This was an excellent mystery, perfect for summer reading. It sizzles with suspense and tension as we move between Then and Now. I liked the theme of being doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past, the interweaving of Greek mythology and this luscious setting. Fleet keeps you on your toes with secrets and fractured family dynamics.

Absolutely loved this sun-soaked tale of lost innocence and betrayal. The dual timeline makes the tension almost unbearable, as you find out what happened to split up the almost sisters that long ago summer… If you like stories about toxic friendship and relationships this is perfect for reading by the pool.

Two step sisters and a 25 year old secret.
I liked the blurb of this book, the idea of returning to the ‘scene of the crime’ as mature adults with a lot or lose. However for me, the dual timelines slowed the narrative down too much. I am usually a fan of dual interpretation of events but neither sister is likeable and this just did not enable me to fully emerge in the story.

Two sisters - albeit step sisters - have returned to the Greek Island for the funeral of their father.
They haven't been together since the disappearance of one of their friends years ago. The friend has never been found but still haunts the girls years later.
People are still searching for the truth but it will shatter lives if it does.

Zoë and Lex are stepsisters brought together to Lex's dads holiday home in Greece for his whirlwind wedding to Zoë's mum. The girls spend every minute together, occasionally with Abigail, the daughter of Lex's godmother. Neither girl, particularly like Abigail, no one does. But when Abigail disappears the night of the wedding, everything changes. 25 years later, both of them return to the island for Lex's dads funeral. Neither has seen or spoken to each other since that night. Both of them know what really happened that night, and now the past seems to want to catch up to them.

Throughout the story, each chapter jumps between "Then and Now." Then being 25 years ago, the story follows the two teenage girls as they meet for the first time, right up until the night their parents get married. Now follow both of them, now both mothers themselves, as they try to find out a way to stop the truth getting out. This was a slow burn, and it felt like it really took a long time to get anywhere. But the underlying mystery, the build-up, and the eventually, the reveal and ending, all made it worth the read. This is definitely a must-read for your summer vacation.

I liked the premise of this novel, set on an idyllic Greek island. However the dual timelines slowed the narrative and I did not care for the characters.

#TheLiars #NetGalley
I really didn't care at all. But some parts are really good.
What happened on the island of Eos twenty-five years ago. We first meet our narrator, Zoe, as she is returning to the island of Eos, for her step-father's funeral. It is twenty-five years since she has visited the villa her step-father, Richard, loved. The place they retired to a decade ago. The story then alternates between now and Zoe's first visit, when she meets her soon-to-be step-sister, Lex. Zoe and Lex are roughly the same age but light-years apart in every other respect. Zoe has been brought up by a single mother, living a normal life in inner city London and attends a state school. She's bright, works hard at school and appreciates the sacrifices her mother has made for her. Although Lex is a child of divorced parents she has led a life of privilege, something she takes for granted, she tends to look upon everyone with disdain. Although the girls know of each other's existence, the holiday is the first time they have met. Unassuming Zoe is immediately wary of Lex but also in awe of her rebelliousness, something Lex is quick to flaunt. The pair quickly form a bond. The arrival of a family with long-time connections to Richard and Lex throws another teenage girl, Abigail, into the mix and this brings out Zoe's jealous side. When the story returns to now and Richard's funeral, lots of old faces from twenty-five years ago return to the island. Gradually, memories are stirred, particularly as it's the twenty-fifth anniversary of the disappearance. Zoe's feelings of guilt slowly build and build, becoming oppressive, just like the summer heat before a storm. The reader is given tantalising hints about historic events as secrets are slowly revealed and we learn that no one has a complete picture of exactly what happened on the fateful night.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

It’s been twenty-five years since that summer.
Since we went from strangers to sisters.
Since Abigail went missing.
Since we told the first lie.

This is well written and constructed novel. I don’t like the dual timelines which seems to be the way of writing by so many authors currently. Sadly, I feel that each change takes you out of the story flow. I’m sure that some readers will enjoy it but it just seems to slow down and becomes annoying. It just doesn’t work for me. The descriptions were excellent and the characters well developed.

This sounded like my type of mystery/thriller. I enjoy books that have something happen in the past. But this didn't really work for me.
While I understand the two different timelines. I felt it took away my enjoyment a little. I would get intrigued by something and then it would switch taking me out the story. Sometimes if I wasn't fully paying attention to timeline changes I would get momentarily confused.

The plot itself sounded intriguing but the build for a reveal just wasn't enough for me. By the end I wasn't really bothered what had happened in the past.

Twenty-five years ago a teenage girl went missing on the Greek island of Eos. When her friends return to the island memories are rekindled and dark secrets uncovered.

The Liars by Katherine Fleet is a psychological thriller that draws you in, drip-feeding you information, slowly building the tension and having you completely hooked so that you keep turning the page, desperate to know exactly what happened on the island of Eos twenty-five years ago.

We first meet our narrator, Zoe, as she is returning to the island of Eos, for her step-father's funeral. It is twenty-five years since she has visited the villa her step-father, Richard, loved. The place they retired to a decade ago. The story then alternates between now and Zoe's first visit, when she meets her soon-to-be step-sister, Lex.

Zoe and Lex are roughly the same age but light-years apart in every other respect. Zoe has been brought up by a single mother, living a normal life in inner city London and attends a state school. She's bright, works hard at school and appreciates the sacrifices her mother has made for her. Although Lex is a child of divorced parents she has led a life of privilege, something she takes for granted, she tends to look upon everyone with disdain.

