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The Perfect Lie
Nothing has felt right since she told the lie...
Claire Carmichael leads a charmed life. She has two beautiful sons, Jamie and Joshua, and a handsome and successful husband who loves her. She has been taught well by her mother – the most important thing Claire has is her good reputation.
He said, she said...
Even when she was in school, Claire had it all. She was clever, likable, and after passing the initiation tests, she was welcomed into the society of popular girls – The Queen Bees. So when a scandal threatened to ruin Claire's reputation, the Queen Bees closed rank to protect her, no matter who else got hurt.
Never forgotten, never forgiven...
Claire may have moved on from her school days, but for one person who she hurt irreparably, those memories are as fresh as blood. And all it takes to reap their revenge, is ONE PERFECT LIE.
406 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2019
1517 people are currently reading
888 people want to read
About the author
Karen Osman
7 books147 followersKaren Osman is an award-winning writer and best-selling author. Following her win at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Montegrappa Novel Writing Award 2016 with her crime-thriller novel, The Good Mother, renowned literary agent, Luigi Bonomi of LBA Books, secured a three-book deal with UK-based publishing house Head of Zeus.
Since then, The Good Mother, which was published in October 2017 and her second novel, The Home (September 2018), were both number one bestsellers. Her third book, A Perfect Lie, was published in August 2019 and she is currently working on her fourth novel.
In January 2019, Karen launched her own online show, Karen’s Bookshelf, all about books in partnership with Borders Middle East. Released weekly, each episode is available on IGTV, Facebook, Linked In, and YouTube and features an online book club, author interviews, and the latest book news.
Karen has also been a featured author at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature giving talks and workshops as well as giving writing masterclasses in partnerships with brands such as Costa. In 2017, Karen was included as Ahlan’s Hot 100 People, an accolade recognising the pioneers and game-changers shaping the UAE’s social and cultural landscape.
In addition to being an award-winning author, Karen founded niche communications company Travel Ink in 2011, providing content writing and strategy, public relations, social media, training, and translation services to hotels, airlines, and tourism establishments.
Karen uses her commercial experience in luxury hospitality, combined with her academic qualifications, which include a BA in Linguistics and English Language from the University of Durham and a Teaching (TEFL) Certificate from the University of Cambridge.
In her role as Managing Director, Karen oversees a team of writers, editors, and PR and social media consultants to deliver quality content for exceptional results. As a testament to its success, Travel Ink was shortlisted as a finalist for the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards in two categories (Hospitality & Tourism and Communications) just one year after the company’s inception.
Karen has been recognised for her achievements in the areas of the written word, entrepreneurship, and luxury travel and has featured in various regional and international publications including Hello!, Stylist, Forbes, The National, Ahlan!, and Gulf News to name a few.
Karen lives in Dubai with her husband and two young sons.
Since then, The Good Mother, which was published in October 2017 and her second novel, The Home (September 2018), were both number one bestsellers. Her third book, A Perfect Lie, was published in August 2019 and she is currently working on her fourth novel.
In January 2019, Karen launched her own online show, Karen’s Bookshelf, all about books in partnership with Borders Middle East. Released weekly, each episode is available on IGTV, Facebook, Linked In, and YouTube and features an online book club, author interviews, and the latest book news.
Karen has also been a featured author at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature giving talks and workshops as well as giving writing masterclasses in partnerships with brands such as Costa. In 2017, Karen was included as Ahlan’s Hot 100 People, an accolade recognising the pioneers and game-changers shaping the UAE’s social and cultural landscape.
In addition to being an award-winning author, Karen founded niche communications company Travel Ink in 2011, providing content writing and strategy, public relations, social media, training, and translation services to hotels, airlines, and tourism establishments.
Karen uses her commercial experience in luxury hospitality, combined with her academic qualifications, which include a BA in Linguistics and English Language from the University of Durham and a Teaching (TEFL) Certificate from the University of Cambridge.
In her role as Managing Director, Karen oversees a team of writers, editors, and PR and social media consultants to deliver quality content for exceptional results. As a testament to its success, Travel Ink was shortlisted as a finalist for the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards in two categories (Hospitality & Tourism and Communications) just one year after the company’s inception.
Karen has been recognised for her achievements in the areas of the written word, entrepreneurship, and luxury travel and has featured in various regional and international publications including Hello!, Stylist, Forbes, The National, Ahlan!, and Gulf News to name a few.
Karen lives in Dubai with her husband and two young sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
January 8, 2020
*3.5 stars*
What a tangled web we weave. Revenge stories are my catnip!
What a tangled web we weave. Revenge stories are my catnip!
August 24, 2019
Favorite Quote:
After John Griffith, Claire had kissed other boys at various parties. There was Cameron with his braces and saliva, Rich who had licked her teeth, and Tony – probably the best of a bad bunch, with his eager tongue.
My Review:
This tautly written book hit all the right notes for me. Penned in my favorite dual POV with dual timelines, the original storylines were compelling, intriguing, maddeningly paced, and unpredictable. I quickly fell into the tale and was soon hooked by this clever and sneaky wordsmith’s agile misdirections and deftly handled twists and turns. It was deviously crafted and cast with a bevy of difficult and unusual characters who were actually rather awful human beings.
Lessons I learned from this story include: mothers don’t want you to do the right thing if it would potentially cause them embarrassment; selfishly keeping your mouth shut to avoid personal shame will surely backfire; never screw over a highly intelligent person; Queen Bees is an excellent name for an elite pack of vapid mean girls; and what goes around may eventually come around but it pays to manipulate the timeline and help karma along with your own vengeful plotting. I was on edge and nibbling on my cuticles the whole way through and huffed in disbelief at the ending. It was outstanding!
After John Griffith, Claire had kissed other boys at various parties. There was Cameron with his braces and saliva, Rich who had licked her teeth, and Tony – probably the best of a bad bunch, with his eager tongue.
My Review:
This tautly written book hit all the right notes for me. Penned in my favorite dual POV with dual timelines, the original storylines were compelling, intriguing, maddeningly paced, and unpredictable. I quickly fell into the tale and was soon hooked by this clever and sneaky wordsmith’s agile misdirections and deftly handled twists and turns. It was deviously crafted and cast with a bevy of difficult and unusual characters who were actually rather awful human beings.
