Hello! For a while, I was really into reading the thriller/mystery books with an unstable narrator. I loved the plot twists and the grand reveals and all of the pieces finally coming together that seemed so disjointed throughout the book. Then, after a while, I became bored with the premise of another alcoholic or sleep deprived young woman being accused of murder.
Then, Christina McDonald said “hold my beer” and asked “what if the girl was struck by lightning?”. Lol, without giving any spoilers away, this is Behind Every Lie:
Behind Every Lie is a back and forth thriller that alternates between Eva Hansen and her mother, Kat, every few chapters or so. However, all of Kat’s speaking will be in the past tense because her murder is what our unstable narrator, Eva, is being accused of when she wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning. The catch? Eva can’t remember a damn thing.
Eva is an artist who lives under a cloud of insecurities and stays under the protective wing of her boyfriend, Liam. Already unstable from past trauma and tensions running high since the lightning strike, Eva’s world as she knows it takes a drastic turn when she realizes not everyone is who she thinks she is… Even herself.
So who is Eva? And who murdered her mom? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
For the most part, I really enjoyed Behind Every Lie. I haven’t read an unstable narrator novel in a while and the premise of this one was so different that I went for it. I’m not going to lie, I loved the story line – especially because I guessed what happened before it was revealed in the book and who doesn’t love that? 😀
However, the characters were not the most likeable and I had a hard time caring about any of them. They were all so closed off in their own ways that it was difficult to form a connection to them until the last few pages when the grand reveal was… revealed. Not to say that it wasn’t worth the read because it was for the story line alone. The characters are just not the ones you are going to remember vividly a year after reading this.
Overall, I did like this book and would definitely read something else by Christina McDonald. I rate Behind Every Lie with six and a half out of ten stars for a unique take on an unstable narrator and an unputdownable plot. Not bad. Not bad, at all.
What have you been reading recently? What is your favorite genre to read? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
lifewithlilred 