The Lie by C.L. Taylor has been on my TBR shelf for over a year. I was given an ARC copy before the book came out and unfortunately it got lost in the pile. However when I found it I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I could. I wound up purchasing an Audible copy as well and alternated listening and reading so I didn’t have to sit down the book for very long.

The story follows Jane Hughes as her tragic past catches up to the life she’s created for herself. You see Jane isn’t who you think she is. When we first meet Jane, she is working at an animal shelter in a small, country town, dating a single dad, and admittedly seems happy. I liked Jane and truly I felt sorry for her. She harbored a lot of guilt for her past and it seems she’s carried it with her. She lives in fear as well, wondering what would happen if someone learned her secrets.

As much as I liked Jane though, the story was hard to follow at times. It shifted from present to past (which occurred 5 years earlier) every few chapters. In the past, Jane and her friends are going on a three week vacation but one of the friends gets them stuck in a sexual/off-the-beaten path cult. This part of the story was intriguing but moved slowly. It was predictable and barely held my attention. It honestly could have been told in a couple of chapters or a really long prologue.

The present part of the story was much more interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. Jane starts receiving vague, threatening, anonymous messages claiming the sender knows who she is and what she’s done. So the story revolves around this big mystery of what did Jane do and who is threatening her. I’ll admit I was captivated, but the slow chapters in the past combined with the fast-paced present was distracting. Then the climax of the story was sadly underwhelming.

Overall while I enjoyed parts and slugged my way through the others, The Lie was just an okay read for me. Despite liking Jane and the suspense of who was threatening her, her past exploits while scary held no appeal to me. I wasn’t connected to that part of the story at all. Once her past was fully revealed, the ending became too predictable and I found myself rolling my eyes. I did like the way the author can show how quickly friendships can unravel in a situation as described in the book. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, I’d recommend giving it a read.