Lessons I learned from this story include: mothers don’t want you to do the right thing if it would potentially cause them embarrassment; selfishly keeping your mouth shut to avoid personal shame will surely backfire; never screw over a highly intelligent person; Queen Bees is an excellent name for an elite pack of vapid mean girls; and what goes around may eventually come around but it pays to manipulate the timeline and help karma along with your own vengeful plotting. I was on edge and nibbling on my cuticles the whole way through and huffed in disbelief at the ending. It was outstanding!
August 12, 2019
A perfect lie is aspretty much near to a perfect read you can get to be honest
Claire is happy, she has everything she wants, of course there are a few minor things she would like to change but on the whole life is as good as it gets
She is even going back to her old
career as a lawyer
Yes, Claire can breathe a deep sigh of contented relief
Until things change
Suddenly everything she knows is under fire and everything she tried to forget in her past is back, and back with a vengeance not to just harm her but to destroy all she has
If ever a tale was told to warn you never to think your past has been forgotten then this is it!
I want to say more but to give even a hint will give some of the story away and that would ruin what is a really suspenfully ( is that a word?) told family drama
Narrated in the past and the present with a good cast and a winning writing style this book was just a really really good read, interesting, quite shocking at times and ultimately a look into how one persons life can be ruined by something they did years before
10/10
5 Stars
August 29, 2019
This was a perfect thriller where the short snappy chapters made me nearly inhale the book.
High school was more the political ground than ever, and Claire wanting to fit in and keep her perfect appearance did something bad and damaged someone. That boomeranged years later when she thought she had the perfect family and career.
The book started with the perfect prologue which had me looking at the author Karen Osman with new eyes. She knew the right words to pull me in. It was like a hook dangling in front of me, luring me away from my routine. I am weak willed like that. I couldn’t resist.
The writing was perfect where every chapter made me feel as if a shadow of the past was dogging my steps, snapping at my feet to make me read faster. The swirling winds buffeted me and pushed me to fall apart when the book reached its zenith.
Past always has a hold on the future especially if it is a bad deed. And the author brought it out perfectly. The pace was kept steady throughout the book with hints about Claire, added at every chapter which beguiled me completely.
And the characters, where do I begin with? Claire’s need for perfection had me shaking my head, but the inner small sliver of me had to acknowledge I too have been guilty of that vice. The unraveling and fear and dread were the emotions acutely felt by me reflecting off Claire.
A perfect breakfast read which had me so enthralled and eager to get to the end that I missed my bus to work. Ah well… The traffic jam excuse always works
High school was more the political ground than ever, and Claire wanting to fit in and keep her perfect appearance did something bad and damaged someone. That boomeranged years later when she thought she had the perfect family and career.
The book started with the perfect prologue which had me looking at the author Karen Osman with new eyes. She knew the right words to pull me in. It was like a hook dangling in front of me, luring me away from my routine. I am weak willed like that. I couldn’t resist.
The writing was perfect where every chapter made me feel as if a shadow of the past was dogging my steps, snapping at my feet to make me read faster. The swirling winds buffeted me and pushed me to fall apart when the book reached its zenith.
Past always has a hold on the future especially if it is a bad deed. And the author brought it out perfectly. The pace was kept steady throughout the book with hints about Claire, added at every chapter which beguiled me completely.
And the characters, where do I begin with? Claire’s need for perfection had me shaking my head, but the inner small sliver of me had to acknowledge I too have been guilty of that vice. The unraveling and fear and dread were the emotions acutely felt by me reflecting off Claire.
A perfect breakfast read which had me so enthralled and eager to get to the end that I missed my bus to work. Ah well… The traffic jam excuse always works
August 8, 2019
No joke, The Perfect Lie is the perfect thriller read. From the go, I was sucked into the life and family of Claire Carmichael. The prologue gives a slight hint at what's to come, but the plot unfolds at a pace that builds towards an aha moment I never saw coming. The last 10 % of this book had me reeling and I literally finished the story with an audible gasp.
As the blurb suggests, Claire's leads a charmed life. We get bits and pieces of a life-changing moment in her teens where things go sideways, but she comes back from "it". She goes on to fall in love, build a flourishing career, and create a family. But when she goes back to work after a few years off to spend time at home with her youngest child, she finds the stress at home increase as long hours pull at the threads of her well-constructed life. Nothing pulls harder than the impact of her role "consulting" on a new case her law firm has taken on. With this, her entire world unravels.
We get most of the story from Claire's perspective, but at one point we are introduced to the inner workings of a truly devious mind, a person from her past. This voice made me incredibly uncomfortable. There's an "ick" factor but that soon grows into something much more, something sinister and way beyond creepy. As we learn more and more about the event from the past it becomes that not is what it seems. This twist is sublime and brilliant and ultimately gut-wrenching. We are left to wonder where it might go, what could ever right this new wrong.
Upon finishing this book I had enough to time begin a new one, but my mind stayed with this story. It left me a bit unnerved. I've snatched up Karen Osmans other books and look forward to a weekend binge on her brand of treachery. 5 Stars and recommendation!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
As the blurb suggests, Claire's leads a charmed life. We get bits and pieces of a life-changing moment in her teens where things go sideways, but she comes back from "it". She goes on to fall in love, build a flourishing career, and create a family. But when she goes back to work after a few years off to spend time at home with her youngest child, she finds the stress at home increase as long hours pull at the threads of her well-constructed life. Nothing pulls harder than the impact of her role "consulting" on a new case her law firm has taken on. With this, her entire world unravels.
We get most of the story from Claire's perspective, but at one point we are introduced to the inner workings of a truly devious mind, a person from her past. This voice made me incredibly uncomfortable. There's an "ick" factor but that soon grows into something much more, something sinister and way beyond creepy. As we learn more and more about the event from the past it becomes that not is what it seems. This twist is sublime and brilliant and ultimately gut-wrenching. We are left to wonder where it might go, what could ever right this new wrong.
