Between the Lies by Michelle Adams

Between the Lies by Michelle Adams
Expected Publication Date: March 5th 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Date: February 22nd 2019
Genre: Mystery / psychological thriller
Pages: 336
Stars: 5/5

The truth is hiding between the lies.

A page-turning psychological thriller with twists that keep the reader guessing until last page, this addictive read will be loved by fans of Shari Lapena’s A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE and Liz Lawler’s DON’T WAKE UP.

What would you do if you woke up and didn’t know who you were?

Chloe Daniels regains consciousness in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. 
She doesn’t recognise the strangers who call themselves family. She can’t even remember her own name.

What if your past remained a mystery?

As she slowly recovers, her parents and sister begin to share details of her life. 
The successful career. The seaside home. The near-fatal car crash.
But Chloe senses they’re keeping dark secrets – and her determination to uncover the truth will have devastating consequences.

What if the people you should be able trust are lying to you?

Her name is Chloe. She is 32 years old, a lawyer, had house of her own and lived a happy good life… That’s what her family told her, not what she remembers.

Between the Lies revolved around Chloe’s forgotten life and her constant fight and efforts of knowing who she really was and what her life before the accident was.

All characters were so creative and intriguing. They were all flawed and unlikable, even Chloe at some point and even those who seemed likable at first. They were highly unpredictable and complicated that made the book stand out from all psychological thriller.

Chloe’s father. He was so much controlling. I never trusted him throughout the story. I even had a doubt he was responsible for what happened to Chloe. At some point I could reason with his perception regarding Chloe’s past and there was some truth as well but he twisted and manipulated it to the extent that it horrified me.

Chloe’s mother was living somewhat good happy life outside the house but in house felt anxious around her and even more in presence of her father. It felt like she was acting the script written by Chloe’s father and I didn’t like it. I could feel how terrible her life might be to live with such tyrant but I also hated her for not standing up for her own daughter.

Jess was Chloe’s younger sister who was lil bit more normal than her parents. She first gave the impression of not knowing half of the truth. But I was so wrong about her as well.

Chloe was more complex. We get to know her more as her memory returns. She was not all nicest and likable. She had a lot to cope with. She made some terrible mistakes, she was weak and always ran away from difficulties which cost her more than her life and memory.  But she tried to make things right and that’s what made her human. Her development was gradual and I liked how she followed her instincts and turned out stronger at the end.

Book was gripping from the very beginning. Chloe was in terrible accident. When she woke up from coma one month later, she didn’t know who she was, what her past life was like. She felt stranger among her own family and home they said she grew up in. And suspicious thing was they don’t allow her to go out or meet anyone else which immediately created doubt in my mind and made me to believe Chloe.

I was eager to know who she really was and why her own family were keeping her prisoner, did she has some other home or family, if they were telling the truth why she felt weird and strange among them? And as I read more I get to know how manipulating they were. Can she find out the truth about her and her past life between the lies? Eventual returns of memory and what Chloe discovers over the course of the book gives answer to all these questions.

The plot was so brilliant and engrossing. Each chapter ended with a twist, a more questions, a shocking discovery that made me more desperate to find out the truth, and reality of Chloe’s life. I devoured each pages with its depth.

The book had many layers. It was about truth, lies, and manipulation; betrayal, loss and love; dysfunctional family and its impact on life of all family members; how past is important in life and how it helps us to be better person.

The story was first person narrative from Chloe’s perspective. Her voice was full of emotion – frustration of not remembering anything, her anger for lies her family told, desperation to have normality, and a sense of sadness and regret for losing her loved ones. Author portrayed Cleo’s feelings so wonderfully that it drew me into the heart and mind of Chloe. The setting was atmospheric. Constant fog and rain, Chloe’s house, forest, surrounding village, beach created perfect tense atmosphere for the plot.

There were passages from unknown narrator in between the chapters that tells about narrator’s thought and obsessive love for Chloe. It was creepy to read his thoughts and it gave bad vibes. He raised even more questions and I was so sure he was the reason for what happened to Chloe but who he was that I couldn’t guess until climax.

Twist and turns and suspense was mind-blowing. That twist at around 45% of the book just baffled me. I couldn’t trust anyone, not even Chloe. Last 30% of the book was utterly brilliant. Near the climax, I could guess who might be the narrator, who caused the accident, who was that obsessed lover and what might have happened.  But I was so so wrong in my theories. What a turn of events that was! And end was totally unpredictable. I believed the event as they were described in the end but I was shocked by what Chloe revealed.

Overall, it was easy to read, steady paced, page turner psychological thriller with brilliant plot and intriguing characters. I just loved this book and I highly recommend it.

About the author:

MICHELLE ADAMS is a British writer living abroad in Cyprus for the last four years. She is a part-time scientist and has published six science fiction novels under a pseudonym, including a YA dystopian series. She is also the author of If You Knew My Sister.
Website: http://www.michelleadams.co.uk/

*** Note: I received e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

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