This is a twisty, gripping read, yet for me a tiny bit repetitive in parts. The McAlpine family run a luxury lodge, so secluded that visitors have to hike there. Will Trent and Sarah Linton, both with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, are there on honeymoon. They are soon caught up in a murder investigation when Mercy, the only half-decent member of the truly awful family, is found dead. This is an Agatha Christie-like plot with a closed circle of suspects – the murderer must have been a family member or one of the other eight guests, all of whom seem to have a motive for the killing.
I thought there was a great balance between the police investigation and the personal relationships that underpin the plot. We gradually learn of Mercy’s unhappy past and relationships with the rest of her dysfunctional family.
I enjoyed the relationship between Will, whose childhood in an orphanage is a major aspect of this story, and his wife, Sara, a pediatrician whose background couldn’t be more different. Their handling of this situation required putting their honeymoon on hold, and giving each other space to do their jobs.
The characters are memorable and I could clearly imagine exactly what the lodge and its surroundings looked like. As usual, author Karin Slaughter delivers intrigue, deaths aplenty, and suspense, and I look forward to the next in her Will Trent series.

I was holding out on this review even though I finished reading this one ages ago because I wanted to be sure of how I present my views on this one. As you can see from the TW, this is a very heavy read and to be really honest, it was not my cup of tea.

I've read Karin Slaughter's books before but this one was different and thick with so many issues addressed that it made it quite a difficult read for me. The fact that the pace of the book was so slow that I literally had to skip chapters in order to complete the book did not help. I didn't want to DNF it because I was curious as to how it would all turn out but I was also getting really impatient with the narrative style.

The answer to the burning question - who killed Mercy McAlpine? - was someone expected but the incidents that led to this crime being committed was not. The McAlpines are a really twisted family with so many underlying problems that they deal with in the worst way imaginable. I felt sad, angry and disgusted about all the things described, the story affecting me in a way that I didn't see coming.

This one is for readers who don't mind a gruesome and/or disturbing crime thriller. It unsettles you while keeping you anxious to know the answers.

Will Trent and Sara Linton are back.

This time, they are on their honeymoon in the McAlpine Family Lodge, situated deep in the woods.

The lodge is run by the McAlpines, a quite despicable family with no love for each other.

After an accident, Papa, the family patriarch and a brute of a man, ended up in a wheelchair. His daughter, a reformed addict, Mercy is running the whole show to the dismay of her father.

On the day that Mercy died, she fell out with everyone in her family. She threatened she was going to expose the family secrets.

With no mobile signal and limited WiFi access, it’s up to Will and Sara to solve the crime.

I waited for over 10 years for Karin Slaughter to write a locked-in mystery, and now my dreams have finally come true.

I loved the location of the story and how everyone, including the guests, had secrets.

It was great to see familiar faces return, too – Faith Mitchell’s dry humour always puts a smile on my face.

Shocking descriptions of physical and emotional abuse feature quite heavily in this book.

The twist at the end was fantastic. I never expected such ending!

Thanks to Harper Collins for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

Georgia Bureau investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton are my favourite literary couple and a new addition to their series is always a highlight.
In book 12 they have just got married (I feel wronged we didn’t get to attend their wedding in the book) and go to an exclusive and secluded mountain resort for their honeymoon. It’s a place that used to host kids from the Atlanta children’s home where Will grew up and he has always wanted to go there.
After hiking to the hard-to-reach lodge they don’t want to have awkward questions about their jobs so they lie and make up new professions when they meet the McAlpine family who own and run the resort and the other holidaying couples.
But this is a thriller so no dreamy honeymoon here.
The first evening there’s a shocking argument at dinner between Mercy, the daughter who does the day-to-day running of the resort, and other members of the clearly dysfunctional family. And Will is stunned to discover his bully from the children’s home is also a McAlpine now and doesn’t seem to have changed.
Later that night the couple hear screaming and find Mercy dying after being brutally stabbed. A storm also seals off the already isolated lodge making it the perfect locked-room mystery. Will and Sara discover they were not the only ones lying about their lives and some of the guests have connections to the toxic family as they try to find out who killed Mercy.
It’s a riveting read that I tried hard not to race through. Newbies to the series get enough background to jump into the story. Be warned though, this is a Karin Slaughter thriller so it does get quite gruesome and dark, but it’s balanced by the romance of the lead characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

You have to feel sorry for Will Trent, an agent with The Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He’s just experienced the happiest day of his life so far. He and the love of his life, Sara Linton, have just got married. He’s whisked her away to the remote McAlpine Lodge to experience wonderful scenery, fabulous wildlife and to spend their honeymoon in rapturous bliss. It’s been a long held dream of Will’s and he so wants to share this dream with Sara.

