The Last Truths We Told

by Holly Watt

It's not the lies that kill you. It's the truth.

They predicted Ivo would become a tycoon
They predicted Ayda would go on to become a hotshot lawyer
They didn't predict that Lily would be dead

Twenty years ago, nine university friends made a series of predictions about what would happen to each of them after college. Now they've all gathered together for the weekend. Not for a reunion but for a reveal.

Some of them have gone on to staggering success, others to more mundane lives. And one of them is missing.

Before her death Lily seemed agitated. Even scared. In the weeks before her death, she called Maggie, wanting to talk but then refusing to say what was frightening her. Now Maggie is beginning to realise that not everyone at the house this weekend is who they appeared to be.

And those who are lying are prepared to do anything to stop the truth coming out.

An unputdownable page turner about old friends and new betrayals from an award winning thriller writer at the very top of her game, this is unmissable reading group suspense fiction.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

364 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 16, 2025

About the author

Hello!
My name is Holly Watt. The Last Truths We Told is out now!
My first novel - To The Lions - won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best thriller of the year. My second book, The Dead Line, was named one of the Thrillers of the Year by The Times and the FT. The Casey Benedict series continues with The Hunt and The Kill and The End of the Game.
Before writing novels, I was an investigative journalist. I started at the Sunday Times (long, complicated story), before moving to the Daily Telegraph.
During six years at the Telegraph, I was the Whitehall Editor and jointly ran the investigations team. I then moved to work on the Guardian's investigations team (yes, a bit of a leap politically...).
I worked on stories including MPs’ Expenses at the Telegraph and the Panama Papers at the Guardian and I also did lots of undercover work.
I've reported from countries all around the world, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Jordan and Lebanon (some of which appear in my books).

Reviews

[Oana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undeniably gripping i enjoyed it very much

[Immy · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the foundations of the book but nothing crazy imo

[Victoria Fensom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was granted an ARC of this book on NetGalley and I really liked the concept of it. 7 university friends get together for a reunion weekend 20 years on, where they all share the predictions that they once made about one another’s lives. On the face of it I thought I would really enjoy reading this, however it unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations.

Nothing of excitement really seemed to happen until maybe 75% of the way through and I didn’t feel desperate to read on at any point throughout the book. The last 25% or so was more fast paced, however I still wasn’t blown away. Maggie’s character started off strong for me and I thought I would become very invested in her, but my opinion of this soon changed and at parts I found her to in fact be quite tedious.

I did enjoyed the way that the ending unraveled and I felt that no questions were left unanswered, however overall I didn’t love this book.

[Emily Sandwisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was just fine until the ending boooooo boring ending not fun or crazy just a lame murder mystery boooooo

[Poppy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Last Truths We Told" tells the story of 7 friends that 20 years ago made predictions about each other with the promise that they would meet again to read them together. Now, 20 years have passed, and the recent death of one of them made the promised weekend somber.

The book is solid, good story pacing, easy to read, typical personalities. This is not a complex story, full of twists and turns, that leaves you thinking 'what did I just read?'. This is a book comfortable in its predictability. You can probably tell why and who is the murdered around half way. The motive is not unsurprising, even when the author tries to pull a couple of red herrings.

Maybe I have read way too many whodunnits, but even if the booked failed to surprise me, I still enjoyed it. Because, even if I had a theory of who did it, I still wanted to keep reading to see if I was correct or not, it still caught my attention.

There are two things I didn't like though:
1. some random predictions written in the middle of scenes that had nothing to do with the prediction written
2. how the Maggie character was written versus all the other ones.

First one was somewhat ok in the end. I accepted that some predictions were 'extra' and not really relevant to the current situation being described. But the second one I felt it was downright unfair. Maggie is perfect whereas all her friends are horrible with almost unforgivable sins. I was not surprised when I read that Holly Watt (the author) was, very much like Maggie, an investigative journalist working for a newspaper. When all your characters have flaws (totally normal for humans) but one is perfect and that one shares a lot of similarities with you... is not fair, at least not in my opinion.

Lastly, I don't fully agree with the (sub?) title 'Is not the lies that kill you, it's the truth'. While yes, the truth is what killed the people in the story, the motivation to kill was to keep the lies.

Trigger warning includes: murder, suicide, failure to conceive, death of babies, rape.

This book didn't tick all my boxes but I would still recommend it. Is an easy read with a whodunnit and a reunion plot intertwined.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Last Truths We Told will be published January 16th 2025.

