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The Lies We Inherit
Ashdown taught Elise Miriam Scott two rules:
never make trouble, and never ask what happened at the lake.
Years later, Elise has done everything right. She has degrees, credentials, a life built on evidence and control—operating rooms, board meetings, and legal briefs where facts are supposed to matter more than feelings. She has therapy sessions scheduled into her calendar like any other standing meeting. She has the kind of distance from her family that looks, from the outside, like success.
Then her father dies, and Ashdown calls her home.
The Scott estate greets her like a crime scene that’s been professionally staged. The marble gleams. The flowers are fresh. The staff move with choreographed precision. Every room looks perfectly curated—and quietly wrong. Her childhood bedroom is frozen in time, right down to the furniture placement. The will is sealed and waiting on the nightstand. And hidden beneath a section of floor that should not move, Elise finds a plastic hospital bracelet with her name on it and a date that does not match anything she remembers.
Elise has spent her career teaching other people that memory is unreliable. Here, in the house that raised her, her own mind becomes the least trustworthy witness of all.
The more she explores Ashdown and Northbridge—the family’s lake house that still smells like lavender, chlorine, and fear—the more fractures appear in the story she was given about her childhood. Locked rooms open to tiled floors that feel like crime scenes, to photographs with a fifth person neatly edited out, to school reports that label her “unprovoked aggressive” in one line and are corrected in her father’s careful hand the next. The records don’t agree. The adults never did either.
Her mother, Vivienne, insists nothing truly terrible happened. Her brother, Julian, would prefer everyone stay on script. Both of them are more concerned with the “rules of the house” than with the girl who once lived inside it. When Elise pushes, they call it instability. When she remembers, they call it madness.
When the will is finally read, the real curse of Ashdown surfaces: the estate was never just about money or property. It was about stewardship, narrative, and control. The inheritance is structured to favor the child who stayed, who kept the record, who can convince the world—and the court—that their version of events is the truth. Elise’s journals, her missing summer, and the lake itself become evidence in a case she didn’t know she was building.
As Elise digs deeper, the house begins to answer back. Memories arrive like hauntings: a towel, a code word, the weight of a body that should have floated. Each flash feels like proof and yet might be something else—guilt, suggestion, or the kind of family editing that turns crimes into “incidents” and victims into “problems sent away.” If she names what really happened at Northbridge, she could finally break the Scott family’s hold on her. Or she could destroy the only identity she has left.
The Lies We Inherit is a novel of memory and madness, a psychological gothic about what it costs to tell the truth after a lifetime of being told to behave. For readers of dark family dramas and slow-burn thrillers, this is a story about legacies written in ledgers and scars, about a daughter who refuses to be the unreliable narrator of her own life.
Some inherit jewels. Some inherit keys.
Elise inherits the one thing her family never intended to give her back:
a memory sharp enough to cut—and the choice of what to do with it.
never make trouble, and never ask what happened at the lake.
Years later, Elise has done everything right. She has degrees, credentials, a life built on evidence and control—operating rooms, board meetings, and legal briefs where facts are supposed to matter more than feelings. She has therapy sessions scheduled into her calendar like any other standing meeting. She has the kind of distance from her family that looks, from the outside, like success.
Then her father dies, and Ashdown calls her home.
The Scott estate greets her like a crime scene that’s been professionally staged. The marble gleams. The flowers are fresh. The staff move with choreographed precision. Every room looks perfectly curated—and quietly wrong. Her childhood bedroom is frozen in time, right down to the furniture placement. The will is sealed and waiting on the nightstand. And hidden beneath a section of floor that should not move, Elise finds a plastic hospital bracelet with her name on it and a date that does not match anything she remembers.
Elise has spent her career teaching other people that memory is unreliable. Here, in the house that raised her, her own mind becomes the least trustworthy witness of all.
