Definitely recommend this book! Good mystery to see who did it. I like how it switched back and fourth leading up to the current event. Fast paced read and kept me hooked!

Thanks to Net Galley for granting me this book . This was a real page turner and so many twists and turns it kept me interested and the ending totally took my breath away! I would recommend to anyone who likes a suspense thriller.

This story is told from the perspective of Lex whose younger sister, Amber, was murdered after the homecoming dance 15 years ago. Lex's teenage boyfriend, Riley, is on death row for Amber's murder and the execution is imminent.
With a week to go to the execution, Lex receives a letter from Riley asking to see her. He claims he didn't murder Amber and asks Lex to find the proof to back him up. Lex faces a race against the clock to prove Riley's innocence.
This is a good thriller, if a little slow in places.

A great novel which keeps you guessing until the end. You are never sure who is telling the truth and your views of the central characters change constantly. Following Amber’s murder, Lexie’s life stalls and falls apart. Years later, her former boyfriend, Riley, is about to receive the death sentence for the murder, so the the case is thrust back into the spotlight and secrets and lies are revealed.

Sweet Little Lies by Karin Nordin

What a brilliant psychological mystery/thriller! I've never read anything by this author before, but I certainly will be keeping an eye out for her books going forward.

I loved the split timelines that ran throughout this book. The action switched from past to present seamlessly. This technique allowed the readers to get glimpses into the past, which gave us an insight into the characters backgrounds and the context to the action unfolding in the present day. These flashbacks gave us tiny bits of information which helped to throw suspicion onto all of the characters at different points. Throughout this book I kept thinking "Oh I definitely know who's responsible for the murder" but then another bit of information would be dropped and it would throw me off the scent all over again. The suspense built throughout this book made it a quick and very enjoyable read. I enjoyed that this book was set in a high school setting, with the intense emotions of teenagers being at the forefront. I found it to be an interesting commentary on the way that teenagers (especially girls) can be nasty, and sometimes downright evil, when pushed beyond their limits. I also found the situation surrounding the teacher to be an important addition, as it is often something that is not spoken about, and the author did a good job at raising awareness of this in a sensitive but pointed manner.

There is a whole range of characters in this book. Our main character, Lexie, was not particularly likeable, as she came across as being frustrating and naive at certain points throughout. I do not, however, think this was a bad thing, as it made her seem more real; I mean who wouldn't have a few psychological problems after their sister was murdered?! The other characters were also well conceptualised. The dynamic between Lexie and her mother was an interesting addition which showed just how devastating the impact of losing a loved one can be on a family. The more I found out about Amber, the more confused I became. Her character was really an enigma, and it wasn't until the very end that I began to understand her motivations. Again, this certainly wasn't a negative aspect and just helped to build the mystery element of this book. The other characters such as Mr Henson, Cameron, Jess, Nell etc were all just as mysterious, and the author did a good job at showing that there is more to a person than what we see/they allow us to see.

Overall I found this a very enjoyable, hard-hitting mystery thriller that kept me gripped all the way through. Karin Nordin is clearly a great writer of psychological thrillers and I will 100% be picking up more of their work going forward. I would highly reccomend this book.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Karin Nordin for the ARC.

Well, I wasn't expecting that ending.
This is a twisty little book that gets right to the heart of teenage life in the US, from homecomings to deciets and secrets to ... murder.
I found this gripping from start to finish and soon became fully invested in the characters. With sleight of hand Nordin takes you down one road and then deftly transports you to another one. Excellent plotting made this a true mystery with each clue set up to optimise the effect and each red herring beautifully created to throw you off the scent.
Thrilling, tragic and very disturbing.

Loved this book. Plenty of twists and turns and lots of suspense. Its very well written and I've reccomended it to all my friends.

Sweet Little lies is a tightly told tale based in a small American town where fifteen years earlier, Lexie’s sister Amber was murdered on the night of the local High School’s prom. In the present day, having been through the various legal complexities over the years, Lexie’s former boyfriend is finally just days away from being executed for Amber’s murder.

But of course, the true story of exactly what happened that evening back in 2007 has not yet properly come out. And Lexie has never managed to move on from the tragedy. She still lives in the same town, having a menial job at the very school she and her sister had attended alongside many of the other locals who have not drifted away from the town in the intervening years. Lexie’s mother is now an alcoholic, and does not shy from having preferred her dead daughter to the one who survived.

It seems that the whole town in some way blames Lexie for having a psychopathic boyfriend who murdered her sister.

But the question is, did he really do it? And if he didn’t, can anything be changed before the execution date in just a few days’ time?

