The Lying Club

Thought I would love this, but was really struggling. I don't know if it was the unlikeable characters, the slow plot, or the writing style that did it for me. 

The book opens with Natalie Bellman, administrative assistant at a high-dollar, very exclusive private school, confused as to where she is and why she's there. She stumbles into the school gym, sees someone apparently dead, and wonders what exactly she's done. Did she commit murder in an altered state? Or is there more to the story?

First off, there wasn't really a lying club, unless it's just implied. But there was definitely a whole lotta lying goin' on. Husbands lying to wives, kids lying to parents, coaches lying to everybody, I don't know how everybody managed to keep their stories even remotely straight. To me, a lot of that lying seemed unnecessary, but then, I prefer open and direct communication. Apparently many of these characters did not.

And was there a likable character in the bunch? Bitchy moms with too much money and a big entitlement chip on their shoulders (both for themselves and their children). Children who were horrible to parents (although I suspect Mia would have been a normal, sometimes moody teen were it not for Sloane's influence). Coaches who thought they were a law unto themselves. Natalie could have been a lot more likable, but her tendency to make colossally stupid decisions spoiled that just a little. Her brother Jay and her fellow school admin Yvonne were probably the best characters in the book in terms of likability. And Jackson, the dog. He was cool.

Very twisty and turny. I knew at the outset that somebody was likely dead, but I had no idea who. Ward leads us down a lot of roads, takes detours, and backtracks, and she does all of this to great effect. She tells a heck of an engaging story, and does it with style.

Dark. Very dark. Maybe a little too dark for my taste, and I prefer books where I feel at least some twinge of empathy for the main characters. But still, worth the read. If you like a book that digs into the deep, unseen corners of the human psyche and love a good story regardless of whether you'd actually be able to stand any of the characters in real life, go grab The Lying Club.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from the publisher. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Slow Start Yet Overall Satisfying. This is one of those books that starts a bit slow and has a LOT of moving parts and thus can be a touch difficult to keep track of at times, even for those of us who like this type of setup. One where there is little action and it seems a touch pointless at times... until the back parts of the book where the action truly finally picks up steam and gets fairly suspenseful. And yet, by the end all is tied up neatly - perhaps a bit too neatly, and the epilogue is perhaps unneeded as well. Ultimately a strong book that arguably tries to do a bit too much - but still largely succeeds in telling its tale its way. Very much recommended.

I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that it took me a while to finish it!

It was well written, with some great twists that I didn't see coming.

I wasn't sure about some of the characters, but they ended up redeeming themselves by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annie and Quercus Publishing for the chance to read this book.