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'Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.'- Angela Carter

Thursday 4 August 2016

REVIEW: Lie With Me - Sabine Durrant

Lie With MeTitle: Lie With Me
Author: Sabine Durrant
Series: None
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Source: Review Copy
Publication Date: 28th July, 2016


It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home. And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of... Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage... ... well, by then, it could just be too late.
This book was absolutely perfect for this time of year. I read this in the British 'heatwave' which seemed to be intensified by Durrant's descriptions of hot, humid weather in Greece. Lie With Me was a cracking thriller, filled with intrigue, questionable behaviour and ambiguous characters. I didn't really know what to expect going into this book - the cover caught my eye and the blurb is delightfully vague.

I will admit that initially I wasn't keen on the book. The main character Paul is so easy to dislike and I found his narration so irritating. This quickly slipped by however as the plot began to unfold. I found myself fascinated by a character that was so self-absorbed, so unable to tell the truth but also so smarmy and awful. Paul's narration makes for uncomfortable reading, particularly with his views and sexualisation of both women and young girls. Paul however, isn't the only awful character. There is something so unsettling about each individual in this book. I found myself on the edge of my seat constantly and just trying to figure out what was going to unfold.

Lie With Me is such an intensely uncomfortable and claustrophobic read. Durrant had me trapped on this little Greek island, suffering alongside the characters and wishing for the end of the holiday. The revelation wasn't something that I was expecting and I found myself devouring the final few chapters. I loved that this book was jam-packed with unreliable characters and a past that we are subjected to so painfully slowly. This is a book that I shoved straight into the hands of my house mate after finishing and has definitely got me in the mood for more thrillers!

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