Upon finishing this book I had enough to time begin a new one, but my mind stayed with this story. It left me a bit unnerved. I've snatched up Karen Osmans other books and look forward to a weekend binge on her brand of treachery. 5 Stars and recommendation!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
July 12, 2019
Wow, the opening pages if this book pulled me in immediately and didn't let go until the very last page. This is a fast paced psychological thriller that kept me reading into the early morning hours because I simply could not put it down. It is told through alternating points of views from the present day to back in the late 1980s. I found the characters well developed and very relatable and found myself really enjoying each of them. I thought the dual plot line to be original and well thought out and i thought it worked really well with the story. This one has me guessing until the very last page and I have to say the ending caught me completely off guard. This story was gripping, chilling and thrilling. I absolutely loved it.
I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 18, 2019
I’ve read previous by this author and loved them so of course I was so excited to read this one. In fact this blew my expectations out of the water. It was so so good.
Claire had it all. A Perfect life that anyone would envy.
She has moved on from a blip in her younger years.. until it comes back to haunt her.
This is a well written psychological thriller that gripped me from start to finish. I absolutely loved it.
Claire had it all. A Perfect life that anyone would envy.
She has moved on from a blip in her younger years.. until it comes back to haunt her.
This is a well written psychological thriller that gripped me from start to finish. I absolutely loved it.
October 2, 2019
*thank you to Netgalley, Karen Osman and Aria for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
3 stars.
This story had such a strong beginning. It was so interesting and engaging. I had wondered how the story would end up and was quite excited to discover it and take it all in. It was shaping up to be a good mystery thriller.
There are two stories going on here. One is of the present where Claire and her friend Julia have just started a new law firm, where a rape case is handed over to Claire even though she protested that she didn't want such case, due to what we readers assume at this point, to be for personal reasons. Which it was.
The second story starts up after a decent amount of first chapters of the present. We are taken back into the 1980s where Claire is in high school. There we learn about her obsession with wanting to be and then becoming, a Queen Bee. A group of female students, who are seen as popular. But with this there is also the story of a nerdy teenage boy named Paul. Claire starts to develop feelings for him after completing a challenge set by the Queen Bees. But Claire knows that if the group finds out she actually has romantic feelings for Paul, she will be kicked out of the group. Then suddenly something huge happens with Paul and lives are forever changed.
Unfortunately this is also the point where my interest started to drop. I found from about 60% of the way onwards really dragged out. What was a decent fast paced story stared to run out of steam and I found parts to be boring and unimportant. Still I kept reading. Things picked up a little and a twist was thrown in and while I gasped in surprise, I also felt it wasn't that shocking. It had been something that I had suspected from early on.
Once I got near the end and found out all the truths, my opinion of Claire changed. I actually felt anger towards her and my previous feelings for her went out the window.
Still, this was a good read. But because of the parts I felt weren't important, my star rating is a 3 instead of a 4. I wouldn't recommend this but I also wouldn't tell people to skip it as it was still enjoyable for the most part.
3 stars.
This story had such a strong beginning. It was so interesting and engaging. I had wondered how the story would end up and was quite excited to discover it and take it all in. It was shaping up to be a good mystery thriller.
There are two stories going on here. One is of the present where Claire and her friend Julia have just started a new law firm, where a rape case is handed over to Claire even though she protested that she didn't want such case, due to what we readers assume at this point, to be for personal reasons. Which it was.
The second story starts up after a decent amount of first chapters of the present. We are taken back into the 1980s where Claire is in high school. There we learn about her obsession with wanting to be and then becoming, a Queen Bee. A group of female students, who are seen as popular. But with this there is also the story of a nerdy teenage boy named Paul. Claire starts to develop feelings for him after completing a challenge set by the Queen Bees. But Claire knows that if the group finds out she actually has romantic feelings for Paul, she will be kicked out of the group. Then suddenly something huge happens with Paul and lives are forever changed.
Unfortunately this is also the point where my interest started to drop. I found from about 60% of the way onwards really dragged out. What was a decent fast paced story stared to run out of steam and I found parts to be boring and unimportant. Still I kept reading. Things picked up a little and a twist was thrown in and while I gasped in surprise, I also felt it wasn't that shocking. It had been something that I had suspected from early on.
Once I got near the end and found out all the truths, my opinion of Claire changed. I actually felt anger towards her and my previous feelings for her went out the window.
Still, this was a good read. But because of the parts I felt weren't important, my star rating is a 3 instead of a 4. I wouldn't recommend this but I also wouldn't tell people to skip it as it was still enjoyable for the most part.
September 9, 2022
Domestic Thrillers
Publication date : August 8, 2019
There's no such thing as...the perfect lie.
At the beginning of the story Claire Carmichael is about to hear the jury's verdicts whether her son is guilty or not guilty. We won't know right away why he's been charged. Or if he's guilty or not because the story goes now back to August 2017 when things were still well in the Carmichael family.
Have to say that it was pretty slow and tiresome story about lies and revenge. So tired of this kind of protagonists like Claire. Didn't much care for any of the other characters either. Disliked the back and forth of the timeline. I think those flashbacks to 1989 were too long, it could have been done with a couple of chapters at most to make story more fast-paced. Now it felt disjointed and only added to boredom. Ahh, this one wasn't for me.
Publication date : August 8, 2019
There's no such thing as...the perfect lie.
At the beginning of the story Claire Carmichael is about to hear the jury's verdicts whether her son is guilty or not guilty. We won't know right away why he's been charged. Or if he's guilty or not because the story goes now back to August 2017 when things were still well in the Carmichael family.
Have to say that it was pretty slow and tiresome story about lies and revenge. So tired of this kind of protagonists like Claire. Didn't much care for any of the other characters either. Disliked the back and forth of the timeline. I think those flashbacks to 1989 were too long, it could have been done with a couple of chapters at most to make story more fast-paced. Now it felt disjointed and only added to boredom. Ahh, this one wasn't for me.
August 25, 2019
I have just finished reading The Perfect Lie and turn on my pages of The Guardian/The Observer, to find dire predictions of British vassalization to the USA in the future (some 65 days to No Deal). But why worry? It has already happened, at least in the pages of Karen Osman. A fundamentally inauthentic novel, with bits of life culled from reality shows, I presume. And a language and experience that is as far from Mancunian as you can expect. The characters are caught with their hands in the cookie jar (not the biscuit tin), they hope to “get to fourth base”, last night they “snuck” in late.. and a whole host of usages that the convenient dictionary classes as North American (familiar). Testifying to the replacement of real local life by an imported flat screen surrogate. It’s no excuse that the author lives in Dubai. Let her write at least about what she knows. And then it’s phoney in its mechanics. Why don’t they know where the funds for the prosecution have come from? Haven’t they done due diligence on their client? If the CCP have refused to prosecute, can the police be involved to such an extent as to arrest and imprison a late discovered defendant in a private prosecution? Can a surprise witness have the last word in a coup de theatre and not be recalled? A poor experience all round.
August 15, 2019
Having thought I had read Karen Osman before - but I'd actually confused two different authors with books of the same name - I delved into THE PERFECT LIE with eagerness. Of course, it turns out that it was actually Amy Bird's "The Good Mother" I had read and not the one by this author, so therefore she is knew to me. Still that did not deter me as plundered through the pages.
It begins with Claire who is happily married to high school sweetheart Chris with two sons Josh 17 and Jamie 5. Now with her youngest child starting school, she decides to return to work as a lawyer with the firm she co-set up with her good friend Julia. However Jamie is a more challenging child than Josh, who had been her perfect child, had ever been and therein lies the perennial problem of juggling her demanding job with being a good mum to her children and meeting their daily needs. When the offer of a neighbour's daughter as a childminder comes up, the solution becomes ideal with everything yet again falling into place. Her life once again seems perfect.
But just as soon as she is back at work, Julia hands her a case that will bring her past back to haunt her - in more ways than one. A rape case, in the victim accuses two men of the offence means long hours and long days with Claire going over testimony and statements in preparation for her day in court. Claire wants to pass the case on to someone else but the client had been specific - they wanted Claire. Why? What did they know about her past that would warrant her being the ideal voice for the victim?
When Claire starts bringing her work home, it seems she can no longer keep her professional and her personal life separate, as Chris shows little understanding for her needs or predicament. Even his promises to help out with the children more were empty as he continued to work late night after night despite Claire having her own meetings and late nights to contend with. The childminder may have been ideal for their situation but even she couldn't stay half the night. But Chris refused to see beyond his own needs and his own job to bear any empathy or understanding for Claire's. In his opinion, she should give up the idea of working altogether and remain at home.
The fact that she was working on this rape case only fuelled his cause, remembering full well what had happened to Claire back when they were in high school. She didn't need the reminders; she didn't need this case; she didn't need to work.
When the narrative backtracks some three decades to the late 80s, we meet the teenage Claire who appeared, in some ways, very different from the woman she became. As a teenager, whilst faced with the usual fickle demands of her peers, she also longed to be part of a popular clique - The Queen Bees - but at what cost? Having been dared to kiss the most unpopular guy in school, Paul Jones, on a date that she must instigate, Claire found she actually enjoyed his company. But what was to be her first dare as the initial initiation into the clique turned out to be an attraction she couldn't understand - and which would not be acceptable to the others - Claire found she could not keep away from Paul, meeting up in the library whenever they could. So they embarked on a secret relationship which would cost her, if revealed, her reputation and her place in the group as a Queen Bee she had worked so hard for.
After months of secret meetings, it seemed only natural that their relationship should progress to the next level. Or should it? But when one day, the door suddenly opens to the unused drama room and Charlotte, the head Queen Bee, is shocked by what she sees. Pants round his ankles with Claire's knickers on the floor, Paul is wrenched off her and Claire is taken away in tears and the arms of her friends.
Then news travelled. Stories told. Opinions made. What had been a beautiful thing, albeit secret, was now made into a sordid atrocity. Such was the shame that Paul and his family had to move away, as the school turned him into a pariah. Then abandoning school altogether as well as his dreams of becoming a doctor, Paul grew a chip that became so embedded on his shoulder...unable to escape the shame of what had been done to him. He trusted her; he loved her; and she had betrayed him.
As an adult, with her reputation still held in the highest regard, Claire finds herself faced with a terrifying prospect. Her son Josh is accused of accused of a crime of the most abhorrent nature and suddenly she finds herself under attack and everything she tried to forget in her past is back to destroy her in a final retribution.
And now, the perfect life is coming undone with the perfect lie...
Narrated in both the past and the present, mainly by Claire, we do get to hear the whispers of another more sinister voice sprinkled throughout - so malevolent in its creepiness - with the final word set to turn everything on its head. As soon we learn more about the event from the past is not what it seems. The final twist is just brilliant and ultimately heartbreaking.
I enjoyed watching how the characters interacted with one another, despite disliking several of them. They were well written and each played their parts well. I'm not sure which Claire I preferred - teenage or adult - as both were a little self absorbed at times though her ability to look beyond what others see as a teenager and accept the unpopular boy at school as he was was a little overshadowed by her fickleness to remain with the "in" crowd. I would have preferred her to stand up for him, but having been a teenage girl myself, I know how improbable that concept could be to someone of that age...when acceptance is everything. And then, the lie.
I really liked Josh. He was nothing like most teenage boys portrayed - he really was a perfect child. Jamie may have been cute but I find the demands of small children annoying, and he could be at times. Chris was an obtuse self-absorbed prick, in my opinion. Whatever did Claire see in him? Despite Charlotte's claim of "imagine the perfect babies you would make!" in her fickle teenage brain. I didn't like any of the Queen Bees, least of all Charlotte. I hated those kinds of people when I was that age, I hate them even more now. They were basically bullies. And had they not been, and could accept what was, then maybe none of what happened would have happened. In the end, while the responsibility was ultimately Claire's doing, I still think those girls had a lot to answer for as well.
While THE PERFECT LIE does begin as a slow burn, don't give up because when it picks up it REALLY picks up...and you won't want to put it down until the very last page.
Although I did predict much of what took place - both past and present - I didn't foresee the outcome of this highly addictive read. It certainly didn't ruin the story for me as I love to try and piece the clues together myself whilst devouring an intriguing read such as this.
It does leave you questioning, what could have happened had there not been that perfect lie? Would the past have then directed the future in what became THE perfect lie? You really are left with pondering the reality of how so many lives can change on the basis of a lie.
With secrets, lies, deception and the most unimaginable betrayal, THE PERFECT LIE is simply brilliant in its execution and its ending.
I would like to thank #KarenOsman, #NetGalley and #Aria for an ARC of #ThePerfectLie in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
It begins with Claire who is happily married to high school sweetheart Chris with two sons Josh 17 and Jamie 5. Now with her youngest child starting school, she decides to return to work as a lawyer with the firm she co-set up with her good friend Julia. However Jamie is a more challenging child than Josh, who had been her perfect child, had ever been and therein lies the perennial problem of juggling her demanding job with being a good mum to her children and meeting their daily needs. When the offer of a neighbour's daughter as a childminder comes up, the solution becomes ideal with everything yet again falling into place. Her life once again seems perfect.
But just as soon as she is back at work, Julia hands her a case that will bring her past back to haunt her - in more ways than one. A rape case, in the victim accuses two men of the offence means long hours and long days with Claire going over testimony and statements in preparation for her day in court. Claire wants to pass the case on to someone else but the client had been specific - they wanted Claire. Why? What did they know about her past that would warrant her being the ideal voice for the victim?
When Claire starts bringing her work home, it seems she can no longer keep her professional and her personal life separate, as Chris shows little understanding for her needs or predicament. Even his promises to help out with the children more were empty as he continued to work late night after night despite Claire having her own meetings and late nights to contend with. The childminder may have been ideal for their situation but even she couldn't stay half the night. But Chris refused to see beyond his own needs and his own job to bear any empathy or understanding for Claire's. In his opinion, she should give up the idea of working altogether and remain at home.
The fact that she was working on this rape case only fuelled his cause, remembering full well what had happened to Claire back when they were in high school. She didn't need the reminders; she didn't need this case; she didn't need to work.
When the narrative backtracks some three decades to the late 80s, we meet the teenage Claire who appeared, in some ways, very different from the woman she became. As a teenager, whilst faced with the usual fickle demands of her peers, she also longed to be part of a popular clique - The Queen Bees - but at what cost? Having been dared to kiss the most unpopular guy in school, Paul Jones, on a date that she must instigate, Claire found she actually enjoyed his company. But what was to be her first dare as the initial initiation into the clique turned out to be an attraction she couldn't understand - and which would not be acceptable to the others - Claire found she could not keep away from Paul, meeting up in the library whenever they could. So they embarked on a secret relationship which would cost her, if revealed, her reputation and her place in the group as a Queen Bee she had worked so hard for.
After months of secret meetings, it seemed only natural that their relationship should progress to the next level. Or should it? But when one day, the door suddenly opens to the unused drama room and Charlotte, the head Queen Bee, is shocked by what she sees. Pants round his ankles with Claire's knickers on the floor, Paul is wrenched off her and Claire is taken away in tears and the arms of her friends.
Then news travelled. Stories told. Opinions made. What had been a beautiful thing, albeit secret, was now made into a sordid atrocity. Such was the shame that Paul and his family had to move away, as the school turned him into a pariah. Then abandoning school altogether as well as his dreams of becoming a doctor, Paul grew a chip that became so embedded on his shoulder...unable to escape the shame of what had been done to him. He trusted her; he loved her; and she had betrayed him.
As an adult, with her reputation still held in the highest regard, Claire finds herself faced with a terrifying prospect. Her son Josh is accused of accused of a crime of the most abhorrent nature and suddenly she finds herself under attack and everything she tried to forget in her past is back to destroy her in a final retribution.
And now, the perfect life is coming undone with the perfect lie...
Narrated in both the past and the present, mainly by Claire, we do get to hear the whispers of another more sinister voice sprinkled throughout - so malevolent in its creepiness - with the final word set to turn everything on its head. As soon we learn more about the event from the past is not what it seems. The final twist is just brilliant and ultimately heartbreaking.
I enjoyed watching how the characters interacted with one another, despite disliking several of them. They were well written and each played their parts well. I'm not sure which Claire I preferred - teenage or adult - as both were a little self absorbed at times though her ability to look beyond what others see as a teenager and accept the unpopular boy at school as he was was a little overshadowed by her fickleness to remain with the "in" crowd. I would have preferred her to stand up for him, but having been a teenage girl myself, I know how improbable that concept could be to someone of that age...when acceptance is everything. And then, the lie.
I really liked Josh. He was nothing like most teenage boys portrayed - he really was a perfect child. Jamie may have been cute but I find the demands of small children annoying, and he could be at times. Chris was an obtuse self-absorbed prick, in my opinion. Whatever did Claire see in him? Despite Charlotte's claim of "imagine the perfect babies you would make!" in her fickle teenage brain. I didn't like any of the Queen Bees, least of all Charlotte. I hated those kinds of people when I was that age, I hate them even more now. They were basically bullies. And had they not been, and could accept what was, then maybe none of what happened would have happened. In the end, while the responsibility was ultimately Claire's doing, I still think those girls had a lot to answer for as well.
While THE PERFECT LIE does begin as a slow burn, don't give up because when it picks up it REALLY picks up...and you won't want to put it down until the very last page.
Although I did predict much of what took place - both past and present - I didn't foresee the outcome of this highly addictive read. It certainly didn't ruin the story for me as I love to try and piece the clues together myself whilst devouring an intriguing read such as this.
It does leave you questioning, what could have happened had there not been that perfect lie? Would the past have then directed the future in what became THE perfect lie? You really are left with pondering the reality of how so many lives can change on the basis of a lie.
With secrets, lies, deception and the most unimaginable betrayal, THE PERFECT LIE is simply brilliant in its execution and its ending.
I would like to thank #KarenOsman, #NetGalley and #Aria for an ARC of #ThePerfectLie in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
July 3, 2019
A brilliant thriller on how one action can change so many lives.
Claire Carmichael is a happily married woman with two sons, Joshua 17 and Jamie 5. She has married Chris, her school sweetheart and the only problem on the horizon is returning to work full-time and setting up her company with her friend Julia. The perennial problem of juggling being a mum as well as holding down a pressurised job is solved when a neighbour’s daughter becomes the ideal childminder and everything seems yet again to be perfect.
However, Claire is still haunted by a potential scandal that had happened when she was only 16 and with her first boyfriend. Claire had recently been initiated into the Queen Bees, the society for popular girls at her school, and although she was secretly seeing the school swot, Paul, this would not have been considered a suitable boyfriend for her by the Queen Bees, they had already picked out Chris Carmichael.
When Claire and Paul are discovered having sex in an abandoned classroom by the Queen Bee herself, Charlotte, who immediately accuses Paul of rape, to avoid scandal Claire agrees with her. Paul is immediately expelled from school, Claire goes on to university with Chris and is now living a happy and fulfilled life. No one in her family or friends knows that the sex was consensual except Paul and Claire.
The brilliance of this book as to how we discover what has happened to Paul, his dreams of being a doctor shattered, his family ostracised his life in pieces. His only consolation is stalking Claire and her family. He still has an amazing brain and works out the perfect revenge on Claire and her family.
To find out what and how he does this you need to read this book, it would be unfair to give many details as it would spoil the enjoyment but suffice it to say it is brilliant.
I read this book in a couple of days and was absorbed by the story. Ms Osman is a very good writer and apart from the main storyline, describes various other interesting and relevant topics. The problem of being a working mother, the need for boys and girls to be popular, the cruelty for those who are a little bit different and the basis of the whole book, how a lie can change so many lives.
For anyone who loves a great story and an amazing ending, read this book, you will love it.
Dexter
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
Claire Carmichael is a happily married woman with two sons, Joshua 17 and Jamie 5. She has married Chris, her school sweetheart and the only problem on the horizon is returning to work full-time and setting up her company with her friend Julia. The perennial problem of juggling being a mum as well as holding down a pressurised job is solved when a neighbour’s daughter becomes the ideal childminder and everything seems yet again to be perfect.
However, Claire is still haunted by a potential scandal that had happened when she was only 16 and with her first boyfriend. Claire had recently been initiated into the Queen Bees, the society for popular girls at her school, and although she was secretly seeing the school swot, Paul, this would not have been considered a suitable boyfriend for her by the Queen Bees, they had already picked out Chris Carmichael.
When Claire and Paul are discovered having sex in an abandoned classroom by the Queen Bee herself, Charlotte, who immediately accuses Paul of rape, to avoid scandal Claire agrees with her. Paul is immediately expelled from school, Claire goes on to university with Chris and is now living a happy and fulfilled life. No one in her family or friends knows that the sex was consensual except Paul and Claire.
The brilliance of this book as to how we discover what has happened to Paul, his dreams of being a doctor shattered, his family ostracised his life in pieces. His only consolation is stalking Claire and her family. He still has an amazing brain and works out the perfect revenge on Claire and her family.
To find out what and how he does this you need to read this book, it would be unfair to give many details as it would spoil the enjoyment but suffice it to say it is brilliant.
I read this book in a couple of days and was absorbed by the story. Ms Osman is a very good writer and apart from the main storyline, describes various other interesting and relevant topics. The problem of being a working mother, the need for boys and girls to be popular, the cruelty for those who are a little bit different and the basis of the whole book, how a lie can change so many lives.
For anyone who loves a great story and an amazing ending, read this book, you will love it.
Dexter
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
June 29, 2019
The last book I read from Karen Osman was beyond amazing, but this one was a bit of a let down for me. Mainly because the way it was written and the way it was portrayed. The story kept switching directions in the middle a scene... I honestly thought my brain was getting whiplash and it was quite confusing.
The storyline itself was really good, well put together and interesting, thrilling, but it was the best part of the whole book. I couldn't relate to any of the characters and I really did like Claire, felt her pain, 'til the end where I just wanted to throat punch her myself. I love how the story deceives you and how edgy it can be. I hate Chris, what kind of a husband is he? Urgh.
BUT, the author's writing style was on point, and definitely kept me reading all the way to the end.
Great book, could be written better but the story was gritty and thrilling, mysterious and chilling.
The storyline itself was really good, well put together and interesting, thrilling, but it was the best part of the whole book. I couldn't relate to any of the characters and I really did like Claire, felt her pain, 'til the end where I just wanted to throat punch her myself. I love how the story deceives you and how edgy it can be. I hate Chris, what kind of a husband is he? Urgh.
BUT, the author's writing style was on point, and definitely kept me reading all the way to the end.
Great book, could be written better but the story was gritty and thrilling, mysterious and chilling.
September 23, 2019
Once you read the title and the prologue, the story that follows is obvious and predictable. And what makes it worse is that I found the story-telling very bland; real cat-in-the-hat writing. No flair, no atmosphere, no visuals. Nothing that conjured up any emotion in me. Not once was I intrigued (again, the prologue and title foreshadow the story!|) and I found the characters flat. Any attempts ( were they?) at red herrings and / or misdirection didn't work for me, they were just page filler. Near the end of the story, one character says "what are the odds?" and as a reader I felt the same. I find it hard to believe this is by the same author who wrote "the Good Mother", which I thought was fantastic and clever, whereas I found this story was clumsy and contrived. This was dull dull dull and very inauthentic.
January 29, 2023
Good Thriller
I enjoyed this book on how the author develops the characters and finally pulled everything together at the end.
Using the phrase psychological thriller, very loosely in the summary because it was not a big, psychological thriller like I’ve read many many times before, but it did remain a book with integrity.
I recommend.
I enjoyed this book on how the author develops the characters and finally pulled everything together at the end.
Using the phrase psychological thriller, very loosely in the summary because it was not a big, psychological thriller like I’ve read many many times before, but it did remain a book with integrity.
I recommend.
January 14, 2020
5 stars audio
4.5 stars story
4.5 stars story
August 8, 2019
What a great read! A totally different plot - I loved every bit of it!
Claire Carmichael has a perfect life; clever at school, she went onto university and a successful legal career, a perfect marriage with her husband Chris and their two gorgeous children. There was one 'incident' in her school days, but that's all behind her and completely forgotten ... isn't it?
Beginning in the present day, we then discover all about Claire's earlier life by travelling back to a couple of different times. The story unfolds slowly but the writing is so fluid and full of detail that I actually forgot about the bit at the start! This is a beautifully structured tale; well-plotted, entirely believable and really gripping! A book I really lost myself in - and the ending! Wow, just perfect!