[Lianne Hare · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Last Truths We Told is a story of a friendship group who have a 20 year reunion to share predictions that they'd made about each others lives and where they'd landed. Only one of them is missing. Lily had been hit by a train and killed, the friends are steeped in suspicion, lies and deceit which does make for an interesting read.

This is where I wish half stars counted in ratings because I'm not sure it deserves 3 stars but couldn't rate as a straight up 4 star book as in the beginning, I wasn't gripped in the way that I would hope to be when picking up a thriller. The last 30% of this book will have you staying up to finish it though, so be warned not to pick it up around that mark if you need an early night.

I was quite impressed that I'd worked out the who of this read but couldn't quite get the why, so as the story unfolded and we hit the fast paced section in the latter part of the book, I was really pulled in. Overall quite a good thriller read! .

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

Firstly, the premise was great - a group of university friends meet 20 years later and read out predictions they made for each other, in light of murder and deeply buried secrets. The book was very fast-paced with short chapters which I love. It felt quite Freida McFadden in its tone. Great varied characters.

What I would have liked was more development at the end and diving deeper into how Maggie understood what Ayda/Ivo had done. I still don’t really understand how she uncovered the subtleties of their crime.

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

University friends reunite for a weekend. 20 years on they reveal predictions they made about each other 2 decades before.

As secrets are revealed old loyalties are put to the test.

Agatha Christie-esque with the country house gathering and reporter Maggie trying to get to the bottom of their friend’s recent death.

A great read!

Thanks to NetGalley , Holly Watt and Raven Books for the copy to review!

[Rebecca Newsum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the layout of the book with a prediction being at the start of each chapter giving it a topic for the characters to discuss. I also liked how this enabled the characters to revisit memories from 20 years ago which helps the reader understand them better. However, I felt it was very slow and repetitive with the characters constantly questioning why each other would have written certain predictions. I enjoyed the ending and I didn't see the twist coming. I don't think I was the right audience for this book but that wont stop me reading more of Holly Watt's work in the future.

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly Watt’s The Last Truths We Told is the kind of thriller that lures you in with its clever premise and then keeps tightening its grip until you realize you’re completely ensnared. Old friends, an old house, and old secrets—what could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, absolutely everything.

I love a good atmospheric mystery, and this one delivered in spades. Dartmoor’s bleak beauty, the crumbling grandeur of Wintercross with its hidden staircases and priest holes, the slow, creeping sense that something is very, very off—it all creates the perfect setting for a story steeped in tension. Nine university friends reunite after twenty years to open a time capsule of predictions they once made about each other. It should be a nostalgic, if slightly embarrassing, walk down memory lane. But one of them is missing. Lily is dead. And as investigative journalist Maggie starts piecing things together, it becomes clear that the past is not just lingering—it’s stalking them.

The structure of the novel is brilliant. The predictions are revealed one by one, drip-feeding us information that is sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking, and sometimes downright unsettling. It’s such a smart way to let the reader in on these characters, showing us who they were, who they became, and who they pretended to be. Watt has a sharp eye for the way friendships curdle over time, the way privilege shields some while crushing others, and the way nostalgia can be as deceptive as outright lies.

The cast is flawed in the best way—compelling, complicated, and not always likable, which makes the unravelling of their secrets even juicier. Maggie is a fantastic narrator, full of sharp observations and lingering regrets. She’s the perfect guide through this maze of deception, and as she starts pulling at threads, the whole thing begins to unravel spectacularly.

The final act is as gripping as I hoped it would be—revelations crashing down like a storm, characters forced to face the truths they buried, and just the right amount of menace to keep my pulse up. Watt knows how to craft a thriller that doesn’t just deliver twists but earns them, layering tension so skilfully that when the big moments come, they feel both shocking and inevitable.

This is the kind of book that leaves a mark. Clever, atmospheric, and just unsettling enough to make you side-eye your old university friends, The Last Truths We Told is an absolute must-read for anyone who loves a thriller that blends intelligence with intrigue. I devoured it—and if you pick it up, I bet you will too.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can't trust your best friends, then who? That is the question that Journalist Maggie has to ask herself when she meets her old University pals for a twentieth anniversary get together. And it seems that, when it comes to this particular group, trust is something hard earned and easily lost. The get together is already tinged with sadness following the recent death of one of their group, Lily, but given that she had tried to contact Maggie just before she died, the fear in her final message makes Maggie wonder if Lily's death was really a tragic accident after all.

It's a strange old world, University and the people we meet in Holly Watt's latest novel are a very strange and diverse bunch. If it weren't for the fact of that it is their reunion that introduces us to them, you'd be forgiven for wondering whether any of them could truly have been friends to begin with. Money and influence for some, just getting by for others. And so much tension between them all that aside from the nostalgia that Maggie clearly feels about her former years, I would wonder just why she stays at Wintercross at all and doesn't just run for the hills.

I like how Holly Watt has framed this story, using the premise of the friends reuniting to read a bunch of predictions they had made about each other twenty years earlier and agreed to read together. It adds extra conflict to what turns out to be an already tense situation. Nothing explains the former, and present, dynamic between the group - Maggie, estate agent Ollie and his soon to be ex-wife Elizabeth, high flying lawyer, Ayda, the former actress turned bar staff, Jude, Tech Guru, Ivo, and brothers Rory and Finlay - than understanding all the petty jealousies and barbs that they wrote about each other in their youth. Some of the predictions simply came true. Others appear malicious and intended to cut deep. And then there are those which seem all too prescient and designed to spread distrust and fear.

There is an underlying mystery that feeds through the story, and the author uses the setting of the sprawling estate, the relatively remote location, and a mystery death nearby to build the suspense. Mix in the overwhelming sense of unease that oozes from Maggie, that suspicion of her friends that is fed and enhanced by the increasingly erratic behaviour of Jude, and the clear evidence that the group are hiding something from her, and there were some many question s floating around my head, I really needed to know what was going on. It all links back to a tragedy from their past, and is fed by the overwhelming sense of entitlement felt by some of the characters. To that end, Maggie really stands out, a woman from far more humble beginnings that it makes you wonder just how she ended up in this particular dysfunctional clique.

This is a creeping, atmospheric thriller, where the sense of threat slowly builds, but the understanding that deep dark secrets are being kept is ever present. Holly Watt has created a group of characters it was almost impossible to like, although I did feel a small amount of affinity for Maggie at times, and empathy towards Jude at others. It is a tragedy that slowly builds to a high stakes, increasingly tense showdown, and a reveal that has a certain amount of tragic inevitability about it. There is a certain kind of sociopathy that comes from some of the character which the author has portrayed perfectly, friends sacrificing the happiness of each other for personal gain. To see how that works out for them, you'll need to read for yourself.

[Jenny Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of nine friends are at University together and spend an evening writing predictions about what they think each of the others will be doing in twenty years time. These predictions are written in secret and entrusted to the most sensible of the group for safekeeping. Twenty years down the line the book opens at the start of a weekend houseparty hosted by one of the group at which their predictions are revealed..

There is a lot to like about this book. The premise is unique and it is an ingenious way of telling the back stories of the characters involved - on the whole this is largely successful. The reactions of the group o the predictions made twenty years before are entirely plausible, often evoking strong emotions and revealing a lot about what other people really thought of them back in the day. There is also suspense, which mounts as recent events resolve themselves into a mystery which Maggie, the principle narrator is determined to solve.

However, disappointingly it did not live up to my expectations. The reason that I said that the premise was “largely successful” as a means of telling a story is that for some reason it didn’t quite work for me and I’m not entirely sure why. It was both clever and creative but the end result was bitty, everything being revealed in bite-sized chunks. Another issue I had was that I could not get a clear picture in my head of each of the nine characters. As this is a much smaller cast list than most books have to deal with, I would have expected to get to know each character intimately but, by the end, I was still having trouble differentiating some from the others and remembering details about their jobs etc. Finally, there were patches in the middle where I was beginning to get bored and the narrative seemed dull but the pace did pick up again towards the end.

Whilst I cannot bring myself to wholly recommend this book (for the reasons given above), there is no doubt that it is an original premise which deserved to be better.

[Fiona Erskine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of university friends meet for a special reunion weekend, to share the pithy predictions that they made about one another, written on scraps of paper during a dinner party 20 years ago and locked away ever since. But there’s one empty seat at the table – Lily is no longer with them.

The structure is inspired – the slow reveal over a long weekend of the 72 one-line predictions (9 people summing up the character and predicting the future of 8 others) makes for short chapters and a superb ramping up of tension. We get to find out what each of these brilliant Oxbridge students did with their talent and privilege, what sort of life they made for themselves and others.
Exquisitely plotted and brilliantly executed, the unravelling comes in rose gardens overgrown into thorny mazes, flooded mine tunnels in the pitch dark, crumbling balconies, seduction in four poster beds, chalk drawings on ballroom floors that fade as you dance, secret passages where you can only crawl forward and never turn around to see who – or what – is following you.

