Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Mulholland Books

Pages - 293

Blurb from Amazon

It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.

And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...

Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...

... well, by then, it could just be too late.


My Review

Paul is a has-been, a successful author of a novel, decades past, and not managed to do a whole lot else. When he bumps into an old acquaintance, Andrew, from his glory days Paul can't help but accept his invitation to dinner. He meets Alice, not his usual type, older and mother of spoiled teenagers but she has money & Paul is never one to miss an opportunity. With his self infated ego and the ability to spin lies at the drop of a hat, Paul wangles his way on holiday with this upper class group and his new girlfriend. His small lies get bigger and Paul finds himself caught up in a web of deceit where he isn't the only one with something to hide.

Paul is our protagonist and not a very likeable chap. He is a womanizer, a sponger, a liar and those are probably not his worst traits. Alice is a means to an end however Paul finds himself drawn to her and becoming jealous of her friendship with Andrew, the old acquaintance that brought them together. Trying to keep on top of his lies, examining his feelings for Alice and be accepted by the rich snobs Paul embarks on a journey of self examination and growth. As Paul seems to start to grow as a person his lies threaten to catch up with him and bring it all down.

None of these characters are particularly likeable, they each have their own agenda and irritating traits. The story gets under your skin, it is at times unsettling and splits between the current dilema we know Paul ends up in as thats how the book opens but also what happened to the girl Alice is looking for. The girl who went missing in Greece ten years ago that Alice is frantic to find and won't stop looking for until she has answers. It is a busy wee book once it gets going and an engaging story that draws the reader in, 3/5 for me this time. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I have never read this author before, I would certainly read her again, Lie With Me is available to buy from the 28/07/2016.

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