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The Lie of You: the psychological thriller that inspired the movie 'A Working Mom's Nightmare' starring Tuppence Middleton
Can you hide your deepest fear?
To the outside world, Kathy is the very picture of a happy and fulfilled modern woman. She has a beautiful baby boy, a clever, handsome husband and a glamorous, high-powered job.
But not everybody is fooled. Her employee, Heja, knows the truth: the cracks in Kathy's marriage, her self-doubt, her fear of failure at work. Heja is perfectly placed to destroy Kathy's life. And if she succeeds, she can claim the one thing she wants most...
To the outside world, Kathy is the very picture of a happy and fulfilled modern woman. She has a beautiful baby boy, a clever, handsome husband and a glamorous, high-powered job.
But not everybody is fooled. Her employee, Heja, knows the truth: the cracks in Kathy's marriage, her self-doubt, her fear of failure at work. Heja is perfectly placed to destroy Kathy's life. And if she succeeds, she can claim the one thing she wants most...
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
75 people are currently reading
1329 people want to read
About the author
Jane Lythell
6 books58 followers I grew up in a small seaside town in Norfolk; went to university in London and lived there for over three decades. I now live in Brighton. I write psychological suspense because I'm fascinated by what drives people to do extreme things.
My new novel THE EXES has just been published by Bloodhound Books. Holly Hilborne unexpectedly inherits a large and derelict house in Brighton. Daunted by the challenge she invites her three ex-lovers to join her and help her renovate the house. Big trouble!
THE LIE OF YOU and AFTER THE STORM explore obsessive thoughts and were USA Today bestsellers.
My new novel THE EXES has just been published by Bloodhound Books. Holly Hilborne unexpectedly inherits a large and derelict house in Brighton. Daunted by the challenge she invites her three ex-lovers to join her and help her renovate the house. Big trouble!
THE LIE OF YOU and AFTER THE STORM explore obsessive thoughts and were USA Today bestsellers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
May 19, 2017
I devoured this book that I picked up from the library in a few hours, did not miss a single word and loved the journey along the way.
This suspenseful psychological thriller is very well written, the characters real and defined. We have Kathy, married to Markus, Editor of a prestigious British magazine, new baby, living the life. Then we have Heja, ex-Finnish TV Presenter, working at the same magazine as Kathy, the two ladies could not be more different, chalk and cheese.
The book switches between the POV of each woman and that's where the fun and the thrills begin. All is not as it seems with Heja, the author did a brilliant job or portraying her as the formidable ice queen I felt right at the start of the book. She has a plan, and she plans to execute that plan, no matter what. She's a determined woman. But what IS the connection between the two? If indeed there is one at all?
The book is clever, throws up assumptions, brings up loads of secrets and twists and turns into a really entertaining read. I felt like I was right there on the journey, holding my breath at times for what would happen next.
The ending I found to be brilliant, the author did a successful job of throwing all the feelings I had built up for each character around in circles until I was not sure how I felt about any of them at that point. And I thought I had them all worked out, I was really wrong.
The book has some fantastic "hold your breath" moments that I can't reveal as that would spoil it for you, but if you like a psychological twist with your novels, to dig into the dark psyche of the woman scorned, then read this one. It's a great read from start to finish.
Jane Lythell has done an outstanding job with this novel, I am looking forward to reading more of her work.
This suspenseful psychological thriller is very well written, the characters real and defined. We have Kathy, married to Markus, Editor of a prestigious British magazine, new baby, living the life. Then we have Heja, ex-Finnish TV Presenter, working at the same magazine as Kathy, the two ladies could not be more different, chalk and cheese.
The book switches between the POV of each woman and that's where the fun and the thrills begin. All is not as it seems with Heja, the author did a brilliant job or portraying her as the formidable ice queen I felt right at the start of the book. She has a plan, and she plans to execute that plan, no matter what. She's a determined woman. But what IS the connection between the two? If indeed there is one at all?
The book is clever, throws up assumptions, brings up loads of secrets and twists and turns into a really entertaining read. I felt like I was right there on the journey, holding my breath at times for what would happen next.
The ending I found to be brilliant, the author did a successful job of throwing all the feelings I had built up for each character around in circles until I was not sure how I felt about any of them at that point. And I thought I had them all worked out, I was really wrong.
The book has some fantastic "hold your breath" moments that I can't reveal as that would spoil it for you, but if you like a psychological twist with your novels, to dig into the dark psyche of the woman scorned, then read this one. It's a great read from start to finish.
Jane Lythell has done an outstanding job with this novel, I am looking forward to reading more of her work.
August 17, 2014
The psychological thriller genre is a tough one to navigate: when it’s done well (Gillian Flynn, Sophie Hannah, SJ Watson and so on), it’s great, but there’s a lot of dross out there too. The Lie of You isn’t terrible, but for me it’s a pretty poor example of the genre.
