⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Claire Douglas is one of my auto-buy authors, so I couldn’t wait to get stuck into The Woman Who Lied.

I love Douglas’ writing; it’s sharp, engaging, and draws you in straight away. She’s also an expert at creating a suspenseful, tense atmosphere.

The characterisation is excellent, and I was never really sure who to trust; I was left guessing and double-guessing all the way through.

I loved the storyline, which I thought was well-plotted, nicely paced, and had enough twists and turns to send me up all the wrong garden paths. The book had some nail-bitingly creepy parts, and I admit to checking over my shoulder more than once.

The Woman Who Lied is an entertaining, immersive read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Loved this one - absolutely thrilling, lots of twists and turns and an epic finale. Claire Douglas is fast becoming an autobuy author for me

This was a really interesting concept that I enjoyed once I got into it. At first it took a bit to get used to the characters and who was narrating, once I had things figured out it got good!
I thought the story and the twists really came into its own and I couldn’t put it down once I got to the half way point.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this arc.

Secrets, lies, and murder lie at the heart of this book. Along with a healthy dose of easily sorted misunderstandings. But then that's life, isn't it!

Emilia is a novelist with a highly successful series based around a detective called Miranda Moody. Her tenth book is about to be released, and Emilia is making sure it will be the last in the series. Miranda has earned her a good life, but she just isn't feeling it anymore. But then she notices odd coincidences, things happening in her life that seem to mirror her novels. It becomes apparent that someone is copying the scenarios, each leading to the next book,inextricably leading to a very final and deadly conclusion.

Another Claire Douglas book where I thought I guessed, kind of did, but then dammit another pesky twist ruined my theory. Which is actually good, but I hate being wrong! But in all seriousness, this is a great read. Strong and realistic characters and a compelling plot made this a very enjoyable read.

Loved this book, it was an enjoyable read but was quite forgettable; I remember enjoying reading it but can't recall much about the premise or the characters.

This book took me ages to get into, it wasn't a gripping start and seemed different to her other books.
However, all in all, not too bad of a book but not my favourite.
Good idea for the story, just lost me a bit.
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Thanks to Netgalley for a pre release copy.

Emilia Ward is the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective series. She has just finished writing the 10th and final instalment of the series, and has sent out the manuscript to her nearest and dearest for their thoughts. Emilia thinks it’s strange when incidents start to happen that directly mirror incidents that she has written about in her previous Miranda Moody books. Her anxiety heightens when the incidents become more targeted towards her. But what unsettles her the most is when one of the incidents is taken directly from her unpublished 10th book - the one that only her closest friends and family have read. Because that would mean that someone she loves is behind this campaign of terror. And when Emilia discovers that her storyline is almost identical to a real life, unsolved crime, she starts to realise that she is in real danger. But what events have led to this point? And who is involved?

Oooo this was such a tense read! To say I was on edge when reading it is an understatement. This is the third Claire Douglas novel I had read now and she never fails to create that perfectly tense and eerie atmosphere that leaves me feeling a little bit creeped out…I love it! The times where Emilia felt like she was being watched or followed, it was as though I could sense the exact same feeling…such great writing!! And when Emilia felt like she didn’t know who to trust, it made me feel a bit panicky too!

My thoughts and theories about what was happening were the equivalent of a rollercoaster with multiple loops…I thought I’d sussed it and then the next twist happened and I was back to square one 🤣 I love a book that keeps me on my toes and keeps me guessing and this one was brilliant for that. Lots of lightbulb moments where I was like OHHHHH…the best kind of reading experience!

Really enjoyed it…didn’t love it as much as The Girls Who Disappeared but still a very, very good book! 😊

I'm a huge fan of Claire's books and always reserve her next one well in advance! I was lucky enough to get this one on Net Galley.

The story starts with Emilia, a loving wife, mother and best selling author, who suddenly finds life alarmingly imitating art when something happens that closely mirrors a plot in one of her books....Who is doing this? Is it someone close to her?

I devoured this novel and stayed up late tearing through the "pages" on my Kindle, desperate to find out the truth. The plot is ingenious, the characters believable and well rounded and lots of red herrings meant you never quite knew who to trust. I loved the underlying tension throughout, so cleverly done.

An absolutely brilliant crime thriller and hugely recommended by me. Also, if you haven't read the author's previous books, what are you waiting for?!

Thanks to author Claire Douglas, publishers Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely fantastic book as always from Claire. I raced through this as always. Only reason it's not. 5* from me is because I just lost track slightly throughout and wasn't sure which was the story set within the book and which was real.