The more she explores Ashdown and Northbridge—the family’s lake house that still smells like lavender, chlorine, and fear—the more fractures appear in the story she was given about her childhood. Locked rooms open to tiled floors that feel like crime scenes, to photographs with a fifth person neatly edited out, to school reports that label her “unprovoked aggressive” in one line and are corrected in her father’s careful hand the next. The records don’t agree. The adults never did either.
Her mother, Vivienne, insists nothing truly terrible happened. Her brother, Julian, would prefer everyone stay on script. Both of them are more concerned with the “rules of the house” than with the girl who once lived inside it. When Elise pushes, they call it instability. When she remembers, they call it madness.
When the will is finally read, the real curse of Ashdown surfaces: the estate was never just about money or property. It was about stewardship, narrative, and control. The inheritance is structured to favor the child who stayed, who kept the record, who can convince the world—and the court—that their version of events is the truth. Elise’s journals, her missing summer, and the lake itself become evidence in a case she didn’t know she was building.
As Elise digs deeper, the house begins to answer back. Memories arrive like hauntings: a towel, a code word, the weight of a body that should have floated. Each flash feels like proof and yet might be something else—guilt, suggestion, or the kind of family editing that turns crimes into “incidents” and victims into “problems sent away.” If she names what really happened at Northbridge, she could finally break the Scott family’s hold on her. Or she could destroy the only identity she has left.
The Lies We Inherit is a novel of memory and madness, a psychological gothic about what it costs to tell the truth after a lifetime of being told to behave. For readers of dark family dramas and slow-burn thrillers, this is a story about legacies written in ledgers and scars, about a daughter who refuses to be the unreliable narrator of her own life.
Some inherit jewels. Some inherit keys.
Elise inherits the one thing her family never intended to give her back:
a memory sharp enough to cut—and the choice of what to do with it.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2025
55 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 22, 2025
This book had a slow start but once I realized what was going on had me hooked! To me the family was really messing with the girls mental health and it was annoying me until she finally got the truth and realized what was really going on in her life. Definitely a book to add too your tbr if you haven’t already.
January 6, 2026
This story unfolds slowly and deliberately, pulling you into its tension piece by piece. It asks you to settle into the atmosphere and trust the character work, because that’s where the unease truly builds. Rather than focusing on shocking twists, the story explores how family dynamics can quietly distort your sense of reality.
Each reveal added another layer of unease, placing me firmly inside Elise’s head as she questioned her memories and relationships. The tension comes from realizing how easily truth can be shaped by those closest to you.
My main issues were structural rather than conceptual. The synopsis doesn’t fully match the story (for example, the main character’s name and a key medical detail are incorrect), which was confusing going in. There were also a few abrupt jumps that momentarily pulled me out of the narrative while I tried to reorient myself.
Overall, this is a tense, psychological family drama that rewards patience and attention, unsettling in a quiet, lingering way!
Each reveal added another layer of unease, placing me firmly inside Elise’s head as she questioned her memories and relationships. The tension comes from realizing how easily truth can be shaped by those closest to you.
My main issues were structural rather than conceptual. The synopsis doesn’t fully match the story (for example, the main character’s name and a key medical detail are incorrect), which was confusing going in. There were also a few abrupt jumps that momentarily pulled me out of the narrative while I tried to reorient myself.
Overall, this is a tense, psychological family drama that rewards patience and attention, unsettling in a quiet, lingering way!
December 23, 2025
I believe the Goodreads synopsis is referring to another book. You will find a more accurate synopsis on Amazon.
...
I’m from the South, grew up reading a lot of southern literature, and while reading Lies We Inherit was constantly reminded of its cadence and slow build. I found this especially reminiscent of The Yellow Wallpaper. It has that same slow burn but quickly builds tension while unraveling any trust you have in yourself and credibility with the narrator. Let’s just say the gaslighting is effective.