The premise is reasonable, if not entirely original. Heja is consumed with finding out as much as she can about her boss, Kathy: about her marriage, her new baby boy, her relationship with their magazine’s publisher, her confidence in her work… This obsession means that Heja can see the strains and cracks in Kathy’s life, despite her outward appearance as a put-together, happy and confident newly-wed and new mother. It also means that Heja is able to take control of Kathy’s life in subtle but devastating ways, setting herself up to claim what she believes is rightfully hers.
The key players are Heja, Kathy and Kathy’s husband Markus. Unfortunately, none of these characters are particularly compelling or well-developed. Heja is a caricatured ice queen and is just not believable: her coldness towards Kathy might be understandable, but she behaves the same way towards everyone; it’s overdone and it means it’s very hard to believe that she’s been the love of anyone’s life, let alone multiple people’s and a national treasure as a Finnish TV presenter. Markus is almost as cold – I think he’s meant to be objective and dispassionate (although this doesn’t really fit with his background as an impassioned activist) but it comes across as aloof, unfeeling and cold. Again, as with Heja, it’s also an indiscriminate coldness: his words say that he loves his baby son, but his behaviour and demeanour never convey this. And if Heja is caricatured, Kathy is frustratingly inconsistent, making her just as implausible as a character. Even before cracks appear in her marriage, even before Heja starts meddling in her life, Kathy is insecure, paranoid and erratic. A stronger writer might have made a convincing case that this is because she’s a new mother starting a new job, but it didn’t feel real to me. There’s just not a huge amount of depth to Kathy – Jane Lythell seems to add in and highlight characteristics as they suit the story rather than them being part of Kathy’s make-up.
The characterisation is not helped by the stilted dialogue. I get that dialogue is a hard thing to write, but it grated on me throughout the entire novel here. It rarely sounds natural: Heja’s incredibly formal speech (that never once includes a contraction) doesn’t ring true, even for a non-native English speaker, and the conversations between Kathy and Markus are more like the conversations between co-workers than partners. Not only that, though, but there’s something about the pacing and detail of the dialogue. Whole conversations are dictated in full, often needlessly, and often this draws attention to the artifice of the novel. For example, Kathy and a photographer friend go for a lunch which we are told lasts two or three hours, but their conversation – reported in the narrative as uninterrupted and continuous – wouldn’t last more than 15 minutes or so. I don’t think a novel needs direct speech to work, and if an author doesn’t have a particular skill for it (many don’t; as I said, it’s hard thing to do well) they should just avoid it.
Aside from the dialogue, the writing overall isn’t brilliant either. Unnecessary extra detail is a problem with the narrative as a whole, not just in speech: very often we are treated to detail that is totally irrelevant and goes nowhere, such as the ins and outs of where Kathy buys her groceries on a particular day. I also found the narrative style very boring and repetitive, as almost every sentence follows a subject-verb-object structure, with the odd adjective or adverb thrown in. It’s not necessarily technically poorly-written, it just didn’t once capture my interest or imagination as far as writing style goes.
My final problem with The Lie of You is the pacing of the plot. There’s no big twist in this, as there is in many psychological thrillers, which is fine in itself. It means that it’s more about the incremental uncovering of motivations and backgrounds. Unfortunately, at about halfway through, it feels like the author got frustrated by this incremental uncovering and everything just falls into place very suddenly. The discovery of a single photo somehow means that Kathy and her aunt Jennie (who barely knows Markus and doesn’t know Heja at all) inexplicably understand everything that Heja’s been doing. Markus’ decision towards the end of the novel comes out of nowhere and isn’t explained – not to us, and not to Heja or Kathy. There are other examples of these very convenient plot developments or character realisations, but I can’t mention them without risking spoilers. For me, this is the major failing of the book: a psychological thriller has to stretch the boundaries of ordinary but in a way that stays firmly on the side of plausibility, and The Lie of You misses the mark in this respect.
Ultimately, The Lie of You isn’t unreadable, but it’s by no means up amongst the strongest in the genre and it’s frustrating that a perfectly good premise is let down by its execution.
The premise is reasonable, if not entirely original. Heja is consumed with finding out as much as she can about her boss, Kathy: about her marriage, her new baby boy, her relationship with their magazine’s publisher, her confidence in her work… This obsession means that Heja can see the strains and cracks in Kathy’s life, despite her outward appearance as a put-together, happy and confident newly-wed and new mother. It also means that Heja is able to take control of Kathy’s life in subtle but devastating ways, setting herself up to claim what she believes is rightfully hers.
The key players are Heja, Kathy and Kathy’s husband Markus. Unfortunately, none of these characters are particularly compelling or well-developed. Heja is a caricatured ice queen and is just not believable: her coldness towards Kathy might be understandable, but she behaves the same way towards everyone; it’s overdone and it means it’s very hard to believe that she’s been the love of anyone’s life, let alone multiple people’s and a national treasure as a Finnish TV presenter. Markus is almost as cold – I think he’s meant to be objective and dispassionate (although this doesn’t really fit with his background as an impassioned activist) but it comes across as aloof, unfeeling and cold. Again, as with Heja, it’s also an indiscriminate coldness: his words say that he loves his baby son, but his behaviour and demeanour never convey this. And if Heja is caricatured, Kathy is frustratingly inconsistent, making her just as implausible as a character. Even before cracks appear in her marriage, even before Heja starts meddling in her life, Kathy is insecure, paranoid and erratic. A stronger writer might have made a convincing case that this is because she’s a new mother starting a new job, but it didn’t feel real to me. There’s just not a huge amount of depth to Kathy – Jane Lythell seems to add in and highlight characteristics as they suit the story rather than them being part of Kathy’s make-up.
The characterisation is not helped by the stilted dialogue. I get that dialogue is a hard thing to write, but it grated on me throughout the entire novel here. It rarely sounds natural: Heja’s incredibly formal speech (that never once includes a contraction) doesn’t ring true, even for a non-native English speaker, and the conversations between Kathy and Markus are more like the conversations between co-workers than partners. Not only that, though, but there’s something about the pacing and detail of the dialogue. Whole conversations are dictated in full, often needlessly, and often this draws attention to the artifice of the novel. For example, Kathy and a photographer friend go for a lunch which we are told lasts two or three hours, but their conversation – reported in the narrative as uninterrupted and continuous – wouldn’t last more than 15 minutes or so. I don’t think a novel needs direct speech to work, and if an author doesn’t have a particular skill for it (many don’t; as I said, it’s hard thing to do well) they should just avoid it.
Aside from the dialogue, the writing overall isn’t brilliant either. Unnecessary extra detail is a problem with the narrative as a whole, not just in speech: very often we are treated to detail that is totally irrelevant and goes nowhere, such as the ins and outs of where Kathy buys her groceries on a particular day. I also found the narrative style very boring and repetitive, as almost every sentence follows a subject-verb-object structure, with the odd adjective or adverb thrown in. It’s not necessarily technically poorly-written, it just didn’t once capture my interest or imagination as far as writing style goes.
My final problem with The Lie of You is the pacing of the plot. There’s no big twist in this, as there is in many psychological thrillers, which is fine in itself. It means that it’s more about the incremental uncovering of motivations and backgrounds. Unfortunately, at about halfway through, it feels like the author got frustrated by this incremental uncovering and everything just falls into place very suddenly. The discovery of a single photo somehow means that Kathy and her aunt Jennie (who barely knows Markus and doesn’t know Heja at all) inexplicably understand everything that Heja’s been doing. Markus’ decision towards the end of the novel comes out of nowhere and isn’t explained – not to us, and not to Heja or Kathy. There are other examples of these very convenient plot developments or character realisations, but I can’t mention them without risking spoilers. For me, this is the major failing of the book: a psychological thriller has to stretch the boundaries of ordinary but in a way that stays firmly on the side of plausibility, and The Lie of You misses the mark in this respect.
Ultimately, The Lie of You isn’t unreadable, but it’s by no means up amongst the strongest in the genre and it’s frustrating that a perfectly good premise is let down by its execution.
January 10, 2015
I enjoyed this book found it to be an easy read that you could leave and come back to. I enjoyed that the book was told from the two womens perspectives kathy and heja. I felt that i was shouting at how naive kathy was being at some parts and could not see what heja was up to. I took a dislike to heja straight away but by the end of the book i did feel abit of sympathy for her. Felt the two women were very good characters but I did not like Markus at all felt he was cold character. Would recommend this book to others and will read more from this author
October 19, 2015
I didn't like what I read. The first several pages didn't capture me and Kathy's first chapter set my teeth on edge.
I don't know exactly when female authors became obsessed with breastfeeding, but almost every book I pick up from 2010 and beyond, if it features a new mother, you're going to read many details on the subject. In various books, breastfeeding has taken a perverse turn, you had a father getting an erection while watching his daughter being fed, in another book, there was constant talk about a woman's big swollen blue breasts, and how much it hurt when her husband fiddled with them.
Maybe I am being prudish, but I don't feel breastfeeding should be turned into something sexual. If I was reading erotica, I would understand that, but I'm not reading erotica. Besides that, there's all the talk of leaking. Every mother always ends up leaking milk all over the place.
In The Lie of You, Kathy rambles about eating garlic and how she's sure it'll be in her milk. (Who even cares?) Next she moves on to mention her son's strong-sucking mouth. (What's even the point?) Then she takes out a photo of the baby, and appears to be getting overly excited about the idea of breastfeeding when she gets home, her breasts start tightening and tingling as she looks at the picture. (???) Someone came into the room and asked her what she had spilled on herself, she looked down and described seeing two wet circles, her breasts had leaked.
What is with all that?
I don't know exactly when female authors became obsessed with breastfeeding, but almost every book I pick up from 2010 and beyond, if it features a new mother, you're going to read many details on the subject. In various books, breastfeeding has taken a perverse turn, you had a father getting an erection while watching his daughter being fed, in another book, there was constant talk about a woman's big swollen blue breasts, and how much it hurt when her husband fiddled with them.
Maybe I am being prudish, but I don't feel breastfeeding should be turned into something sexual. If I was reading erotica, I would understand that, but I'm not reading erotica. Besides that, there's all the talk of leaking. Every mother always ends up leaking milk all over the place.
In The Lie of You, Kathy rambles about eating garlic and how she's sure it'll be in her milk. (Who even cares?) Next she moves on to mention her son's strong-sucking mouth. (What's even the point?) Then she takes out a photo of the baby, and appears to be getting overly excited about the idea of breastfeeding when she gets home, her breasts start tightening and tingling as she looks at the picture. (???) Someone came into the room and asked her what she had spilled on herself, she looked down and described seeing two wet circles, her breasts had leaked.
What is with all that?
December 10, 2018
☆☆ 2 Yawning Stars☆☆
Stalking should be dangers and creepy not yawn & skim worthy. This book showed signs of goodness but the over played architect job descriptions was more boring than paint drying.
I kept reading in hopes to getting excited but my hopes were dashed page after page even after the rare glimpses of crazy
Stalking should be dangers and creepy not yawn & skim worthy. This book showed signs of goodness but the over played architect job descriptions was more boring than paint drying.
I kept reading in hopes to getting excited but my hopes were dashed page after page even after the rare glimpses of crazy
January 15, 2014
I absolutely love the cover of this book, it is so simple yet it immediately captures your attention – and for me, it held my gaze and I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from it.
To everyone else, Kathy looks like the perfect woman – she has a beautiful baby boy, she’s married to her handsome husband and she has a successful high-powered job – and she seems happy and fulfilled. Everyone knows this. Everyone apart from Heja. Her employee Heja knows the truth, Heja knows about the cracks in Kathy’s marriage, how her self-esteem isn’t high and how she doubts herself, and how she worries about failing. Heja is the person that is perfectly placed to destroy Kathy’s life, and if she does, then she can claim the one thing that she wants most….
Wow. I mean……WOW! Gee what a book! This novel is very intense and I think that is one of the things that makes it SO GOOD. I could feel the tension radiating from the pages and I found it impossible to put down.
The characters were so well written. Both Kathy and Heja drew me in and I was absolutely fascinated by everything about them both – their personalities, their actions, what they were doing and their motives too. The chapters are written in alternating viewpoints of Kathy and Heja. Heja was so creepy as a character, she gave me such shivers but I could not stop reading her parts. In fact, I even looked forward to reading about her because I just had to know what she was going to do next. Heja really kept me guessing – she’s very clever, dangerous and she intrigued me so much. With Kathy, I really felt for her at the beginning – she is trusting and trying to do her best in life.
The novel quickly picks up pace and I was racing through the pages determined to find out what would happen next. I thought I had guessed some things, and that I was confident about the characters in my mind – but as I got further towards the end, my heart was pounding and I was left SHOCKED and surprised all at the same time.
Full of jealousy, secrets and surprises, The Lie Of You is a gripping novel with dark elements and unexpected turns that will pull you in from the first page and have you desperate to find out what happens.
To everyone else, Kathy looks like the perfect woman – she has a beautiful baby boy, she’s married to her handsome husband and she has a successful high-powered job – and she seems happy and fulfilled. Everyone knows this. Everyone apart from Heja. Her employee Heja knows the truth, Heja knows about the cracks in Kathy’s marriage, how her self-esteem isn’t high and how she doubts herself, and how she worries about failing. Heja is the person that is perfectly placed to destroy Kathy’s life, and if she does, then she can claim the one thing that she wants most….
Wow. I mean……WOW! Gee what a book! This novel is very intense and I think that is one of the things that makes it SO GOOD. I could feel the tension radiating from the pages and I found it impossible to put down.
The characters were so well written. Both Kathy and Heja drew me in and I was absolutely fascinated by everything about them both – their personalities, their actions, what they were doing and their motives too. The chapters are written in alternating viewpoints of Kathy and Heja. Heja was so creepy as a character, she gave me such shivers but I could not stop reading her parts. In fact, I even looked forward to reading about her because I just had to know what she was going to do next. Heja really kept me guessing – she’s very clever, dangerous and she intrigued me so much. With Kathy, I really felt for her at the beginning – she is trusting and trying to do her best in life.
The novel quickly picks up pace and I was racing through the pages determined to find out what would happen next. I thought I had guessed some things, and that I was confident about the characters in my mind – but as I got further towards the end, my heart was pounding and I was left SHOCKED and surprised all at the same time.
Full of jealousy, secrets and surprises, The Lie Of You is a gripping novel with dark elements and unexpected turns that will pull you in from the first page and have you desperate to find out what happens.
January 17, 2014
Originally posted on: http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot....
If you knew Kathy, you would think she was a very lucky lady. She seems to have the perfect life with her high powered job in a top architectural magazine, a handsome husband and a lovely baby boy. However there is one person at her office who can see the cracks in Kathy's happy life and she wants to make these cracks show and turn Kathy's life upside down. Kathy has the one thing that Heja really wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it, no matter what the cost.
The Lie of You is told in the viewpoints of the main characters, Kathy and Heja and they are complete polar opposites. Kathy is more emotional and feeling, whereas Heja is ice cold and determined. Heja is also a dangerous woman. You really don't know what she will do next and each time the story was told in her point of view, I found I was bracing myself for what was to come. She was highly unpredictable and it was this unpredictability that made this novel so chilling. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with Kathy. I wanted her to stop being so trusting and get her head out of the clouds and realise that something sinister and underhand was going on right underneath her nose!
When I first started reading this, I thought I knew how it was going to pan out, but I was wrong. There was a lot more depth to the characters than we realise and I found myself being surprised at Heja's side of the story as her layers began to unravel. I actually at one point found myself hoping that Heja would not get caught in one of her stalkerish doings, as I was finding Kathy increasingly annoying, despite her being the victim in all of this.
I read this in a matter of days, as I just had to find out more about these two women and how their stories would turn out. You will definitely find yourself siding with one of these two women, but as I found, your choice may not be who you expect it to be!
If you knew Kathy, you would think she was a very lucky lady. She seems to have the perfect life with her high powered job in a top architectural magazine, a handsome husband and a lovely baby boy. However there is one person at her office who can see the cracks in Kathy's happy life and she wants to make these cracks show and turn Kathy's life upside down. Kathy has the one thing that Heja really wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it, no matter what the cost.
The Lie of You is told in the viewpoints of the main characters, Kathy and Heja and they are complete polar opposites. Kathy is more emotional and feeling, whereas Heja is ice cold and determined. Heja is also a dangerous woman. You really don't know what she will do next and each time the story was told in her point of view, I found I was bracing myself for what was to come. She was highly unpredictable and it was this unpredictability that made this novel so chilling. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with Kathy. I wanted her to stop being so trusting and get her head out of the clouds and realise that something sinister and underhand was going on right underneath her nose!
When I first started reading this, I thought I knew how it was going to pan out, but I was wrong. There was a lot more depth to the characters than we realise and I found myself being surprised at Heja's side of the story as her layers began to unravel. I actually at one point found myself hoping that Heja would not get caught in one of her stalkerish doings, as I was finding Kathy increasingly annoying, despite her being the victim in all of this.
I read this in a matter of days, as I just had to find out more about these two women and how their stories would turn out. You will definitely find yourself siding with one of these two women, but as I found, your choice may not be who you expect it to be!
May 17, 2014
Despite being tagged as a 'psychological thriller' I feel like this title does so in the mildest possible sense. Personally, I found it quite mediocre and had higher expectations from a Bafta judge. The pacing is short and sweet, it's a very easy title to read and you can dip back into it without having to re-read any of the smaller former chapters. It's by no means the worst thing I've read by any stretch, it's just a bit 'meh'. It was evident early on how the story was going to play out but I was intrigued by the contrast of voices and hoped there'd be more heart-strings to be plucked and throats choked with suspense but the writing of "ice queen" Heja was linear and robotic and ultimately an unsatisfying foil to the clucking gentle idiocy of half-English, half-Portuguese and oh-so-'passionate' Kathy. I can well imagine this being a popular holiday read, but if you're looking for a meaty drama to set your nerves on edge and your brain racing, I'd recommend leaving this one aside.
November 2, 2017
Книга, рассказывающая нам о соперничестве и зависти, но, как по мне, еще и о том, к каким необратимым вещам может привести ложь. Не могу сказать, что книга держала в напряжении, но сохраняла интерес, страницы перелистывались быстро. При этом сюжет не особо динамичен, но вот чем-то цепляет, хочется узнать, что же там будет дальше. Не понравился стиль автора: минимум мыслей, размышлений, эмоций, максимум описаний действий и очень скомканных диалогов.
March 31, 2015
The characters in this novel were really well-drawn, believable and memorable. The scenes depicting the office politics particularly struck a chord! I was gripped by the suspense and kept turning pages to find out how/when all would be revealed. I don't often read psychological thrillers. I like novels where the characters have a lot of depth to them, and I've found with psychological thrillers that sometimes it's more about the page-turning plot, and the characters can be one-dimensional. With this novel, though, I loved the way the author fleshed out the characters and gave them psychological depth, making them come alive in my mind as real people.
Another reason I don't often read psychological thrillers is that often you have to suspend disbelief. I found that was the case with this story. There was one element in particular that I struggled to believe would happen, but the characters, dialogue and building suspense more than made up for this. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the characters still stick in my mind.
Another reason I don't often read psychological thrillers is that often you have to suspend disbelief. I found that was the case with this story. There was one element in particular that I struggled to believe would happen, but the characters, dialogue and building suspense more than made up for this. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the characters still stick in my mind.
October 3, 2015
I think that this is a solid four star book. This story was told from the POV of two women and the voices are very clear. I was very impressed with Heja's voice. She is from Finland and the narration from her had a very distinct tone. In fact Lythell did a fantastic job of portraying the women as two very separate, different people which I find writers often have a problem with.
For the me the biggest downfall of the book was the end which seemed rather anticlimactic. You knew where things were headed very early on and the story just kind of fizzled at the end. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a slow, quiet mystery and this was one of those. I just wish the ending had a little more snap.
