Love and Other Lies audiobook

This is one of those books that is interesting enough to make you Google the author. I was completely surprised to learn the author is Scottish living in the UK, because this Nordic noir feels so authentic that I assumed the entire time that I was reading a Scandinavian book with a really good translation. As a girl with Norwegian grandma who has never been to Scandinavia, I especially loved that this book was a Norwegian noir — for some reason, you don’t see as many of those as ones set in Denmark or Iceland. The Nordic settings of the book were atmospheric and vivid.This book was not at all what I expected, and is not your typical missing girl Nordic noir. It crackles with action from the very start, and incorporates aspects of terrorism, family secrets, couplehood, and deception along with the family tragedy. This is that rare book that is both fast-paced and full of characters with depth. Each character is thoughtfully drawn. McPherson has a page-turning writing style that will draw you in and make you question larger issues and truths. A very competent and interesting book that makes me want to pick up McPherson’s debut novel as well. Definitely more well-written and insightful than many other thrillers I have read of late.4.5 stars. Recommended! Thank you to William Morrow and Custom House, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the arc of The Island by Ben McPherson.4 star read- I cant tell you what happens you need to find out for yourself as it will wreck you and spoil to much but such a gripping and interesting read, gripped from start to finish i highly recommend to all who love thrillers but wow just wow! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

loved this authors first novel so I was very much looking forward to this one and it didnt disappoint.The Island is a claustrophobic thriller come family drama that opens with a horrifying act of violence, giving the reader a bird’s eye view as it unfolds. From then on in it is a mystery that is extremely entertaining whilst asking a lot of relevant questions about society today.A deeply moving and cleverly woven tale of heroes and villains, of family secrets and obscured truths, The Island manages to be a thought provoking tale and becomes more of a page turner as it goes. It also has the benefit of an ending that may keep you up at night wondering about your own moral centre.Overall a really terrific read. I have no problem highly recommending it.

Man, I would like to tell you what happens in this story but it would wreck the look you will have when you find the truth. Elsa, Licia, Viktoria, Franklin, and Cal Curtis were a family that had lived in Washington D.C. for years, but Elsa was Norwegian and Cal was Scottish. They were in Norway for 6 months until a horrible bomb explosion and on an island over 91 people were killed. Licia was one of the victims but was presumed to be drown. Now the story goes in a lot of different directions from this point on. It's amazing how most things are taken seriously but you can believe each person has other agendas. That all I'll say. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars .

A 2021 staff favorite recommended by Becky. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...

I found this book frustrating and finally distressing. It was better read in chunks as then I was able to get into the author’s rhythm. Radicalisation is a fascinating subject, one does always wonder where the families of those ‘turned’ have gone wrong. It’s definitely a book I want someone else to read so I can discuss it with them.

I was thrilled to read Love and Other Lies (published as The Island in the UK) early as it does not release in the US until mid-August due to COVID 19. Cal, Elsa, and their children live in Oslo. Their oldest daughter, Licia, goes to a summer camp on an island off the coast. While what happens on The Island is the plot of the story, I do not think that is the point of this story. This story is about the characters, their relationships, and the dynamics between a husband and a wife, parent and child, friends, and society at large. What occurs on the island leads to secrets and lies between Elsa, Cal, and their daughters. But more specifically how parents often do not really know their children or what they are capable of. In addition, Cal experiences several cultural differences and is always referred to as “English” even though he is Scottish. As an American reader, I also appreciated and noticed the cultural differences between the U.S. and Norway. There are several twists that I did not see coming but enjoyed.This book is described as a chilling psychological thriller which it is but it is so much more. I finished it a few days ago but this is a book you fully digest after reading and giving it more though. I found this book to be very thought-provoking. It made me think how you often do now know what could be beneath the appearances a person portrays to the world, their families, and even themselves. Ben has a very unique style of writing which is clear, crisp, and just enough description but highly emotional. Both of Ben’s novels, A Line of Blood and Love and Other Lies, show the depth of a parent’s love for their children. This is a book which will stay with me for a long time.

