Title: The Woman Who Lied
Author: Claire Douglas
ISBN: 978 0241 5423 61
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Pages: 400
Source: Penguin Random House South Africa / NetGalley
Emilia Ward is just an ordinary mum living happily in suburban London with her husband and two children – a teenager from her first marriage, a little boy from her second. She also happens to be the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels.
But when Emilia embarks on her tenth novel, life takes a disturbing turn: an incident straight out of the plot of one of her novels occurs in real life. Just an unsettling coincidence, she thinks.
Until it happens again – and again.
Then someone she knows dies in the same way as a victim in the book she’s currently writing . . .
Why is someone doing this?
How do they know what she is writing?
And what if Emilia and her family are next?
Official Summary
11 May 2023
I was very excited when I saw this book was available for review. Thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa and NetGalley for this review copy. This book is a combination of two stories wrapped into one. It grabs your attention quickly and keeps you hooked right to the last page. This is a wonderfully gripping thriller that is full of twists and turns guaranteed to keep you entertained.
The author beautifully combines the different storylines and delivers a fantastic gripping tale. While experiencing events from Emilia’s perspective, you also enjoy extracts from her book and a police investigation into a serial killer. These different elements make this an interesting read that keeps you curious. When everything is tied up you are left in awe as it all falls into place. This book is clever and creative.
Emilia Ward is excited about the book she just finished writing. She has already published nine books in the series and she is happy that the new book is the last in the series. But when strange things start happening, she realises that she might have a stalker, someone is re-creating scenes from her books. However, when something is taken from her unpublished manuscript, she immediately knows that whoever is behind the pranks is someone close to her. Who would want to terrorise her, and who could be capable of murder?
I loved the different sides to this story and the extracts from Emilia’s book left me feeling as if I was reading two stories at the same time. This book was clever and it kept me curious right to the end.
The women in this book were a good mix and there is sure to be someone everyone would like. Emilia has everything she has ever wanted until her world starts falling apart and she is left suspicious of everyone around her. The turmoil was fantastic – there was never any doubt about Emilia’s emotions which the author managed to bring to life. I found myself racing from page to page doubting everyone in Emilia’s life.
This book is another addition to my loved list for 2023. The book is gripping, creative and hugely entertaining from start to end. I cannot find anything I did not enjoy about this story. Why have I not read more of this author’s work?
If you are looking for a creative, gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat then you want to add this title to your TBR. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s a fantastic read!
Also by Claire Douglas
The Couple at No.9
It was the house of their dreams. Until the bodies were found . . .
When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations the last thing she expects is builders uncovering a body – two bodies, in fact.
Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Nothing Saffy needs to worry herself over. Until the police launch a murder investigation and ask to speak to the cottage’s former owner – her grandmother, Rose.
Rose is in a care home and Alzheimer’s means her memory is increasingly confused. She can’t help the police but it is clear she remembers something.
As Rose’s fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.
What happened thirty years ago? Why did no one miss the victims? What part did her grandmother play? And is Saffy now in danger?
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Claire Douglas always wanted to write novels and, after many years of trying to get published, her dream came true when she won the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award in 2013 with THE SISTERS.
Her second and third novels, LOCAL GIRL MISSING and LAST SEEN ALIVE (Penguin), are Sunday Times bestsellers.
Thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for this NetGalley review copy. What a fantastic read. Are you a Claire Douglas fan? What is your favourite book? Leave a comment below. I cannot wait to read more of her work.
