Hello everyone!
I am here with another review, today it is Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh. Thanks so much to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an ARC of this book for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.
This story follows Anna, a young woman whose parents both committed suicide within a year of each other, first her father, then her mother. As Anna tries to grieve and move on with her life - with her new daughter her parents never got to meet - she receives a sinister card on the anniversary of her mother's death. She was never convinced that her parents would do something like that to their only child and now the card is making her more and more convinced that her parents may have been murdered.
I really don't want to say too much else about the synopsis because, like most thrillers, it's one of those ones that's better to go into not knowing too much before going in.
I will say, however, that Mackintosh's ability to weave an intricate and thriller story still stands in this book. The beginning was a bit slower than I am used to from her, we were still getting some basic info and setting up the story but there were some moments where things picked up. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that this is not going to be a cut-and-dried mystery and with that, the opportunity for suspects and red herrings pop up.
I KNOW that Mackintosh is literally the QUEEN of twists and turns but for whatever reason, I always forget that before I start one of her books. This one was certainly no exception! It's not even in the whodunit sense, but just when you think the plot is taking a break for a moment, boom we get another twist. And you never see them coming. I *thought* I had the story figured out about halfway through but I was so so wrong!
I think for some people who are used to a more psychological or faster-paced thriller, this one won't jive as well. It's definitely more crime thriller based - although we don't get the same old detective storyline we often see, and it's not as quickly paced. That's not to say the pacing is slow, but I think there is a lot going on and a lot to process, so the story makes sense that it's a bit slower. It doesn't drag or feel boring - Mackintosh just takes her time laying out and explaining the story. I will say this - if you get stuck on the 'dead people talking paranormal' aspect - JUST KEEP GOING!!
There was also a really interesting side story with Murray, the retired detective who is working at the police station as a civilian and takes on Anna's case. It was really great to see this non-official sort of investigation that didn't get bogged down by the usual police politics that seem to appear in so many crime thrillers. His storyline with his wife Sarah, who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder really added to the story as well, and I thought it was well done and well integrated. Their relationship dynamic was really great to see and while I can't speak directly to the accuracy of Mackintosh's depiction of BPD, I found the inclusion of mental health issues in the novel a really interesting and refreshing addition.
Overall, a slow burn filled with classic Mackintosh-ian twists and turns that will be a refreshing change of pace for those bogged down by so many domestic psychological thrillers.