First time reading #KatherineFleet and #TheLiars didn’t disappoint. I loved it!
A story about secrets, lies, memories, family and guilt. Told in two timelines past and present, slowly building the tension and completely drawing you into the story. With complex relationships and family dynamics, intriguing storyline and well written characters. I loved the beautiful Greek Island setting with enticing descriptions.
Overall, an enjoyable read. The suspense and mystery was just brilliantly written. I couldn’t put this book down. Definitely recommend if you enjoy this genre.
With thanks to #NetGallery @michaeljbooks #MichaelJoseph #penguinRandomHouse for an arc of #TheLiars in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 15 August 2024.

First of all I will start by saying thankyou to @netgalley , @michaeljbooks , @penguinrandomhouse for sending me a copy of this book for my honest review.

And honesty is what I’m going to go with straight away, half way through this book I started to not be bothered about who had done what to whom.

I felt that it started off as a slow burner which I don’t think helped as it didn’t draw my focus straight away. Even once the ending was revealed I wasn’t really fused for it, it did however tie things up nicely. I just feel like there was a whole chunk in the middle that could have been missed out and it would have all still made sense and maybe grabbed my attention a bit more.

I did like the way that the chapters went from then to now which I found easy to follow and the author did paint a great picture of Greece. I just however didn’t fell like this book was for me. I enjoyed their writing style I just didn’t gel with this particular story line.

This was a slow paced read focusing on two different time periods, now and then which is 25 years ago on the Greek island of Eos.
I found it a bit too slow paced for me but I'm glad I finished it as I enjoyed the ending. I could picture the house and the island perfectly, great descriptions.
I'll be interested to see what this author writes next as this was her debut. .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy.

To be brutally honest with you, I kind of stopped caring about who did what to whom about half way through this book. It probably didn't help that I also didn't really care for any of the characters.
We start in the past when Zoe and Lex are forced together as step-sisters by the pairing of their mum Penny and dad Richard respectively. Chalk and cheese but they try and rub along best they can. Up to a point.
We follow them during that first summer together as Zoe starts to try and fit into Lex's world. Meet her friends and prepare for the wedding. But something horrible happens on the night of the wedding. Abigail, the daughter of Lex's mum's friend, disappears.
Fast forward 25 years and the two, now estranged, step-sisters reconnect back in Greece for Richard's funeral. The two of them not having spoken in years. It's the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of Abigail, and her brother is wanting to mark the occasion, and is also still desperate for the truth. Many of the other players who were around back then come over for the funeral, and the policeman who failed to get to the truth back then is also still around.
Bit convoluted and a very slow burn initially. As already mentioned this really didn't help me engage with the book, the story or the characters. It took too long to get going and by that time I had kind of stopped caring.
Even the truth, when it all eventually came out, wasn't enough to reel me back in or reward me for my endeavours. That said, it did all wrap up nicely. But I just didn't care, sorry. I guess it just wasn't the book for me.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Some parts were good some not so good and I didn't love the ending overall a little bit slow for me but it won't put me off other books by the author

A very slow moving story which was set across 2 time periods, now and 25 years ago on a Greek island. Loved the references to Greek mythology and really wanted the story to speed up a lot of the time, but I think it was worth it for the ending.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Liars is a slow burn of a book but worked really well.
Zoe and Lex are thrown together after Zoe’s mum and Lex’s dad decide to marry. They all meet at Lex’s dad’s villa in Eos, Lex is older than Zoe and although they get on they are very different people. Lex’s god mother is coming to the wedding ringing along her daughter Abigail, there is rivalry between her and Zoe as both try to get Lex’s attention until everything gets out of hand on the wedding day night and Abigail is nowhere to be found or is she?
This was a slow burn that worked well, I enjoyed the then and now alternate chapters, then was twenty five years ago with everything leading up to the wedding and the disappearance of Abigail and now is Zoe and Lex coming together for the first time since then for Lex’s dads funeral. I enjoyed the setting and the characters and was a great beach read.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this four stars because I thought it was a page turner and I did enjoy the story, however I did feel that the pace slowed down at the end and I was left a little disappointed. It’s a story told “Now” and “Then” which is always an enjoyable read for me. We are on a small Greek Island where Lex’s father has died . He was married to Zoe’s mother . Everyone has come together for the funeral . Lex and Zoe became inseparable when their parents married 25 years ago , but an incident involving a third girl going missing led to secrets and lies. They haven’t seen each other in 25 years and all the secrets are coming to the surface again. There is an underlying tension throughout the story as to what happened and who knows.There is guilt and superstition which leads to an uneasy atmosphere. There is no shock ending but there is a conclusion. Worth a read .

