Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (8 Mar. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751564907
• ISBN-13: 978-0751564907

Synopsis

he police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.
Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to ask questions about her parents’ deaths. But by digging up the past, is she putting her future in danger? Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie . . .

The stunning, twisty new psychological thriller from number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh, author of I LET YOU GO and I SEE YOU.

Review

Let Me Lie is the highly anticipate third book from Clare Mackintosh.  The plot centres around the suicide of Anna Johnson’s parents, both in the same place but nine months apart.  Being Clare Mackintosh you know its not going to be that simple.  The plot is narrated by Anna and Murray, the retired police detective who is helping her look into her parents death.  There is also a third person narrating a few chapters, but you are never quite sure who that is.  Clare Mackintosh has split the book into three parts, and each part has a new shocking revelation that turns the plot on it’s head.  As a good psychological thriller should have, there are plenty of twists and turns, but in true Clare Mackintosh style these are something else; unpredictable and shocking, dark and heart racing.

When we first meet Anna it is the first anniversary of her mother’s death, and in that year her life has changed a lot; she has met Mark and they have had a daughter. She is vulnerable after the birth of her daughter and the anniversary of her mother’s death, which she doesn’t understand, so when she receives a card questioning the suicide she goes straight to the police.  Anna doesn’t want to believe her parents just left her by choice, she wants someone blame, to find answers.  Murray is the retired police detective who she first meets at the police station where he has a civilian job.  He is empathetic to Anna and really ants to help her as he knows if he passes the case to CID it will be dismissed.

Both Anna and Murray bring different experiences of mental health and how it effects not only those who suffer from it but those around them.  Anna is left reeling after the apparent suicide of her parents. She is left looking for answers, questioning her parents life, and wondering if she could have helped in anyway.   In a parallel storyline to Anna’s, Murray’s wife has Borderline Personality Disorder, and at the beginning of this book is an a special facility, getting help.  Throughout their marriage Murray has had to live with the fear of Sarah hurting herself, and committing suicide.  Strangely enough it is Anna’s case that brings a change to Sarah, she comes to life helping Murray try and find out the truth about Anna’s parents.  I found their relationship heartwarming and a wonderful interlude to the suspense of the main plot.

There is no doubt that Let Me Lie will be a huge success for Clare Mackintosh, but I’m not convinced it’s as good as her previous two books.  However, this is still a gripping book that will have your stomach flipping in suspense and you will be captivated until the final twist in the tale.

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