They Are Liars

by Sarah A. Denzil

A team of office administrators are stuck at work during a flood. By the end of the day, one of them will be dead…

Sue is waiting to retire. She can’t stand her bad-mannered co-workers who take her for granted.

Krish has an explosive secret that would change everything if his colleagues found out.

Penny is the girl no one seems to notice. Today she learns what the others truly think of her.

Helen hasn’t told anyone about her weekly therapy sessions delving into her repressed memories. But something is floating up to the surface, threatening her usual composure.

Martin, the congenial boss, has a dark past. Stuck in the office with his employees, a more callous side begins to emerge.

One is a murderer. One is dead. They are all liars.

Genres: Thriller, Novella, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Short Stories, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

110 pages, ebook

First published October 19, 2020

About the author

Sarah A. Denzil is a Wall Street Journal bestselling suspense writer. She is also known as young adult author Sarah Dalton.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.

She is the author of international bestselling psychological thriller SILENT CHILD, which topped the bestseller lists on Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.

You can read now read AIDEN'S STORY, a short story and sequel to SILENT CHILD. It's completely free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/n7lb74chp3

Find out more at: http://www.sarahdenzil.com/

Join the newsletter for updates: http://eepurl.com/cwAmZD

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil

Check out her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/sarahadenzil/

Email: sarah@sarahdenzil.com

Reviews

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

With co-workers like that I would also consider murder! Unlikable characters and lots of secrets make of “They are liars” an unputdownable read. Very enjoyable whodunnit that thanks to short chapters and several twists, will have the reader guessing until the very end.

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

How well do you know your co-workers? This novella will make you running for the nearest exit.

Sue is just waiting to retire. She's older, her feet hurt, her hips hurt, and she feels like her co-workers take her for granted.

Kriish has a secret he definitely doesn't want let out of the bag. Since he's East Indian, he eats his cultural foods, much to the dislike of his co-workers. He always complains that someone is leaving the microwave without cleaning it.

Penny is younger, no one seems to pay her much attention. She's quiet and stays to herself much of the time.

Helen always says she's meeting a mate for lunch ... but where she really goes is something she doesn't want to share with anyone, lest they look at her differently.

Martin, the congenial boss, has a dark past. Stuck in the office with his employees, a more callous side begins to emerge.

Today, their whole area is under water. They can't get to their cars, they can't walk through the flood waters. They're going to have to spend the day ... and night .... in the same office space.

This is a novella filled with lies, secrets, hostilities all becoming unmasked. When all is said and done, someone becomes a murderer ... and someone dies. It's like work rage ... only on steroids. It's a page-turning read, full of obnoxious people who all have issues of one sort or another. It's clear that these characters should never be in the same room together. This one truly makes me happy I am retired.

Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody has something to hide while at work. Everybody is a liar, but who is also a killer...? Really liked this novel!
Dutch review: https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2022...

[Beth Roger aka Katiebella_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great morning coffee read.

5 people get stuck in the office after a flood. As their truths emerge, so do some dark secrets and a murder. Short and to the point. No long descriptive paragraphs to add text without substance. Just a straight thriller, short enough to read in a sitting, long enough to keep you in suspense without finishing too quickly.

[Zoe Kindle Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining , quick fun read , perfect for a long journey or lunch hour. A bunch of workmates end up trapped in the office after a flood, things take a turn for the worse as it becomes clear someone isn’t as they seem, yet they all appear to be hiding a little secret or two.

[Filipa PT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story with its share of twists. It is entertaining and well done.

[buzy_reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The office workers are introduced and the reader gets a pretty good idea about each one and how they don’t get along with each other. After spending hours cooped up with each other due to the flood outside the office building a perfect storm of activity takes place.
I overthought this story. It was actually quite simplistic. All the details regarding each characters personality traits was a great way to stir up suspicion.
It was clever plotted murders with a group of liars as the suspects.
It was a short quick read. Quite entertaining.

[Mellisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A team of office administrators stuck together during a floor. Sue, who can't stand her bad-mannered co-workers. Krish, who has a huge secret that is close to becoming know. Penny, a girl who hides in the background, who's hiding a secret of her own. Helen, who keeps her weekly therapy sessions a secret due to a traumatic event from her childhood. Martin, the boss with a dangerous, dark past. One of these will be dead before the end of the night - and the suspects will all have motives...

I do love a good, short thriller of a story. This has everything a good story needs to keep you gripped, didn't feel rushed and had a fantastic ending that fitted perfectly.

Looking for a book that will keep you on your toes, guessing right to the last second? This is the one for you!

[Read For Your Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

I figured out who the killer was pretty early but I did not expect that last twist at all. I hated all the characters equally. It was an enjoyable read overall.

[Ema✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliant short story!
Every character had a back story that was so interestingly entwined with each of the other co-workers.

Denzil packed a lot of plot in to such a short book that it was super fast paced. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Brilliantly thought out characters with an intriguing environmental circumstance that almost feels like another character itself!

[Helen Leecy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review 2020:
This was brilliant!
I didn’t read the blurb before diving in; I needed a quick read to finish the month off, so I picked this up and started reading. I had no idea of the genre or anything!
It starts off giving us an insight into the five main characters. They each get a chapter to themselves to start with, and there is a precise timeline being followed in the chapter headings. The author had captured the ins and outs of office working brilliantly. One person thinking one thing while another thinks something else about the same thing. It was all very interwoven and suitably petty. There is, of course, the obligatory moaning about the state of the microwave!
I didn’t have a clue where the story was going or whether we were just being given an insight into office workers or what! However, before long, there are so many twists and turns I was holding my breath.
So much is fitted into such a short book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a very unique concept and not like anything I’ve read recently, very well done!

Review 2024 (I didn't even realise I'd read this before; I don't know if that is a good or bad thing!!):
Sarah A. Denzil has done it again with They Are Liars. Despite being a short story, it’s absolutely packed with tension and unpredictable twists. The pace is relentless, pulling you in from the very first page and keeping you hooked right through to the end.
None of the characters are particularly likeable, but I suspect that’s intentional—it adds to the unsettling tone and makes you question everyone’s motives. The claustrophobic setting and the toxic dynamics between the characters are brilliantly crafted. That said, I couldn’t help but wonder how there was enough work to justify five members of staff—it felt like a bit of a stretch, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment.
Overall, this is a brilliant, quick read for anyone who loves a story full of secrets and lies. It’s gripping, sharp, and leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished.

[Hilal Tunçkol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some might think otherwise but not every short book is equally gripping. This book, though, kept me engaged until the end.

A bunch of co-workers go to work one day. What they have in common is their hatred for each other. They literally cannot stand one another, and it has more than one reason. It is a rainy day, and the water increases, trapping them in the work place, and all secret come to light, one by one.

Sue: The office veteran who is bitterly waiting to retire. She deeply despises her bad-mannered colleagues for constantly taking her for granted.

Krish: An administrative worker who is harboring an explosive, career-ending secret that could completely upend the dynamic of the workplace if exposed.

Penny: The quiet, seemingly invisible girl in the office. Over the course of this claustrophobic day, she finally discovers exactly how cruel and dismissive her coworkers truly are behind her back.

Helen: A tightly wound employee who hides the fact that she attends weekly therapy sessions. She is desperately trying to suppress terrifying, fragmented childhood memories that are violently clawing their way to the surface.

Martin: The seemingly congenial, polite boss. As the floodwaters trap them inside, his friendly facade chips away, exposing a callous nature and a very dark past.

And at this point, I think we shouldn't forget about Justine, who also works at the same place, but she was going through a rough patch and she is on a leave.

