Really enjoyed this book. There were plenty of twists and turns, it really kept me guessing until the end

I have loved all of Gilly Macmillan’s previous books, so I was so excited about getting this one, thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone.
Sadly, it didn’t live up to the same standards as her previous books. I found that the main character, Lucy, seems to have difficulty being honest, and has a chaotic existence as a result that often makes her unlikeable. I don’t mind an unlikeable character in some novels but there was no sense of integrity to Lucy, and her actions at times seemed unrealistic. There were a number of unpredicted twists, some I enjoyed and some seemed hasty in order to terminate a certain part of the story line. Easy to read, and I am sure it will be more intriguing to some other readers who can put aside their feelings about Lucy!

This book was intriguingly dark and very suspenseful. It must be one of the best I have read that keeps you questioning every action and every character, trying to connect the pieces literally all the way through. It really didn’t go in the direction I thought and my mind is still reeling a little. It did drop a star because I felt not every clue or red herring was satisfactorily tied up at the end, but overall if you want an edge of your seat suspense book then I have to recommend this one. I rated it 4⭐️.

I really enjoyed this book! The story is about a girl who goes into the woods one night, with her little brother, but comes back alone. She grows up to be an author of crime fiction. The author of this book did a really good job of portraying a woman who has felt alone her whole life carrying the guilt from what happened that evening. She is betrayed by the few people she has come to trust throughout her lonely life. She retreats into her private world with her imaginary friend from childhood; not really sure what is true and what isnt until she finally comes to peace with her past.

Three decades ago, Lucy Harper's younger brother Teddy disappeared after the two of them snuck into the woods at night. Back then, Lucy's wild imagination meant that her account of what happened was half truth and half flight of fancy. As an adult, Lucy's tendency to live in a dream world has secured her a career as a best-selling author of crime fiction, with a beloved recurring character based on her imaginary childhood friend, Eliza. Except nobody knows that Eliza sometimes appears in Lucy's real life, too.

Married to Dan, a would-be writer whose ambitions have never been realised, Lucy keeps her world small and safe. Until Dan surprises her: he's purchased a house in the same neighbourhood as Lucy's childhood home, backing into the woods where Teddy disappeared all those years ago.

Away from the city and her familiar routines, Lucy begins to unravel. And when Dan goes missing, her life and her past are suddenly subject to public scrutiny. Did Lucy kill her husband? What really happened to Teddy? Is Lucy the victim - or is she the perpetrator?

Sometimes the lines between fact and fiction are blurred, and Gilly MacMillan manipulates that brilliantly in To Tell You The Truth. I've been a huge fan of all of her novels, but this one is something special. I loved that the central protagonist was a writer, and although I've seen this trope employed dozens of times, it's given an extra layer here with the addition of Eliza, who is both the lingering presence of Lucy's imaginary childhood friend, and the ballsy star of Lucy's bestselling detective novels. The Eliza angle is an interesting one, and works beautifully, adding extra complexity to an already complex character - Eliza is an extraordinary mix of comfort blanket, protector, and confidante, and we're never quite sure if she's the figment of imagination she started out as, or if she's the person-shaped manifestation of mental illness.

The novel switches between the present day and Lucy's childhood, both stories unfolding at a deftly managed pace. I was hooked from the first chapter - Gilly has a way of writing that is both elegant and accessible, and her characters are well-rounded and believable. I loved the central story, and I love when an author decides to make the narrator unreliable - although we empathise with Lucy and feel sorry for her in a lot of ways, we're never quite sure whether we can fully trust her, largely because she can't trust herself. I really resented real-life interruptions while reading the book, and would have happily read it in one long sitting if possible.

I'd recommend any of Gilly Macmillan's novels as they're all superb, but this one is my favourite so far - gripping, twisty, intense, and unexpected. I absolutely loved it. Five shiny stars from me, and I'd give it more if I could!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher of this book, who gave me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, until I got to the end, which I found most unsatisfying. Throughout the book you had a possibly unreliable narrator, hallucinations and a husband acting suspiciously, all of which drew you in, only for it to end with (spoiler alert) the husband having been killed by a criminal syndicate and still no answer on what happened to Teddy. Could have been so much better.

This is the first Gilly Macmillan book I've read and I have to admit I've read better books in this genre. Right from the start I took an instant dislike to Lucy and Dan. Why would an intelligent woman allow her husband to spend her money without her knowledge? For me the best part of the story was when Lucy took her little brother out without their parents knowing and what happened afterwards.

