‘A Good Liar’ by Amanda Brooke is a book I wanted to read as the cover caught my eye immediately and the synopsis even more. I love a slow burner of a book, it lulls you into a false sense of security then, when you least expect it the unexpected arrives. This one ticked all my boxes for a thriller.
When a fire destroys the Empress Theatre, a devastating tragedy unfolds. Amelia’s mother lost her peace of mind forever when she left her daughter alone for a few life-changing moments.
The dance school lost their beloved teacher, Hilary, who died saving the lives of her young pupils.
Karin lost her memory, and the answers she desperately craves
Claudia lost the one thing that would have made her perfect life complete.
As local reporter Leanne picks over the embers of that night, what seemed like a straightforward case of negligence becomes something else entirely: somebody is lying – each person has lost something, but one of them has sold their soul…
One thing I love is an original storyline, and this book definitely has one of them. Amanda Brooke grabs us immediately as the book starts. Her storytelling is so vivid I felt like I was there, at the scene of the fire. The sense of urgency that I felt, never mind the people in the book, was enormous.
Leanne, as a character is very likeable. You can see how the fire impacted her and that she isn’t going to recover from that any time soon. The fact that her dogged determination means she has her mindset on finding the truth of the cause of the fire and nothing will stop her.
We follow Leanne’s investigation as she meets the victims and some of the heroes of that tragic night. The further she got the more intriguing it became and as the story unfolded it was clear that more and more people were not what or who they first seemed to be. A host of secrets and misdirection begin to play out and Leanne has to unravel all this to get to the bottom of the cause of the fire that changed everything.
A thriller in which we discover things at the same time as Leanne, so rather like a puzzle we slowly piece together what she has discovered as if we are with her, I actually did feel like I was with her. This makes for an intriguing read and the book isn’t without its twists as we approach the conclusion.
‘A Good Liar’ may be a slow burner, but it still managed to surprise me and I felt enveloped by Leanne and the case. I do recommend this book for any thriller lover out there.
Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Harper Collins for the gifted copy of the book.
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