Someone is Lying is the second Heidi Perks book I have read and enjoyed.

The story begins with Jess, single mother to her daughter Issie. Issie is travelling with her boyfriend Dylan, who incidentally her mum doesn’t approve of, in Portugal when she turns 18 and no one hears from her. Jess then panics and begins desperately trying to contact her, eventually travelling to Portugal to look for her.

Things I liked:
The relationship between Jess and her friends.
The idea that everything can change in a day, if Issie was 17 the police would be looking for her but because she turned 18 it was very different.
Dylan’s character, both the assassination of it and then discovering the truth.
Split perspectives of Jess and Kay
Twists and turns aplenty!

Things I didn’t like:
Issie - which I guess is kind of the point
The podcast bits. I understood their insertion but it felt a little clunky at times.

I wasn’t at all sure what to expect going into this and I was very pleasantly surprised. The book starts with Jess’s perspective as she worries about her daughter, Issie, who is travelling around Europe with her older boyfriend, Dylan. Jess isn’t a fan of Dylan and she thinks he’s responsible for the growing distance between her and Issie. Alarm bells start sounding when she doesn’t hear from her daughter on her eighteenth birthday. She contacts the British Police and then local police in Lisbon where her daughter last mentioned she was visiting. Then Jess flies to Portugal and goes searching for her daughter. But what she finds will continue to surprise both Jess and the reader…

A twisty story, which really kept me guessing. At first I thought the podcast episode sections were annoying and just following in the footsteps of too many other famous books that do this (e.g. None of this is true) but I realised their importance as the book continued as the only true source of reliable reporting. It was hard to know who to trust in this novel that asks the question, how far would a mother go to protect her child?

Filled with untrustworthy, predominantly unlikable characters, Someone is Lying is an exciting thriller that kept me glued to the page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the eARC,

An absolutely brilliant read! This book is so well written with easy to understand language and an engaging plot. It really kept me guessing and I'd definitely read other books by Heidi in the future! Dropped a star as I found the ending felt a little flat but I'd still highly recommend the book.

I love a book that is gripping from the first chapter and this one delivers!! A pure domestic thriller which has you guessing the whole way through! I love a multiple POV and this book does this perfectly to tell each side of the story.

Someone is lying story follows Jess, a single mother whose world shatters when her daughter Issie goes missing while traveling with her boyfriend, Dylan. Told from the perspectives of Jess and Dylan's mother, Kay.

This story is packed with emotions—fear, disbelief, and even relief and just when you think you've figured it out, a twist throws you off. The pacing is perfect, the characters are complex, and the suspense keeps you hooked right till the end!
This will be kind of the must reads of 2025!

Single mother Jess and her daughter Issie have always shared an unbreakable bond. For the last seven years, it's been just the two of them.

That is, until Issie meets Dylan.

I went through so many emotions while reading this book - horror, fear, relief abd disbelief. I couldn't imagine myself in Jess's place. No wonder her life fell apart. It's every mother's nightmare.

The prose is accomplished. The pacing pitch perfect. And I was so heavily invested in the characters that I had to know how it ended.

A brilliant thriller that plays on a mother's worse fears and also how far she'll go to protect her child.

An easy 5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this, as I enjoy crime, but I'm not an avid crime reader. Thankfully, I fully ended up enjoying this book!

We follow two POVs - Jess and Kay. Jess is the mother of Issie, a newly 18-year-old on holiday in Spain and Portugal with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend, Dylan. Kay is Dylan's mum. The story starts with Jess trying to contact Issie to say happy birthday, but she can't get through to her, and even her messages aren't being read. She also can't get in touch with Dylan and finds out that not even Issie's friends know anything about it. This leads to her travelling to Portugal to find out what happened to her daughter.

If you think you know where this is going, you're wrong. I did not expect the twist, and it constantly surprised me. You start out with one idea, but it slowly ends up changing, and you wonder if you're being prejudiced against one of the characters as well.

There are a few themes in this book - the class difference between Kay/Dylan and Jess/Issie. Kay is a single mum of two trying to make ends meet working in a cafe, whereas Jess is running a business successfully and is pretty well off thanks to the payments from her ex-husband for Issie. The gender difference between Dylan and Issie, and how we're more sympathetic towards women than men in scenarios where we don't know the actual issues and how far a parent will go for their child.

I can't really talk much more about this, as I'll end up spoiling things, but I ended up liking a character I didn't think I would and disliked a character I didn't think I would. I'd fully recommend this to anyone who loves reading crime and thrillers!

