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Twisty and atmospheric but with room for improvement.

Lie to Me by Theo Baxter offers a gripping psychological thriller with plenty of suspense and some truly chilling moments. The premise of an isolated protagonist, Elena, being pushed to her mental and emotional limits is compelling. The twists were well-timed, and the sense of paranoia built steadily, keeping me intrigued about who could be behind the torment she faces.

However, while the setup was strong, parts of the story felt predictable, and the characters, especially the supporting cast, could have used more depth. Elena's decisions sometimes felt repetitive, which slowed the pacing in places.

That said, the book delivered an engaging read overall, with an ending that was satisfying enough to tie things together. If you love psychological thrillers with a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere, it’s worth checking out!

I asked for more from this author after reading his box set, and he didn't disappoint! Theo Baxter is becoming a favorite of mine. If you love a good thriller check out Lie to Me, and all of Baxter's works!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

A super cool premise that fell a bit short in my opinion, I enjoyed this one, but it had quite a slow walk to get where it was going. Good but not great.

Lie to Me is my first Theo Baxter book. It will not be my last. Elena is overly trusting of everyone but herself. Which makes it really easy for everyone in her life to gaslight her. I did figure out the villain pretty early but I think it was written so that everyone but Elena knew there was something wrong. It was a nice way to spend a snowy Saturday. Easy to read and easy to enjoy. There are obvious good guys and bad guys and it's fun to see the bad guys get what is coming to them. It's a little sappy, but I enjoyed even the sappy.

Spoiler alert.

I really thought the husband was secretly sleeping with the assistant and trying to drive the wife crazy.

So boy was I surprised by the twist.

But lord, if she didn't get rid of that worthless husband already.

A twisty thriller featuring a writer and her troubled life. A mixture of characters,easy to suss who the culprit was.

3.5 stars
Poor Elena is having a rough time. Her assistant/best friend suddenly dies and and she finds out her husband is having an affair. In the midst of her personal turmoil, she starts getting threatening messages and "gifts". Facing all these challenges, Elena struggles to figure out who is targeting her and make it stop.

I thought some of the moments with Carlotta were pretty heavy handed and it was fairly obvious she was behind everything.

As always, just a sheer delight to read. I was hooked form the start and loved the original premise that felt unlike anything else I'd read. Well written characters, good storytelling and fabulous twists. Another winner!

I really love books about authors. Don’t ask me why but I do 😂 so this immediately sucked me in and it does keep your attention the entire time. I wanted to know what happened and who it was. I did guess the bad guy but did not guess the connection or who they actually were.

This book was an amazing, hard to put down fast read. I loved everything about it! This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading more.

As always Theo Baxter books are so gripping, immediately I felt hooked by the building danger and suspense.

Lie To Me by Theo Baxter is a recommended psychological thriller following a mystery author who may be slowly losing her mind.

Author Elena Winthrop survived a difficult childhood, the death of her assistant Lila, and putting up with a cheating, lazy husband. She's getting her anxiety under control and manages to hire a new assistant, Carlotta, who quickly becomes a great help to her. Then her house is broken into, the hate mail and calls begin to increase, she's getting messages from a man who is watching her, and ominous gifts begin to show up at her house. Thank goodness for her friend and editor, Beatrice, who recommends Elena hire a PI to help.

This is a tension-packed psychological thriller due to everything that is happening in Elena's life. The intense and repetitive events that seem to be threatening her sanity sometimes make it difficult to connect with Elena as a sympathetic character. It isn't always clear if she is too trustworthy or too naive. Her thoughts also tend to be repetitive, which does serve to magnify her fears, but can be aggravating. It makes you wonder why she didn't turn to Beatrice, a welcomed, strong character, for help more often. The PI, Jack, is also a welcomed addition to the novel.

The drawback to Lie To Me is that it is easy to figure out what is going on early on. It is a fast read and there is a further twist at the end, however, that will be a big surprise. Thanks to Inkubator Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Fast paced story with well developed characters. Story that will suck you in. A little predictable but still a great read. Makes for a good and quick weekend read that will have you turning the pages well into the night.

I love Theo Baxter's writing and was keen to read this based on the description, and while it was an enjoyable read it did fall slightly flat for me.

I enjoyed the pace, the storyline, Elena's background story and the inclusion of a private investigator. I thought the overall idea of the book was great. I struggled with Elena's naivety, particularly for someone who was meant to be quite a worried person and I felt there were no twists - I figured out who it was pretty early on. The ending wrapped things up nicely which I always appreciate!

It was a good easy read, with a quick pace and enough suspense to keep it interesting - just don't expect any massive twist.

Love Theo Baxter and his work, this book had a great plot but I struggled with the main character! I also unfortunately figured out the ending quite early on which spoiled it for me.
Please read this yourself though and make your own mind up, as this is only my opinion and everyone’s take can be different.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC

Read ARC on netgalley, thank you Inkubator books!

It is a good psychological thriller that keeps you turning the pages. Characters are really well developed. The plot is good.

Elena is a best selling author who can't catch a break. She had abusive parents and a disturbing past, then her husband is less than useless. She also has stalkers. Many of them.

And the ending is also good! Yes, it was kinda predictable who the accused was but the book is written so well that it doesn't matter.

The main character was not doing it for me.
I really love thrillers so I found it quite predictable, however that could be because I read a lot of thrillers. This would be a good book for someone new to the genre and wants a fast paced book!

Overall, good book, even though I guessed the plot right away. But it was was so fun to read couldn't put it down.

Lie To Me by Theo Baxter is chock full of suspense and tense moments. Mystery author Elena has suffered excruciating childhood trauma and her life remains out of control after the death of her personal assistant and the infidelity of her husband. Her new assistant is a dream and she can finally start to let go of her past. But a fresh wave of harassment causes her anxiety to kick into high gear. She hires an investigator to peel back the layers.

Though the premise is fascinating, I struggled with engaging with Elena (though at times felt empathy for her plight) and ascertained the perpetrator very early. Still, the writing is gripping and I got swept away in the story.

My sincere thank you to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this captivating novel.

Lie T o Me by Theo Baxter.
Release date 17th of November 2024.

This book was an overall good book but not brilliant id say.
Fast paced story.
I didn't like the main character which is something i'm not used to.
I predicted the ending fairly early on which is not like his other books.