Broken Lies

by Jo Buer

In a village held hostage by lies, the dead refuse to be silenced.

1964, Te Tapu Village, Aotearoa New Zealand

When eighteen-year-old Maggie Carrie follows her best friend into the glade behind the primary school, she knows it will be a mistake. The older boys joining them are trouble. One is an O’Regan… and that makes him dangerous.

But what she doesn’t know is that some mistakes are inescapable. Some must be lived again and again, night after night, decade after decade, until those she loves are hurt, too.

2015

Something has changed at Te Tapu Primary School. The presence of a mysterious plaque on the caretaker’s shed seems to have awoken an evil long thought put to rest – a watchful presence, hungry for retribution.

Natalie Sullivan, a fiercely headstrong teacher, senses the darkness immediately. When a troubled child with a special gift joins her class, she knows she must protect him. But, in doing so, she must confront her own family’s tangled past – even if that means hurting the people closest to her. Every truth unearthed reveals the lies that have poisoned Te Tapu for generations.

Because in this village, the past isn’t buried… it merely waits.

Broken Lies begins where Unspoken Truths ends, delivering a haunting, contemporary gothic mystery with generational secrets so powerful that love and hate transcend life… and death. Get your copy now and curl up with your next all-night binge read!

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

Jo Buer is a gothic suspense and paranormal mystery author living in New Zealand. She is a sucker for the supernatural, time travel, and all things woo-woo. From an early age, she came to realise that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
She lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary town with her husband and feline familiars, Atlas, Gaia, Zeus, and Hades. When not doting on her cats, devouring self-help books or gorging on chocolate, she writes slightly dark, sometimes scary, often ghostly stories with a smattering of romance.
Jo is also the host of the Alchemy for Authors podcast - a podcast to transform and supercharge your writing life.
To learn more, you can subscribe to her mailing list at www.jobuer.com.

Reviews

[Chad Barrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book but wasn’t required to post a review. However, after reading it I had to offer my honest, voluntary impression.

Jo has done it again writing a truly mesmerizing book about evil that spans generations and the resulting repercussions of acts many years ago which continue to affect those who were there to witness it!

There was a horrifying incident which occurred when Maggie was a teenager but it was covered up because it involved the most influential family in the town. Three of the four involved moved on but one didn’t and relived it over and over when she was asleep in nightmares!

Her granddaughter received the same “gift” through her bloodline as her grandmother and after her own tragic event sees the same entity as her grandmother.

This story weaves both experiences back to a single entity which also ties both families together plus another incident which does as well!

You won’t be able to put this book down until you finish it and I found I was right and wrong about some characters I was reading. I was right about what I thought but had the wrong character!

People aren’t born evil but become that way by who they associate with and the influences they embrace! The thing I came away with is that you should never judge someone by what you think you know about that person but by facts and that you need to forgive and move on regardless because if you don’t that hate inside you will destroy you!

I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend this book as one that will entertain and perhaps terrify you as well because it’s so realistic! I could picture myself there and feel the evil that both Maggie and Natalie experienced and if Natalie had really listened to her friend she wouldn’t have blamed the wrong person then and the years following after what happened to her friend!

This psychological thriller will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can because you are so caught up in the story you can’t slow down! It’s well written and flows smoothly but is chilling in the evil you feel as you read it like you were right there experiencing it yourself!

Be careful if you hear things that go bump in the night because you might not like what you’ll find!

[Sally Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, so you thought this was just a fantasy thriller did you? Think again.

You KNOW these events are happening - it’s not a telling, it’s an experience, one, you begin to understand, is all an inescapable part of life.

In this compelling sequel to “Unspoken Truths”, some of the inhabitants of the small rural New Zealand town of Te Tapu are once again forced to face their past, present and future.
It will take someone with strong will and belief to unmask the lies and expose the hatred that has been seething for decades.
Natalie is a teacher at the school in the town, with her own ragged past and heartaches. Her spiritual abilities, inherited from her beloved Grams, are forced to the fore when the menacing presence of a vengeful spirit that is a malevolent force threatens to smother anyone who dares to provoke it.
Jo Buer has this innate talent that rises to the fore yet again: her ability to depict events so vividly that the narrative becomes reality, drawing you in: you are on the ride whether or not you’re prepared.
This is a tale of tragedy, horror, abuse and vengefulness, but through it all pushes hope, belief, respect, honour and above all else, the overpowering force of love.
Your mission? Get through it without crying your eyes out Good luck with that one!

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** NO SPOILERS ***

I'm always happy when I am introduced to new (to me) authors whose skills and craft in writing and storytelling get me hooked. This was my first read of a book by Jo Buer, but it certainly will not be my last.

This is a tale that spans some time and covers the planting of the seed of the plot through the various machinations to deal with or avoid the consequences and the results of same. It is a trip with well defined characters who have incomplete information, who must make key decisions without having the full picture and who struggle with so doing. Twists, turns, and unexpected elements all make this a story that grabbed me and made me want to finish it in one sitting, and staying up to late on a work week night trying to get "just a few more pages...just until this part is completed...just until the next chapter..." a process that I suspect many others have experienced.

All in all, I thing it was a GREAT (five stars) read. Really enjoyed it. Highly recommend it without any reservations. Pretty sure you'll enjoy it as well.

*** NO SPOILERS ***

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an ARC reader for Book Sirens and this is my honest opinion. I found this book quite deep, full as it is with secrets certain people would do anything to keep, a family certain members of whom would literally do anything to preserve the prestige of, in a small town where gossip can be very cruel. The principal character in this book, a young teacher, is able to see and feel spirits who can't or won't move on. some innocent and one who has been haunting her grandmother with his evil, and has now started to torment others. It's a tangled web of what happened when a group, including the grandmother and the son of the aforementioned prestigious family went to spend an afternoon in the woods when they were young and lied to cover up what happened. However, the book does have a Happy ever after ending so it isn't all dark. Getting there does make the reader need to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. This is the second book and I wish I'd read the first one first. I hope I can still enjoy it as much.

[Cat B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Lies is an excellent paranormal thriller/ghost story. A haunting that begins with a horrific death. But this was not the first and won't be the last. The two families at the heart of it all clash over generations of mistrust and hate. The characters in the story are very relateable. They could, in fact, be your neighbor or co-worker... or enemy. This was a terrific read, one that captures the reader and urges us to keep going, turn another page, read another chapter, until it is done. Very satisfactory conclusion. I enjoyed my time spent on the story and I would certainly recommend the read.
I received a copy of this book via the author and am voluntarily leaving my opinion of the tale.

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Te Tapu is a very haunted and tortured place. All because of one very nasty man. This book delves into the stories that took place after Gwen and Billy. The O’Regans had a lot to answer for. I felt that this story exposed all the lies told. I loved this story very much. I definitely commiserated with Natalie. Her life was not an easy one. Her ‘gift’ is not easy either and brought her more than enough heartache. However, I feel that she was a better person for having it. This is the kind of story that sticks with you, and in the quiet moments of life, it comes to the surface, reminding you to live. I loved it.

[Robert Foland · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Broken Lies" is a fast-paced and intriguing thriller. Author Jo Buer masterfully creates a fascinating cast of characters and immerses them in a mystery spanning decades. Dark and profound, it tells a story of love and regrets across lifetimes. Captivating, engaging, and definitely worth a read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.