Way back in February 2015 I read and review Ben McPherson's first novel; A Line Of Blood . That was a novel that captivated me, it's been a long wait for this latest book, but it's worth it.Elsa and Cal are a happily married couple with three children. They've been together for years, their relationship is strong and is built on truth. They don't lie to each other, and they don't expect their children to lie either. Cal is Scottish, Elsa is Norwegian and they've moved from Washington DC to live in Norway for six months. They are due to return to the States very soon with teenage daughters Licia and Vee and baby son Franklin.However, a tragic and horrendous incident puts their plans on hold. Licia has recently gone off to summer camp celebrating International Future Females which is held on a small island just off Oslo.News has just come in about an explosion at the official Government buildings in Oslo and whilst this is shocking and terrifying for the family, it isn't until they hear about a mass shooting on a small island that they realise just how close to home these atrocities are.Licia is missing. Her body is not found. However, there is camera footage taken from a helicopter flying overhead that shows a girl answering her description in the water, alive. A small boy testifies that he was saved by this girl. Licia becomes the hero of the island, known throughout the country as the girl who selflessly saved others before herself.Nobody can be unaware of the case of Anders Breivik, the far-right terrorist who committed the appalling acts in Norway in 2011. He planted a bomb in Oslo and then shot dead 69 people on the nearby island of Utoya. Whilst it is clear that Ben McPherson has been influenced by the Breivik case in The Island, this is not that story. This is a completely different story and whilst it has themes of terrorism and white supremacy, this is really a story of a family. Of their relationships and how these are altered by events, combined with a detailed and rich look at how the most ordinary of families can be picked apart by things outside of their control.Cal and Elsa are extraordinarily well created. The contrast between Cal's warm Scottish nature, his way of using humour to deflect and his consuming love for his family and Elsa's Norwegian iciness is so very well done. Elsa is blunt and to the point, she has relationship rules that she expects others to adhere to, yet she hides so much ... the reader is never quite sure just where Elsa sits within this story.This author incorporates Cal's ever growing feeling of being an outsider throughout the narrative. Everyone he meets, from the chief of Police to the local reporter comments on the fact that he is not Norwegian, they assume that he's English, and rather than continue to correct them, he just goes with it. Cal is often frustrated by the Norwegian police, he feels as though Licia is being let down, and despite the fact that he has a strong, personal relationship with the Chief of Police, his ever increasing frustration is apparent.The Island is a chilling psychological thriller that kept me awake at night. The reality is that whilst this is a fictional story, it is taken from the truth, and the horrors of the rise of the white supremacist in Europe is explored in all of its hate-filled fury is laid bare. It's also a study in how young people can be groomed and influenced by this. How families with the best values at their core can be infected by the political ideology that totally goes against what they've always believed.Ben McPherson is a master story teller. This brilliantly unnerving read leaves the reader in shock, with questions of their own. It is brilliantly and sensitively written. Certainly a contender for my Top Books of the Year list.

Love and Other Lies: A Novel by Ben McPherson is about Cal and his Norwegian wife Elsa who live in Oslo with their children. A very well-written story that explains its characters, their relationship, and the dynamic between Elsa and Cal. It is a chilling psychological thriller, a very thought-provoking story with a unique writing style, adequate description. The story is mainly about what happens on an island where their oldest daughter disappears in a summer camp. What Cal and Elsa go through to find the truth behind their daughter's disappearance and how their lives are changed forever.I have to say it is not a feel-good story (I think is based on a true story), it is focusing on so many important topics and definitely relevant to the times in which we live. this is a book that you will think about for a long time. if you are a thriller fan this is a book you will enjoy reading. Many thanks to William Morrow for this gifted copy.

This book has it all - suspense, timely topic and family drama. Can't remember where I heard about this book title, but I'm so glad I did. It's considered "Scandinavian noir" and I will have to search for McPherson's first book, A Line of Blood. The family dynamics seem a little weird at times, Viktoria is so precocious and Cal and Elsa seem a little "flinty." Very interesting and super good.