I read this in a digital format and am usually a fast reader. However, this book deserves your undivided attention. The writing is beautiful. It is very poetic. However, this is almost like reading a book written in calligraphy. The timeline and story are not clearly laid out for you. Just like Elise, things are ambiguous in the first pass, and the story requires you to slow down and reread passages. I spent a good amount of time confused. I could see it in my mind, I could feel it in my chest, but I didn’t know what it all meant. I was about a third of the way through before I realized she was going back and forth between two houses. At first, I thought I was reading the main character relive the same day again and wasn’t sure if this was a competing timeline within the story or if the narrator’s memory was so unreliable she was living through her own Groundhog Day. This book made me doubt myself as much as Elise’s family tried to make her doubt herself.
I feel like I should read this a second time, but in a physical format and annotate the book while I read. I do recommend reading the synopsis on Amazon to give you some references before you begin so you can spend your time diving deep into the writing. Don’t try to rush the story, this is not a fast-paced thriller. Let characters gently pull you through to the end.
Thank you to Crown Cipher Publishing for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
...
I’m from the South, grew up reading a lot of southern literature, and while reading Lies We Inherit was constantly reminded of its cadence and slow build. I found this especially reminiscent of The Yellow Wallpaper. It has that same slow burn but quickly builds tension while unraveling any trust you have in yourself and credibility with the narrator. Let’s just say the gaslighting is effective.
I read this in a digital format and am usually a fast reader. However, this book deserves your undivided attention. The writing is beautiful. It is very poetic. However, this is almost like reading a book written in calligraphy. The timeline and story are not clearly laid out for you. Just like Elise, things are ambiguous in the first pass, and the story requires you to slow down and reread passages. I spent a good amount of time confused. I could see it in my mind, I could feel it in my chest, but I didn’t know what it all meant. I was about a third of the way through before I realized she was going back and forth between two houses. At first, I thought I was reading the main character relive the same day again and wasn’t sure if this was a competing timeline within the story or if the narrator’s memory was so unreliable she was living through her own Groundhog Day. This book made me doubt myself as much as Elise’s family tried to make her doubt herself.
I feel like I should read this a second time, but in a physical format and annotate the book while I read. I do recommend reading the synopsis on Amazon to give you some references before you begin so you can spend your time diving deep into the writing. Don’t try to rush the story, this is not a fast-paced thriller. Let characters gently pull you through to the end.
Thank you to Crown Cipher Publishing for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 20, 2025
Based on the description, this book had promise. However, I don't recall a Delilah and the mother in the story did not have a mention of althemizers.
I feel like there was a decent start and then it quickly fell apart. Things would jump one minute we would be at one location and the next sentence in a completely different place with not context or acknowledgement as to how that happened. The characters speak mostly in riddles that are never fully explained. The plot has a lot of promise but it's hard to follow.
The last 15 percent flowed alot better. It was quite enjoyable. I truly hope the rest of the book gets similar tweaks. Great premise, strong characters, just some flow/holes and very confusing.
I feel like there was a decent start and then it quickly fell apart. Things would jump one minute we would be at one location and the next sentence in a completely different place with not context or acknowledgement as to how that happened. The characters speak mostly in riddles that are never fully explained. The plot has a lot of promise but it's hard to follow.
The last 15 percent flowed alot better. It was quite enjoyable. I truly hope the rest of the book gets similar tweaks. Great premise, strong characters, just some flow/holes and very confusing.
November 19, 2025
This ended up being a tough read to push through, which pains me to admit because the title and synopsis really pulled me in initially. Instead of the psychological thriller I was expecting, I found clunky dialogue and prose that just didn’t make sense at times with really poor pacing. Out of place adjectives were a recurring and glaring issue from the first chapter to the last and they stood out so much that they overshadowed the plot entirely as I was continually distracted by them. Definitely a story that could benefit greatly with a lot of line and developmental editing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Cipher for early digital access. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Cipher for early digital access. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 18, 2026
Emotionally unsatisfying
Beautiful writing. Interesting story and story structure. Absolutely no payoff for making it to the end. I’m all for open endings that allow the reader to determine the rest of the story themselves, but that’s not what this is. This is pages and pages of overlapping story, of a main character you hope will find an end to her torment, but very little becomes clear to the reader about what all of it meant. I can concede that this may be the point, as this is a psychological thriller that plays with memory, story, and narrative deliberately. However, readers need to feel like there was a point to the journey they just took. I’m not finding one.
