“Assured, compelling, and hypnotically readable—with a twist at the end I guarantee you won’t see coming” (New York Times bestselling author Lee Child), T. M. Logan’s debut psychological thriller dissects a troubled marriage straight to the marrow as one man separates the truth from the Lies… respected teacher living in a well-to-do London suburb. But that was before he spotted his wife’s car entering a hotel parking garage. Before he saw her in a heated argument with her best friend’s husband. Before Joe confronted the other man in an altercation where he left him for dead, bleeding and unconscious.
Now, Joe’s life is unraveling. His wife has lied to him. Her deception has put their entire family in jeopardy. The man she met at the hotel has vanished. And as the police investigate his disappearance, suspicion falls on Joe.
Unable to trust the woman he loves, Joe finds himself at the mercy of her revelations and deceits, unsure of who or what to believe. All he knows is that her actions have brought someone dangerous into their lives—someone obsessed with her and determined to tear Joe’s world apart.
What if your whole life was based on LIES?
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Assured, compelling, and hypnotically readable―with a twist at the end I guarantee you won’t see coming.
Just when you think things can’t possibly get worse…they do. And then some. Lies is positively riveting, from the captivating first scene to the shocking twist at the end.
A tense and gripping thriller.
Lies by TM Logan is a fast paced psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first page. Logan didn’t waste any time jumping right into the action and grabbing my attention with the deception and mystery surrounding Ben, Mel, and Joe. I flew through this book in one afternoon, needing to know how things would end. The plot kept me jumping from theory to theory with each new detail that was revealed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was only partially right in the end. I think fans of The Wife Between Us or The Marriage Pact will devour this new thriller.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Lying well is a lot harder than people think. Things get complicated, people lose track.”
Wow! A plot that had me up to find out in a day!
Poor Joe ,an honest, easy going, married school teacher, who thinks his life is perfect.
UNTIL… the lies begin and he really has no idea who the people in his life are.
My heart was racing and the ending is unbelievable! You will definitely want to read this and see where the lies begin and where do they end!
This book is incredible and intense. So engaging and suspenseful. I could not put the book down. It captivated my attention right from the beginning. There are so many twists and surprises. This is a great thriller. I really enjoyed it.
On the UK Amazon site there are over 2,000 reviews for the book and I was surprised by some of the varying reactions to the book. Clearly the plot is in the eye of the beholder, as some thought it predictable and others edge of your seat.
I enjoy thrillers, and don’t like to predict the outcome in the first couple of chapters. With this book, I was certainly caught on the wrong foot with the ending. Also the plot kept me guessing, and there were times when I almost shouted out loud ‘Don’t Do it!’ Even when you know a car crash is coming, you can’t bear to look away.
For anyone who has been in a long-term relationship, you will understand that trust has been built up, habits, routines, and there is a solidity to the structure that reassures and keeps the connection strong. But like a thread in a piece of knitting, you start pulling on one strand, and the whole thing unravels.
This is where Joe was in his relationship with his wife Mel, and their son William. Joe is not in the fast lane, and is content in his job as a teacher, leaving the high flying to Mel. They have a small circle of friends, some of whom they have known since college and others who have joined the group as they have married and had children. They all get along although most of the interaction is driven by Mel.
The action starts within a few pages, as the first questions and doubts are raised, leading to a face off in a car park, and the worm of distrust creeping into what was once a strong and seemingly loving marriage.
It then becomes a free for all, with accusations, suspicions, threats and lies.. plenty of lies. Joe goes from being a back seat kind of guy to the passenger at the front of a roller coaster. The police are not much help as they focus their attention on Joe, with carefully orchestrated clues and circumstantial evidence muddying the waters.
I did enjoy the book very much. I did get a little frustrated with Joe’s dogged determination to make things work between himself and Mel… Not sure I would have given her as many passes, but at the heart of it is the well-being of William their young asthmatic son, who is bewildered by it all and is Joe’s first consideration.
I do recommend that you read for yourselves…
Another book that pulled me in! After finishing, I immediately went looking for his next book!
Joe Lynch and his car obsessed son Will are heading home from school in the family car, when Will spots “a Mummy car,” across the dual carriageway. The powder blue VW Golf is indeed Joe’s wife’s Mel’s car, and the duo hatch a plan to surprise her as she turns into the car park of a Premier Inn.
Big mistake!
Joe eventually becomes the number one suspect for the murder of family friend Ben, although no body has been located.
I read “Lies,” in one sitting. It is a well crafted and compulsive crime thriller. Highly recommended.
I needed this book. It’s been a while since I was left reeling with the twists and turns in a thriller. So many have been predicable as of late. Not this one. Although, like always, I should have seen it coming! Logan does a good job at distracting readers with a cloak we don’t even see!
Told from Joe’s point of view from start to finish, I was so lost in his story and turmoil, I though at one point I might be physically sick. Things were not looking so good. The story telling had me turning the pages from start to finish, waiting to see what was really going on.
Let me tell you, ignore all of the negative reviews. I don’t care about the thinking that not every book is for every person. The last fourth of this book make any questionable likeness go right out the window. Ones the pieces start to fall in place, it’s all downhill (or uphill) from there. Absolutely brilliant and riveting. I am looking forward to future books from this author!
