Let Me Lie is my third novel by Clare Mackintosh and for me, lies right in the middle of her other novels.
To be honest, I don’t remember too much of I Let You Go (Mackintosh’s debut novel). I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads, but I’m in minority (I’m always in the minority!) since the average rating is 4.08. It is about a 5 year old boy who was killed in a hit and run and Jenna’s life was changed forever because of it.
I loved I See You! What an ending! I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I was being lead one way and then BOOM sharp turn and then I was being carried in another direction! It is about, Zoe, who is your typical commuter. She takes the train and subway to and from work. She leaves at the same time, gets on a specific car and doesn’t notice the people around her. What if someone is watching her?
Let Me Lie reminds me of I See You since it has a killer ending. I stayed up way too late on Saturday night flipping pages until I reached the end.
The 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 question her parents’ deaths. But by digging up their past, she’ll put her future in danger. Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie…
Let Me Lie follows 3 people. Anna lost her mother exactly one year ago to suicide and six months before that, had lost in her father in the exact same way. In the last year, she had a baby and is struggling to live day by day. Murray is a retired police detective who is volunteering with the police department. He sees Anna’s parents case and does a bit of digging. He sees that the detectives assigned to the case may of ruled the deaths as suicides a bit too quickly. There is also the thoughts of an unnamed person. You have no idea who they are and if they are dead or alive.
It took a bit to get into the novel. You learn about Anna and you aren’t sure what to think about her. Should you believe her or can she not accept her parents’ suicides? I really enjoyed the Murray storyline about him and his wife, Sarah. It was a nice parallel that didn’t take anything away from the main story.
Mackintosh knows how to write a killer ending! I was flipping pages so fast that I needed to know what happened. There is a bit of an open ending, but I think it worked for the novel. The reader gets enough closure but there is still a hint of mystery.
3 calculators out of a potential 5. Not as good as I See You (4 calculators), but better than I Let You Go (2 calculators). I would recommend to mystery fans as the ending is thrilling and twisty!
The Limit of Books Does Not Exist 