You Lied to Me

by A.J. Carter

Karma is coming.

April has perfected the art of deception, carefully targeting wealthy men to support her struggling mother. When she cons Ryan, a grieving widower with a substantial insurance payout, she never expects the tables to turn.

One month after walking away with his family heirloom, April's world shatters when her mother introduces her new boyfriend – Ryan himself. Now trapped under the same roof, April faces a nightmare of manipulation and blackmail as Ryan systematically tears her life apart.

With her mother caught in his web of deceit and her own dark past threatening to surface, April must find a way to escape before Ryan's vengeance claims them both.

A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about the price of deception and the deadliest game of all – revenge.
—————

Genres: Psychological Thriller, Suspense

482 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 19, 2025

About the author

AJ Carter is a psychological thriller author from Bristol, England. His first book, The Family Secret, is praised by critics around the world, and he continues to regularly deliver suspenseful novels you can’t put down.

Sign up to his mailing list today and be the first to hear about upcoming releases and hot new deals for existing books. You’ll also receive a FREE digital copy of The Couple Downstairs – an unputdownable domestic thriller you won’t find anywhere else in the world: https://BookHip.com/WAXFLLP

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tagline ‘KARMA IS COMING’ could not be truer, it’s coming, double wrapped and going to hit where it hurts

We meet April, she has a routine of meeting vulnerable men and fleecing them, not for fun but so her and her Mum can continue their pitiful existence ( and it is existing ) whilst doing this she is also saving for a better future

But then she chooses Ryan, she feels maybe this time she has chosen wrong, she has no idea, not an inkling of the horrors to befall her and her Mum

As we all find out these horrors together we see a complete socio/psycho/ path who doesn’t just want revenge he wants utter humiliation

It is a chilling and dark look at manipulation and seething anger and Ryan is perfectly vile yet brilliantly performed, he is shockingly bad/good

A double the normal length read from this author who has nailed the subjects the book covers but be warned it is a terrifying look at the lengths someone fooled and used will go to seek what they consider their rightful payback

[Donna Mallery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like this author’s books. I just couldn’t get into this book. I kept waiting for more to happen, but it just seemed to be repetitive. I started skimming really fast, so I could get to the end. It is a long book! I hope I’m an outlier, and I feel bad about the rating. But I had to tell it like I found it. I’ll keep reading this author.

[Liz Ericksen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s starts out pretty good. The. She goes on and on about his expensive watch and his lingering cologne yadayadayada. It drove me crazy! I started skimming over her constant abuse of analogy’s just to find out what happens in the end. That was disappointing also. So many holes and impossibilities.

[Christine Karabinchak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay

I really Wanted to like this book I found it too repetitive . It just kept dragging on and on . Same thing said over and over again ' about his watch and his door knocker and the handcuffs . I found myself skipping pages just to finally get to the end .

[Lily Mcmanus-Carville · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk about a slow burn 🙄 this book took that phrase to a whole new level. I can't say I'm particularly fond of AJ Carter's writing style. I found it extremely repetitive so much so that I had to stop on several occasions, thinking I'd already read the chapter. The story was slow, repetitive, and quite frankly boring. I really wanted to dnf but kept reading in hopes it would get better, but It didn't. The last few chapters were truly a letdown, and the ending was silly and unnecessary.
That being said, I know a lot of people like AJ Carter, so I might read another novel just to see if he is worth any of the hype. Maybe I just started with a bad book 🤷‍♀️
I would not recommend reading this.

[Haien Cecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

35 (𝙢) 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 husband 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 girlfriend 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 woman 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖 3:30 𝙖𝙢 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 him. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 his 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙭@𝙜𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙣 him 𝙎𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝘼𝙥𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 his 𝙞𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 he 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙣 his 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠, 𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 husband 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 girls 𝙤𝙣 his 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙞 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚'𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞'𝙢 𝙞 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞'𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚. 𝙄'𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚?

[Ckimmyjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical, but still entertaining.

This book follows the standard format for this type of domestic thriller. You kind of know where it’s going to go, but it entertains you anyway. The only real downside is there is a lot of duplication in the writing. You can read a paragraph and then maybe two paragraphs later, it’s says essentially the exact same thing that you just read, and that happens on multiple occasions. Also, the author apparently just learned the word TABLEAU. It’s in here repeatedly, like he was just looking for a place to say the word! It became almost a game to me. I was tempted to go back and count all the times he said it, just because it was so overused. Maybe he just needs a better editor, but it was to the point of being distracting. Maybe my mind just over notices these things, but it was kind of annoying. Overall still a good read!

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Read

I liked this story. It was engaging and entertaining.

I did feel like there was some redundancy in the writing. Occasionally, the author would say something and repeat it almost verbatim shortly after....like he forgot he already said that. Sometimes it would be altered just enough to make me stop and go back and re-read both instances just to verify,

I also found that the writing was overly wordy. I skimmed fairly regularly throughout this book. There was a lot of non-essential that pressed beyond wordy/descriptive to Judy muddy. I would imagine this book to be significantly fewer pages if more concisely written.

Still a good story.

[Autumn Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved all of AJ carters books...until this one.

So repetitive. Such lackluster content.

And honestly, the content of the book just didn't make sense to me. April is a 25-year-old that if given the circumstances of unhappiness should/could have moved out on her own. And there was so much focus on "mom's medicine" but yet there didn't seem to be any major health issues. It was just a strange plot.

And not to mention the fact that April had been to Ryan's house, but yet she never considered that that's where her mom could be. Or the fact that Ryan kept staying at her house when she wasn't technically under house arrest or being held hostage. Just a bizarre Storyline.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked this in the beginning. It was suspenseful, kept my interest. But about 1/2 way through it really dragged. It was very repetitive. April's actions, or I should say inaction was driving me nuts. I was getting tired of her. She acted like a teenager, not a grown woman. Then something happens with Meg. April still does nothing! For 13 days she just stays in the house with Ryan. Going over the same things, again and again. Then Meg unbelievably somehow gets herself out of her situation. This was so totally unbelievable. Then the whole part with the cops, again totally unbelievable. Then then end left it all hanging with April, no resolution.

[Jean K Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked another book by A.J. Carter, so gave this one a try. I usually don’t stop reading 25% in to a story, but I could not continue with this one. There’s a lot of leeway in fiction that’s alright, and doesn’t take away from the story; but, this one? Just too much. We’re supposed to get on board with a daughter not knowing the name of her mother’s new boyfriend ….after weeks of dating …when the daughter lives with the mom & is involved with her first date preparations. Really?? & when the daughter finds out he is a former lover she scammed for money, the daughter lets her mom keep dating the guy? Really??? It’s just a boat too far.

[Donna DuVal · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll be wide awake forever after reading this!

This is why AJ Carter is a writer and I am not. This book will keep you entertained for hours and you will never imagine what happens in this psychological thriller. April and her mum are the targets and the prey. She became a defender of her mum and herself. Keep reading and you'll wonder what happens next and you'll find it on the next page. Be prepared your eyes and ears wide open.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Lied to Me by AJ Carter had such a strong plot—twisted, tense, and full of potential. The setup of April being caught in Ryan’s trap is genuinely gripping. But the execution felt repetitive, dragging in several places, almost like it was stretching the tension instead of letting it hit hard. I kept waiting for that big impact moment that never quite landed. Still, it’s worth a read if you don’t mind a slower pace.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing

This wasn’t up to par of others, this was sloppy, repetitive and inconsistent. The actual storyline was good but the descriptions really let it down. If I had to hear Georgian house one more time. First there was no water give but then there was a glass of water next to the bed. Also every paragraph seemed to include its own snarky metaphor. Hopefully this was a one-off for whatever reason…

[Amber Baudoux · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hopes for this book, but it fell short for me. Very repetitive, long & drug out. Honestly, this entire narrative could’ve been prevented if the girl just told the truth. Too many plot holes, completely unrealistic. I feel like a wasted a week of my life that I’ll never get back. Do yourself a favor & pass on this one ✌🏼

[celene irwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good

This was a good story but I thought it was very drawn out and the ending was very disappointing. A couple of times I couldn't figure out what was going on like when Ryan collapsed to the floor with pain it didn't describe why he got the pain suddenly and there were times where both female characters could have got out of their bad situation but they didn't

[Tina Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hours ticked away while I read this

This was my second novel by this author. I liked this book, but wish some loose ends were tied up. Like what was “fourteen years ago”? I noticed both books used “crystallized” a lot. Nothing bad, just noticeable. All-in-all, a book I had a hard time putting down. I look forward to reading another book by this author!

[Sharon R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storyline but drawn out

I liked the premise of this. Girls cons man, man seeks revenge.
But a lot of this was drawn out and slow with a lot of repetition and frustrating farfetched developments.
Readable. And easy to skip parts without missing much of the storyline.

[Sammye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The suspense had me on the edge of my seat! It’s a twisted psychological thriller. April got more than she bargained for when she targeted Ryan. There’s a lot of drama in this story. I enjoyed it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book, but it could have been a little shorter if not for all of the repetitiveness. I think the idea of lying, conning and "turning a blind eye" was beaten to death (no pun intended and not a spoiler! ha!)

[Sadiqa van der does de bije · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story

The idea of the story is great. Had to give up reading at pages 310 though as it just took too long for the story to go anywhere. Whether Ryan, April or Meg won in the end, at page 310 I didn't even care anymore.

[marjorie birney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!

Wasn't expecting this story being so disturbing. It's sad that people could be under the circumstances like the persons in this book. Most of the problem seems to be greed, not realizing the outcome not to her person. Sad. It was different but not what I expected.

[MrsBadger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't.
Just don't do it to yourself.
It should be 200 pages not more.
And the repetitions there....yes we all get it!!!he has a very expensive watch, very. I guess with every repetition his price getting double or something...

[Sheila R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good plot with bad writing

So much potential wasted. Too many inconsistencies and unbelievable moments. Author has ZERO medical knowledge and it shows. Could have been so much better.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worse books I've ever read - or I should say, tried to read. Started out OK but by half way it just became so stupid. Kept skimming the pages to see if it got better but no. I do not recommend.

[Mrs B E Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and cautionary psychological story

As with all AJ Carter stories, this kept me turning pages and I really wasn’t expecting the ending. A chilling story not easily forgotten, within which lies a moral tale.

[Mrs. Leigh]

You lied to me, yawn

I am sorry but less than halfway through this long drawn out, repetitive, story started to bore me rigid.
The storyline was dragged out much longer than needed and I couldn't be bothered to read the ending.
Very disappointing indeed.

[Kaz H · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely gripping

Wow what a read. Things happen you never expect and a blooming good ending…with a twist. I highly recommend this book.

[Charissa Packham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow took me ages to get through cause nothing was happening.

[Bridget phelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Absolutely loved this
book....great one liners
Mr A J Carter your books just keep getting better..... thank
you 😀 can't wait for the next one