For the me the biggest downfall of the book was the end which seemed rather anticlimactic. You knew where things were headed very early on and the story just kind of fizzled at the end. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a slow, quiet mystery and this was one of those. I just wish the ending had a little more snap.
January 4, 2015
Written from dual perspectives this psychological thriller is easy to read and quite gripping. It's a page turner, I read it over two nights as I just had to find out about these two women and how their stories would turn out.
An impressive well written debut, I look forward to reading more books by this author.
An impressive well written debut, I look forward to reading more books by this author.
August 6, 2016
Ничего себе так триллер про двух дамок - одна пыталась превратить жизнь другой в ад. Причина стара как мир - мужик. Тут нет тайн, интриг, хотя написано просто и читается легко. Минус - это финал. Автор жестко лохонулась.
December 18, 2018
une très belle découverte
April 4, 2017
This book had me immersed from the first page right through to the end. The characters of Heja and Kathy were instantly defined and recognisable from the first words in their individual chapters. Heja is chilling and yet there are chinks in her ice-like character through which her vulnerability can be glimpsed. Her relationship with her father and her enduring love for Markus in particular.
Kathy's physicality (her period unexpectedly returning and when she breastfeeds her baby) makes her loveable in the context of being a glossy career woman. Also the incident on the boat with Hector.
The characters' context within their birth families also adds to their depth.
The descriptions of the different locations and the beautiful buildings give the book and the story a satisfying fullness. The author's experience in television has brought a strongly visual quality to the writing.
I loved it!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a psychological thriller which is fleshed out with deep characters, wonderful locations and believable human dilemmas
Kathy's physicality (her period unexpectedly returning and when she breastfeeds her baby) makes her loveable in the context of being a glossy career woman. Also the incident on the boat with Hector.
The characters' context within their birth families also adds to their depth.
The descriptions of the different locations and the beautiful buildings give the book and the story a satisfying fullness. The author's experience in television has brought a strongly visual quality to the writing.
I loved it!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a psychological thriller which is fleshed out with deep characters, wonderful locations and believable human dilemmas
September 26, 2018
Celá recenzia https://nathalys-reading.blogspot.com...
Začiatok vás naláka, no potom ide všetko dolu kopcom, a vy neviete, čo čítate. Čítate psychologický thriller? Ak áno, tak Zničím tě a vezmu si, co je mé je veľmi slabá, priam úbohá ukážka tohto žánru. Táto kniha by vôbec nemala byť zaradená do takejto kategórie. Dielo je prvoplánové od začiatku do konca. Žiadne obrovské zvraty v ňom nehľadajte. Bojím sa, že pre fanúšika tohto žánru môže byť táto novinka veľkým sklamaním. Nemajte očakávania, lebo tie sa teraz nemusia naplniť. Kniha nie je brak, to nie. Je len veľmi priehľadná a neponúka taký čitateľský zážitok, ako sľubuje.
Začiatok vás naláka, no potom ide všetko dolu kopcom, a vy neviete, čo čítate. Čítate psychologický thriller? Ak áno, tak Zničím tě a vezmu si, co je mé je veľmi slabá, priam úbohá ukážka tohto žánru. Táto kniha by vôbec nemala byť zaradená do takejto kategórie. Dielo je prvoplánové od začiatku do konca. Žiadne obrovské zvraty v ňom nehľadajte. Bojím sa, že pre fanúšika tohto žánru môže byť táto novinka veľkým sklamaním. Nemajte očakávania, lebo tie sa teraz nemusia naplniť. Kniha nie je brak, to nie. Je len veľmi priehľadná a neponúka taký čitateľský zážitok, ako sľubuje.
March 8, 2023
It was really underwhelming in my opinion. I get that the start of the book is supposed to be suspenseful and whatever but it was just boring to me. I felt like the first interesting thing that happened was genuinely when I got halfway through the book. Then the only exciting part was when there was like 70 pages left. I didn’t really feel connected to any characters so the first 230 pages just felt like an absolute crawl. I got through the last pages fairly quickly but honestly the ending wasn’t that satisfying and again, underwhelming. Not the worst book I’ve ever read but I wouldn’t suggest.
I was also really unwell when reading this book so maybe that impacted my interest in it.
I was also really unwell when reading this book so maybe that impacted my interest in it.
August 13, 2017
Coinvolgente come La ragazza del treno, geniale come Una famiglia quasi perfetta!
Non credete a una sola di queste frasi!
Questo libro non ha niente a che vedere con i due libri suddetti .
Ho passato la domenica a leggerlo,il kobo mi dava 281 pagine,il primo e
unico colpo di scena ( per modo di dire dato che si inizia a intuire quello che succederà una decina di pagine prima) inizia dopo 200 pagine!
Non credete a una sola di queste frasi!
Questo libro non ha niente a che vedere con i due libri suddetti .
Ho passato la domenica a leggerlo,il kobo mi dava 281 pagine,il primo e
unico colpo di scena ( per modo di dire dato che si inizia a intuire quello che succederà una decina di pagine prima) inizia dopo 200 pagine!