Beautiful writing. Interesting story and story structure. Absolutely no payoff for making it to the end. I’m all for open endings that allow the reader to determine the rest of the story themselves, but that’s not what this is. This is pages and pages of overlapping story, of a main character you hope will find an end to her torment, but very little becomes clear to the reader about what all of it meant. I can concede that this may be the point, as this is a psychological thriller that plays with memory, story, and narrative deliberately. However, readers need to feel like there was a point to the journey they just took. I’m not finding one.
January 4, 2026
This book was so much better than I expected. A story of family and the secrets that families keep from the world outside.....and from each other. Elise has built a safe, secure world for herself. When she must step outside her world to return to her family's estate, she'll slowly find the answers to the questions that have silently driven her entire life. Angela Key has built this community, developing every inch of the background into a major character in the conflict between Elise and the rest of her family. The characters are unique, yet familiar, if that makes sense. The mystery builds in pace and tension until you are sure there's something you missed earlier. But no, it's one of the twisted clues Key leaves for us. If you love the complicated family stories that leave you thankful for the few screwballs on your family tree, you will LOVE this book.
December 17, 2025
This book moves like a careful unraveling. It’s a slow burn, so you have to commit to the mood and the character work but that’s where the tension lives. The story isn’t just about secrets; it’s about the way a family can make you doubt yourself until you start editing your own reality.
The suspense is steady, and when the plot starts to pivot, it hits with twists that feel personal like the truth isn’t just “revealed,” it’s weaponized. I also appreciated that it didn’t rely on cheap scares. It’s psychological, controlled, and increasingly claustrophobic.
For readers who like quiet dread that escalates into “wait… what?” moments: you’ll eat this up. There are a few things that could have tightened it a bit more so 4 out of 5 for me
The suspense is steady, and when the plot starts to pivot, it hits with twists that feel personal like the truth isn’t just “revealed,” it’s weaponized. I also appreciated that it didn’t rely on cheap scares. It’s psychological, controlled, and increasingly claustrophobic.
For readers who like quiet dread that escalates into “wait… what?” moments: you’ll eat this up. There are a few things that could have tightened it a bit more so 4 out of 5 for me
December 29, 2025
The Goodreads description was confusing. There is no Delilah and no caregiving of a mother with Alzheimers.
At the beginning I thought the girl around whom the story revolves was in a state of being unstable. Then one questions the mental state of the overpowering mother and the cruelty of the brother. It was not an easy story to follow or analyse, but I liked the style of writing. The characters were difficult to like.
The story also portrays how one can very insidiously mess up a persons head by planting misinformation and memories, getting the person to think in a very different way as to sequence of events and what actually happened. This is what happened to Elise in the story and she had to unravel years of wrong information to get to the truth.
At the beginning I thought the girl around whom the story revolves was in a state of being unstable. Then one questions the mental state of the overpowering mother and the cruelty of the brother. It was not an easy story to follow or analyse, but I liked the style of writing. The characters were difficult to like.
The story also portrays how one can very insidiously mess up a persons head by planting misinformation and memories, getting the person to think in a very different way as to sequence of events and what actually happened. This is what happened to Elise in the story and she had to unravel years of wrong information to get to the truth.
December 17, 2025
As a debut author, Angela Key weaves a strong tale of lies and legacy. The twists and turns were exciting and helped me feel like I was really inside the mind of Elise, the main character, as she unravels layers of fact and fiction & navigates through self doubt and broken trust. The characters are multidimensional and some are so carefully inserted into her life that it blurs the lines of what’s real and what’s been manufactured under the guise of protection. A solid read about the lives of people who used money and influence to bend things in their favor, and a woman who refuses to give up her quest for truth. Well done!
December 17, 2025
I admit the cover for this book initially drew me in with its dark, mysterious imagery. And the story definitely did not disappoint! Every chapter had me guessing about the real truth being uncovered, and what other secrets this family had buried. Elise Scott is a strong female main character who uncovers years of systematic mind games and betrayals that cause her to question her own sanity. The author does an excellent job pivoting between reality and her family’s imagined narrative. It’s a crazy ride through one family’s abuse of money and power that will keep you guessing until the very end.
December 17, 2025
This one is a slow burn, and it demands something a lot of thrillers don’t: patience. The writing leans into atmosphere and control—wealth, legacy, and the kind of family power that smiles while it tightens the leash. The tension isn’t loud at first. It’s quiet. Polished. And that’s exactly what makes it unsettling.
Once it starts turning, it doesn’t just “twist”—it reframes what you thought you knew. The reveals feel earned because the book takes its time laying down small details that only click later. If you go in expecting constant action, you’ll miss what it’s doing. If you go in ready for a measured descent into paranoia and secrets, it hits hard.
Once it starts turning, it doesn’t just “twist”—it reframes what you thought you knew. The reveals feel earned because the book takes its time laying down small details that only click later. If you go in expecting constant action, you’ll miss what it’s doing. If you go in ready for a measured descent into paranoia and secrets, it hits hard.
December 17, 2025
Fair warning: this is a slow burn. Not boring, just deliberate. It builds like pressure behind a locked door, and you have to let it do its thing. The payoff is worth it.
What I liked most is how the story keeps you questioning what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s being manipulated. There are twists and turns, but they’re not random shock value they actually push the story forward and make the characters’ choices land heavier. By the end, I was flipping back mentally like, “Oh… that’s why that mattered.”
If you like psychological thrillers with money, image, and family secrets that rot from the inside out, add this to your list.
What I liked most is how the story keeps you questioning what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s being manipulated. There are twists and turns, but they’re not random shock value they actually push the story forward and make the characters’ choices land heavier. By the end, I was flipping back mentally like, “Oh… that’s why that mattered.”
If you like psychological thrillers with money, image, and family secrets that rot from the inside out, add this to your list.
November 19, 2025
I like a toxic relationship as much as the next guy. But this one wasn't enough to carry the whole book unfortunately.
I enjoyed some of the family scenes, families can be the worst. This one certainly is.
It got a bit repetitive, the whole bump into someone you've not seen for years, they say something cryptic, followed by another recovered memory.
It interested me enough to keep reading, to find out the truth, but I'm a bit on the fence if the pay off was worth my time.
Rounding up to 3 stars
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy
I enjoyed some of the family scenes, families can be the worst. This one certainly is.
It got a bit repetitive, the whole bump into someone you've not seen for years, they say something cryptic, followed by another recovered memory.
It interested me enough to keep reading, to find out the truth, but I'm a bit on the fence if the pay off was worth my time.
Rounding up to 3 stars
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2026
The Lies We Inherit is a slow-burn psychological thriller that pays off if you give it time. The story builds tension through family history, buried secrets, and shifting trust, and it keeps you questioning what’s true and what’s being hidden. The character work is strong and believable, and the writing stays focused without dragging. When the twists arrive, they feel earned and they change how you understand what came before. The ending brings real consequences instead of easy answers. If you like thrillers centered on family secrets and unreliable impressions.
January 6, 2026
Highly recommended if you are looking for a psychological thriller that is beautifully written while also having you question so much. It keeps you on your toes and begs to be finished throughly because it’s hard to put down and not think about it in your everyday life. The story is relatable and draws you into its web of twists and turns. The characters are well developed as they take you on a journey.
December 23, 2025
The Lies We Inherit is a haunting, emotionally driven story about the secrets families keep and the damage they quietly pass down. It’s a slow burn with real depth—rich characters, buried truths, and a lingering sense that the past never stays buried for long. Thought-provoking, unsettling, and beautifully written, this book stays with you after the last page.