Narrated by one of weekend guests, investigative journalist Maggie, this story is a genuine page turner brimming with humour, friendship, decadence, profligacy, betrayal, mystery, jeopardy and suspense. The story unfolds in Wintercross, ancestral home of the Fitzwilliams, an ancient stately house in Devon, right in the heart of Dartmoor. There’s a ballroom, a library, a games room, cellars, attics, secret staircases, priests holes and tunnels and possibly even ghosts.

There is more than one mystery at the heart of the novel and the denouement does not disappoint.

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even a while after finishing this book I have thoughts... wavering between 3 and 4 stars...
I think I quite liked the premise of this book but I feel, for me, it fell a bit short in execution and I got a bit bored along the way. I think also the fact that I didn't really care about any of the characters didn't really help either.
So... we start in the present with 7 friend from university reconnecting after the death of one of the friends, some 20 years after they first all met. Apparently, as you do, they made some predictions about where they would be, what they would become, after uni.
This is what I found intriguing and even though I am not in contact with the people I went to uni with, and actually never think about them, I wonder what they might have had me doing now - I can bet that they would have never put me where I actually am though!
But I am afraid that I found myself really not caring about any of the "friends" and what they should have been doing compared with what they are doing. I guess it added conflict into a situation that found them brought together unnaturally. I mean, if they were meant to ave stayed friends, they would have? There are reasons that aren't bosom buddies anymore... And then when you throw in Lily's death, it all gets a bit convoluted and eye-rolly.
All in all, not really one for me. But I guess we can't win them all, and at least I got to the end and, thankfully, it all did come together nicely. Although I am not sure it was worth the journey...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Aiesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watt weaves together a complex narrative with breadcrumbs and red herrings scattered throughout. Every reveal feels deliberate, and the puzzle pieces fall into place with a satisfying click. The pace is spot on—just when you think you have a moment to breathe, another layer of deceit is peeled back.

While the characters are interesting, I found it hard to connect with them emotionally. Perhaps it’s because they are all wrapped up in their own subterfuge, making them feel guarded and, at times, distant. Still, their flaws and desires drive the story forward, and Watt does a fantastic job of exploring the tensions and dynamics within the group.

The central mystery is gripping, and the exploration of how far people will go to protect themselves kept me hooked. Watt’s writing is sharp, and the themes of ambition, betrayal, and the weight of truth make this more than just a standard whodunnit.

If you love thrillers with layers of deception and an ever-present undercurrent of tension, this is definitely worth a read.

[☾ Nikki. ✿ SUGARVOGUE. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book PR mail from @bloomsbury ✨😍

Happy Sunday, I’ve been getting some exciting books to read lately and this is one of them. It was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review.

- It's not the lies that kill you. It's the truth. 9 friends, 72 predictions and one mysterious death!

This book is by holly watt. It’s a story about nine university friends that meet up twenty years later for a reunion but a beloved friend has passed called Lily. Lily try’s to contact one of her friends before she died and wasn’t quite herself. You soon come to realise that maybe Lily’s death was on purpose…

There is a lot of tension and suspense in this book that really keeps you entertained and on the edge of your seat.

If you like a mystery and a who done it .. then this will be a perfect read for you!

I definitely recommend this book, this is my first book that I’ve read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Find it online at Amazon! 🛒

Thankyou Bloomsbury, for another fantastic book mail read. I’m so grateful! ☺️

[Saffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Last Truths We Told is a novel in the reunion genre as nine university friends gather for a reunion 20 years after meeting at Cambridge.
20 years ago they all made predictions about each others lives and they meet up to read these predictions after the death of Lily, one of their group.
The novel starts off well, I liked the character of Maggie and the reader is then introduced to the rest of the group, some highly unlikeable and others I had some empathy for. The first half of the novel is well paced, as the reader learns more about the characters histories, the relationships between them and we discover more about what happened to Lily. However I soon began to lose interest as the only really likeable character is Maggie and the plot became quite tedious and I felt trapped with a group of people I did not like. Overall this novel was well written but lacked originality for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

[Megan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this, a group of university friends made predictions of where they would all be in 20 years time. 20 years later and it is time to reunite and see who was correct, but is all as it seems? The plot was slick and as the it progressed, clearly full of secrets as well. I was gripped by it and keen to keep reading to unearth what would happen next. I did find the writing a bit confusing and it was not always clear what perspective I was reading from. However I persevered and it did become clear.
I liked the characters, they are an interesting group with different personalities to discover. It was interesting to see their relationships at the beginning of the read and how this changes as the book unfolds.
Overall I was hooked by this read and would recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing UK for an advance copy.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last truths we told by Holly Watts is a story of university students who all meet up twenty years later to see whether the predictions they had all made about each other had come true.
Some of the predictions had definitely come true but they were easy to predict, other predictions were not as easy. The friends had all aged and one of them were no longer alive. As the weekend comes to a close, it is the lies that people told that will begin to surface. It is the reality of those lies that will cause repercussions for years to come.
A clever psychological thriller, with many twists and turns to the plot and the conclusion will surprise many of the friends.
Highly recommended