This is a rapid read because it’s a proper page-turner. The various characters we’re introduced, as well the sub-plots, red-herrings and other things, mean that you’re never entirely sure where the book is going. One particular twist did catch me out, even though it was all there for me to see – which is quite satisfying in a way.

A novel to keep you guessing until the end.

Fifteen years earlier, Lex had lost her sister. She was brutally murdered in the woods where they lived and their family had never been the same since.

Now the murderer and Lex’s ex boyfriend, Riley, is due to be executed. Finally Amber can be put to rest, but the family will never recover. Lex hasn’t been happy for so long, she wonders if she ever will be. So when she receives a letter from Riley, a letter meant to wind her up, she has to visit him. Because on that night, she wasn’t where she should be either. She needs to find out what Riley wants but when he tells her she’s shocked. She leaves the prison on a mission, to find out what really happened to her sister while keeping her own secret.

I received this book through netgalley and I’m so pleased I requested it. From the beginning the story is filled with mystery. Every character seems to have their own secret and during the book I suspected most characters. Never did I see where it was actually going, complete shocker there! An absolutely brilliant read that I highly recommend and I’m probably going to buy a copy for my mum too!

Gripping from beginning to end! This book is compelling and bingeable. I heard about this novel and a podcast, and I had to read it myself. I am so glad I did. There are a lot of twists and turns, some that may be a tad predictable, but the final few chapters are everything a psychological thriller is made of. I enjoyed Lex as a protagonist and felt for her. I wish we had gotten a little bit more of Amber to understand her motives and personality more. But overall, I think the book was very well done and would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ, and Karin Nordin, for my advanced reader copy.

This is the story of sisters Lexie and Amber Wicker, daughters of the local police chief. Popular girls and with only 10 months difference in age, they tend to move in the same circles and have the same friends. That is until teenage angst and high school gets in the way.

The book starts with Lexie being questioned by police about Amber. A tragedy has occurred and life will never be the same for the Wicker family as the consequences of homecoming night take their toll on everyone.

Set across two timelines, which works well, and with a countdown towards an execution, this plot line is well thought out and certainly keeps the reader interested. At times Lex is in need of a good shaking and talking to, but good on the author making the reader feel like that. With a fair few red herrings it is a compulsive read to find out what happens next. The ending is good, though not entirely unexpected.

A slow burner with a bit too much unnecessary filler, but all in all a good read.

3.5* upped to 4*.


Thank you NetGalley and HQ.

First, thank you to NetGalley & HQ for the advanced copy of this book on my TBR.

What a wild ride.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, so if that isn’t your jam, this maybe a bit frustrating.

The story follows Lexi, a much fallen small town girl who was once much beloved. Her life is in shambles after the death of her sister, and now her ex boyfriend (Riley) is facing execution for her death. We follow a cast of characters around the small town, winding in and out of whodunnit’s & what was once long buried secrets.

Some parts were predictable, others had my jaw dropped and my stomach churning in anticipation. Overall- solid 4.5 read

This twisty, psychological thriller is told from two different timeframes, which works quite well. Lex is determined to find her sister's killer, despite her teenage boyfriend spending time in prison for the crime. She embarks on a search for the real killer which puts her in danger from quite a few different people in her town. The story is well told, with some very interesting characters, although I really wanted to shake Lex at times! If you like your psychological thrillers, with a clever twist at the end, then this is one for you. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Historic murder, guilty person about to be executed some years later. Appeals to sister of the victim. She's still traumatised, both from the murder of her sister, understandable, and the appalling behaviour of the kids at the school where she's now a caretaker/cleaner. I really can't understand why she remains there given her family history. Story drags and repeats itself for quite a long time until the rather rapid ending, a sort of reaching the climax I suppose. The ending did have a twist. 3.5 rounded up to 4*. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Another great book by Karen Nordin.

Lexie and Amber were friends as well as sisters, but when Amber is brutally murdered after their Homecoming Dance, Lexie’s boyfriend Riley is found guilty and sent to prison.
Fifteen years later, having now lost her sister and her father, and her mother being an alcoholic, Lexie is struggling to survive. She works as a part time caretaker in her old school and has never managed to escape Braxton Falls or the people in it, many of whom seem to blame her for her boyfriend killing her sister. Oh did he? Lexie has never been sure and when she finds out that Riley is about to be executed she tries to find out more. Why wasn’t her policeman father happy with the case? Why did he have all the case files? What did the police miss? Why are some of her old friends, who
Ignored her when her sister died, now wanting to be friend again?