My initial reaction was to jump at the chance to read and review The Perfect Lie as, with Karen Osman as the author, I knew it would be a good read, but it's way beyond that .. it's a cracking thriller and one which consumed me. The characterisation is fabulous, the story even more awesome and the whole package is worth so much more than the five stars I can give it. Would I recommend it? You bet! If you're the kind of reader who loves a psychological thriller, then this is a must read!
Claire Carmichael has a perfect life; clever at school, she went onto university and a successful legal career, a perfect marriage with her husband Chris and their two gorgeous children. There was one 'incident' in her school days, but that's all behind her and completely forgotten ... isn't it?
Beginning in the present day, we then discover all about Claire's earlier life by travelling back to a couple of different times. The story unfolds slowly but the writing is so fluid and full of detail that I actually forgot about the bit at the start! This is a beautifully structured tale; well-plotted, entirely believable and really gripping! A book I really lost myself in - and the ending! Wow, just perfect!
My initial reaction was to jump at the chance to read and review The Perfect Lie as, with Karen Osman as the author, I knew it would be a good read, but it's way beyond that .. it's a cracking thriller and one which consumed me. The characterisation is fabulous, the story even more awesome and the whole package is worth so much more than the five stars I can give it. Would I recommend it? You bet! If you're the kind of reader who loves a psychological thriller, then this is a must read!
July 23, 2019
As a ripple in the ocean can eventually become a tsunami on the other side of the world, a lie will have repercussions. The author did a good job with character development and advancing the story. More of a family drama/suspense than a thriller. My first by this author and I will surely look forward to her next!
May 31, 2019
Having loved the Good Mother, I couldn't wait to read Karen Osman's next book.
This is a gripping psychological thriller where the past collides with the present with tragic consequences.
Claire seems to have the perfect family with a loving husband and adorable kids. However, in the shadows lurks a figure from Claire's past seeking to avenge a wrongdoing committed by Claire and her group of popular girls during high school.
One perfect lie would bring Claire's world crashing, would she survive and protect her family or would blind revenge destroy everyone? Highly recommended.
Thanks Netgalley, Aria, and author Karen Osman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a gripping psychological thriller where the past collides with the present with tragic consequences.
Claire seems to have the perfect family with a loving husband and adorable kids. However, in the shadows lurks a figure from Claire's past seeking to avenge a wrongdoing committed by Claire and her group of popular girls during high school.
One perfect lie would bring Claire's world crashing, would she survive and protect her family or would blind revenge destroy everyone? Highly recommended.
Thanks Netgalley, Aria, and author Karen Osman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2019
Well, to be perfectly honest, this wasn’t a reading choice laden with expectations. I wasn’t in love with the author’s previous thriller Good Mother, but it was decent enough and these types of thrillers are impossible to avoid these days, so I figured I’ll check out how the next book is. And guess what…it is a definite improvement. Nothing mind blowing, the writing remains well within the prototypical women thriller confines, but the actual story here is really quite good, a tale of revenge served as a dish decades in the making by the man destroyed by a lie. The thing here is that the book is much more of a drama than a thriller of any kind, thriller presupposes plot twists and plot twist wise here you might be disappointed, because they are fairly predictable. There isn’t enough mystery to go around. Instead you have an essentially character driven psychological drama with a moral. But, of course, that wouldn’t sell enough copies, so it ends up being somewhat misadvertised for the sake of popularity. At any rate, it was a good revenge tale. It won’t stand out in the overpopulated world of similar women authored women driven stories, although it was nice that for a change there was no tiresome split narrative thing going on with three female characters (like in Good Mother), the narrative time travels here instead, but at least has the decency to mostly remain told from a single perspective. But plot wise it is a considerable improvement upon the author’s previous effort, it shows the psychological complexity the other lacked, so that’s something. Basically, don’t go in expecting much and you’ll be sufficiently entertained. The page count of this one (and the cover for that matter) are inexplicably unavailable at the time of this review writing, but at a guess, it’s about mid 200s and reads very quickly. Thanks Netgalley.
April 13, 2020
Wow, what a fantastic book this was!
I had a lot of theories early on, about what the "perfect lie" might be. No scenario I came up with was close, nor anywhere near as creative and shocking as what the lie turned out to be. It wasn't until right before it was revealed in the book that I began to understand where things were heading. Convinced as I was about what was coming, it still shocked me to see it play out at the end. Afterwards, readers are shown how "the perfect lie" came to be, and it was absolutely chilling to see everything else that was part of the plan.
Speaking of the end... am I the only one who desperately wished the story went on just a little longer? I could easily imagine what might happen next, but I would have LOVED the chance to see it play out in the story. I'm certain the author would have crafted another clever twist every bit as impactful as what happened in the rest of the story.
This is the second book of Osman's that I've read, and I loved it as much as I loved the first one. I will most definitely be reading every book she writes from now on. There's nothing better than a book that keeps you guessing, only to flip everything you thought you knew on its head when the Big Revelation comes... which is exactly what she accomplished in The Perfect Lie and The Home (which I have not yet reviewed). For this reason, I'm declaring The Perfect Lie a Highly Recommended Read.
Furthermore... if you've been looking for a new author to read, pick up a book by Karen Osman. You won't be sorry!
I had a lot of theories early on, about what the "perfect lie" might be. No scenario I came up with was close, nor anywhere near as creative and shocking as what the lie turned out to be. It wasn't until right before it was revealed in the book that I began to understand where things were heading. Convinced as I was about what was coming, it still shocked me to see it play out at the end. Afterwards, readers are shown how "the perfect lie" came to be, and it was absolutely chilling to see everything else that was part of the plan.
Speaking of the end... am I the only one who desperately wished the story went on just a little longer? I could easily imagine what might happen next, but I would have LOVED the chance to see it play out in the story. I'm certain the author would have crafted another clever twist every bit as impactful as what happened in the rest of the story.
This is the second book of Osman's that I've read, and I loved it as much as I loved the first one. I will most definitely be reading every book she writes from now on. There's nothing better than a book that keeps you guessing, only to flip everything you thought you knew on its head when the Big Revelation comes... which is exactly what she accomplished in The Perfect Lie and The Home (which I have not yet reviewed). For this reason, I'm declaring The Perfect Lie a Highly Recommended Read.
Furthermore... if you've been looking for a new author to read, pick up a book by Karen Osman. You won't be sorry!
