Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

How have I not read this book before?! It’s soooo good! 

Seven Lies tells a story from the perspective of Jane. A grieving widow with a family full of complex dynamics. Her best friend; Marnie, has been the only constant support to her since she was eleven years old. Marnie has married Charles, and Jane DESPISES him. He makes her skin crawl. But why does she hate him so much?

Charles and Marnie had not been together long before Jane’s husband died in a tragic accident, and with Jane escaping back to Marnie’s flat (which they previously shared), Charles makes a few comments when Jane has not made any plans to leave after weeks of being there. Surely her hatred can’t stem from such petty comments and is more deep rooted than that?

Now Marnie and Charles have their own flat which Jane visits weekly for a meal, to an outsider it seems that life has found a new balance, but that’s not how Jane sees it. She begrudges Charles and she becomes paranoid that Marnie is inviting her around more out of charity rather than friendship. 

Who to believe? Marnie is so smitten with Charles and he doesn’t seem that bad… but then Jane seems to focus on any negative thing he does. 

And then… Charles dies. Marnie needs Jane, and Jane thrives on this, she finally has her friendship back to the way she wanted it. But all is not what it seems, because what are the odds of two young best friends both losing their husbands in the space of a few years to accidents? Small enough that an eager journalist begins to dig…

Kay has created the kind of plot that has you scratching your head throughout trying to figure out the secrets embedded within the lines, she pushed my imagination in so many different directions and yet I kept being stumped! It’s so very cleverly worded because you WILL think you know what’s going on!

Strong characterisation doesn’t even seem to cover how well Kay has developed these characters. Jane is one of the most complex characters that I’ve had to suss out in a long time. By the end of the story I had a lot of thoughts on her. Some I won’t share in this review because I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say you could easily spend an hour at a book club discussing her. It’s no wonder that she enjoyed Marnie cooking for her and looking after her when neither her mother or her sister give her anything in return for all that she does for them.

This is a psychological thriller that I will be recommending to ALL. 

Seven Lies is out now in paperback and eBook versions from sphere. You can grab it from Amazon UK or I’d suggest Kinokuniya over here in the UAE.

Until next time, Chloé x