After a lifetime of secrets how far would you go for the truth?An unputdownable new psychological thriller, full of twists you won’t see coming, from Chris Curran.Your whole life has been a lie… life with her adoptive parents has been a lie.
Now she must unravel the mystery of Stella’s dark past. But what Eve finds will force her to take enormous risks, which put her – and her new-born baby – in immediate danger…
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Very well written and I didn’t want to put it down. This is guaranteed to engage and excite you until the end.
This author has the gift of writing psychological thrillers that feature pleasant, likeable protagonists.
By chance, Eve discovers something about her birth mother. When she asks her loving, adoptive parents for answers, she senses their evasions might well be downright lies. (In fact, All the Little Lies turns out to be the perfect title for this novel.)
The storyline is easy to follow even though there are two timelines, one from Eve’s viewpoint and an earlier one from the perspective of Stella, Eve’s birth mother. There’s a large cast of likely suspects who may have played their part in Stella’s downfall and now may present a threat to Eve and her own newborn baby. I was so keen to find out what would happen that I read it a day.
I loved the backdrop of the art world, with some of the characters being artists and others working in galleries. This led to a stylish and dramatic climax at the end of the book.
The reader is drawn into this gripping,riveting thriller by an Intreguing opening chapter were we witness the main character Eve sneaking away from the home that she shares with her husband Alex and their very young baby Ivy. Why is she sneaking away? Why doesn’t she want Alex to hear her leaving? Where is she going?
Then we are taken back in time to three months previously when Eve received a email from a friend that contained a link to a newspaper story. The story is about a new exhibition of paintings by a young artist named Stella Carr, a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Eve. Eve has always known that she was adopted but the couple who adopted her, Jill and David Ballantyne have never told her very much about her birth mother. All they told her was her mother was young and alone and couldn’t look after a child. Seeing the picture causes Eve to realise that she has been lied to for years and sends her on a personal crusade to uncover the truth. But why would they lie to her? What are they hiding? What happened in the past that her adoptive parents and other characters are prepared to constantly lie about to stop Eve from uncovering the truth?
The chapters alternate between Eve’s quest for the truth in the present day and events in Stella’s life in the past. I had mixed feelings about Eve,she did have some redeemable qualities but was also very naive at times,a bit selfish and a bit too trusting. It was difficult not to feel loads of sympathy for poor Stella as the truth was revealed about how she was manipulated by the people around her so that they could achieve their own selfish desires. It was unsettling reading the differences between what really happened to Stella and the lies that were being told to Eve in the present day.
There was a number of devious,manipulative and not very likeable characters. A few chapters were narrated by a character who was so despicable that I dreaded getting to that characters chapters. I did surprisingly find myself understanding the motives behind one of the not very likeable characters actions. But that still didn’t make me like that character,not even a tiny little bit.
Appearances can be deceptive,people are not always who they appear to be as Eve soon discovers in this twisty,unputdownable thriller that had me hooked in from the first page,totally entranced by the tightly plotted,gripping story that was unfolding as I frantically turned the pages.The characters were realistic and vivid,the story was packed full of red herrings and misdirections and had a number of totally unexpected twists.Well worth far more than five stars,this book is definitely going to be on my list of my favourite reads of this year.
Skip this one unless you like to read about an adult who thinks her adoptive parents are hiding something wonderful and exciting about the mother who gave her up for adoption. The main character just seems too spoiled to even be a likable character. I should have saved my money on this one.
Nice twists.
Keeps you guessing.