‘What if you have the Perfect life, the Perfect Wife and the perfect child – then, in one shattering moment, you discover nothing is at it seems? What if your whole life was based on lies?’
Joe, his wife Mel and their 5 year old son William have a perfect life. They are happy in their jobs and school and they make a perfect little family. Or do they? Joe believes all is well with his life until he sees his wife at a table in a hotel restaurant arguing with Ben, the husband of one of Mel’s college friends. She doesn’t see Joe and when he asks her about it, she lies. When Ben disappears and his wife Beth asks for help, there are more lies. Once that door of mistrust is opened, it starts an avalanche of lies upon lies until Joe and the reader have no idea of what is really the truth and which character is telling the truth. It isn’t until the explosive last chapters that all is revealed. By then, poor Joe has been accused of Ben’s murder and is ready to be arrested. He wants to believe his wife and tries to prove her right but as the lies keep piling up, that trust has been broken and he begins to doubt everything she tells him.
I really likes the character of Joe. He was a good guy who was put in an impossible situation and he still tries to make the best of it and save the people that he loves. As he tries to find Ben on his own, he only gets himself into more trouble with the police. He loves his family and their happiness is his main goal throughout the book.
Thanks to the publisher for this book that kept me turning pages way past bed time.
A wonderfully plotted read.
This is my favorite read of the year. I love thrillers. I love trying to guess the twists before they happen. This book has more than its fair share and yet, each time I felt them hit me out of the blue, leaving me stunned and more intrigued than ever. I can’t remember another recent book that I’ve finished and immediately told everyone I know that they MUST READ so that we can discuss but that’s exactly what I did with this one. It came recommended to me and i’m paying it forward. Get this one now. You won’t be disappointed.
This was a roller coaster thriller! I flew through this book. Lots of misdirection, and what else, LIES! So many lies. However, I did suspect the ultimate ending rather early on in the novel – perhaps about one-third of the way through the book. Even with my suspicions, I did enjoy the book.
Joe Lynch is madly in love with his wife and his young son, William. Everything is going well with his family life, until one day when he sees his wife go into a hotel, follows her, and sees her meeting with the husband (Ben) of her best friend (Beth/Bee). Everything he thought he knew is now suspect.
T.M. Logan lays a very well constructed web of deceit. It makes you question your use of social media, the internet, and cell phones. Your digital signature is everywhere, and that is not necessarily a good thing.
#Lies #TMLogan
Do you really know the person you vowed to love for eternity??? Joe, Mel, and son, William, have the “perfect” life! Or so it seems. Just one little decision by Joe will spark events that no one can imagine! Please do yourself a favor and read this book NOW!!!
** spoiler alert **
Thank you St. Martin Press for the ARC of Lies.
Although the book started out a little slow and seemed to drag on longer than necessary in spots due to the short timeline of the story, it still held me captive from cover to cover! Who was lying? Where was Ben? Who can be trusted when everything around you is falling apart?
Loved the suspense, slow reveal of clues and revelations, and the unraveling at the end which lead to the truth. Can’t say I guessed the ending, which is always fun in a thriller!
Well done T.M. Logan!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy. I am voluntarily leaving a review. This is the story of Joe, a happily married man, father and teacher. His life is turned upside down one day when he spies his wife driving into a parking garage. He becomes the prime suspect in a murder without a body. He doesn’t know who to trust and it seems like whoever is doing this to him is always a couple of steps in front of him. The story is all told in Joe’s POV. I found him to be a little too naive and trusting but OMG, the twist at the end I did not see coming.
This is my first read from T.M. Logan and well worth the read. Lies gripped me from the beginning and never let go. Packed with twist, turns, lies, betrayal, and an ending you won’t expect. Great job!
T.M. Logan’s debut, Lies, is very much a guy’s mystery novel. The trappings of current tech are used to drive a straightforward pulse-pounder of a thriller. It’s a no frills, quick and engaging read.
That said, when I choose a novel, I hope for great characters and a well-constructed plot, but I also like to enjoy an artful turn of phrase, and that’s where this novel left me wanting. The dialogue was adequate, but the character development and atmosphere were very basic, taking a back seat to the breakneck plot. As well, there were no insights, no enlightening tangents, no creative and spot-on phrases to make you stop, nod and go “Oh wow, yeah!”
Driving a story to the end in a compelling way certainly takes persistence and talent, but what elevates good writing to gifted is how it also enlightens the reader along the way. There’s the story, and then there’s also the “something” the writer wants to convey. I didn’t feel that T.M. Logan really had anything to say, and that is why you see so many reviewers saying they really liked the novel but are only giving it three-stars.
Lies may make a great beach read or made-for-TV movie, but I can’t imagine anyone is going to read this and say, “Now that’s a great piece of literature” or “that really got me thinking”. It’s simply a delicious piece of mind candy.
By chance Joe sees his wife Mel drive into a hotel car park and then, unseen, witnesses an argument between his wife and his wealthy friend Ben. After the two men have a heated altercation, Ben disappears and suspicion soon falls on Joe. Social media posts suggests that Ben is still alive, but the police are working on the assumption that in a jealous rage Joe murdered him . The plot twists and turns and, although I guessed the big revelation some time before it happened, this was an entertaining read I would recommend.