May 5, 2022
Just kind of clunky. And as I assumed, predictable.
October 12, 2019
THE PERFECT LIE
BY KAREN OSMAN
Five Resounding Stars for this perfect book. It ticked off all of the boxes that you look for in contemporary fiction. Brilliant imagination from Karen Osman for creating this outstanding tale. Perfectly paced writing style that kept me interested from the very first sentence until the very last word at the end. Fabulous character development and chock filled with cracking dialogue. And for any of my Good Reads friends interested in buying it--it is free if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited and just 99 cents at Amazon if you aren't a member. If you like contemporary fiction I promise you will not be sorry you read this one. I have read a lot of five star reads over the years in Good Reads, but I have never before advertised the price or tried to endorse a book for Amazon on here. So I hope those who enjoy this genre take advantage of this deal. I promise you will be glad you did. This had been my last Net Galley book for me to get to on my shelf and it has been on my shelf for too long and is one of my favorites this year. Isn't that always the way? The best coming last?
I loved the book since it explored the sometimes life changing consequences a lie can so adversely affect the innocent person's life for good. How an innocent person can be not be believed because just because he or she is unpopular because kid's in school judge people for all of the wrong reasons. How boys and girls in school sometimes do all kinds of things sometimes just to be in with the right club or get carried away making bad decisions just so that they don't become ostracized. How we can sometimes think that we are living the perfect life and boom tragedy strikes us when we are the least prepared.
I don't dare give out too much information for fear of spoiling it and you are better off going into this one without reading any of the reviews. Just trust me that you won't be sorry you read this. It is mostly about Beautiful, successful Claire who is a lawyer who seems to have the great husband who is also successful with their two beautiful boys. Joshua who is 17 and Jaimie who is five. They live a comfortable life in a pretty suburb. Life couldn't be going better for them until one day that it doesn't. Very Highly Recommended.
Thank you to Net Galley, Karen Osman and Aria Publishing for so generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinion's are my own.
BY KAREN OSMAN
Five Resounding Stars for this perfect book. It ticked off all of the boxes that you look for in contemporary fiction. Brilliant imagination from Karen Osman for creating this outstanding tale. Perfectly paced writing style that kept me interested from the very first sentence until the very last word at the end. Fabulous character development and chock filled with cracking dialogue. And for any of my Good Reads friends interested in buying it--it is free if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited and just 99 cents at Amazon if you aren't a member. If you like contemporary fiction I promise you will not be sorry you read this one. I have read a lot of five star reads over the years in Good Reads, but I have never before advertised the price or tried to endorse a book for Amazon on here. So I hope those who enjoy this genre take advantage of this deal. I promise you will be glad you did. This had been my last Net Galley book for me to get to on my shelf and it has been on my shelf for too long and is one of my favorites this year. Isn't that always the way? The best coming last?
I loved the book since it explored the sometimes life changing consequences a lie can so adversely affect the innocent person's life for good. How an innocent person can be not be believed because just because he or she is unpopular because kid's in school judge people for all of the wrong reasons. How boys and girls in school sometimes do all kinds of things sometimes just to be in with the right club or get carried away making bad decisions just so that they don't become ostracized. How we can sometimes think that we are living the perfect life and boom tragedy strikes us when we are the least prepared.
I don't dare give out too much information for fear of spoiling it and you are better off going into this one without reading any of the reviews. Just trust me that you won't be sorry you read this. It is mostly about Beautiful, successful Claire who is a lawyer who seems to have the great husband who is also successful with their two beautiful boys. Joshua who is 17 and Jaimie who is five. They live a comfortable life in a pretty suburb. Life couldn't be going better for them until one day that it doesn't. Very Highly Recommended.
Thank you to Net Galley, Karen Osman and Aria Publishing for so generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinion's are my own.
October 16, 2019
I was given a copy via Netgalley and have voluntarily left a review.
Karen Osman is a genius!!
This is as close to perfect thriller, as we are going to get. Karen Osman hit the nail right on the head with The Perfect Lie.
I did not want to put it down I couldn't out it down! This story is told in a dual POV, we hear from Claire Carmichael, a woman who has it all, or so she thinks and we get to hear from the inner workings of the devious person, set to bring her down.
This story was interesting and had me hooked from the very beginning and refused to let me go.
If anything this book makes you realise that your actions could have repercussions many years down the line, that won't just effect you but those you love too.
Karen Osman is a genius!!
This is as close to perfect thriller, as we are going to get. Karen Osman hit the nail right on the head with The Perfect Lie.
I did not want to put it down I couldn't out it down! This story is told in a dual POV, we hear from Claire Carmichael, a woman who has it all, or so she thinks and we get to hear from the inner workings of the devious person, set to bring her down.
This story was interesting and had me hooked from the very beginning and refused to let me go.
If anything this book makes you realise that your actions could have repercussions many years down the line, that won't just effect you but those you love too.
March 15, 2020
What's the lie?
In this "psychological thriller" from Karen Osman, there's not much thriller but definite psychological elements. The story flips back and forth from past to present, with the story intertwining at the end. Osman creates a believable character with the protagonist, but other characters get less development. 3/5 stars.
In this "psychological thriller" from Karen Osman, there's not much thriller but definite psychological elements. The story flips back and forth from past to present, with the story intertwining at the end. Osman creates a believable character with the protagonist, but other characters get less development. 3/5 stars.
September 19, 2023
4 stars
Alternating time points
This was such an interesting read to me. It was very character-driven and you could almost feel like you were in the room, watching each event take place.
I don’t want to give anything away from the book, so I won’t divulge any more info. However, I’d you like domestic suspense, this might be a good one for you.
Alternating time points
This was such an interesting read to me. It was very character-driven and you could almost feel like you were in the room, watching each event take place.
I don’t want to give anything away from the book, so I won’t divulge any more info. However, I’d you like domestic suspense, this might be a good one for you.
November 25, 2019
I really enjoyed this book and it was hard to put down. The perfect lie can have such impact on so many lives.
May 20, 2020
I really liked this book. I did not figure out what was happening until close to the end of the book. Very good little story about revenge and "karma".
December 10, 2020
The ending was a complete and utter let down. Chris got off with no consequences.
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