Lucy Bewley was nine when her little brother Teddy went missing. Lucy desperately wanted to see the summer solstice celebrations taking place in the woods near her home.
As she was leaving the house, Teddy woke up, so she decided to take him with her.
A few hours later, she returns home without him.
What happened to him, her imaginary friend Eliza might know!
Thirty years on what happened to Teddy was still a mystery.
Lucy is now married to Dan and is a crime writer, and she has written a best seller detective series based on Eliza, but now feels she would like to write a different genre.
Her husband, Dan, who is controlling and manipulative,
is her assistant, he is jealous of her success but enjoys the financial rewards of her hugely profitable franchise.
They decide to move into a house near to her childhood home.
Dan disappears.
The police suspect her.
Is history repeating itself?

I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller that keeps you guessing to the end.
A must-read for all psychological thriller readers.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and author Gilly Macmillan for a pre-publication copy to review.

An excellent read.

Lucy, a little girl leaves her house in the middle of the night. She returns home, hours later, minus her little brother Teddy.

Years later, Lucy is grown, a successful author, married to Dan.

Dan is a failed author.

Then Dan goes missing.

To Tell You the Truth is a first rate thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Sharp, complex, gripping and twisty, with an ending that literally doesn’t even cross your mind, Gilly Macmillan does not disappoint!

Lucy Harper is a successful crime novelist, who has a very big secret. As a child her brother went missing and the police never discovered the truth. Lucy has always been a natural story teller and nobody knows whether she’s telling the truth or spinning a yarn. Her imaginary friend Eliza might just know what happened, but she won’t let Lucy tell... When history seems to repeat itself and Lucy’s husband goes missing, it’s clear that not everything is as it seems. Does Lucy know more than she is letting on? Is Eliza slowly taking over Lucy’s mind? And what exactly was Dan up to before he disappeared?

To Tell You the Truth is a very well written psychological thriller that twists and turns at an impressive pace and immerses the reader into the dark and deceitful world if it’s characters. It’s no overstatement here to say that nobody is quite who they seem in this novel. Macmillan’s characterisation of Lucy is perfection - you’ll find yourself flitting between vehemently believing she is guilty of both disappearances and being convinced that she is innocent on all fronts. The relationship between Lucy and Eliza borders on dangerously toxic and there are many moments where you find yourself questioning Lucy’s sanity. Is she schizophrenic, or psychopathic? Is she suffering from a mental breakdown? Is she the victim of a cruel game inflicting psychological torture on her? Macmillan will keep you guessing until the very end and you may find yourself surprised with the outcome!

The supporting characters are very well developed here and there are a myriad of viable suspects who may have been involved in Dan’s disappearance. Lucy’s interactions with the neighbours are laden with suspense, misdirection and at times pathos. Whilst the disappearance of her husband is the dominant storyline, the historical story of Lucy’s brother Teddy is also a key element that meanders through the narrative. Chapters that recall Lucy’s viewpoint of Teddy’s disappearance and the subsequent police investigation are interspersed between the present day events and help to build tension and paint a broader picture of suspicion over Lucy. However, as the narrative progresses you will find that these chapters are not exactly what they seem either...

Overall, Macmillan has written a thoroughly enjoyable psychological thriller that builds to an exciting unforeseen conclusion. This is a perfect read for crime thriller fans and you won’t be disappointed!

We find Lucy is a master at story telling, she's done it since she was a young girl and is now a best selling author. When she has finished her latest novel, she finds Dan her husband has bought a house near where she lived when she was a girl. This only exaggerates Eliza's (her imaginary friend from childhood and character in her novels) influence on her. It also brings to the front memories of her brother Teddy's disappearance and her involvement in it. Then Dan's car turns up burned out one night at the side of the road after an argument with Lucy, and blood is found in their house! Has she killed Dan, and did she have anything to do with Teddy's disappearance? Will we find out. Well written with lots of red herrings.
Loved this book couldn't put it down, thank you net galley for letting me read this book and will be looking for more from Gilly Macmillan in the future.

A tense and well written thriller about Lucy, a very successful writer with a dark background, an alter ego who is the main character in her books and a controlling, manipulative husband. Her past and present come together and haunt her - her missing brother, now (thankfully) missing husband and the neighbours from hell. I found it hard to sympathise with Lucy and felt she needed a good shaking at times, metaphorically of course; the ending was satisfactory for her present situation but completely not so for past events. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, cornerstone for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely adore this author. This is another absolutely fantastic read which I haven’t been able to put down.

