister, but kept me guessing until the end So much going on and so many secrets and twists.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance ebook copy..
As a lonely child Lucy had a vivid imagination and so always had her imaginary friend Eliza along side her doling out advice. Now an adult Lucy has become the author of a successful detective series featuring Eliza as the lead character, D.S. Grey. Upon the completion of her fifth novel her husband, literary agent and editors are all aghast to discover that Eliza has been written out very early on. Already deeply unsettled by a traumatic event when she was just nine years old that involved her younger brother from Lucy seems to be losing her grip on reality and her decision making very strange. When Lucy’s husband Dan goes missing she is unsure if she is responsible and Eliza now appears to be more real than ever.
Gilly Macmillan is an author new to me so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but this book didn’t disappoint and kept me guessing until the end. An intriguing thriller that has enough tension and twists to satisfy any reader.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the arc copy of To Tell the Truth.
I found this book very intriguing and really wasnt sure where the story was going to end up.
Eliza is an imaginary friend who stays into adulthood. I wasnt sure ,and I'm still not,if she actually was an imaginary friend or whether Lucy was/is schizophrenic.
I did find the ending a little confusing but that's probably because it wasnt an ending I could guess or have imagined.

Another read that pulled me in straight away.

Lucy is a successful author but she hides a secret bigger than any plot she could dream up.

Her little brother went missing when she was only a child herself. When she was younger, her imaginary friend, Eliza was her confidant, now Eliza is main the character in her successful crime stories.

Eliza talks to her as much now as she did as a child.

Despite having a successful career as an author, Lucy's marriage to Dan is fractured, a wannabe writer himself he is jealous of Lucy's success. Then Dan goes missing... Is history repeating itself?

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

Another masterfully written psychological thriller from this hugely talented author. Such easy to read, immersive prose and characters that leap out of the page at you. All the ingredients of a best seller.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception. It had me hooked from the beginning, great storyline, great characters and a great ending.

Lucy Harper is an author writing crime novels. Her husband Daniel is a failed author and is jealous of Lucy's success. The story starts with Lucy as a child coming out os Stoke woods, her parents are outside. Her 3 year old brother Teddy is missing. Lucy has an imaginary friend, Eliza who she writes about. The story goes back and forth to the night of the summer solstice when Teddy went missing.
Daniel buys a house next to Stoke woods which horrified Lucy. It seems he is playing mind games.
I was disappointed with the ending not what i was expecting. It started so well.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. The review is entirely my own honest opinion.

This book is cleverly written to keep you reading. It’s a definite page turner with short chapters veering from present to past.

Lucy Harper is a peculiar character. A successful crime writer, she is controlled by her main character, Eliza. Eliza was her imaginary friend as a child and is now the heroine of Lucy’s books. Eliza is also responsible for Lucy failing to tell everything she knew about the disappearance of her brother, Teddy, back when they were children.

In this book we get several intertwined mysteries and meet plenty of shady characters. I wasn’t a fan of the ending- I’d have liked some closure really. And perhaps for Lucy to get psychiatric help! I did enjoy this book though and raced through it with a feeling of unease from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I sooooo wanted to love this book, I really like Gilly MacMillan but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
Please don't let my opinion put you off reading though as I've read loads of people really did love it, and I can see why... This book has Suspence, Mystery and as always, written very well... Its just, for me I didn't gel with Lucy.And none of the characters had any redeeming quality's in them at all, and where in some books this could still work, I felt this one needed you to be rooting for someone and unfortunately for me there was no one. Lucy wasn't a relatable or likeable character and I didn't particularly understand the imaginary friend she had in childhood who she's willingly taken into adulthood and even brought the character to life in her novels, therefor leaving me feeling unappreciating of the whole concept really... Where I was not really too bothered about what had happened to Dan, the Husband because he was Horrible and hadn't brought much to the table in the first place, I WAS bothered about what happened to little Teddy, Lucy's brother all those years ago... And without trying to give away any spoilers I was left feeling UNSURE about how I felt on the conclusion... I was hoping by the end to have a definate happy ending with Teddy, but I didn't get it.

Like i said, please don't let my opinion put you off, everyone likes different things and even I could see why someone else would love it, just didn't work that way for me. Definitely still one of my favourite authors and won't stop me reading all of her novels infact I think I'm going to start THE PERFECT GIRL next...

Have read others from the same author and enjoyed those too. Enjoyed this one but with reservations that would give spoilers. Still looking forward to more from the author. Thank you netgalley.