There are another three couples there; but Will just wants to spend time with Sara and he’s not really drawn to any of the other guests. Fortunately they have their own cabin and Will and Sara are looking forward to spending quality time together with no wifi to distract them.

What neither of them knows beforehand however is that the Lodge is owned by a warring family and worse, that one of the family members is responsible for some of Will’s worst nightmares.

Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the lodge, has finally faced up to her manipulative bully of a father, the wheelchair bound patriarch of the family who wants to sell the Lodge for a wad of cash, despite the fact that since Mercy took over the running of the site, she has improved the accommodation and turned it from a loss making enterprise into something with long term sustainable future.

This Is Why We Lied is as dark as we have come to expect from Karin Slaughter. It is also her tribute to the locked room mystery and explores some familiar themes of child neglect and abuse; drug and alcohol addiction and just outright nauseating behaviour and viciousness.

Mercy’s family are as big a bunch of toxic low lifes as you could come across and Mercy has had a miserable life and her only source of pride is in what she has achieved by turning the fortunes of McAlpine Lodge around.

Though Will and Sara have concealed their true roles from everyone at the Lodge, they are forced to reveal their true occupations and Karin Slaughter takes us meticulously through Sara’s autopsy of Mercy as we learn the extent of the trauma she has suffered.

It’s not only the family who have dark secrets; not all the guests are what they initially seem, and with a closed camp and bad weather closing them in, it’s obvious that someone on site is the murderer, Everyone here has secrets; many have told lies or obfuscated with half-truths. Will immediately has his suspicions about who the prime suspect should be, but is he too coloured by his tortured past?

As Will and Sara are eventually joined by their GBI colleagues, Faith and Amanda, the secrets slowly come into the light. But this is no obvious tale; Karin Slaughter twists and turns this dark and evil story until you suspect everyone.

Mercy herself has had such a hard life, you can’t help but feel sorry for her and this is only reinforced by the discovery of letters she has written to her son; letters that would make a grown man weep. Yet no-one other than Will and Sara seem to care that she has been murdered. This is a cold bunch of people. Karin Slaughter leads us through Mercy’s life and the hard choices she has had to make and that just makes her death so much sadder and hard to bear.

This Is Why We Lied is a book I could not resist ploughing through. It is the definition of a compelling page-turner that kept me glued to the book long into the night. It is dark and disturbing and many of the characters made my flesh crawl.

There is depth here and psychological insight and we gain a deeper knowledge than ever of Will and the way he thinks.

Right until the end I could not predict what was coming. This is a suspenseful and compelling read that reveals the darker side of man’s inhumanity and I really felt for Will and Sara having to deal with this on their honeymoon!

Verdict: This Is Why We Lied is a brilliantly plotted thriller with so many layers to be revealed: It is a must read book for anyone who loves the Will Trent and Sara Linton series. Immaculate plotting and terrific characters combine with a fabulous setting to bring an extraordinarily well told story.

Reading Cop Town recently, reminded me how much I enjoy Karin Slaughter’s books. When this title appeared on NetGalley I could not resist. Naturally, this book jumped to the top of my TBR pile. "This is Why We Lied" is a wonderful blend of suspense and psychological intrigue, set against the backdrop of the luxurious yet eerily isolated McAlpine Lodge. This secluded mountain getaway, promising escapist luxury, quickly transforms into a hotbed of secrets and lies, setting the stage for a thrilling and unforgettable narrative.
The story kicks off with an unsettling premise: everyone at McAlpine Lodge is hiding something. The characters are complex, each bringing their hidden pasts and personal deceptions to the fore. Slaughter weaves these secrets into a tangled web, heightening the tension with every page. The catalyst for the unravelling of these lies is Mercy McAlpine, the seemingly good daughter, who threatens to expose everyone's secrets. Her sudden and mysterious death plunges the story into a gripping whodunit.
Enter Will Trent and Sara Linton, the GBI investigator and medical examiner, respectively, who find their honeymoon interrupted by this shocking murder. Their presence brings a sense of urgency and professionalism to the investigation, as they navigate through a maze of deceit and danger. Slaughter’s portrayal of their relationship is realistic, adding depth to their characters and providing a counterbalance to the mounting tension of the murder investigation.
The remote setting of McAlpine Lodge adds a layer of suspense. The isolation creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, making you feel the looming presence of danger. Slaughter uses this setting to her advantage, creating a sense of foreboding that fills the novel. The idea that, in such a secluded area, it’s easy to get away with murder, keeps the stakes high.
Slaughter’s writing is sharp and evocative, drawing you into the dark and twisted world she has created. The pacing is impeccable, with each twist and revelation meticulously timed to keep you guessing. The exploration of themes such as trust, betrayal, and the lengths people will go to protect their secrets, adds a psychological depth to the thriller.
"This is Why We Lied" is a compelling read that shows Karin Slaughter’s skill in crafting intricate plots and complex characters. It’s a novel that keeps you hooked from start to finish, blending suspense with deep psychological insight. For fans of gripping thrillers, this book is a must-read that will leave you eagerly anticipating Slaughter’s next masterpiece.