[Julia Booksniffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly Webb takes the classic 'Whodunnit' plot (but on steroids!) with her characters assembled in a large, spooky house on the edge of the moors (Dartmoor) with a suspicious death in their mix.
Well paced, and gathering momentum as it progresses, the  thriller sees eight former university friends meeting for a reunion twenty years after submitting predictions they made for each other whilst back at Cambridge.
Each chapter's heading is one of their predictions, including those of the friend no longer with them.
This well crafted novel is an absolute 'page turner' that kept me guessing at every clue and every plot twist, and resulted me in joining the '2am club' to finish it!

[Abigail Butler]

I started this a few days ago and in total got 15% through. In my defense I was only reading as I am going to sleep but holy airball they srsly threw about 10 characters at you in what felt like 2 sentences. So I don’t know who anyone is except for Maggie who is in the know of something ? Every chapter I felt like I could not keep up at all with the overall story other than they are sitting reading predictions of them from 20 years ago, that’s all I understood. After looking and seeing that this book has almost 400 pages and a lot of the reviews are saying “good not great nothing special” I’m giving up !

[Chris Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely cracking thriller from the excellent Holly Watt. Having very much enjoyed her series set in the world of investigative journalism, I was very much looking forward to this standalone, and it doesn't disappoint. As usual, the writing is excellent, the characters are fascinating and the plot intriguing. While they were at university nine friends made predictions about each other and they have come together twenty years later to reveal what was said. Many truths emerge and some revelations are shocking. Brilliant!

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of friends get together in a house in Dartmoor for a weekend to read their predications they wrote about 20 years ago. This leads them to reminisce about their time together and their past actions. It was full of nostalgia whilst they remember what they wrote about each other. It was unputdownable and a page turner of a read to discover how they are in the present compared to their past predications of each other. The story comes to point where they understand what happened in the past and how their future will be.

[Ria Mistry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good! I really liked the format and how the start of each chapter was a different persons prediction, it made it a lot more engaging and kept me reading. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, I feel like we definitely didn’t need the whole group of 9 to be honest, and the fact that there were so many of them meant that I didn’t really grow emotionally attached to any of them, even Maggie . I loved how the story unraveled along with the predictions, and the ending felt realistic whilst also having a few twists and turns. Would definitely recommend !!

[Kevin Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have reviewed this book as an advanced reader for coundon library book club

Initially I found the writing style confusing and a bit frenetic. Had I not been reviewing it, I might have pit it down. However ad the story unfolded, I got the predictions and the way the is laid out, got taken in by the story.

It turned out to be a good read, although the end was a-bit brief, almost like the max word had been reached.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am rating this as 3 stars because although it kept my attention and interest like any good murder mystery should, I found it a bit confusing and ultimately disappointing. The last one third or quarter did not live up to the promising start. Maybe I let myself get too invested in 'whodunnit' and I'm dissatisfied because I'm still a little unsure about what actually happened. It was a rushed reveal, and it felt like all the threads of the story didn't tie up neatly.

[Lucy Hooft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Academia at its best. University friends meet up twenty years later, reliving memories tinged with the maudlin of unfulfilled promise and regrets of what might have been. It’s darkly atmospheric, part Secret History, a flash of Saltburn and lots of Agatha Christie tightly plotted country house locked door mystery - there’s a dead body out on the moors and the murderer is among us. I couldn’t put it down until it had all been revealed!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book club: Really great who-done-it which felt a little too long mainly due to stickling to a format that served it well initially. The plot was labyrinthine and clever, the characters especially Maggie, the main narrator were well written but I found I had to write out a list of their relationships within the group to keep track. Five star had it seemed shorter + clearer, but only just short of excellent and definitely recommended.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a great premise for a book. I enjoyed the first few chapters, however my enjoyment quickly began to wane. The characters failed to engage and the plot became ever more forced, with Maggie and Jude dashing about hither and thither trying to establish their suspicions of wrongdoing, in between rounds of the ever present parlour game. The last quarter of the book was a real slog to finish.

[Michael Maley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the idea but I found it took while to get to the point. A lot of background scene setting that then left the final section with its many twists and turns as the main character came to realisations about her friends group feeling a little under developed and rushed. I feel it could have been much better with more time on the ending drama. An enjoyable read though