The authors completely pulled me in and kept me completely engaged.

Lucy is a best selling author with a secret. Her brother disappeared when he was young and she never admitted the truth about it. Now her husband is missing. Does she know something about this as well?
I loved the character of Lucy and without knowing what she had done felt I would have forgiven her anyway

I've enjoyed all Gilly Macmillan's books and To Tell You the Truth was an unusual, but very addictive read. It's kind of hard to know what to say about this book. It's narrated by Lucy, author of a wildly successful series featuring Detective Sergeant Eliza Grey, which has earned her pots of money and many loyal fans. Eliza feels like a real person to her devoted fans, and, well, kind of to Lucy too, from her childhood imaginary friend to the inspiration for her books to someone who seems like a real presence in her life, offering advice and comments and even apparently taking over at times.

Lucy's husband Dan, himself a once aspiring writer, isn't apparently quite as smitten with her work as her readers are - though he's happy to enjoy the financial benefits it has brought. (He's kind of a jerk.) When he unilaterally and without consultation decides to buy a house for them close to where Lucy grew up, things begin to unravel.

There are things people don't know about Lucy, particularly regarding something that happened when she was a child - the unsolved disappearance, in the woods at night, of her little brother Teddy. We learn about this through flashbacks, though these too are not necessarily what they seem.

Lucy is an intriguingly unreliable narrator and I did find the story a bit confusing at times (and am undecided about the ending) but it's a gripping and, I think, memorable read.

To Tell You The Truth is a compulsive novel, with an unreliable narrator at its helm. It focuses on crime author Lucy Harper, whose brother disappeared when they were very young. What follows is a very twisty turny story with plenty of questionable moments. I read this one over the course of a day, purely because I needed to find out what happened. If I’m honest, I didn’t love it. It left me feeling unsatisfied after quite a lot of build up. But I get the feeling I’ll be in the minority with this book. Interesting premise using a crime writer as the main character. Crime readers will probably devour this one.

Tense psychological thriller. It started off very well and kept me gripped for most of the book. I did find the ending a little unbelievable and I wanted to know what really happened to Teddy.

A lonely little girl and a series of poor decisions made by a child.......with lifelong repercussions for many. Lucy seems to be at everybody’s mercy. Dan, Eliza, Max, the publishing house, her fans......but mostly herself! What a thoroughly unpleasant disagreeable character is Daniel. His blatant assumptions and highhandedness in spending Lucy’s money is staggering. What is more staggering is how she lets him, despite frequent insights into how horrible his nature is and how little he values her. That made it a bit hard to read as I was so frustrated with Lucy accepting her role as the victim, or the person who had succeeded so had to make his failure feel ok! Eliza’s apparently personality and prominence was well described throughout the book and at times you definitely felt she might be the only voice which could “save” Lucy from exploitation and being constantly undermined....and yes from the gaslighting! But how much of that is reality and how much is Lucy’s perception? No spoilers. Go ahead and enjoy the read. Great wee book for an afternoon in the garden.

I really enjoyed this book and as still left wanting more!!! I wanted to know more about Dan trying to drive Lucy mad and writing about her kiddo g brother. I wanted more interaction between Lucy & Sasha and I wanted to know what happened to Teddy!!! But that said, what you are shown does the trick very neatly. It’s still a mystery as to who is setting Lucy up and why, I’m just sad as I felt there was so much more to be covered.
Looking forward to the next book though!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To Tell you the Truth follows the story of Lucy Harper, a successful thriller writer who has a dark past; her younger brother Teddy went missing in the woods near her house, and she was the only witness to the events. However, Lucy's memory is foggy, and the majority of this book centers around these memories returning to her, and the process of her trying to figure out what happened years ago, though her judgement is clouded by those around her, including her husband Dan, who is a failed writer, and incredibly controlling.

The things I did like about this book include the pacing; I enjoyed the short, snappy chapters, that helped to build a sense of tension and growing suspense. I also enjoyed the character development of Lucy, she is a complex and multi-faceted character, and I found the presence of Eliza to be really interesting and unique.

However, I did also struggle with this book. Though there were elements that I enjoyed, and I loved the idea of this book, I was a little bit bored, and didn't feel as immersed as I maybe would have liked. Saying that, Gilly Macmillan is definitely a fantastic writer, and I would not hesitate to read more of her books, this one just didn't grab me. A good read nonetheless!