Terrific book. A cavil first of all – it’s not clear to me how they live a seemingly well off life in Oslo on the salary of a (somewhat washed up) satirist in the US. It seems the author is both imitating and denying his own probably well padded work. A massacre of children – obviously it draws on the Anders Breivik crime, but only in a general way, inasmuch as to say: it couldn’t happen here? But it can. To other readers: this is not a case of a thinly disguised true-crime, because, although I won’t specify, it comes home.I like the sleights of hand which are dealt out honestly; if we attended more closely we could have found some of them out, but the story pulls us on. The heroine of the first part is smart and courageous – not that the author tells us this, he puts it into action. And then the focus shifts to the aftermath, the family and the cracks in it that are created/exacerbated. I’m a little put off by Cal’s (the hero’s) uxoriousness. OK, but he could keep it to himself. On the other hand, we could be being told that the focus on the couple, plus the introduction of a late, late sibling is the cause of the initial disorder. A little speculative, that. And there's no epilogue, no subsequent reflection, seemingly, all the threads have already been tied together.

Way back in February 2015 I read and review Ben McPherson's first novel; A Line Of Blood . That was a novel that captivated me, it's been a long wait for this latest book, but it's worth it.Elsa and Cal are a happily married couple with three children. They've been together for years, their relationship is strong and is built on truth. They don't lie to each other, and they don't expect their children to lie either. Cal is Scottish, Elsa is Norwegian and they've moved from Washington DC to live in Norway for six months. They are due to return to the States very soon with teenage daughters Licia and Vee and baby son Franklin.However, a tragic and horrendous incident puts their plans on hold. Licia has recently gone off to summer camp celebrating International Future Females which is held on a small island just off Oslo.News has just come in about an explosion at the official Government buildings in Oslo and whilst this is shocking and terrifying for the family, it isn't until they hear about a mass shooting on a small island that they realise just how close to home these atrocities are.Licia is missing. Her body is not found. However, there is camera footage taken from a helicopter flying overhead that shows a girl answering her description in the water, alive. A small boy testifies that he was saved by this girl. Licia becomes the hero of the island, known throughout the country as the girl who selflessly saved others before herself.Nobody can be unaware of the case of Anders Breivik, the far-right terrorist who committed the appalling acts in Norway in 2011. He planted a bomb in Oslo and then shot dead 69 people on the nearby island of Utoya. Whilst it is clear that Ben McPherson has been influenced by the Breivik case in The Island, this is not that story. This is a completely different story and whilst it has themes of terrorism and white supremacy, this is really a story of a family. Of their relationships and how these are altered by events, combined with a detailed and rich look at how the most ordinary of families can be picked apart by things outside of their control.Cal and Elsa are extraordinarily well created. The contrast between Cal's warm Scottish nature, his way of using humour to deflect and his consuming love for his family and Elsa's Norwegian iciness is so very well done. Elsa is blunt and to the point, she has relationship rules that she expects others to adhere to, yet she hides so much ... the reader is never quite sure just where Elsa sits within this story.This author incorporates Cal's ever growing feeling of being an outsider throughout the narrative. Everyone he meets, from the chief of Police to the local reporter comments on the fact that he is not Norwegian, they assume that he's English, and rather than continue to correct them, he just goes with it. Cal is often frustrated by the Norwegian police, he feels as though Licia is being let down, and despite the fact that he has a strong, personal relationship with the Chief of Police, his ever increasing frustration is apparent.The Island is a chilling psychological thriller that kept me awake at night. The reality is that whilst this is a fictional story, it is taken from the truth, and the horrors of the rise of the white supremacist in Europe is explored in all of its hate-filled fury is laid bare. It's also a study in how young people can be groomed and influenced by this. How families with the best values at their core can be infected by the political ideology that totally goes against what they've always believed.Ben McPherson is a master story teller. This brilliantly unnerving read leaves the reader in shock, with questions of their own. It is brilliantly and sensitively written. Certainly a contender for my Top Books of the Year list.

