The Lie

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There is a very interesting mix of characters, some more likeable than others. I softened to Jane immediately, as I loved her compassion for animals. The depth of secrets and lies amongst the four friends is rather impressive, and makes it very hard to work out who is good or bad, and who is safe to trust.

I have long been an admirer of Helen Dunmore and am pleased to say that I greatly enjoyed her latest work. Obviously it is the Centenary of the First World War and so there are bound to be many books about such a cataclysmic historical event which changed Europe, and the people involved, forever. This is a moving read, but events and memories are unravelled slowly – almost poetically – and it is not a book to rush, but to savour and think about. Pat Barker matches her for historical accuracy and the ability to delve deep into the human psyche, but Dunmore’s haunting, lyrical and mesmeric prose to describe carnage and loss elevates her into a different league. (The Weekend Australian, March 1-2, 2014) My heart was racing after I finished CL Taylor’s brilliant new book The Lie. Dark, creepy and full of twists. I loved it.”– Rowan Coleman (author of ‘The Memory Book’) The Lie combines two story lines, one in the present and one that happened 5 years ago, both story lines are linked by one person: Jane Hughes.Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and everything she loves... Your past doesn't have to define your future, not if you won't let it" is one of the messages in The Lie. Told in the first-person perspective of Jane/Emma, the story alternates fluently between the present and the past. 5 Years ago, Jane was known as Emma. She embarked on the trip of a lifetime with three female friends visiting a "retreat" in Nepal. 5 years later, she's living a secluded life in Wales, working in an animal shelter and using a different name. What happened during their time abroad and why is somebody taunting Jane/Emma now after all this time?

I really loved the pace, the plot and the energy of the book up to them arriving at the holiday destination of a lifetime, it's hard to share without spoilers, but it's not quite what everybody expected. At this point in addition to the group of friends a number of new and flawed characters are introduced and I can confidently say I did not take to one of them. I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland. The novel is told from the first person perspective of Daniel Branwell, a young man who has returned from France after a stint in the Army. His narrative voice from the start is not a realistic male one, and it certainly sounds far too feminine to be anything close to plausible at times. Both of Daniel’s parents are dead, and his only company is an elderly woman named Mary Pascoe who lives nearby -‘Even with her milky eyes she still seemed more like a bird than a woman… I was glad that the humanness in her seemed to have been parched away, so that she was light enough to fly’ – and his memories. I strongly recommend this to anyone who likes psychological thrillers, and I can’t wait to read The Accident.I can't talk about this without delving into spoilers so please beware that the resolution and most of the mysteries in the book will be spoiled if you continue to read on. I've had this on my to-read list for a while, I finally got around to reading it and I'm so glad I did.