Set on a small Greek island, Zoe and Lex meet when they are 15 and about to become step-sisters. When a 3rd girl arrives on the iisland with her family the dynamic changes and when she disappears on the night of the wedding it is assumed that she has drowned. Thirty years later Zoe and Lex are reunited for their father’s funeral but the secret that has been buried for so long threatens their future.

Set over two timeframes this book slowly reveals the secrets of what happened that night. I enjoyed getting to know the characters even if they weren’t particularly likeable.

I enjoyed Ms Fleet's descriptions of the Greek island and the atmosphere she evoked; slightly less the myths.
Maybe I've read too many books recently about people returning
to a place where "something happened" and the characters all have a secret, but I needed something really different to hook me in and care about the young women in this one, sadly this story didnt deliver.
I would still read further books by this author however
Thank you to netgalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy of this book.
2.5 rounded up to 3

Twenty Five years ago, Zoe’s mother, Marilynn, married Lex’s father, Richard, on the Greek island of Eos, and the girls became stepsisters. Zoe, 15, was educated at a State School, while Lex, who will turn 16 on the wedding day, was educated at a fee-paying school. Zoe is bright and intelligent but not at all worldly, while Lex is just as clever but something of a wild child. The wedding will take place at “Calliope” Richard’s holiday home, named after the Muse of Epic Poetry. Despite their different backgrounds, the girls become close friends and enjoy adventuring around the island. Guests at the wedding include Liam, Richard’s young business partner, and Penny, Lex’s Godmother together with her sons, Robin and Tom and her daughter, Abigail. She is also 15 but acts much younger and is generally rather despondent, not helped by her family nickname of Pabs (poor Abigail). After the wedding, there is a party which extends into the night and at some point Abigail disappears.
Now, Zoe and Lex have returned to “Calliope” for Richard’s funeral. This is the first time they have returned since the wedding and old memories are being reawakened. Clearly the two women’s lives have been influenced by the events following Abigail’s disappearance. Lex has brought her daughter, Cloe because she is, of course, Richard’s granddaughter. At 19 she looks like Lex did then, but is curious about the past and starts asking questions. Liam and Penny have also returned, each with their own concerns about what happened. Robin, too, has had his life influenced by the loss of his sister, to such an extent that he is now living on the Island in hope that she might be found. Since it is approaching the 25th Anniversary of the event he has organised a poster campaign and is in contact with the local police inspector originally in charge of the case. It looks like there might be anew search. What will it find and what will that mean to the futures of the main protagonists?
This is a mystery story, but we don’t know if it is a crime story. It is told in alternating chapters, one 25 years ago and one in the present. The former is largely a coming of age story and the latter a psychological look at how events in the past can colour the future. It is well written and conveys a clear picture of the island and the house (almost a character in its own right), but it is very slow paced until the last few chapters; and very long at 400 pages. Large chunks of the ‘Past’ could easily be edited down, and some tightening up of the ‘Present’ would help. The mystery isn’t very hard to solve and the dénouement is not much of a surprise. I have a major problem with the mechanics of the plot because I can’t see how the timing of events works and there are a few pieces which don’t make sense, but I can’t explain them here. Overall, it’s not a bad book if you have a bit of time, e.g. lying on a Greek beach in the sun.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Zoe first visited the island of Eos twenty five years ago with her mum. They’d flown out to stay at her mum’s partners villa along with his daughter Lex. Lex was everything Zoe wasn’t, and eventually they went from strangers to sisters. Until something happened on that island and they told the first lie. From the premise of this book I was eager to read it. I was expecting something dark, atmospheric and thrilling set against a Greek backdrop. However, I was somewhat disappointed. The book for me was a slow burner that never really got going and struggled to hold my interest. I would rate this book 2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