As a parent your biggest dread is an unsuitable partner for your child and if they then went travelling with them your heart would be in your mouth for the whole time. Imagining then losing contact with them and all your worst thoughts play out which is what happens here. Through the book you see how things aren’t always as they seem and perhaps we never truly know our own children and what they will do when backed into a corner.

Great read.

I was completely absorbed in this tale of any mum’s worst nightmare. Twisty and addictive. What a treat to unwind with during these cold dark nights.

Very good writing, I found this easy to read and hard to put down. We explore the characters just enough in each section to know what we need to know, so it's not a boring unnecessary look into everyone's life. I have enjoyed reading this mostly from the two mothers points of view, it's everything my mother has told me she feels or worries about and I'm sure plenty of other mothers would recognise it too.
Love the classic feeling of 'what would you do?' - you never really know! Very good story with a few twists thrown in. I found the ending a little hard to believe though, too neat.

A family centered domestic thriller following the story of Jess's missing daughter, Issy and Kay's son Dylan.

A strong opener with the prologue taking you straight into the drama was a positive for me. I instantly wanted to know what had happened in the lead up to the police discovering the body and welcomed the chapters that followed.

I enjoyed the two way POV from both mothers and it makes you question where parental loyalty lies and just what the "right" choices are to make when it comes to our children. I think I flitted between empathising with bith women then also not agreeing with their decissions. The same with Issy and Dylan.

Subtle twists and an easy, steady read with the sladded fun of some podcast enteries slotted in throughout.

One thing I would have liked would be a chapter from both Issy and Dylan. Especially after the closing chapter ended with a clever statement that had you questioning things further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for letting me read Someone is Lying by Heidi Perks. Totally gripped from the first page until the last. Lots of twists and turns and I didn't want it to end. A definite 5 star read.

This is written from the perspective of 2 characters - the mums of the teens. It is an engaging book and once I was just a little way in I was hooked. The plot has a couple of twists and a great ending. I would highly recommend this book

When Jess's daughter Issie goes on a weekend break with her boyfriend Dylan, and stops contact with her Mum, Jess contacts the authorities in both countries. But as she went willingly there is no case to answer. Until a body is found.

This follows the story of Jess, Dylan, Issie and Dylan's Mum Kay throughout the missing period and after the body is found. What is the truth, and who is lying.

A twisting and turning thriller to keep you guessing.

I really enjoyed this book, in fact I read it in one go during a sleepless night! I would class it as a family drama, it examines how far parents will go to protect their children.
The tension mounts right from the start when a body is found. Two teenagers go on a trip round Europe when one of them goes missing. I like how we hear differing points of view from the parents and gradually find out what has been going on.
An enjoyable and also interesting read, I would definitely recommend this book.

WOW this book is going to be one to look out for in 2025!! I couldn't put this one down, it kept me guessing the whole time! Really glad I got to read this one. A perfect thriller!! I will be recommending this one to all my thriller pals!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

From the very start of this book I was absolutely hooked. The format of the story from both mothers’ perspectives with occasional inputs in the form of a podcast script was interesting and fresh. The storyline felt believable and real, with the dilemmas faced by both mothers seeming very plausible, as were their responses.

Where the book lost a star for me is that the momentum seemed to slow towards the end where it felt the story was dragged on with very little progress for a few chapters.

I enjoyed the twists and turns and would recommend this to friends, however I do wish the last section kept me hooked as it did at the beginning.

I have mixed feelings about this book .I thought the plot was great the idea of a child going missing on their first trip abroad independently is realistic and scary. I thought the characters were okay ,but the tension didn't ramp up as I wanted it too .Not a bad read though but maybe lacking some thing for me.

There's a lot about this book that isn't really what I would normally read. At its heart, it's actually pretty straightforward with no big surprises and the 'twists' aren't really fully realised to make perfect sense. Yet there's something about it that made me want to read on and discover what was going on. I suspect it's because Perks does an excellent job of fleshing out the characters and I love character driven plots.

It's not thrilling enough to be classed as a thriller for me, but still, it's an enjoyable read that engages you to the end.

Compelling, Urgent..
What lengths would you go in order to keep your child safe? Single mother Jess and daughter Issie have a close bond but things are about to change when Issie meets Dylan. Their plan to go travelling together terrifies Jess - quite apart from her daughter’s age, Jess does not trust her boyfriend. So, when Jess stops hearing from Issie she is understandably concerned - but when it becomes clear that Dylan is refusing to talk, Jess is distraught. With the police no help, what can she do to find her daughter? Tense and menacing with a compelling and urgent narrative, credible and well drawn characters and a pacy plot with often wholly unexpected and surprising twists.