SPOILERS AHEAD

First big secret was that Martin's wife was cheating on him with Krish. He shouldn't make that big of a deal out of it, because Martin wasn't faithful in his marriage, either, but he flipped when he learned. He went to the staircase to cool down, which when someone, someone he knew, btw, pushed him down and killed him. All the others were in other places, Sue got locked in Martin's office while looking for the first aid kit for Penny's injured hand, and the others were looking for the key. No one saw what happened to Martin, so they made a deal and they all told the police the same story, getting away with it.

Or did they?

Remember that I said Martin was unfaithful? We was a bit more than that. He was a despicable man who saw nothing wrong with sexually assaulting his co-workers. He had an affair with Helen, for instance, and he assaulted both Penny and Justine. So, Penny and Justine made a revenge plan. Penny kept the ones in the office busy with her injured hand while Justine got in secretly and pushed Martin. They were also responsible for Martin learning his wife's affair, because that way, if something went wrong, Krish would become the prime suspect. They were so sure they got away with murder...

But Sue found a key on Martin's jacked pocket before anyone else found the key, and she let herself out. She saw Justine was in the office, and she witnessed the moment Justine pushed Martin. The book ended at such a delicious place, for the lack of a better word, because Sue was planning on blackmailing Justine and Penny for money so that she could finally retire, and who knows how that would end. Right? Penny and Justine could give in to Sue, or they could kill her, as well. They did it once, after all. Again, who knows??

[Joana · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/10 ⭐️

A severe flood traps five office workers inside their workplace with no way to leave: Sue, who is counting down the days until retirement; Krish, whose personal secret could destroy his life; Penny, the quiet employee everyone overlooks; Helen, who is hiding the truth behind her weekly therapy appointments; and Martin, the friendly manager with a troubling past. As the hours pass and everyone is forced into close quarters, resentments, lies, and buried secrets begin to surface. By the end of the day, one of them will be dead—and every single one of them has something to hide.

They Are Liars unfortunately wasn't a hit for me. The premise immediately caught my attention—a group of coworkers trapped together during a flood while secrets slowly come to light sounded like the perfect setup for a tense psychological thriller. Unfortunately, the execution never lived up to that potential.
My biggest issue was the plot. As the story unfolded, I found myself struggling to make sense of the characters' actions and the direction the narrative was taking. Rather than building toward a satisfying conclusion, everything felt increasingly disjointed, and by the end I wasn't convinced that the twists or motivations really fit together.
Because this is a novella, the story moves quickly, but that also means the characters don't have much room to develop beyond the secrets they're hiding. While each of them has an interesting premise, I never became particularly invested in any of them, which made the outcome less impactful than it could have been.
The writing is easy to read and the multiple perspectives keep the pace moving, but I was left feeling that the concept was much stronger than the actual story. Overall, this was a disappointing read for me. The mystery never quite came together, the plot didn't make much sense by the end, and despite the intriguing setup, it failed to leave much of an impression.

[Tina B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthralling 134-page novella by the ever-talented Sarah Denzil, “They Are Liars” originally appealed to me because of its shorter length. I wanted a quick read. What I didn’t expect was a brilliant read. The rich character development in this book amazed me. There are novels that don’t do as good of a job in triple the number of pages. Denzil brings each character to life, complete with personality, attitude, and mannerisms. Amazing! The chapters alternate between each character’s point of view, but it’s never too much to keep up with — or is it confusing. Instead, each character’s unique personality and attitude contributes to the telling of the story, as well as the continually building suspense.

Since it’s a novella, it goes without saying that it doesn’t take long to read. But the time it does take flies by. The chapters are short, and the story is fast moving. There’s plenty of drama between the characters to keep things interesting. You get to know the characters well in the first five chapters, and you don’t particularly like any of them. Even though “They Are Liars” isn’t written to be a mystery, you get sucked in trying to guess which character is despicable enough to get themselves killed by a co-worker and which character has the motive to be the killer.