December 23, 2025
The Lies We Inherit is a powerful reminder that family secrets don’t disappear—they echo. The story unfolds with quiet intensity, pulling you in through layered relationships and emotional tension rather than cheap twists. It’s thoughtful, unsettling in the best way, and deeply human. A compelling read for anyone drawn to psychological and generational drama
January 23, 2026
disappointing
This book was so frustrating. The writing was far too detailed yet sporadic. I found myself skimming just to get through it. I had hoped that the ending would make it worthwhile but unfortunately it also fell flat.
This book was so frustrating. The writing was far too detailed yet sporadic. I found myself skimming just to get through it. I had hoped that the ending would make it worthwhile but unfortunately it also fell flat.
December 19, 2025
Different, cryptic, and I was not sure where it was going but it was well enough. Guilty of adding a star for it being a new author tackling such a tough Genre. Stay encouraged.
December 21, 2025
Did I miss something?…. Was the truth never revealed?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2025
psychological, dark mystery. this is a suspenseful, emotional & powerful read that will have you questioning your own memory, and the memories of your family.
January 7, 2026
This was one of the best slow burn books I have read in a long time. It is not for the fast trope serial readers for booklist props. Looking forward to her next book
January 23, 2026
Started off interesting but left me with too many unanswered questions....like why I kept reading.
The characters and setting were well done but that is the only positive thing I can say.
The characters and setting were well done but that is the only positive thing I can say.
January 25, 2026
It ended too quickly. I really needed Elise to burn them all down.
December 22, 2025
This book pulled me in as I was trying to figure out what was going on with the girl. She seemed to be mentally unstable but why? Did she hurt someone or do something wrong or just her mind playing tricks on her. But when her dad’s will came everything changed. Why was he protecting her so much?
January 5, 2026
Angela R. Key’s The Lies We Inherit is a haunting, beautifully crafted novel that stays with you long after you’ve closed the book. At its heart is Elise Miriam Scott, a woman whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel when she returns to Ashdown, the family estate that holds more secrets than memories.
Key’s prose is elegant yet piercing, weaving together themes of memory, madness, and the fragile line between truth and illusion. The atmosphere is gothic and unsettling — every room, every photograph, every hidden record feels like a clue in a puzzle that refuses to resolve neatly. Yet beneath the suspense lies something deeply human: the ache of family loyalty, the weight of silence, and the courage it takes to confront the stories we’ve been told about ourselves.
What makes the novel so powerful is its refusal to let Elise be dismissed as “unreliable.” Instead, Key gives her voice the sharpness of lived experience, reminding us that memory, though fractured, can be its own kind of evidence. The result is a slow-burn thriller that is as much about identity and inheritance as it is about mystery.
The Lies We Inherit is not just a tale of secrets unearthed — it is a meditation on the cost of telling the truth, and the liberation that comes when we finally claim our own narrative. Elegant, tense, and deeply moving, it’s a story that continues to echo in thought and feeling long after the last chapter.
My thanks to Angela R Key, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Key’s prose is elegant yet piercing, weaving together themes of memory, madness, and the fragile line between truth and illusion. The atmosphere is gothic and unsettling — every room, every photograph, every hidden record feels like a clue in a puzzle that refuses to resolve neatly. Yet beneath the suspense lies something deeply human: the ache of family loyalty, the weight of silence, and the courage it takes to confront the stories we’ve been told about ourselves.
What makes the novel so powerful is its refusal to let Elise be dismissed as “unreliable.” Instead, Key gives her voice the sharpness of lived experience, reminding us that memory, though fractured, can be its own kind of evidence. The result is a slow-burn thriller that is as much about identity and inheritance as it is about mystery.
The Lies We Inherit is not just a tale of secrets unearthed — it is a meditation on the cost of telling the truth, and the liberation that comes when we finally claim our own narrative. Elegant, tense, and deeply moving, it’s a story that continues to echo in thought and feeling long after the last chapter.
My thanks to Angela R Key, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews