Christina McDonald can write a mother/daughter storyline like no other. She did it in The Night Olivia Fell and she has done it again in Behind Every Lie!
While in The Night Olivia Fell it is the character of the mother who is left to piece the story together, in Behind Every Lie McDonald has turned this upside down and the daughter (Eva) is the character who has to pick up the pieces after a tragedy and find out what happened to her mother (Kat)…and why.
Eva wakes up into a confusing scene in the Emergency Room. She quickly learns that her mother has been murdered, and that she, herself, was found nearby – after being struck by lightning! At the moment that’s all Eva knows. She doesn’t remember going to her mother’s house or anything else. It doesn’t take long, however, for Eva to realise the police are highly suspicious of her inability to remember anything that happened.
Realising she will have to take matters into her own hands, Eva starts to unravel her mother’s complicated story and in the process starts to unpack her own complicated feelings about life, and happiness, and past traumas. We don’t always get to see characters grow in a way that feels organic within the story, but McDonald accomplishes it in such a natural way in Behind Every Lie.
Throughout Eva’s journey to find the answers she needs, we are given the opportunity to really examine truths, half-truths, and lies, particularly when they come from (or are given to) those we love. Sometimes we lie thinking we are protecting someone, but are we? Are we protecting them, or are we only trying to protect ourselves from having to face a difficult choice or consequence? Do we think about how one day learning the truth will ultimately affect that person? And what if one day we aren’t around to explain or untangle our lies? What will happen then? What about when we lie to ourselves? Is that better, or worse, than being lied to by someone else? These questions have sat with me and rolled over and over in my mind ever since I turned the last page, and I adore a book that just doesn’t want to let me go.
Being such a huge fan of The Night Olivia Fell, I pre-ordered this book so that I would have it on release day. From the moment it arrived on my doorstep, I could barely put it down. I read it cover to cover in two days, because it immediately made me feel like I needed to unravel the story just as much as Eva did! Christina McDonald definitely remains one of my most frequently recommended authors!
Behind Every Lie is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be picking up Behind Every Lie? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the author of The Night Olivia Fell – an “emotionally charged mystery” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author) – comes a thrilling new suspense novel about the insidious nature of family secrets …and their deadly potential.
If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do it?
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened by the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London – Kat’s former home – for answers. Bu as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
Told in alternating perspectives from Eva’s search for answers and Kat’s mysterious past, Christina McDonald has crafted another “complex, emotionally intense” (Publisher’s Weekly) domestic thriller. Behind Every Lie explores the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships, family trauma, and the danger behind long held secrets.
I just picked up Behind Every Lie. Of course I went looking for Who She Used To Be, because that was supposed to be title. That is what it said in the back of book I am reading now, called The Night Olivia Fell, which is a great book! The author must have decided to change the title! Anyway , I am really looking forward to reading it!