This is Why We Lied: The stunning new 2024 crime mystery suspense thriller from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author

Fans of Karin Slaughter’s books know to expect harrowing and brutal tales but “This Is Why We Lied” takes that to an entirely new level. Not quite with regard to murders, but more so with everything that surrounds it.Will and Sara are on their honeymoon at the McAlpine lodge. It’s not quite going to be the wonderful time they intended. What is supposed to be a romantic late night rendez-vous in the lake quickly turns sour when they hear screams. Someone has killed Mercy McAlpine. Oddly enough, not a single family member seems to care about Mercy’s death. But Will does. Mercy left behind a son and for Will things have just become extremely personal. In more ways than one.The beautiful mountain setting stands in stark contrast to the dark and disturbing family that are the McAlpines. This family. Phew. Toxic doesn’t even begin to describe them. So many secrets and lies, skeletons, and an unprecedented degree of manipulation. They made my blood boil, and my skin crawl. Most of all, there was an overwhelming sense of sadness for Mercy and all she’d had to deal with. It’s often hard to comprehend why Mercy stuck around, but Karin Slaughter does an excellent job in putting forward the choices Mercy made and why.This honeymoon from hell reads like a locked room mystery, as bad weather prevents people from leaving the mountain. Blinded by events from his past, Will quickly zeroes in on a suspect. As did I. While Will had a long list of motives for his suspect, I failed to see a single one for mine. But I stuck to my guns, even with the author valiantly attempting to lead me up the garden path, throwing some red herrings into the mix, and trying to distract me. The reveal, when it came, was utterly heartbreaking. Not something to forget in a hurry.‘This Is Why We Lied‘ is an extremely compelling and utterly unsettling story. A true page turner, it’ll have you turn the pages faster and faster to find out what happened to Mercy. True to form, Slaughter will make you squirm with some rather uncomfortable moments. But I do feel she’s slightly changing direction somewhat. Sure, Mercy’s murder is vicious but not as gruesome as some other deaths Slaughter has come up with in the past, some of which some people apparently found gratuitous and unnecessary. (I didn’t 💁🏼‍♀️). However here, that’s not where the vile and savage happenings come to the fore. With each Will Trent book, there seems to be more depth to the characters, more psychological insight, and Mercy’s family in particular will undoubtedly get under your skin.Karin Slaughter continues to raise the bar and I continue to proudly wear my fan badge. Recommended!

Loved the book, as all of Karen Slaughter books are exciting. The only thing I didnt like was the cover with a flap that made it hard to hold.

All Karen’s books are filled with a bit of laughter, a little romance and lots of nail biting anticipation! This one is magnificently constructed with loads of twists & turns for the twisted. Will Trent series is my favourite and I cant wait until 2026 for the next one!

Anyone who has read Karin S, must add this as a must read! Full of intrigue, twists and turns.It's a shame that Will and Sara did not get to enjoy their full honeymoon. :(

Another astounding thriller from Karin Slaughter. As with 'Pieces of Her', the title can be taken to apply to more than one character[s].Will & Sara are on honeymoon, in a secluded hard-to-reach mountain retreat, when one of their hosts is murdered. Who is the killer? One of the other guests? One of the victim's family?This is a 'locked room mystery' and clever Slaughter has Faith - one of her featured characters with the GBI - even think how she's longed to investigate one, thus showing her audience that she's well aware of what she is doing. But this isn't Agatha Christie. The secrets that are being kept are at best tragic, at worst, heinous.I do love these characters. Will is the oh-so-gorgeous, intelligent and caring guy who thinks little of himself, his childhood experiences having scarred him physically and mentally. Sara is the tall, willowy supermodel-type according to Faith (but Sara concedes only that she is tall), a talented doctor, who is struggling to be the wife Will needs while being always aware that her first husband died in the line of duty, and worried that it might happen again.The story grips you from the start; I was at times angry, anxious, almost nauseated, at the twists and turns; there is no real light-relief, although Faith seeks it - and delivers on more than one occasion, and the harridan that is Amanda amuses if you are familiar with the relationships, but the love that exists between Sara and Will is positively spiritual - a beacon in the horrors which they encounter.As well as a terrific story, this is - as is usual for Slaughter - well-written with well-rounded characters and a tight storyline.Highly recommended.