Sarah Denzil took on a lot when she wrote “They Are Liars”. Five main characters, a murder, and a completely jaw-dropping twist — all in less than half the space of a novel. She succeeded! I enjoyed “They Are Liars” more than a lot of novels. After reading this, Sarah Denzil’s officially become one of my favorite go-to authors.

[Renko Dekker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this novella for free in my mailbox and it was a fun and quick read.

We follow a team of office workers on a regular working day. We get to see the day from the perspective of the different characters. We've got Sue who is waiting to retire. Then there is Krish who has an awful secret. Penny is the unnoticeable one. Helen has to go to weekly therapy sessions. And the last one is the manager, Martin, who has a dark past. At the end of the day one is a murderer, one is dead and they are all liars.

It was a fun story to read. You get a lot of information through the different characters but that's a fun part of it. It's not the most in depth book of course, but it's a perfect little novella with an exciting story.

4/5 ⭐

[Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️⭐️

With co-workers like that I would also consider murder! every character had a backstory which i loved!!!! POV based which made the book pretty well rounded cause you’re getting everyone’s reaction. the author packed a lot of plot into such a short book, but it was perfectly done.

honestly it’s a fast paced, easy to read book and it’s enjoyable. i did predict who would die and who committed the murder. some parts did feel a bit unbelievable. regardless i still enjoyed this one and finished it in couple of hours.

[Donna Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story takes place during one day in the lives of 4 office workers and their boss. All of them are unhappy people with secrets. It has been raining all day and the river has overflowed and has confined them to stay at work because of the flooding in the street. One of the group is murdered and in order to protect each other, they all lie. This book reads like an old fashion TV mystery.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As almost always, I liked the plot but I didn't like or understand the end. And in the middle, I suspected who was the "murder". But it was an interesting read for pass the time and a fast reading. Another Scribd.com's English text, and translation for Portuguese + audio in English from Google Translate. Continuing the Project Learning English by myself. This text had a very easy vocabulary for foreigners students.

[Anne (w/ an E) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was not what I was expecting but it was not a bad story. I am not a big fan of when a lot of things have to be explained and at the end, a LOT of things were explained. I would much rather be able to at least try to figure it out for myself. For me, that is the point of reading a mystery story.

[Dale Zweibohmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this novella by Sarah A Denzil. It was a fast read and had a lot going on in the office setting. It gave nice intro to all the characters and their thoughts on each other. It had twists and
you find out every ones fears and lies. I will have to find more books by this author to read in the future.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Novella by Sarah A Denzil. They are liars was very entertaining and enjoyable to read in one sitting. An interesting perspective on office life and gossip.
Highly recommended

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! A mix of very real characters work in an office - all with secrets and unsatisfied lives...what could go wrong?

A quick read, not only because of the easy flow of the writing, this tale is clever and twisty.

Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended.

[Chal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just 'meh' for me. I was intrigued by the premise, but the story fell flat. It was too easy to figure out, which left the big reveal unsatisfying.

This could be a fun read for an airplane ride. Since it's a novella, it goes fast and it doesn't require much intelligence or thinking.

[Margot Frye · Rating 4 out of 5]

They Are Liars by Sarah A. Denzil is so entertaining. It is twisty and filled with extremely flawed characters - everyone is hiding something and no one is as they appear. Read this one if you enjoy a good puzzle.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, fun read with a couple of twists that you don't see coming! We all can relate to these co-workers' complaints about each other. It's a short book and if you need to kill a couple of hours, I highly recommend it!

[Annie Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This was suspenseful and unputdownable. I really enjoyed this, looking forward to reading more by this author. Very good quick read.

[Gloria Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good story but I was expecting psychological suspense and this was more of a "whodunit" in my opinion.

[Amanda C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! A quick, fun whodunit set in an office with very relatable characters

[babs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me interested!

I liked the idea behind this story. I don't want to give anything away but it was wrapped up very nicely in my opinion.