Although the girls know of each other's existence, the holiday is the first time they have met. Unassuming Zoe is immediately wary of Lex but also in awe of her rebelliousness, something Lex is quick to flaunt. The pair quickly form a bond. The arrival of a family with long-time connections to Richard and Lex throws another teenage girl, Abigail, into the mix and this brings out Zoe's jealous side.

When the story returns to now and Richard's funeral, lots of old faces from twenty-five years ago return to the island. Gradually, memories are stirred, particularly as it's the twenty-fifth anniversary of the disappearance. Zoe's feelings of guilt slowly build and build, becoming oppressive, just like the summer heat before a storm. The reader is given tantalising hints about historic events as secrets are slowly revealed and we learn that no one has a complete picture of exactly what happened on the fateful night.

Summer read? Yes! Perfect psychological mystery read for a lazy day on the beach in Greece or anywhere. The characters had the right amount of depth, and it was a quick easy read.

If you're going to Greece on holiday, I'd highly recommend this book. It was beautiful written and grateful and inspired story. Perhaps more mystery than psychological thriller but brilliant none the less xx

The Liars is set on the Greek island of Eos and has a dual timeline of present day and 25 years earlier. It's 25 years since Abigail went missing without a trace and a family funeral has brought everyone back together in the same place for the first time since. Lex and Zoe are stepsisters who haven't spoken in all that time and the story is told from Zoe's perspective as she tries to support her mum in her grief whilst Lex's daughter goes amateur detective on them. The setting of the story is beautiful and I can picture the locations clearly but I found the story to be a bit of a slow burner and wanted to know earlier what had actually happened. It was a bit of an anti-climax when I found out. A good read for the beach (especially a Greek one) but it wasn't suspenseful enough for me.

Published 15 August 2024. This novel transports you to a Greek island of Eos and the descriptions are so enticing - I would love to see what Zoe calls the pinkening. Zoe and Lex are step sisters. We have two timelines, twenty five years previous when the girls met and when one night something happened, and presnet when the two girls - now women are reunited at the villa, seeing each other for the first time in twenty five years. When they were 15, Zoe and her mum join Richard and his daughter Lex at his Greek villa - Calliope. It is the girls' first meeting and they couldn't be more different. Lex is blonde, confident, spoilt while Zoe is dark, bookish and lacking in confidence. Their upbringings/lifestyles also couldn't be more different - Richard is wealthy and successful, Zoe's mum was an air-hostess - which is where they met. Surprisingly the girls become friends, even though Zoe is always trying to make sure that she doesn't do/say anything that will make Lex roll her eyes. When Richard's family friends arrive with their 15 year old daughter, Abigail, the dynamics change. Add to the mix, Richard's right hand man, Liam and you have all the ingredients. The two girls have kept secrets about what happened that night and they fear that now, those secrets, the lies, untruths that were told will be revealed and ruin everything. This is a slow burn and you gradually learn about the events of that night. There is no killer twist at the end, but, the ending is, in a way, satisfying and one that I hadn't expected. A book about secrets, lies, family and memories. A perfect summer read.

Zoe and Lex become step sisters when their parents decided to marry. One blonde and vivacious and the other dark and bookish. They spend the summer together in Calliope, a beautiful house on the Greek island of Eos.

They meet up again 25 years later on the same island to attend their dad and step dad,Richard's funeral. They haven't spoken in all those years after another girl Abigail goes missing. Only Zoe and Lex know the truth about her disappearance and they are worried their lies will catch up with them and the truth will be revealed.

I loved the pace of this murder mystery/thriller which was set in a dual time line of then and now with the back drop of the beautiful greek island and an unexpected twist!

"We turn and look longingly at the past, arms outstretched, but the past stares back, impassive, and we're helpless to stop ourselves being fulled further and further away from it"

We meet step sisters Zoe and Lex as they arrive back at the family holiday home on the Greek Island of Eos, for their dad/step dad Richard's funeral... 25 years after they stop speaking, because 25 years ago... something bad happened.

With the past bubbling to the surface, will they break their silence on what happened, and should they of carried the weight of it with them for the last 25 years?

Told in dual timelines, you get a glimpse into what actually happened all those years ago, and how that impacted their lives since. This is a slow burn, which isn't usually for me, but I got there in the end.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the invite to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A new author for me but what a book!! Told in two timelines about the tangled relationship between three 15 year olds on a Greek Island and then in present day between the girls 25 years later. A murder mystery/thriller with an ending that has an unexpected twist, very clever!
The characters are well written and the warmth of the island draws you in until it is almost claustrophobic, like heat on a blistering hot day and thunderstorms approaching which reflects the whole storyline.


Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I adore Greece so was excited to read this book which did capture the feeling very well. I thought it was well written and had great characterisation.

Finally thank you for my early accesss in exchange for a review.

This is a great summer read , expertly detailed writing that sets the scene and transports you to Greece .
Written in alternate timelines this tells the story of a tragedy that happened and the impact it had even more than 20 years on .

I did enjoy this as great characters and writing style made for an escapism within the pages . However there were times it felt dragged out so the last few chapters were difficult to engage with .
That’s my only criticism and other than that it’s a fantastic book to pack for your holiday or even at home to be taken to Greece for a few hours

The family drama, complex relationships and secrets throughout, made this a really thrilling read - it was fast paced and I was hooked from the outset. This is a great summer thriller and the Greek setting was perfection!