A good and engrossing read.
Thanks to HQStories for letting me read this

I didn’t know what to make of this story at first. The life of Lex felt devastatingly sad, both emotionally and otherwise. As the story twisted and wove along, bits of information gradually dropped in bit by bit, the world opened up and I got to know each and every person. Not everyone was likeable, and even Lex was extremely frustrating at times, and somewhat naive. But is it any wonder given what she’s been through? I really liked that the story was told part in flashbacks and part in present day, I think it works well when there’s such a big story from the past that needs incorporating. I think the author made Lex’s aloneness in present day so very deep, no matter what happened, it just felt like she was so alone. Her relationships were surface level, or imbalanced, and how could it be any different with what was going on? I liked hearing about the past, about the relationships of then and being able to compare them to present day. How things have changed, how things haven’t changed, and how the secrets and lies of the past were so tightly protected that even present day didn’t know about them. I’m glad Lex had someone in her corner, even if that person was a long way away, I only wish we could have seen more exploration of that. It was like a missing piece of the puzzle, that in some ways is a story for another day, but was also hinted at so much that I was hoping for something more. While I enjoyed this story, and it kept me on the edge of my seat, I didn’t love it enough to give it 5 stars. I got too frustrated with everyone, especially Lex, in the latter half of the book which is why I’ve had to drop it down to 4. But it’s a solid story, a solid murder mystery, and a well written book that I would happily recommend to others.

Told in two time frames. The now, when life for a mother and daughter has been destroyed by the death of their daughter and sister. The past, two sisters, one confident and a member of the in crowd, the other, lacking confidence, self assurance and the ability to fit in: Her only meaningful relationship with a misfit from the wrong side of the tracks. A convoluted backstory related to one night , a mixture of drink, drugs , anger and jealousy ending in a gruesome fatality. A decade of lies and blame terminating in an execution unless the truth can be established. A harrowing conclusion where nothing is as it seems and no one emerges clear of blame. A complex plot and good characterisation of the main protagonist . Often the victim of her own inadequacies leading to shortcomings in her ability to think and act in a concise manner which can be frustrating to the flow of the story. A suspenseful unexpected conclusion that delivers a surprising twist. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book really gripped me from the start when I knew there was going to be an execution which had to be stopped. Lexies sister was killed at their school ball and Lexies boyfriend was convicted of her murder. But Lexie always knew that it didn’t seem right and now she’s trying to find out the truth.
I did find it a bit slow in places. The chapters count down to the execution but try as she might, Lexie is getting no where. Until right as the day is almost upon them. However I was hooked and had to find out the truth. There were a few twists and turns but nothing overly shocking. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend

I really enjoyed this book. It is about Lex Wicker who works as a caretaker in the school which her and her sister attended. Lex had a plan to go to art college. The drama began at the homecoming dance. Lex went with her boyfriend Riley and they have been together for over a year and she thought she knew him completely. Lex is persuaded to take a substance by some friends and she becomes violently ill and missed the majority of the evening. In the meantime her sister, Amber, disappears from the dance and is found dead in the woods behind the school. Lex was so out of it that she wondered if she had anything to do with the death although deep down she felt that was not possible. The police were involved and they found Riley to be the murderer even though he said right from the start that he was not guilty. 15 years go by in misery for Lex. Her mother becomes an alcoholic as her sister was her mother’s “favourite” and she could not get over the death. She blamed Lex for not looking after Amber and makes Lex’s life so difficult. She had an ally with her dad but then he passed and things became a lot worse. In the days before Riley’s execution he reaches out to Lex and she decides to go and see him in prison. What she finds out completely surprises her and she decides that if Riley is not guilty then who is. Lex has carried a secret with her about that night and that is eating away at her more so since she met with Riley and she feels he knows. Riley is convinced that Lex will find out the truth but he is so near to his execution date that Lex feels she will never find the answer. Lex works out the puzzle eventually and the plot comes to an end and I enjoyed the process of getting there. The ending – well I did not expect that. A twist even at the end

It's fifteen years since Lexies boyfriend
was convicted for the murder of her sister Amber. Her life has been greatly affected since as so many townsfolk appear to believe she knew more about the event than she ever let on. Lexie has been keeping her own secret about that night for all that time. Now as his execution date approaches new information surfaces raising questions about the validity of his conviction. Lexie is torn but clearly some are keen to prevent further questioning which only drives her on to investigate more about the events of that night.
This book is powerful, hard hitting and memorable. Well written with enough twists to keep you guessing throughout.