Getting revenge is sometimes all about the long play.
How do you deceive a con artist? Is it at all possible and what will the cost be to you?

I've always been fascinated by the stories of true-life con artists. People like Charles Ponzi and Elizabeth Holmes. You have to be one very special person to be able to pull off some of these cons. How do they manage to keep every single little detail straight and sometimes not for a day or two but for weeks, months, and sometimes years? Are these people just bad to the bone or are some of them good people that something bad happened to. For these reasons, I was fascinated by this book and I can definitely say it didn't disappoint! I can so see a TV series about this story!

"The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who's telling the story"

A cleverly crafted story that I can highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Meg Williams is many different thigs to many different people, depending on where she is and who she had chosen to target. She is, to put it plainly, a con artist. She would prefer the term Avenger, Either way she is really good at it, researching her targets meticulously, even taking the relevant courses to acquire the necessary skills. Why does she do it? Because of an incident in her youth which left her and her mother homesless.

Kat Reynolds is a wannabe writer of books but has settled on journalism as she has to pay her bills, and besides she feels she's hot on the trail of a good story when she comes across Meg.

I'm deliberately giving nothing away in my comments as I want you, the next reader, to enjoy this book as much as I did. It's well written with two likeable, if flawed, lead characters, a plausible and satisfying plot, a goos solid construction with beginning, middle and end.

I thorughly enjoyed this autho'r debut novel The Flight, so had expected this to be just as good. It is. Can't wait for her next one....or am I being just a bit greedy!

Another fantastic book from Julie Clark! A page-turning cat-and-mouse game between two women that keeps you guessing. But as the backstories are revealed, your perspective completely changes. I couldn't put it down!

I absolutely devoured this! Such a fun book, less of a thriller though and more of a kick @ss woman out for revenge! And who hasn't wanted to do that at some point in their life lol. It doesn't go as far as to be cheesy or predictable, ots really well written, even if I did get a bit blurry about the timelines. It's pure chic lit and the perfect book for beside the pool and for anyone who has ever felt wronged by some random. I loved it!

It was one of those days in early May when everything that could go right actually went right and it all started when I received a surprise email from Netgalley and the publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, asking if I would like an ARC of The Lies You Tell.

Yes, por favor!

As with Clark's debut The Last Flight, the plot of TLIT was so gd smart and I was completely blown away that Clark's sophomore book would be a phenomenal psycho-thriller that continues to subvert this genre that is littered with the Gone Girl and Girl on a Train identibooks.

It's actually going on my favorites shelf.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.

Having devoured Julie’s last novel, The Last Fight, I was excited to pick this up, and I’m delighted to say, it didn’t disappoint.

This novel revolves around two main female characters, both with different but intertwined stories. Meg, our lead and anti-hero is someone I couldn’t help rallying behind. I was constantly cheering her on, fascinating by her approach, and keen to see what the end game was.

On the other hand, I admit I found Kat to be a little whiny, pathetic and infuriating. However, I must say the character development throughout the story saved me from hating her. Bravo Julie, I’ve never known another author to pull that off before. I’m in awe.

So, the long shot is, if you enjoyed The Last Flight, I’ve a feeling you’re going to love this too. Perhaps even more.

If you’ve not read TLF yet, then if you enjoy fast-paced, interesting and slightly twisty tales with well-written, rounded characters, you definitely need to pick this one up.


https://luetchells.com/blog/f/book-review-the-lies-i-tell---julie-clark

This book was fantastic. It had everything revenge, tightly plotted storyline and chapters that kept you turning the pages. I wouldn't class this as a thriller as such but it was definitely gripping and well worth five stars.

This story is about Meg who goes by many aliases. She is a con artist who is out for revenge/justice depending on how you look at it. The problem is she doesn’t mind who gets hurt. Kat was someone who was used to get what Meg needed and now 10 years later she is ready to expose Meg.

This was well written but I am not sure I would even class it as a thriller. It is more a revenge & justice story. It moves along at quite a slow pace with not too much happening along the way. I found myself more interested in the subplot of Kat’s boyfriend who is a former gambling addict. I will look forward to this authors next book.

Aside from the annoying clichés about female empowerment (wouldn't we all puke if we read lines like 'what couldn't be achieved with two men working together'?) I enjoyed this story about a brilliant con artist and a struggling reporter. The characters of the two female protagonists are well developed through parallel narratives and the detail about how Meg carried out her con tricks was interesting. Though quite compelling at first, the story became overly predictable towards the end.

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark
♤♤♤♤ Out
A brilliant revenge story. If you loved Victoria Helen Stone's Jane Doe.... you will love this book!
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Another brilliant thriller by Julie Clark. Told in two different narratives, weaved together in such a clever way. A brilliant revenge story. Highly recommended xx

You need to keep your wits about you for this book! A gripping story of betrayal, revenge and friendship.

The story is told from the perspectives of Meg and Kat, two women who have suffered at the hands of others. Both are out for revenge/retribution.

Meg has been at this a long time and knows what she is doing. Kat has been burned when involved with Meg before but this time thinks she can stay on top.

What unfolds is a brilliant tale of the long con. Remember to keep your wits about you, never trust anyone or anything, always question your assumptions if you want to stay ahead!

A brilliant read.

In a Nutshell: An interesting revenge story, though not a thriller as advertised.

