“Pain couldn’t be outrun. It was a wild, snarling creature in the forest, indiscriminately stalking its prey. There was only one way to survive it. You had to call out for other voices in the tangled woods. You had to reach for careful hands and let them pull you to safety, away from gnashing teeth and curling claws. And then, when you were strong enough, you had to reach out your own trembling hands and pull other people out of the darkness.”
Are you a fan of murder mysteries? Are you immensely fond of the fairytales you grew up with? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the best of both worlds? Well, look no further, because Lies Like Poison is the perfect read for you! Following the murder of one of the main character’s stepmother, this novel is the latest work from American author, Chelsea Pitcher, who is also known for her previous works This Lie Will Kill You (2018) or The S-Word (2013).
Lies Like Poison will be a fantastic choice for younger fans of Agatha Christie, who want to keep the thrills and unravelling mystery of her prose while being able to relate to the more juvenile set of characters. Get ready, because very similarly to Christie’s timeless novels, Pitcher’s murderer (or murderers) are hiding in plain sight. You will be wary of every single character, doubting their motives and words, because everyone has something to lie about. Divided into three parts, each section is told through the rather unreliable perspectives of Belladonna, Jack, and Lily, where they reveal their past, intentions, and… alibis? Who to believe is then up to the reader; but believe us when we say it is a much more difficult task than it appears to be.
Through multiple images from some of the most popular childhood tales, such as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Jack and the Beanstalk, Pitcher is able to imbue this murder mystery with the whimsical narrative style of a fairytale. The combination of both is nothing but original thanks to the retrieval of that original dark tone that the Brothers Grimm gave to their tales and adding an extra modern twist by means of present-day themes. The inclusion of fairytales reads as a way for the characters—and thus, the reader—to cope with their reality; a mechanism of survival in their abusive households. However, the harshness of truth becomes so oppressive that even the fairytales become sour, and hence, more aligned with the original versions of these tales.
Topics of abuse, societal pressure on teenagers, social issues, and mental health problems and eating disorders linked to toxic households are some of the main thematic elements around which Lies Like Poison is structured. The novel is not just a murder mystery, it is also a tale of self-discovery and self-acceptance. It is a tale about found family and learning to embrace your identity, no matter what family or people around you say. Particularly, the author explores the self-discovery of gender identity beautifully, using a gorgeous change of pronouns as soon as the character in question fully accepts his true identity.
There is no doubt that Pitcher’s protagonists are practically alive in Lies Like Poison, as such is the nuance in their personalities. Belladonna, Jack, Raven, and Lily are each incredibly unique and loveable, each too with a set of flaws and insecurities that make them unbelievable real and relatable. This is a set of characters that makes you root for them from the very first few pages and charm their way into your heart. The four main characters have such strong, magnetic personalities that the reader almost feels compelled to learn everything about them. At times, nonetheless, that plays as a bit of a disadvantage, as there is a clear unbalance in the attention paid to them. For a novel that is divided into three sections led by three different characters—Belladonna, Jack, and Lily—the focus is mostly placed on Jack. It would have been lovely to learn more about the other two. This is also the case of Raven, who is relegated to the shadows of the “damsel in distress” trope. While the reversing of the role is somewhat refreshing, it would have been immensely interesting to learn more about him, as it is not usual to find such a hypnotic, delicate, soft male character, who lets his friends be the ones to save the day—and him. Also, being the stepson of the murdered woman, one would expect him to have a bit bigger spotlight.
All in all, Lies Like Poison is a gorgeously refreshing novel; a new take on the strong trend of retellings that has been populating the field of YA. It is not a retelling, it is not a fairytale, but it takes the best traits of the two to create something unique: a pastiche where fantasy and reality collide when murder strikes the lives of four little kids who had always planned to commit a murder…but had never planned on acting on it. Are you ready to learn the recipe for the perfect murder?
Lies Like Poison is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of November 10th 2020.
Will you be picking up Lies Like Poison? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Poppy, Lily, and Belladonna would do anything to protect their best friend, Raven. So when they discovered he was suffering abuse at the hands of his stepmother, they came up with a lethal plan: petals of poppy, belladonna, and lily in her evening tea so she’d never be able to hurt Raven again. But someone got cold feet, the plot faded to a secret of the past, and the group fell apart.
Three years later, on the eve of Raven’s seventeenth birthday, his stepmother turns up dead. But it’s only belladonna found in her tea, and it’s only Belladonna who’s carted off to jail. Desperate for help, Belle reaches out to her estranged friends to prove her innocence. They answer the call, but no one is prepared for what comes next.
Now, everyone has something to lose and something equally dangerous to hide. And when the tangled web of secrets and betrayal is finally unwound, what lies at its heart will change the group forever.
