Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

Let Me Lie combines a psychological thriller with a bit of hands on investigation, and the result is an entertaining page turner that will make you chuckle with glee as you figure out the what, but lets you wonder about the why and the how until the very end.

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Published: 8th March, 2018
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon UK
Series: N/A
Rating: 3

The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.
One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.
Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to question her parents’ deaths. But by digging up their past, she’ll put her future in danger. Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie…

One would expect to bond with Anna the most, as it’s her story. But then enters Murray Mackenzie, retired detective, and together with his intuitive wife Sarah, who acts like a backseat Poirot, they steal the show. As Sarah put it, they are “like Thelma and Louise, but with less hair“. Murray has no proper reason to take Anna’s somewhat fantastical sounding case upon himself, apart from maybe slight boredom, but once on it, he’s relentless.

Even though it’s quite a short book, we get a glimpse into the lives of not only Anna and her family as they struggle with grief, and mundane things like keeping a family business afloat, but also Murray, and how his marriage is affected by Sarah’s mental illness. I’m not sure where my fascination with ordinary people comes from, but I’m always happy to come across a story that explores the normal and relatable side of things in the midst of chaos.

If you enjoy light suspense with a lot of personal drama and tension, Let Me Lie will surely satisfy your cravings.