This is a fantastic new standalone thriller by the author of the brilliant Casey Benedict series. It's a simple premise - a group of uni friends made predictions about where they'd all be in twenty years, two decades ago, and are now gathering to go through their predictions, over the course of a weekend. But one of their number has recently died, and it seems there might be more to their apparent suicide than meets the eye...

Holly Watt manages the story expertly, delving into the secrets of the past while maintaining the pace in the present day with ease. It would be easy for a lesser author to rely too heavily on flashbacks, but Watt's storytelling is smoother and more sophisticated than that. I love her characterisation, its economical and astute, and the setting is well drawn. it's not easy to write a novel set over only a few days but Watt more than pulls it off. The tension builds across the weekend, with some fantastic set pieces taking place in the sprawling country estate where the friends are staying, and an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

The Last Truths We Told is a whip smart thriller perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Liane Moriarty. I loved it, and hope for more in the same vein from Holly.

Loved this book. I had never read anything by this author

I couldn't put it down thank you for the opportunity to review

University friends reunite, some of their predictions for the future came true, and some definitely didn’t.

I really liked the predictions before the chapters and I found myself really enjoying the writing style, but this is not really a mystery or a thriller, it is greatly entertaining but you won’t be surprised.

A great beach read

When a group of university friends whose lives have frayed at the edges gather to read predictions they made when golden futures lay ahead, things quickly start to get sinister: it's a thrilling premise with heart-racing execution. Watt keeps you second-guessing as you race through to the chilling denouement. Thought-provoking and unnerving, this is a smart page-turner with killer secrets and dark twists, populated with characters who you'll love to hate. Absolute book club dynamite - a must-read!

"The Last Truths We Told" tells the story of 7 friends that 20 years ago made predictions about each other with the promise that they would meet again to read them together. Now, 20 years have passed, and the recent death of one of them made the promised weekend somber.

The book is solid, good story pacing, easy to read, typical personalities. This is not a complex story, full of twists and turns, that leaves you thinking 'what did I just read?'. This is a book comfortable in its predictability. You can probably tell why and who is the murdered around half way. The motive is not unsurprising, even when the author tries to pull a couple of red herrings.

Maybe I have read way too many whodunnits, but even if the booked failed to surprise me, I still enjoyed it. Because, even if I had a theory of who did it, I still wanted to keep reading to see if I was correct or not, it still caught my attention.

There are two things I didn't like though:
1. some random predictions written in the middle of scenes that had nothing to do with the prediction written
2. how the Maggie character was written versus all the other ones.

First one was somewhat ok in the end. I accepted that some predictions were 'extra' and not really relevant to the current situation being described. But the second one I felt it was downright unfair. Maggie is perfect whereas all her friends are horrible with almost unforgivable sins. I was not surprised when I read that Holly Watt (the author) was, very much like Maggie, an investigative journalist working for a newspaper. When all your characters have flaws (totally normal for humans) but one is perfect and that one shares a lot of similarities with you... is not fair, at least not in my opinion.

Lastly, I don't fully agree with the (sub?) title 'Is not the lies that kill you, it's the truth'. While yes, the truth is what killed the people in the story, the motivation to kill was to keep the lies.

Trigger warning includes: murder, suicide, failure to conceive, death of babies, rape.

This book didn't tick all my boxes but I would still recommend it. Is an easy read with a whodunnit and a reunion plot intertwined.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Last Truths We Told will be published January 16th 2025.

A very entertaining and enjoyable read . Full of suspense with well developed characters. Nice and fast paced.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery; a fast paced and enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Twenty years ago a group of uni friends made predictions about their futures, who would be doing what
With one one the group dead the rest of the group gather for a reunion where the predictions are read out - this opens a can of worm's where peoples honesty is called into question with some of the number doing anything to keep their lies intact....
My favorite books are reunion books so i got so much from this book with its cast of unpleasant characters, except Maggie!
A thoroughly entertaining read

The Last Truths We Told is a novel in the reunion genre as nine university friends gather for a reunion 20 years after meeting at Cambridge.
20 years ago they all made predictions about each others lives and they meet up to read these predictions after the death of Lily, one of their group.
The novel starts off well, I liked the character of Maggie and the reader is then introduced to the rest of the group, some highly unlikeable and others I had some empathy for. The first half of the novel is well paced, as the reader learns more about the characters histories, the relationships between them and we discover more about what happened to Lily. However I soon began to lose interest as the only really likeable character is Maggie and the plot became quite tedious and I felt trapped with a group of people I did not like. Overall this novel was well written but lacked originality for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Sometimes you really don't know the people you consider close to you as well as you think you do.

Two decades ago, a group of university friends made various predictions about how they would all end up - who was likely to achieve what, and who might become someone.

Now one of their number has gone missing, and at a reunion where the rest are present, it is beginning to sink in that everyone may not have been entirely honest about their part in what has taken place. The thing is, people will sometimes go to great lengths to protect their version of events...

This is a suspenseful and entertaining read. Worth checking out for those who enjoy the reunion thriller trope.

Not my usual genre, but this exciting suspenseful novel was too good to pass up! Definitely look forward to sharing my full thoughts and review very soon. Thank you!