I have been a massive fan of Claire and she's become a go to author. Imagine being a crime writer and suddenly your books are happening in real life.
Is everyone safe? Who's doing this? Hooks you right in with the twists and turns.

It's not the best Claire Douglas' novel but it's an excellent novel nonetheless. Well plotted, full of surprising twists, it keeps on the edge and guessing anyhting till the end.
Well done and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Things I loved about this one:

✅ a narrator that is possibly unreliable, but you can't be sure
✅ plot twist after plot twist
✅ hugely bingeable read
✅ book within a book

I flew through this one, like in two sittings. I needed to plough on through to know what was happening! This story was well placed, and had plenty to keep me entertained. The writing style really helps the addictive nature of this one ✍🏻

There are a few characters but they are easy to keep up with, and I thought all of them were implicated at various times. I did guess some of the plot, or who rather! but not how it was executed. It didn't ruin the read for me, as I was so drawn in.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a domestic thriller 🏡

R A T I N G

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This will be published on www.instagram.com/kayleyisreading in August!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

A fabulous captivating read. Fast-paced, full of intrigue and thrills. I'm looking forward to the next read from this talented author.

I was so disappointed with this book. I've read all of Claire Douglas's others and for the most part really enjoyed them, but this was just bad. The pacing was rushed, and there was no tension - it just always seemed like there was a hurry to move on to the next scene in the book. It was obvious from the beginning who was behind it all, although the reason why they were doing it was at least a surprise. The characters, particularly the female friends, would have blended into one since they didn't feel like they had distinct personalities beyond what hats they wore. I just didn't feel it was very well written, and I didn't really enjoy it.

#adprproduct Thank you to the author, @michaeljbooks and #Netgalley for a #gifted digital and physical copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Claire Douglas is a firm favourite of mine and I'm desperate to read her backlist. When I saw a new book was being released I couldn't wait to read it.

What a gripping domestic thriller this was! I was hooked early on with it's fast pace and storyline. I loved the idea of someone copying the events that take place in a crime book. The tension was high throughout and I could really feel Emilia's frustration and wariness of those around her.

With many great twists I was entertained and addicted to finding out who the copycat was, and whilst I did guess at one point, I passed it off as a random mad thought! The characters were strong, the background and past timeline were well developed and made for such a wonderful book.

I could really see this becoming a TV series, I'd certainly watch it!

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas is a gripping tense thriller by the author and is very clever story. Emilia Ward is a very ordinary housewife living happily in suburban London with her second husband and two children.
She is also the best selling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels. Her latest novel will be the last in the Miranda Moody series.
Then strange events start occurring that are based on events in all of Emilia’s books including the murder of a police officer. Emilia and the police have to find who is responsible for all of these events before Emilia herself falls victim.
Emilia doesn’t know who to trust anymore and needs to find the person responsible.
A most enjoyable read with plenty of characters and a plot that keeps on twisting and turning until the end.
Highly recommended

Emilia is happily married and mother to Jasmine and Wilfie, living in the suburbs of London.
She just happens to also be a bestselling detective author.
Things take a disturbing twist when plots from her novels occur in reality. Are Emilia and her family going to be the next targets.
Plenty of twists with convincing characters. Who can she trust?
Tension starts to build as she suspects everyone around.
A tense, gripping read and loved how it was a book within a book.
Thanks @Dougieclaire, @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

Another of my ‘go-to’ authors! This story certainly had me hooked from the outset with its pace and different narrators, trying, as always, to work out where the plot would take me.

Its setting is very much up-to-date with divorced parents and some unease between them. The characters realistically formed, stepped easily into my sub-conscience. Emilia was surrounded by close friends and family and yet suspicion rocked her world with distrust for every one of these people.

I found the premise, an author of police procedural books, seeing events from her books coming to life in front of her, fascinating, particularly the ‘yet-to-be’ published book!

There were twists and turns a plenty and I was, along with Emilia, suspecting everyone! An exhausting, fast-paced thriller, with brilliant, multi-layered plotting. I loved this story, seeing how the pieces from the past and events from her books all slotted together. Highly recommend this thrilling read!

Emma is a writer living in Richmond, with her new husband and two kids and she is about to publish her new book, the last one in a very popular series, where she has decided to kill off the detective, main character.
All of a sudden weird things started to happen, till she realises someone is on a mission to scare her using her own books as a source of inspiration. Though only a few selected people have read the copy of her latest book, who can she trust?

A very gripping thriller, very cleverly written. Perfect book to bring on holiday.

Claire Douglas has done it again. An amazing thriller that I couldn't put down and unable to guess. It left me wanting more