My Lies, Your Lies by Susan Lewis

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (16 April 2020)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0008286833
• ISBN-13: 978-0008286835

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

His life was destroyed by a lie.

Her life will be ruined by the truth.

Joely tells other people’s secrets for a living. As a ghost writer, she’s used to scandal – but this just might be her strangest assignment yet.

Freda has never told her story to anyone before. But now she’s ready to set the record straight and to right a wrong that’s haunted her for forty years.

Freda’s memoir begins with a 15-year-old girl falling madly in love with her teacher. It ends in a way Joely could never possibly have imagined.

As the story unravels, Joely is spun deeper into a world of secrets and lies. Delving further into Freda’s past, Joely’s sure she can uncover the truth… But does she want to?

 

Review

It’s been a long time since I read a Susan Lewis book, but reading My Lies, Your Lies reminded me of what a brilliant story teller she is. Joely is an ex journalist who now works as a ghost writer, whose latest assignment takes her to Devon. Famous, but reclusive author Freda Donahoe wants Joely to help writer her memoir, detailing a story never told before. Split between present day and 1968 secrets are revealed, taking Joely and Freda on a journey that will change both their lives.

For me this is what I call an OMG book, Susan Lewis took me to places I never expected to go when I started this book. In the present day the assignment is a perfect chance for Joely to escape London and have a chance to lick her wounds after her husband left her for her best friend. She has ghost written many books but never has she had to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement and not even tell her family where she is going. Emotionally she is not in a good place, and she finds the isolation at Dunnett House troubling as she has no mobile phone or Wifi coverage cutting her off from friends and her mother and daughter. In this environment she begins to feel suspicious and uneasy, left to her own devices and uncomfortable with parts of the memoir of the illicit love affair.

Freda is a recluse, living in a big house in rural Devon She is a famous author so it seems strange that she needs Joely to help with her memoir, but as the plot progresses we learn why she has chosen Joely. Freda’s story starts in 1968, where her memoir begins with a fifteen year old girl, who is referred to as ‘Young Freda’, who falls in love with her music teacher, always referred to as ‘Sir’. Freda tells the story of a forbidden love affair between the two that has shocking consequences for both involved and their families. Interestingly, Freda wants to put all the blame on the young girl, who at nearly sixteen knew how powerful her sexuality was and used it to trap the young music teacher. Freda is obsessed with blame and how Joely sees this story, especially as she has a daughter of the same age. All through this telling of the memoir there is a feeling of unease, of there being more to this than at first meets the eye, more than Freda trying to right a wrong.

Susan Lewis captures the emotions of her characters brilliantly, bringing them off the page and into the readers heart; passion, love, loss, betrayal, anger, fear, forgiveness, grief I felt them all. Freda is always reminding Joely to not make assumptions as to how the story will unfold, this is also a warning for the reader, don’t be fooled about what you think you know, the truth is something completely different.  This would be a fabulous book club read as it opens itself up to a lot of discussion points in relation to the characters and the plot line; I was still thinking of this book days after I finished it.

My Lies, Your Lies reminded me why I loved Susan Lewis’s books, the wonderful prose pulled me straight in and I had a feeling of comfort and familiarity which made is such a joy to read. The reality and depth of character made me feel like I knew these characters, their feelings and thoughts. To say this books compelling is an understatement, the plot moved seamlessly along, with many twists and turns along the way, and the story has stayed with me. Thought provoking, thrilling and immersive, I highly recommend this book.

 

I would like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and Harper Collins for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.