December 4, 2013
Firstly, I’d like to thank Becci Sharpe from Head of Zeus for sending me a lovely and unexpected copy of this book. It’s set to be published in paperback on 16th January 2014 but is already out in Kindle format under the title ‘I Will Have What Is Mine’. This book is based around the lives of two very different women – Kathy and Heja. To the outside world, Kathy looks like she has the perfect life. She is the editor of a very successful architectural magazine, has a beautiful baby boy and a handsome husband but colleague, Heja, can see through the cracks in Kathy’s otherwise perfect façade and begins to sneakily medal in Kathy’s life. Lies begin to surface and Heja’s very private past starts to catch up with them because Kathy has the one thing that Heja wants the most and she will do everything in her power to get it. This gripping, psychological thriller that covers jealousy and obsession, rivalry and deceit and how women pit themselves against one another.
The first thing I noticed about this book was that the chapters are very short and I’m not a huge fan of long chapters so that sat very well with me. I tend to get through books a lot quicker if their chapters are short and sweet. This book is written is 1st person with 2 points of view – Kathy and Heja and you can tell the difference between the two women in the narrative. I very much enjoy books which are from multiple view points but I do find all the points of view are written very similarly – even though they are from entirely different characters however this wasn’t the case at all with this book. From the very first chapter I didn’t get a very good vibe from Heja, just from the way she is putting herself across to the readers. It is a massive contrast to Kathy’s chapters and on the authors behalf, I think that is a very talented thing to be able to do. I felt this book was well paced. About halfway through it did start to slow slightly but then all of a sudden, without any warning, the secret that the story revolves around (which I won’t disclose) comes to surface in Kathy’s life and the pace is instantly picked up again. From that page on, events from the past kept unravelling and you begin to get a more clearer image of what actually went on.
This book was very well written and in touches on some subjects I feel a large majority of women will be able to relate to. Being 21, some aspects of the book were quite mature for me and I also found that there were no younger characters I could really relate to. The other characters are all very well developed and the story delves into their past experiences which is essential considering the nature of the book but they were all extremely mature and knowledgeable and they find pleasure in things such as architecture, art and gourmet food which I know absolutely squat about so that element of the story did go over the top of my head a bit! However, that doesn’t take away the fact that this was an exceptionally gripping, chilling and page-turning read which I think will appeal to a very wide audience.
You can find all my reviews here: www.jennyinneverland.wordpress.com
The first thing I noticed about this book was that the chapters are very short and I’m not a huge fan of long chapters so that sat very well with me. I tend to get through books a lot quicker if their chapters are short and sweet. This book is written is 1st person with 2 points of view – Kathy and Heja and you can tell the difference between the two women in the narrative. I very much enjoy books which are from multiple view points but I do find all the points of view are written very similarly – even though they are from entirely different characters however this wasn’t the case at all with this book. From the very first chapter I didn’t get a very good vibe from Heja, just from the way she is putting herself across to the readers. It is a massive contrast to Kathy’s chapters and on the authors behalf, I think that is a very talented thing to be able to do. I felt this book was well paced. About halfway through it did start to slow slightly but then all of a sudden, without any warning, the secret that the story revolves around (which I won’t disclose) comes to surface in Kathy’s life and the pace is instantly picked up again. From that page on, events from the past kept unravelling and you begin to get a more clearer image of what actually went on.
This book was very well written and in touches on some subjects I feel a large majority of women will be able to relate to. Being 21, some aspects of the book were quite mature for me and I also found that there were no younger characters I could really relate to. The other characters are all very well developed and the story delves into their past experiences which is essential considering the nature of the book but they were all extremely mature and knowledgeable and they find pleasure in things such as architecture, art and gourmet food which I know absolutely squat about so that element of the story did go over the top of my head a bit! However, that doesn’t take away the fact that this was an exceptionally gripping, chilling and page-turning read which I think will appeal to a very wide audience.
You can find all my reviews here: www.jennyinneverland.wordpress.com
February 9, 2014
First of all, I loved the physical, aesthetic quality of this book - it just made me want to read it straight away, as it made me think that the novel was something 'different'.
I didn't love the opening couple of chapters, as it felt a bit 'chick-lit', which I wasn't expecting. But this works to introduce the fundamental characters, then the emotional drama takes pace and I was gripped.
The characters were pretty strong, but the plot was very strong; clues and mysterious elements were cleverly hidden from the reader, keeping the book a real page-turner. The story was genuinely chilling, which is why it made such an impact on me and has certainly stayed in my mind - I have even caught myself thinking about what I would do if this happened in my life - a creepy thought!
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.
I am very grateful to Jane Lythell, the publisher and to Goodreads for sending this book to me as part of the Goodreads Firstreads giveaway programme.
I didn't love the opening couple of chapters, as it felt a bit 'chick-lit', which I wasn't expecting. But this works to introduce the fundamental characters, then the emotional drama takes pace and I was gripped.
The characters were pretty strong, but the plot was very strong; clues and mysterious elements were cleverly hidden from the reader, keeping the book a real page-turner. The story was genuinely chilling, which is why it made such an impact on me and has certainly stayed in my mind - I have even caught myself thinking about what I would do if this happened in my life - a creepy thought!
