Only Truth
by Julie Cameron
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Pub Date 13 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 30 Sep 2020
Penzler Publishers | Scarlet
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Description
A woman moves to the country to flee a troubled past, but finds familiar fears lurking inside her new home
A successful artist with a doting husband, Isabel Dryland knows she should be grateful for her happy life. It’s a complete reversal from the one she led before, when normalcy seemed out of reach, after a violent assault she cannot remember left her shattered and scarred. Even though the memory was lost, the nagging feeling that she was damaged goods and the lingering effects of her injuries kept her questioning her sanity at times.
Tom, her husband, thinks a move will be the fresh start they need, and has even found the perfect house: a country estate that reminds him of one he admired in his youth. But all Isabel feels when she visits is an overwhelming sense of dread. Betrayed by her instincts so often before, she decides to trust Tom’s, to accept the move and learn to love their new home over time.
Instead, she learns that beneath the pretty façade of their new home lurk dark secrets powerful enough to bring her own trauma back to the fore. There is an uncanny familiarity about the place, as if it were infected by the experiences she hoped to escape. And the recurring presence of a mysterious stranger further disturbs her, giving her the sensation of being a predator’s stalked prey.
Isabel struggles to determine whether her fear is caused by memory alone, or by threats existing very much in the present. To find out, she’ll have to finally close the book on what occurred so many years ago—but how do you heal from a past you cannot recall, when only the truth about your past can set you free?
About the Author: Julie Cameron was born and grew up in England. She studied Clinical Sciences at university and, after a short spell in industry, has worked as both a clinician and a manager in the National Health Service.
An inveterate book-lover, particularly thrillers, she finally decided to try her own hand at writing - which resulted in the completion of Only Truth. Julie has one daughter and lives in a small village in the Berkshire countryside, where she shares her home with her husband and two happy cats.
She is now working on her next novel, balancing her time between family, her writing and a full time career. In the little leisure time she has left she enjoys nothing better than an evening with friends in the village pub, or relaxing on a Greek beach with a good book.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781613161838 |
| PRICE | US$25.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Mandy M, Reviewer
This cover is impossible to ignore, and with an equally-interesting blurb to match, I was thrilled to be approved for this request.
Isabela's life was dramatically altered when she survived a brutal attack that left her permanently disfigured with no memory of attack. Now, married and having just bought a beautiful house in the country, Izzy realizes there's something about that house that is deeply unsettling. After renovations unearth a possible reason for her unease, she pursues the truth and suddenly finds herself questioning how stable the foundation of her life is.
Only Truth is un-put-downable. I finished this in a single sitting and would gladly do it again. Cameron found a wonderful balance between creepy house, unreliable narrator, and underlying sense of foreboding that resulted in a wonderfully-taut thriller. This gave me all the Gothika vibes. Alternating POVs worked really well here, and while I couldn't choose a favorite, I can sing their praises. Izzy is authentic and gripping and highly likable, even when you're not sure you can entirely buy into her quest for the truth. The mysterious killer's voice is terrifying in its honest dissociation from human emotions.
As for the plot, Cameron does a masterful job weaving doubt into every character. I find memory-lapse narratives tricky to navigate, as sometimes they can come off as cliche or stigmatize mental illness. This book, however, treats mental illness not as a root cause for evil or a path for blame, but rather a fact, a characteristic that doesn't define a character but adds to who that character is. I found this refreshing and engrossing, and I appreciated her handling of some of the more sensitive subjects.
Additionally, Cameron's writing style is beautiful, a readable combination of literary skill and brazen conversationalism. She's taken some of the more overplayed archetypes of the genre and handled them with grace and horror. There is violence, but it's not gratuitous, and while we do get a fair glimpse into a killer's psyche, the focus is primarily on "recovery" and we deal with trauma and change.
Overall, Only Truth is a fast-paced, gripping ride full of tension and twists. Big thanks to Scarlet and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.
Amy C, Reviewer
4.5 rounded up. Get in and buckle up. You are in for one helluva ride!!
Isabel (Izzy) Dryland-Weir has become an artist. A rather successful artist. She met her husband Tom in the art gallery during a showing. He recognized her. She was that girl. The girl that survived. The girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. The girl that had tried to act more mature, more cool, more experienced. The girl, at the age of 14, who was savagely brutalized, her skull bashed in and left for dead.
Izzy has put in the work. She still suffers from migraines and acute anxiety. Tom is not only her husband, but her caretaker. He believes he knows what's best for Izzy. That is how they end up living in the country at the homestead known as The Lodge, where Izzy can focus more on herself and begin painting again.
But, something doesnt feel right. She doesnt feel comfortable at The Lodge. She feels like she is being watched. She moved more for Tom than for herself. She gave this to him. Why cant he believe her when she voices her concerns? She strikes out on her own to find the answers.
I absolutely love the character of Izzy. Regardless of her disability, she perseveres. She does not stop no matter the circumstance. Julie Cameron writes her so well. There is some redundancy, and working with a character that has a TBI, there would be repetition. She makes it work beautifully. This was a ride I did not want to end.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Julie Cameron for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wayward Readers B, Reviewer
A solid mystery with tons is suspenseful moments and characters that the reader will be instantly drawn to. Julie Cameron does an outstanding job at building intense foreboding and challenging the reader to second guess themself. The story is told from multiple perspectives and weaves a pattern of mystery from page one to the very end. 4 stars
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC OF #OnlyTruth which was read and reviewed voluntarily.
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