Overall, I love Jo Spain’s books and this one is no exception. It’s very gripping, hard to put down, keeps you guessing and you certainly don’t want anyone to interrupt you while you are so engrossed!!

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Waterstones The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Waterstones

Told in three different time lines, I guarantee that you will not be bored for a minute. It was absolutely unputdownable and it has “one sitting reading” written all over it, cause you’ll need to make sense of how both lines tie together. I won’t say much because of spoilers, just pay attention to the details. I did and I guessed some of the twists and oh, Ms. Spain…that was clever! I love reading books and watching TV shows set elsewhere – we just need a bit of escapism, especially post-Covid. I've been in New York a few times and have watched a lot of shows set in Long Island and thought 'that looks nice'. And if I can conquer the American market that would be a bonus," she laughs. What an explosive start to a novel with a husband plunging to his death from an apartment building, over four floors down. Although my heart went out to the man’s wife Erin, I was immediately suspicious of this situation, my alarm bells were ringing – loud! I had so many questions in the opening stages of this book and these doubts also continued for the duration of the story. Spain takes a slow drip approach to her novel, gradually dropping clues, revelations and surprising moments for the reader to jostle with. As I worked to solve this puzzle, I thought I had made some important in-roads, but Spain would issue yet another game changing clue that would throw my theories completely into oblivion.

Perfect Lie Game on Lagged.com

She is also working on her 2022 novel: The Drowning is about "an Englishman who travels to Lapland where his sister has died in pretty horrific circumstances".

The Perfect Lie: the gripping new psychological thriller from the The Perfect Lie: the gripping new psychological thriller from the

Having moved to New York five years ago following a family tragedy, Erin's fortune changed when she met her now husband, police detective Danny. So mystery #2 is what do Lauren and Ally have to do with Erin? Not telling, but it is important. I did feel that these sections were a little long winded and repetitive in places, hence the 'only just short of the full five stars' rating.Spain carefully researched the topic of suicide, insisting she wanted to "treat it as much more than a plot device". past’ and ‘now’ in alternating chapters does keep you rapt to the detail but still a couple of times I had to focus and get the characters rightly placed and in the right time zone But Erin has friends, some of them new friends, that come to her aid after Danny's death. With the alternating timelines things are very confusing although I did figure out a lot of what was going on before the halfway mark. Still, I enjoyed seeing how the story played out and I plan to investigate more of Jo Spain's work. This novel has one of the most dramatic openings I have ever read. Following the early morning arrival of his police colleagues at his apartment door, Detective Danny Ryan runs to his balcony and jumps to his death in front of his wife. After that compelling scene, I was immediately pulled in to needing to find out why that happened.

Award-winning novelist Jo Spain on new crime thriller The Perfect Lie Award-winning novelist Jo Spain on new crime thriller The Perfect

When I'm writing it's like preparing a crossword, putting the clues all out there so that when the reader reads it all comes together perfectly at the end. It's very satisfying." If there was a hiccup or critique, it was that most of the story is told from Erin’s first person point of view except for a few chapters which are told from the point of view of another female character, Ally. Ally’s boyfriend’s identity needs to be kept secret from the reader for quite a while so as not to give too much away leading to Ally constantly referring to ‘my boyfriend’ ending up a little clunky. Maybe Spain could have simply said ‘he’ now and then to break up the weirdness of this part.With its idyllic lifestyle, Long Island is a great location for this mystery. Although Erin loves the relaxed atmosphere and vacation lifestyle, the shadowy undertones of class and privilege will ensure that an outsider like her will never feel welcome. About 75% through, and I had an inkling. Yes, I was right, but did that impact my enjoyment of this intriguing and riveting thriller? Hell, no! That was one wild, mind-bending read. ABOUT 'THE PERFECT LIE': He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

The Perfect Lie: an addictive and unmissable thriller full of shocking The Perfect Lie: an addictive and unmissable thriller full of

I HATE plot devices where the mystery hinges upon the characters withholding information. It is lazy and after having read some stellar psy thrillers in the vein of Gone Girl etc., it feels downright cheap. If you don’t mind that, then by all means this book will appeal to you. The second POV is also Erin’s as she is recounting the time leading up to Danny’s death. And the third POV introduces two other characters who are seemingly unconnected to the main story. Where is this all going to lead? With Our Blessing, a police procedural featuring Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds, was snapped up by Quercus in 2015. Ten best-selling novels have followed.

The story is told in “then” and “now” chapters and the book slowly reveals Erin’s emotional journey leading up to the incident and then how she finds herself standing trial for her husband’s murder many months later.