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.
I am very grateful to Jane Lythell, the publisher and to Goodreads for sending this book to me as part of the Goodreads Firstreads giveaway programme.
August 1, 2016
Questo libro può apparire semplice e molto comune e da una parte è proprio così, ma c'è un lato, un modo nuovo di leggerlo, che lo rende diverso dagli altri. Non è la solita storia dove arriva qualcuno per rovinare una famiglia o una storia d'amore. Cioè in parte sì, ma io ci ho trovato molto di più. All'inizio è tutto così calmo, sembra quasi di leggere un romanzo rosa, ma poi tutto d'un tratto la storia si smuove, si succedono degli avvenimenti e delle parole che cambiano completamente il circolo delle cose. Qui l'autrice è stata molto brava, in quanto è stata in grado di tenere il lettore incollato al libro: all'inizio in cerca di un cambiamento, di qualcosa che trasformasse la calma in caos; mentre infine per la curiosità di sapere come sarebbe andata a finire la vicenda di queste persone.
Dò 4 stelle in quanto sia riuscita a tenere incollata pure me! Lo consiglio a quelle persone che cercano un thriller relativamente tranquillo e allo stesso tempo accattivante.
Dò 4 stelle in quanto sia riuscita a tenere incollata pure me! Lo consiglio a quelle persone che cercano un thriller relativamente tranquillo e allo stesso tempo accattivante.
November 24, 2014
Psychological thrillers are probably my favourite genre of novel,and whilst this book used the popular 'woman scorned' theme,it was still very enjoyable and I read it in two sittings.
My main criticism about this book is the characters and lack of depth about them,as well as the way they interacted with each other. Kathy and Marcus acted out more like work colleagues than husband and wife,and Markus himself was not a believable character,even with cultural differences.
What I liked about the book was that the author tended to veer away from huge keep you guessing twists and was quite open with plot turns,a refreshing change for this genre!
My main criticism about this book is the characters and lack of depth about them,as well as the way they interacted with each other. Kathy and Marcus acted out more like work colleagues than husband and wife,and Markus himself was not a believable character,even with cultural differences.
What I liked about the book was that the author tended to veer away from huge keep you guessing twists and was quite open with plot turns,a refreshing change for this genre!
June 18, 2020
Annotasiyasında "mənə dünyaları bəxş edəcəyini" söz verən, triller janrında olduğunu iddia edən bu roman əslində iki qadının mənasız bir kişidən ötrü apardığı mübarizədən bəhs edir. Bütün əsər boyu həmin kişinin "sevilməyə layiq" heç bir xüsusiyyətinə şahid olmadım.
Kitabın ən yaxşı tərəfi hadisələrin iki qadının dilindən təsvir edilməsi idi. Bu cür təhkiyə üslubunu çox xoşlayıram. Ancaq verilmiş halda bu da əsəri xilas edə bilmədi.
Bir daha təsdiqləndi ki, bədbəxtlik, fəlakət, qəza və xəstəliyin təsiri nəticəsində insan ya aqressivləşir, ya da passivləşir. Ümid edirəm, bu il aqressivləşməyimizə və ya passivləşməyimizə şərait yaradacaq heç bir pis hadisə ilə üzləşmərik.
Kitabın ən yaxşı tərəfi hadisələrin iki qadının dilindən təsvir edilməsi idi. Bu cür təhkiyə üslubunu çox xoşlayıram. Ancaq verilmiş halda bu da əsəri xilas edə bilmədi.
Bir daha təsdiqləndi ki, bədbəxtlik, fəlakət, qəza və xəstəliyin təsiri nəticəsində insan ya aqressivləşir, ya da passivləşir. Ümid edirəm, bu il aqressivləşməyimizə və ya passivləşməyimizə şərait yaradacaq heç bir pis hadisə ilə üzləşmərik.
December 4, 2013
Overall a good read, well written. Leaves you emotionally wanting for characters in the novel. Great depiction of the classic European headcase and kinda leaves you wondering about the elusive feeling of love. The interdependence between characters is sometimes astonishing. It really reinforces that life isn't fair.
August 18, 2014
I loved this book, it was so dark and gritty. We follow two main characters journeys throughout the book, flipping from one to the other. It is a great read and would appeal to fans of gone girl type books.
I will be looking out for more books by this author!
I will be looking out for more books by this author!
July 25, 2015
Неплохо написано и есть элемент триллера. Интересная идея того что каждая глава написано с разной перспективы - одной из двух главных героинь. Конец разочаровал по всем фронтам, отсюда и долой звезду от 4.
January 30, 2016
Extremely disappointing given the reviews. I just wasn't gripped or engaged with the characters or the story. I felt it lacked any real intrigue. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC in return for this honest review.
December 18, 2013
I won this in a firstreads giveaway. Read over 24 hours. It's a psychological thriller told from both viewpoints. Excellent read.
July 23, 2015
Dark and disturbing, a fast paced, edgy psychological thriller. I enjoyed it but was a bit disappointed by the ending.
April 28, 2015
quite a good storyline but strangely written
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