I’m sure many people know Jenny Blackhurst, for example from such titles as “The Foster Child”, “Before I Let You In” or “How I Lost You”. I must honestly admit that the author’s latest novel “Someone is lying” is my first encounter with her work. I’ve been planning to reach for her novel for a long time, this time it worked and I’m happy to share my impressions.

I’ll start by saying that I really liked the book’s prologue, which Erica actually wrote, that is, the woman whose death is analyzed on the following pages of the book. The words she wrote made me intrigued by the reading from the very beginning:

“Every story must have a hero. And this hero must want something.
Well, it’s my story… so what do I want?
I want everyone to know the truth.
Because someone is lying.”

I think that a catchy written introduction or prologue, which is one that can interest the reader from the first page, is half the success of a good book. And what next?

The story begins about a year after the tragic accident in which Erica Spencer died. After the tragedy, an investigation was carried out which confirmed the initial theory, the accident, a woman fell from a tree house during a housing estate party. The society was very much affected by the death of a friend, a neighbour. It seems that everyone started to live their own life and forgot about the old event. It turns out, however, that not everyone did. One day an announcement of a series of podcasts entitled “The truth about Erika” comes to the net, whose author announces that he will reveal all the events of the memorable evening, and in the final, sixth episode he will tell who killed Erika, because it was not an accident, but a murder! The residents of the affluent Severn Oaks are terrified by the fast. It turns out that almost everyone has something on their conscience and now fears that their sins will be revealed. Episodes of the podcast are published at intervals of about a week or so, which additionally builds tension and conflicts between neighbours. The crime story has been written in a very intriguing way, from episode to episode I start to suspect other people, additional threads from the characters’ lives come to light. We literally have no idea what to expect in the following episode, and the ending itself ruins all the theories that I was dreaming about while reading it. I didn’t expect such an ending at all, but in fact it’s what I like most about the books, a surprising ending that makes me want to reach for the author’s other books.

Let’s take a look at the characters for a moment. Generally speaking, we can say that they are a very close group of people: barbecues together, meetings, children in one school. But when we look deeper, we can see that it’s all for show, and in fact, everyone cares only about their own interests. Almost everyone has something to hide that they don’t want to share with their “closest” friend because they don’t trust her enough to tell the truth. On the one hand, no wonder, everyone has some secrets they prefer to leave to themselves. On the other hand, the protagonists of the book have such a shouted and intimate relationship that it seems a little strange.

Let’s move on to the end now. No, I won’t say who killed and if he did, but maybe the woman’s death was an accident. To find out, you have to reach for the reading and try to decipher it yourself first and then face the ending. I wonder if you will be able to guess if it will come as a shock to you as it did to me. In conclusion, Erica speaks to us again. In the epilogue, she shows what life is like in Severn Oaks, about two years after her death. She tells us in a nutshell how the characters’ lives went on and encourages us to be honest, because the truth always comes to light anyway.

I think that “Someone is lying” is a must-have for all lovers of good crime stories. I don’t have to encourage Blackhurst fans to read, because if an author keeps this level in every book, you know you have to read this one too.

Where to buy a book?

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