The Lies We Tell: A Book Review

The ‘lies we tell’ is a domestic thriller about relationships and the inability to see our mistakes. 

Sarah and Tom first met in an art class. She is the teacher of the art class.

Tom is an actuary. For him, everything revolves around numbers or statistics. It was natural for him to relate life events to statistics, which came naturally to him. Did that make him unemotional? He is straightforward and loves to be in a routine. 

Sarah is on the other side of the scale. She grew up in a commune. And, after the death of her mother, she is raised by her strict uncle and aunt. She comes with a lot of emotional baggage and has gone through a lot of life-changing events. She lives hiding most of them. Some created by her but, others she stumbled upon on her way. 

From an outsider’s perspective, they are the most unlikely couple. It is something Hugo, Tom’s best friend since school also, told him. Tom and Sarah get married. In a few years, Freddie is born after a lot of miscarriages. After his birth, things fall into a routine for both of them. Sarah takes care of and raises baby Freddie and Tom for the most waking hours spends at work. 

Matters start getting worse when Freddie, a 15-year-old teenager, gets into the wrong company. And the escalation happens when one night he comes and tells them he has done something heinous. 

The story starts in the present day and then goes back to the past. Tom and Sarah narrate the entire story from their perspective. Corry’s novel explores how one small thing in life can snowball into something big. She also delves into the dark side of relationships and the issues surrounding raising a teenager. 

The readers will sit through in anticipation as the events start unfolding. There are multiple short mysteries inserted, and they reveal one after one as the book progresses.  

The truth that never sees the light of the day and lack of communication can slowly poison everything around itself and, that forms the central theme of the book. 

The characters are well developed, and they have deep flaws. Their flaws make them not particularly likable. But their shortcoming is what makes them human. And the book is also about the journey. The journey starts from the moment they first met to the night when their son comes home, devastated, to what happens to them at the end. 

The writing is easy to follow and, the pace matches the storyline. The other books by Jane Corry have a more twisted ending. So this may not be as twisty but, it is a good read. 

The lies we tell is a dark domestic thriller about family and relationships. 

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Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin UK, for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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