I Know You Lied: An absolutely addictive and shocking psychological thriller

An overused, highly unoriginal plot. A protagonist who behaves like no living person ever would (moving into her estranged gran's house, a woman she hates, claiming to be a devoted granddaughter to the man who lives there who she's never met, has no reason to believe or trust, and has no evidence he's the long-lost great-cousin he claims to be). Full of exposition (the thinking about, opening of, and resulting shock from a letter goes on for an entire chapter, the second one no less, by which point nothing significant has happened, nor does it for quite some time, and when it eventually does, I was bored and didn't care). The writing is pacy but only because the paragraphs jump where scene breaks could have been added to stop the writing jarring from this. Nothing much happens until the final few chapters, when nothing particularly surprising occurs anyway. The ending is rushed. The reader is told this happened, why it happened, and the reason for the person responsible making it happen, so the reader has no investment in the story, reading between the lines, figuring things out themselves, which is a key aspect of the activity. Reading is an entertainment experience, and reading this was a chore.This was not a psychological thriller. Family drama perhaps, with a murder, or several. But hardened crime fans won't find this thrilling.

I had read the author's previous book - "the Leaving Party". Well, let me clarify - I bought the book & attempted to read it, but could not finish. I decided to give the writer another chance & I purchased this book. I was able to read it in it's entirety, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy it. It's repetitive, redundant & the plot is paper thin.Nell receives a letter from a lawyer informing her of her mother's recent death. Her will names Nell as the sole beneficiary. Nell's grandmother, who raised her, told her that her mother died in a car accident when Nell was a baby. Nell's grandmother lied to her. Nell's mother died alone, impoverished & undernourished in the one bedroom apartment she'd lived in for the past 26 years.Nell & her grandmother are estranged, but Nell intends to confront her & ask her why she told her such a cruel lie. She wants to look her in the eye & ask her what really happened. It kills her not to have any memory of the woman who gave birth to her. Her mother has been alive all this time. Why did her grandmother hide the truth from her?

I bought this book based on the predominantly good reviews (well written, gripping etc) - did we all read the same book?! This was so terribly written, it felt clumsy and awkward, and the reveal?! I saw it coming a mile off, it was so obvious and ridiculous. It's a fairly short read (if not frustrating) so I stuck with it, but it's by no means a gripping thriller. Don't bother!

Excellent book!!!