**Listened to the audio book and read along with electronic written copy**

I have read a lot of Karin Slaughter's books and usually I am gripped from start to finish. Unfortunately I was left super disappointed by this one.
The plot itself was soooo slow, and I resented having to go back and read this book each sitting. I appreciate that this book is within a series, but I would have thought that because of that it would have made the pacing of this book so much quicker.
I found that the plot twists and the ending didn't make up for the slow pacing either.

I really did not enjoy the audiobook narrator either. They were just so whiney and screechy!

If you have read all of the books within the Will trent series, maybe you would like this book - maybe that's why i wasn't so keen.

if you are new to Karin Slaughter I wouldn't start with this book - soooo many better books by Slaughter!

This is one of those books that I just want to say - READ IT - you can thank me later 😉

Karin Slaughter is a total auto read author for me. Over the past twelve months @picco and I have made our way through the Will Trent and Grant County series and have loved every moment of them all - I actually cried at the end of Skin Privilege.

📕 “Who killed Mercy McAlpine? The next thrilling suspense featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton from Karin Slaughter, no.1 bestselling author of Pieces of Her and After That Night

Everyone here is a liar, but only one of us is a killer…"

This Is Why We Lied is book 12 in the Will Trent series - while it can be read as a standalone, you’ll want to go back and read the earlier books not only to get the backstory of Sara and Will, but it’s one of the best series you’ll read.

Expect Slaughter’s trademark twists, and intensity. A cleverly plotted and brilliant crime procedural with a shocking Flowers in the Attic-esque (but more unhinged) crazy family. Despicable characters, toxic family dynamics, domestic violence, while at the epicentre are my favourite characters Sara Linton and Will Trent - loved that Amanda and Faith made an appearance too.

I have nothing but the highest praise for this latest instalment … my only disappointment being that I have to wait for book 13!

Huge thanks to the wonderful team @harpercollinsausuk and @netgalley for sending this beauty my way 💌

Fabulous new thriller featuring Will & Sara. On their honeymoon they somehow get drawn into a locked room murder mystery on a remote exclusive retreat. A very close family, several couples, all with secrets, and all of them might want poor Mercy McAlpijr dead. Will is chasing his own childhood demons but determined to seek justice.

I am having a hard time writing this review, not because the book is not worth reading but because it uses what I consider unnecessary expletives as if they are the norm. Even in this book where so many of the people are just not nice people, I find it impossible to believe that a famous, established author like Karin Slaughter needs 174 of one specific expletive to be spoken by almost every character including all of the "good guys".

Moving on from that, it really is a book in two halves. First half seems to be leading to an expected conclusion and the end of the book. Then, suddenly, everything moves up a notch or two and the second half then takes the blinkers off and things definitely turn out to be a lot more complicated than the first part suggested.

Expletives aside, this is a very nicely crafted tale which kept me engrossed to the last page, even though my hunch as to "who dun it" proved correct.

Excellant thriller from Karin Slaughter. Will Trent and Sara Linton are looking to enjoy their honeymoon at a secluded mountain top retreat. But when one of the family running the retreat is found murdered you know it will be anything but the honeymoon they planned., The murderer could be any of the MacAlpine family - the victim said everyone on the mountain had a reason to want her dead,, and that is before they even consider the other guests. Pacy and dynamic this is top quality thriller writing.

This is why we lied had a captivating start, straight in to the thick of it all.
Sara and Will are looking forward to their honeymoon, Will surprises Sara with a nice secluded lodge miles from anywhere, both working in law enforcement they decided to adopt new jobs to get away from it all for a week. What they didn’t bank on was a blood curdling scream dragging the truth about their profession out in the open. It’s in their blood though and seeing the reaction to the murder of the lodge manager Mercy McAlpine the duo get to work at trying to solve the case. With so many suspects will they ever learn the truth?

This book was exactly what I was expecting from Karin Slaughter, it was well written with the suspense built beautifully. I felt like all the characters were developed well, allowing me to really understand them.