One summer on the Greek island of Eos, set out in a then and now format, this is a fabulous new mystery novel surrounding the disappearance of young teenager Abigail. Gripping in places slow as a sunshine holiday in others, this is a compelling story and a perfect summer time read.
Zoe and Lex met 25 years ago when they were 15 yrs old, during a summer of mixed emotions, self-discovery, on their own coming-of-age period. As Zoe’s mum has announced her marriage to Lex’s dad, the dynamics of their relationship and very different upbringing come to the fore. 25 years later they meet again, bringing up their shared history of what happened.
Full of atmosphere, build up and clever slick writing.. Great holiday reading, intriguing and captivating.
Greatly enjoyed and recommended. A story that unfolds slowly as it draws you in.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin books for the early read.

This is beautifully written and very descriptive. I think it perfectly describes the way teenage girls feel at the cusp of womanhood. It works better as a love story to Greece than it does as a thriller.

Set on the Greek Island of Eos, the first and last time she was on the Island a young girl Abigail went missing. Zoe and her stepsister Lex where with Abigail the night she disappeared, and they haven’t seen each other since then. When they both return to the Island for Zoe’s stepfather and Lex’s Fathers funeral it is clear they are hiding something.

The story is told through Zoe’s POV and is a split timeline- telling the story of the lead up to Abigail going missing twenty-five years ago and the present where Abigail’s brother Rob is still searching for his sister.

There were bits of Greek mythology weaved through the story and the house that Zoe’s stepfather owns Calliope became its own character.

A really good holiday read that made me intrigued to find out what had happened to Abigail and also made me want to stay at Calliope.

Slow burner. Great descriptions of the Greek island but lacked any great pull to make me we to keep reading. Unlikeable characters. Liked the premise but just something missing in the delivery. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

25 years ago 15 year olds Zoe and Lex meet for the first time on the island of Eos, as Zoe’s mum is marrying Lex’s dad after a whirlwind romance. The stepsisters are very different but plod along together, occasionally with another girl Abigail. Abigail disappearing on the night of the wedding is the main storyline.

This is a slow burn that really picks up the pace told on then and now timelines, then being 25 years ago and the lead upto the wedding and now the girls meeting again, back on Eos for the first time since that summer. Zoe and Lex both have their own daughters now and are brought back together for the funeral of Lex’s dad Richard. However people from the past are determined to reinvestigate what happened to Abigail and Zoe and Lex must join forces to prevent the truth from coming to light.

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Zoë is returning to Greece for the first time in the 25 years since she first met her step sister Lex there and since another girl, Abigail, went missing. Even though both have tried to move on, only they know the truth about Abigail. Will the shared secrets finally escape?

I thought this sounded intriguing and I was drawn to the cover. The story is told in past and present which helps add extra layers and build up the overall story. The story telling and character creation is done well, I felt I got a picture of the Greek setting. Although this was well written, it was a slow burn and unfortunately a bit too slow to really hold my interest. I felt that by the end I wasn’t that invested in the story and I didn’t love the conclusion. Although this story wasn’t fully for me, I would check out other books by this author due to the writing style. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I have gotten a bit tired of the whole some secret from the younger days comes back to haunt the adults but this was amazingly well done. I loved the way the characters were written and how toxic it all was. The dual timeline worked well but dragged a bit. Overall I loved it though

The dual timelines made it harder to read and possibly needed more expansion to really follow the individual parts. Normally I like dual timelines but this one did not make the grade for me in that respect. The scery and the characters were very well described, however I do have to say that I did not like any of the characters. The story revolves a lot around family dynamics and this doe smake it easier to relate to the individual characters.
This was a slow beginning but about 50% of the way thorugh I just had to keep reading to resolve what had happened to Abigail. The Greek mythoglogy parts were fascinating and woven into the story very well. Katherine Fleet introduced her hints throughout the story that made me try to think about what could havehappened.