Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do it? 

"If nobody believes you, if the police don't believe you, how can you trust yourself?"

Christina McDonald's debut novel The Night Oliva Fell was a real roller coaster ride. Behind Every Lie is a very different type of book but it also is full of twists and turns and kept me rapidly turning pages (and losing sleep) until the end.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2020; Gallery Books; 978-1501184031
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); thriller

Eva and her mom Kat have always had a rocky relationship but not rocky enough that Eva would kill her mother...or would she?  Everything points in that direction and the police are very suspicious when Eva says that she can't remember anything.  She has an excuse because she woke up in the hospital after being struck by lightning - but why was she in her mother's neighborhood when she lived miles away and why was her car at her mom's and her fingerprints in the house?  She has no memory of anything that happened after she got home that day.  Eva is determined to clear her name and to try to remember what happened and after finding a letter in her mother's files, she sneaks off to London, where her mom grew up, to try to find some answers.  What she finds out is shocking and she has trouble connecting the mom that she learns about in London and the mom that she knew growing up.  The more questions she gets answered, the more questions she has plus she has no idea what is true and what's a lie. This book is full of lies and secrets that cause more danger to Eva as they are revealed because someone doesn't want her to find out the truth.   She learns that she can trust no one - and as her memory starts to return, she even wonders if she can trust herself.

I loved this book and the way the story is told.  It all comes to light gradually as the story is told by Eva in present-day and Kat in the past when Eva was born.  When these two timelines intersect, the complicated relationship between mother and daughter becomes even more apparent.

If you want a book full of twists and turns, lies and truth.  A book that is full of surprises - this is the book for you.

Buy Behind Every Lie at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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