Story:
Kat Roberts has been looking for Meg Williams since the last ten years. Now at last, she has discovered her whereabouts and can now plan for her emotional closure over an incident that changed her life.
Meg Williams has been waiting to get in touch with Ron Ashton since more than a decade. Now at last, she is in the position to get closure over an incident that changed her life.
See the similarity? The difference is that Kat is a journalist while Meg is a con artist. Why are they pursuing their targets? Will they get what they seek? How will the tracks of the two women merge?
The story comes to us in the alternate first person perspectives of Kat and Meg.

I loved the concept of the book. It is always fun to read about con artists, and Meg seems to be among the best ones. The whole book reads like a cat-and-mouse game, though the identity of the cat and mouse are quite fluid.

The title, “The Lies I Tell”, can represent not just Kat or Meg but many other characters in the book as well. Despite the overload of “lies”, the story doesn’t feel like it is going over the top. There are no needless twists, and everything proceeds from the natural flow of the narrative. Of course, a certain suspension of disbelief is required, because some of the character actions and reactions are simply unbelievable. No one can be that gullible, surely!

The story is a tad confusing at the start, with too many character names popping up too quickly, but things start making sense after a couple of chapters. However, a first person narrative needs to make sure that the two character voices are distinct enough. That didn’t happen here. Both Meg and Kat are written the same way, even though their circumstances are different. There’s nothing unique about their individual perspectives. This, for me, was the weakest point of the book.

While both the female MCs are developed well, I liked Meg’s character a lot more than Kat’s. The latter seemed too short-sighted at times, and missed obvious clues though she was a journalist. Meg’s track is much more layered and unfolds slowly, revealing her personality with every turn of the page. In fact, her arc was strong enough to have a book of its own. I was team Meg all the way.

There are many timelines in the story, though these aren’t always indicated. At the start, the time frames of Kat and Meg are different and they merge only later down the line. There’s nothing to indicate the difference though. For these reasons, I don't think this will work well as an audiobook, at least for those dabbling in the audio version casually. It is better read.

I’m not sure why so many readers felt that this was a thriller. For me, it was more of a revenge drama. The pacing is decent, not slow but not quick as well in the first half. The second half is much faster. A thriller needs to make you wonder about what will happen next. That feeling never came to me here as the story flows in a pretty obvious direction. Also, it is not like there are any major mind-boggling twists in the plot, but whatever little surprises were there were also quite predictable.

The ending is what elevated my experience from good to great. I loved the way some things were tied, and some things were left to the imagination. It was perfect for the story and really well written.

I didn’t go into this book with any expectations, as I have not read the previous works of this author. But as a first glimpse of her work, it was quite good and I think I will try her other books. Recommended if you are looking for a gripping revenge story with two well-developed female characters.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Lies I Tell”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I loved this book. It started a slow burning but turned in a great mystery thriller. We start with a main protagonist that lose everything and has to start a new life. There is a lot of mystery and it attracts the attention of the second main character. I loved how they were hiding and saying things to each other. They were really smart but also sad about life and people that take advantage of others. The book has many turns and an open ending that was ok for me. Usually I am not ok with that. But for this book it works perfectly.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton publishers and Netgalley.com for this great surprise arc copy.

2 women - a conwoman and a journalist. And the games they played with each other and the men in their lives. I loved Meg. She appeared morally gray anti-heroine in the entire book, but she was not a villain. Kat wanted to expose the truth but understood that there were more nuances to it.

Loved the writing which was crisp and detailed, only at times about real estate, it felt to be too much and felt boring to me. But the gist of the act was exciting. It was one heck of a roller coaster ride where I suspected a few things and was so happy when I was proved right.

Now I need to read this author's earlier work pronto. A fun read.

A really enjoyable story with so many different twists and turns waiting to jump out at you. Gripping from start to finish.

I LOVED this book! A brilliant read. I really enjoyed this tale of balanced vengeance, a woman who decides to lean into 'girl code' and take revenge on men who have manipulated and wronged women in a variety of horrible ways.

A modern 'robin hood' with a female lead. Wonderful!

I really enjoyed Ms Clark's previous book and was pleased to find this one was equally as good. It was a well written twisty thriller that managed to wrongfoot me ( and Kat) at every turn, and I loved it. I have to admit that at first I wasn't convinced by Kat's motives for pursuing Meg, but was relieved to see her change of mind by the end.
Thank you to netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy of this book

4.5 stars rounded up

Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be - a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she's done, you've likely lost everything.

Meg Williams is a con artist. Kat Roberts has waited ten years to expose Meg. Told in the past and present day. we find out why Kat is desperate to get revenge on Meg. This is a game of cat and mouse. Kat finally has Meg in her sights and she needs to get her revenge before her secret is revealed. the story is told from Meg and Kat's perspectives. With twists along the way, this well written. easy to read book held my attention throughout. I found myself rooting for both characters. I was pulled into this story from the first page. My first read by the author and it won't be my last.

Another fabulous, gripping story from Julie Clark. This one has two main characters, Meg and Kat, and the point of view alternates between them. One is a con artist, the other is a journalist hoping to expose her. Both characters are really strong and I loved them both. The story is about, among other things, truth, lies, trust and retribution. It was a fast paced read that held my attention all the way through. Not really a mystery or a thriller in the true sense, but nevertheless, an exciting read.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this wonderful book.

I LOVED this story. For me, it was a very easy read and I finished the story in a matter of hours. It is unputdownable. I enjoyed learning more about the characters who were complex and interesting. I felt the plot was incredibly intriguing, and fast paced evolving in a brilliant manner.

I highly recommend this book - probably one of my top 10 books of 2022.