I really enjoyed this read and cannot wait to read another from her collection. I will be recommending this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

This is only the second book I’ve read in the Will Trent series but I really like how accessible they are even if you haven’t read all the previous books.
I really enjoyed the story behind this one and the characters where really interesting however I did feel it was dragged out in parts and could have done to be just a bit shorter.
Overall a great story just a tad too descriptive in parts.

I guessed the ending way too early on and it kind of ruined the rest of the book for me.

This is a very slow burn so if, like me, you’re not the biggest fan of thrillers that take too long to get to the point, this might not be your cup of tea.

I still enjoyed the writing style and the plot but this is definitely not my favourite book by this author.

She’s done it again!!!

Karin Slaughter is nothing short of a genius. Just when you think, surely her books can not get any better, she smashes the next one out of the park.

The detail and research Slaughter must put into her books is outstanding.

Massive five stars.

Before I start the review, I just need to say, WOW!

This is Why We Lied is the latest in the long running Will Trent and Sara Linton series. I know the characters, having read some of the series, but I am not fully up to date with it. This didn’t matter in the slightest, this book works wonderfully well as a gripping, dark standalone.

The McAlpine family have proudly run their lodge for 7 generations. They are a ‘close’ family, but the tensions within this unusual family dynamic run deep.
Will and Sara are on their honeymoon, yes, they’ve got married. They are staying at an idyllic, secluded, luxury cabin, set in thousands of acres of trees. It sounds blissful, a perfect setting for them to unwind from their stressful careers, and start their married life. Until late at night, they hear a scream, followed by a harrowing plea for help.

The characters are so well crafted and portrayed, that some made my skin itch, others increased my blood pressure to an unhealthy level, while a few I wanted to scoop up and protect from the world.
This is Why We Lied is compulsive, gripping and very intense. It is a story of long held secrets, guilt for some, and judgement by others; of small town gossip tainting lives, of never being able to escape once the die is cast.

I have to give a specific mention to the conclusion of the book, obviously without giving away any spoilers. The denouement is so horrifying and shocking. The use of the dual timeline, allows us to see the events, and feel the intensity of the emotions, alongside poor Mercy.
For me, This is Why We Lied, is a 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕ read/listen, her best book; a must read for thriller lovers.

Yet another entertaining read from author, Karen Slaughter.

The amazing thing for me was that almost all the characters (goodies and baddies) had such traumatised lives! I wonder if that is a reflection of society nowadays. In comparison I have a lot to be grateful for!

The plot was incredibly complex and evolved at a natural pace as we found out more about the characters and their relationship. I felt incredibly sorry for Mercy. I could hardly understand the progressive hardships she faced while growing up before getting in involved in a toxic relationship! Poor Mercy!

It is also worth mentioning the location! It showed that despite being idyllic the isolation brought its own problems!

All in all another successful book involving Will Trent and Sara Linton on their honeymoon. Can I nominate Sara for a knighthood or sainthood! An amazing role model!

Another good book in this series, which I enjoyed but maybe not as much as the previous ones I have read. Set in a remote hillside locate Will and his new bride escape to a honeymoon retreat, only to be faced by his old nemesis Dave, bringing back difficult memories from their shared childhood in care.

The story of the death of Mercy and the horrific life she led with abuse, incest, rape and murder was at times a very difficult read. The writing is gripping and you cannot fail to want to read to the end but I was disturbed by some of the outcomes and skipped through some of the end wrapping up parts and they were quiet graphic.

A good read but may be triggering for those susceptible to abuse within a family and care setting.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's the first time I've read a book by Karin Slaughter. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed plot-wise, as you half expect Miss Marple or Poirot to pop out mid page in the true sense of an Agatha Christie plot. Because that's what the plot of this book basically is - a dozen people stuck in a train, or a castle, or a house on the med.....in this case a holiday camp......all with the motive to kill one poor soul, who then gets killed, then classic whodunnit. So plot-wise, very far from original.

I did enjoy the read. Character development is very good, so I felt I understood some of the main characters. But I'd need to read something else by this very famous author to see if there are other books with more original plot lines.

An idyllic mountain retreat for the wealthy hides a multitude of secrets within the family that runs it, Will & Sara arrive for their honeymoon as tensions are bubble surface and Mercy McAlpine (the daughter who runs it) is murdered on their first night. As Will, Sara and the GBI team investigate her murder they uncover so much more.

I didn't realise this was the 2nd book in the series, it reads brilliantly as a stand alone story but has made me want to read the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read This is Why We Lied.