3.75*A new to me author. A psychological thriller set in Oslo about a summer camp for teens on a island. It turns into a nightmare 2 gunmen from a white supremacist group start shooting. As the parents are waiting for news, some are relieved that their children are unharmed, some get them worst news, 91 young lives lost. Cal and Elsa are left in limbo, as Licia is missing. The story is told is told from Cal and Elsa’s perspective. They start delving into their daughters lives, and discover lies and secrets, most disturbing is their other daughters (Vee) behaviour. There is so much hurt and anger. Their lives are unravelling as we read. It tugs on your emotions. I felt the most real reaction was from Vee. My first thought is that despite the author being British it feels like I’m reading a Scandi translation, it has that clunky feel that puts me off reading Scandi. I didn’t really gel with the writing style. It has a slow steady pace, the emotional portrayal kept my interest. It is a book that made me think, I really liked the story line,I would have preferred the beginning half to have more pace. I think it lacked tension at the end, the events unfolding felt a bit flat. The end lifted my score rather than the portrayal of the events.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW!I got to read this book through NetGalley and I’m very appreciative for the chance, thank you. This book is out now and is from Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction. I don’t want to give anything away for this book so I’ll just tell you how I feel about it. I’ll start with my only negative. I kind of knew from the blurb but reading this really bought home the similarities between this work of fiction and the Norway shootings back in 2012. I can’t ignore this. It didn’t take from the story for me and you could say it raises awareness and is helping people remember, BUT I can’t help but wonder how I’d feel if I were affected by the Norwegian mass shooting, or any real mass shooting I guess. So I’d put a trigger warning for that I think. Other than that I really really enjoyed this story! I read for hours (I’m a slow reader) and just enjoyed the building tensions and twists and turns, but it didn’t feel slow at all. The descriptions of Norway were great, I’d love to visit the country one day... The characters were all flawed in some ways but aren’t we all? It made them more real for me. I particularly enjoyed Viktoria and her relationships with her parents. I definitely recommend you read this book!

We are given a bombing and then a serious attack on children and adults on an island in Norway, where a family who initially believes that their eldest daughter has been killed only to be missing. The story highlights many things throughout including how this kind of atrocity affects a family especially when not knowing one way or the other may be worse than knowing that their child is dead or alive. It starts off at a good pace however like real life ,after six months (the middle of the book) it slows down and then picks up again in the latter parts when the trial begins. A family who believes itself to be strong and parents who think that they know their children, find out how fragile life is. Trust and betrayal feature a lot in the book and as the reader you are thrown from one thought to the next in the matter of a page! A semi Scandi-noir with a touch of Scottish thinking makes this a very readable book and certainly one which raises a few moral dilemmas too. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Straight out of the traps, this defines a page-turner. As a novel, also quite unique. The protagonist is a Scot (Emphatically and repeatedly not English, and quite right too!) he and his Norwegian wife live temporarily in Oslo, so straight away we are in a unique landscape, witnessing a singular perspective. Then you start reading! By golly, but you get going with a punch in the gut, then intrigue, layers upon layers of it. What the author excels at is human dissembling, lies and half truths told for the the best and worst reasons. It's a stoke of genius to not only cast his leading man as a satirist but also to have him as a man twice displaced; Scottish but calls New York home and currently living in Norway. This gives Cal the space to observe in a way which harks right back to Isherwood and a unique perspective on all which unfolds. There is another character in this book who is just utterly compelling, utterly unique and I for one hope we might meet them again. Nae spoilers pal!! Just read it and snap your neck at the last twist!!

"The Island" by Ben McPherson is without doubt one of the best thrillers I have read this year! Set in idyllic Norway, it is a chilling drama that flipped my mind, more than once. Following an unexplained explosion in the city of Oslo, the occupants of a nearby island find themselves under attack; the extent of which causes the devoted Curtis family to seriously question the police response as their eldest daughter remains unaccounted for. Cal Curtis, the Scottish satirist husband of Elsa, a Norwegian citizen and father of daughters Licia and Vee has brought his family to Norway for a six-month stay finds himself in a nightmare that he is unable to leave.This tense and totally gripping thriller is a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐read!