Some of Us Are Liars

by Fiona Cummins, Olivia Dowd (Narrator)

There’s your side. My side. And the truth.

Lisa Jewell meets Jodi Picoult in a story of betrayal and deception in the aftermath of family tragedy.

She must face justice. As her sister it kills me to say it. As his mother I demand it.

When Jen Miller entrusts her youngest child to the care of her beloved sisters, she has no idea of the devastating tragedy that is about to unfold.

To celebrate her sister's wedding, global superstar Winter Kellaway throws the party of the decade at her luxurious beachside estate. The decorations are flawless. The champagne is on ice. The guests have arrived. But one misstep will have heartbreaking consequences that will rock this close-knit family to their core.

With her life in pieces, how can Jen ever begin to forgive?

Saul Anguish, a brilliant but tormented young detective, is called in to investigate and uncovers a long-buried and shocking family secret. As the trail takes a dramatic turn, they must now all face the truth that you can never truly leave the past behind . . .

Authors love Fiona

‘A dark, exquisitely written thriller. Emotionally charged, with twists that floored me, this is a devastating, tightly plotted and original story that lingers long after the final chapter. A stunning read!’ - Claire Douglas

‘Devastating and deft. Tender and brave’ - Abigail Dean

‘Compelling, affecting, with a pitch-dark plot and a truly unique protagonist in Saul Anguish, this is crime fiction at its very best’ – Neil Broadfoot

‘I inhaled this thriller in 24 hours’ – Nikki Smith

‘Nobody does dark, emotional crime thrillers like Fiona Cummins’ – Holly Seddon

‘Astonishing’ – Ed James

‘Gets under your skin and goes where other writers do not dare’ - Helen Fields

‘Heartbreaking, dark and beautifully written’ – Jo Callaghan

‘A tightly bound plot and a deeply sympathetic anti-hero in Saul Anguish - Araminta Hall

‘As tender and compassionate as it is gripping’ - Nicci Cloke

Audible Audio

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course. She lives in Essex with her family. Rattle is her first novel.

Reviews

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only finished this book because it was an audiobook and I was doing a lot of walking.

About halfway through I read the reviews to see if I should keep going or not, and was promised twists. But the reviews also confirmed my opinion that the first two-thirds was a long-winded and needless set up for the last third.

This would have been a better book if it had been ruthlessly edited, with one more draft so the inconsistencies in people's characters could be smoothed out.

If I'd found a review that gave me the ending I'd not have finished it. If you too just want the ending so you can abandon the read here it is:
Deborah/Winter and Alyssa are of course Hannah and her toddler sister. They both survived their father's vicious hammer attack and were adopted by Jen's parents.

During the weird wedding re-do Alyssa accidentally drops Teddy overboard and he drowns. We are made to think its because Winter deliberately bumped her, and there is a whole trial accusing Alyssa of manslaughter - but (gasp) the bump was actually from Teddy's eight year old sister Iris.

Earlier on the boat ride Iris overheard Winter tell Alyssa she was pregnant with Phil's baby, and got mad when Alyssa told Winter to abort the baby. Iris wants a baby sibling so much she apparently doesn't have any feelings about her dad sleeping with the aunt who hurts her and Teddy. She just got all mad at her lovely aunt Alyssa and pushes her when she thinks no one will notice.

The final twist is that Alyssa and Winter knew all along that Iris was the pusher that made Alyssa drop Teddy, and went through with the trial blaming Alyssa because they think it will make Iris feel better. WTF? On what planet would Iris feel better about her beloved aunt Alyssa being blamed and going to prison for the death of her little brother, leaving Alyssa's baby motherless, when she knew Teddy died because of her?? Isn't that actually piling on the guilt?

The whole book built a case that Winter is narcissistic and wants what other people have, including Jen's husband (even though Hannah was unselfish and was prepared to sacrifice her life for Alyssa), but it finishes with sisterly love and solidarity and everyone forgiving everything - except not Phil -and Alyssa's fiance disappears completely in the last third of the story.

Don't start me on Saul Anguish and Blue. They seemed like they'd wandered in from another book entirely and just did a lot of moping in every other chapter. I skipped anything to do with them.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧3.5-3.75⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Olivia Dowd who did a lot of the heavy lifting to add interest to the story. It would have been a dnf if I’d read it.

A slow paced domestic noir.
Three sisters Winter, Jen and Alyssa were always very close until Jen leaves her 4 year old Teddy in the care of her sisters where he d*es. Jen is pushed by her fiancé into taking legal action against her sister.
The actual event felt too weak for a court case.
There’s also a second thread with Saul and Blue which has no connection to the sister’s story except that Saul is the detective who is in the court case.

I found it slow going, and generally lacking interest for long spells. I felt for the sisters and how things impacted upon their once close relationship.

There are some good twists and turns, and a reveal that you need to concentrate on or you’ll miss. The ending is excellent, but I’m not a fan of the long slow burns. It’s set up for another book. Would I go for it? I doubt it.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling