To Tell You the Truth audiobook

Yesss! I love this author’s works and I devoured it at one sit. It’s so much better than her latest work “Nanny” which I also enjoyed it. Here are the tempting, captivating ingredients of this freshly produced from writer’s creative and disturbing mind : Unreliable, blurry minded heroine is our narrator: a bestseller author Lucy Harper who keeps her past connected to the disappearance of 3 years old brother Teddy as secret, using her imaginary friend as a tool: main detective character Eliza Grey, of her bestselling thriller series !An adult can still keep her/his imaginary friend if she helps to destroy the writer’s block: And guess what, she is still her imaginary friend/ her consciousness/ her confidante who is taking control of her body when she finds herself under extreme pressure. And did I say, she also can see her! Yes! We have creative and a little batshit crazy heroine who still suffers with her guilt feelings about her brother’s disappearance which is related to her secret bunker she denies to talk about! We have still some suspicions about her involvement to his case but even though she already lost huge amount of marbles we keep empathizing with her because she’s married one of the biggest assholes of literature universe. Yes, her husband/ social media coordinator/ a kind of her manager Dan spends her money without discussing with her, throwing tantrums, acting jealous of her success and criticizing her writer skills! He forces her to move to a house where her childhood trauma has taken place and of course he bought the place with her money without asking her decision! ( Douchebag!) And after an argumentative night they attended to a neighbor’s house party, Dan leaves the house and he never comes back. I don’t you guys, I hoped he would be death as soon as I read that part and I didn’t care if Lucy killed him because he deserved my million punches from the beginning.So what happened to Dan? Why was he so obsessed with bunker and why he insisted to buy house where Lucy’s brother disappeared? Is Lucy telling the truth or we sympathize with a woman who tells bunch of lies from the beginning? All the neighbors act creepy and everyone around Lucy act suspicious, ruthless villains. Any of them can be connected with Dan’s disappearance or maybe Eliza did the job to save Lucy from the gaslighting of the douchebag? We don’t know for sure what’s the truth or who is perpetrator till the end? This is well executed story with riveting, exciting and well balanced mind tricks which pulled the plug of my spidey spider senses! The conclusion of the story was also satisfying , fair and a little sad. I’m giving four mind bending, delusional, twisty, surprising stars! It’s a great thriller to get in lost, guessing conspiracy theories and exercising your grey cells! I’m looking forward to read upcoming works of the author!

To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed this book. Bestselling Author, Lucy Harper has written a successful series featuring Detective Eliza Grey. Fans adore this series and can't wait for the next book. Her husband, Dan, a man who hoped to be a writer himself, has bought them a new home and enjoys spending the money Lucy makes. But when Lucy writes a book that her publishers are less than impressed with, she is feeling down, she and Dan argue then one evening, Dan goes missing.With Dan missing, Lucy must also confront a night from her childhood from when her younger brother went missing after she took him out into the woods to watch a pagan ceremony. Now, with her husband missing, her fans, neighbors, police and the world is looking at Lucy. As her past catches up with her present, what secrets will be revealed? Has Lucy been harboring a dark secret? Where is Lucy's brother? What happened to Dan?I found this to be an enjoyable book with some twists and turns. Making this book even more interesting is Lucy herself. She and her imaginary friend Eliza speak to each other. Is this the product of an overactive imagination? Is she mentally ill? Does she suffer from dissociative identity disorder? Either way, she is unreliable. Does she remember things correctly? Is someone messing with her? What's with all her neighbors?I found this to be an engaging, fast, and entertaining read. Will you figure this book out? I didn't! With the twists, turns, and revelations, she had me riveted to the pages and swiping those kindle pages to see how Macmillan would wrap things up. This one kept me on my toes while spiking my curiosity.Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers - William Morrow and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this email in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Best selling mystery writer Lucy Harper has just completed the next chapter in her DS Eliza Grey series, based on her imaginary childhood friend by the same name. But when her husband Dan suddenly goes missing, it comes to light, that her 3 year old brother, Teddy, had also disappeared, when Lucy was just 9 years old.The story of "what happened to Teddy" is interspersed throughout the current day narrative, of a writer who is starting to wonder what is fact, and what is fiction...Is she being gaslighted? Is she losing her mind? Is her "character" Eliza taking over? Could the Past and the Present be related? I wanted to kill Dan, myself at the 15% point, so, I wondered if his disappearance was part of an elaborate scheme or if he had finally gone too far! Gilly Macmillan never lets me down! I have read all but one of her books now, and all have been 4 and 5 star reads for me.I would like to thank William Morrow Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for a candid review!Available Sept. 22, 2020

4+ Lucy Harper is a very successful author of a crime series featuring DS Eliza Grey. She is married to Daniel who has aspirations of literary success but has not succeeded so he manages aspects of Lucy’s life. Daniel is jealous of her success which manifests itself in various ways and then one night after a disagreement Daniel disappears. Lucy has a past she has kept hidden. When she was nine her younger brother Teddy, aged three also disappears at solstice celebrations in Stoke Woods near her family’s home near Bristol. Now her past and present collide and separating truth from lie, suspicion and disbelief and fact from fiction is a fascinating quest. The story is told by Lucy and is interspersed with the night of Teddy’s disappearance and the search to find him. The characters are very well portrayed. Lucy’s alter ego is Eliza and this is fascinating as there’s often a power play between them. You question Lucy’s reliability and honesty as a narrator as she seems very controllable by Daniel and Eliza. Daniel is probably one of the most loathsome spouses I have read in fiction recently. Some of his actions are so outrageous it makes my fists clench, he has the sensitivity of a charging rhino, the perception of an earthworm or is it all calculation on his part? The setting of the book is excellent as the woods where Teddy disappears are both colourfully magical yet also threatening and menacing which provides a great atmosphere. The storyline is good, you feel Lucy’s pain about Teddy, her confusion over Daniel and her conflicted feelings about him. It’s a well written novel and it’s fast paced with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. This is a good suspense thriller although I’m not entirely certain about the resolution with regard to Daniels disappearance but I did like the other ambiguities so it’s make your own mind up, reader! Overall, I enjoyed this very much, I like the ways it’s written and it keeps to guessing to the end. Highly recommended.With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK/Cornerstone for the arc.

If you are a frequent reader of psychological thrillers, no doubt you are familiar with unreliable narrators. This book managed to take it to a whole nother level. With everything going on in the main character's head, it felt like the author could go in many directions and therefore I just sat back and enjoyed watching it all unfold.Lucy Harper is the author of the best selling mystery series featuring DS Eliza Grey. Lucy's husband goes missing and that stirs up memories of when she was a child and her younger brother, Teddy, disappeared. The story alternates between the present day as well as the time period when Teddy snuck out of the house with his sister but never came home.I always like it when it feels like you are getting 2 mysteries for the price of one. With this story you are trying to figure out what happened to Dan as well as poor little Teddy. Now at some point in the second half, I did start getting nervous the author wouldn't be able to pull off a decent ending. I have to say though I was relatively satisfied with the conclusion. There was an aspect I didn't particularly love but at least the author went in a creative direction.To me this book fits the definition of a mindless read, but don't take that as negative thing. I just mean the story doesn't require extreme concentration levels in order to keep you entertained. Definitely recommend reading it if you have enjoyed other books by this author.I received a copy of this book from William Morrow. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

3.5 stars. Pure entertainment!Lucy Harper is the author of a best selling crime fiction series staring Detective Eliza Grey. Eliza’s character has created a huge fan base and Lucy often has trouble separating her real life from the one she creates in her books. Lucy has a dark secret from her past that she has only begun to disclose to her husband Dan. Dan is an aspiring author who assists Lucy but also aims to gain stardom in the writing industry. After an argument one night, Dan goes missing and the police come calling on Lucy to help solve the mystery.The narrative flows through Lucy’s perspective as well as an unknown book outlining details from Lucy’s past. I love the book within a book concept so this worked really well for me. I also really enjoyed the publishing industry aspect of this novel. Lucy was a great character. She was fragile and unreliable and I loved rooting for her.The atmosphere was tense and foreboding. I felt unease throughout the novel constantly wondering what was going to happen next. The short chapters made this easy to fly through.There are several plot points that were far fetched which is usually a total turn off for me. I need to believe what is happening in the books I read. However, there is something about this authors writing that consumes me and keeps me hanging on every word which is a huge feat. I simply loved sitting back and being entertained.Overall, this was a quick and easy, suspense-filled story that kept me engaged from start to finish. Did I love this as much as her previous novel, The Nanny? No. Would I recommend this as a mindless, fun, twisty and dramatic thriller that is easy to lose yourself within? Yes! I remain a huge fan of this author and look forward to what she comes out with next!Thank you to William Morrow and Edelweiss for my review copy!

I do love a Gilly MacMillan book, she always delivers the goods! To Tell You The Truth was a fantastic read, full of twists and unlikeable characters that the ending was not at all predictable. I read this over 2 nights, completely lost in the story.Lucy Harper was 9 years old when her 3 year old brother went missing in the woods near her home. He has never been found and it has left her traumatised. She is now a successful crime writer and her books sell millions. Her husband goes behind her back and buys them a new home, right near the woods from her childhood. After they move in things are not good between them, and then he goes missing and she is the prime suspect. Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read

I did enjoy this New York Times Best Thriller of 2020, “To Tell You The Truth”. What intrigued me was that our protagonist, Lucy, is definitely an unreliable narrator, but is she certifiably insane? Is she just your basic crazy, or is she a person who could benefit from some anti-psychotic meds?When Lucy was nine years old, her brother disappeared. Lucy’s young curiosity was piqued when an anticipated summer solstice celebration enraged the neighbors, including her parents, who bordered the woods that the celebration was to occur. There was to be a pagan celebration with bawdy dancing and a bond fire…all very interesting things to a creative nine-year-old girl. So on the night of the summer solstice, Lucy snuck out of her house to run through the woods to witness this dreamy event. Her younger brother woke up and insisted on joining her. Lucy, being nine, didn’t keep proper tabs on her brother, and he disappeared while she was enthralled in the event.Her brother’s disappearance haunted Lucy, and the neighbors all thought she was a bit “strange”. Well, she had an imaginary friend, Eliza, who was her confidant. Simply because her imaginary friend was known to all the adults, and Lucy was the last to see her brother, she was always considered to be a bit suspect.As an adult, she changes her last name to distance herself from her past. She becomes a notable and successful author of a series of novels featuring Eliza. Yet as an adult, her imaginary friend Eliza still plays a significant role in her life, and of course her novels. Add to that, she marries a man who appears to be questionable in character…or is it that Lucy is just a bit crazy? Is he awful or is Lucy’s mind concocting strange events? Is Lucy living in fiction of her mind or are bizarre things occurring around her? When Lucy’s husband disappears, Lucy becomes the main suspect. Lucy’s life becomes upended and she responds with erratic behavior. Gilly Macmillan writes a chilling and well-paced thriller. Towards the last third of the novel, it’s difficult to stop reading. The plot twist at the end I did not see coming. There are many twists and turns and unsavory characters. This deserves the accolades.

3.5 rounded up. Another solid thriller/murder mystery by MacMillan that I would recommend with caution as there may be a few triggers for some (child harm, mental health). Lucy Harper is the bestselling author of the Det. Srgt Eliza Grey series, and it's afford her and her husband Dan a lavish, luxurious lifestyle. A lifestyle so grand that unbeknownst to Lucy, Dan has in fact just purchased them (with Lucy's money, mind you!) a McMansion in Lucy's old neighborhood of Charlotte Close. Little do they both know, this will be the beginning of the end for them! The very first night in fact, Dan vanishes after staying behind at a neighborhood get-together. Lucy seems to have lost some time (which she seems to do from time to time) from the prior evening, and can't explain how all that blood got on the foot of her staircase! Does it have anything to do with Dan's disappearance? Even more, does any of this have anything to do with the disappearance of her younger brother Teddy, in this same neighborhood several years earlier? The police almost immediately suspect Lucy, but was she actually responsible for either incident? If not, who was? I wasn't quite sure, and these questions kept me intrigued throughout, as I sensed that there was much more to the story than met the eye!I really enjoyed the plot, most of the characters and also the pacing, however I found myself a bit dissatisfied by how everything was wrapped up so quickly at the end, it just felt rushed, and a bit unresolved, or is it just me?! Without spoiling, this was most definitely the most frustratingly dumb and in fact unreliable (to an extent) protagonist I've read in quite some time and I wanted to reach through the pages and shake her into growing a backbone and developing some common sense! At the same time I couldn't help but feel sorry for it, as it was obvious to me she was suffering from various mental health issues. I remained engaged throughout the entirety of this novel, and I didn't exactly predict the reveal at the end but at the same time I wasn't that shocked or gagged by it either. To a certain extent I expected more. It's getting harder and harder to impress me when it comes to thrillers, and I'm not sure if that's on me or the authors of such novels?! Overall this was solid but it most likely won't stand out as far as the genre goes by the end of 2021, which is already looking like it's going to be a great year of reading! I would give this one a try, especially if you are already a fan of Macmillan, however I do believe her previous novel, The Nanny, was more enjoyable. On to the next great read!!

”There are the facts, and then there is the truth.” This psychological thriller includes a fiesty little firecracker of an imaginary friend. I love reading about imaginary friends and Eliza is fascinating!!Lucy is a successful author that has based her bestselling book series on her childhood imaginary friend—Detective Eliza Grey is the main character and heroine in her novels. But the more popular Eliza becomes, the more she injects herself in Lucy’s real life. Lucy decides to write her out of her latest thriller and stick her back where she belongs.”I obsessed over the impossibility of knowing what to do about Eliza. I didn’t know if I could ever work out a way to keep her in the books, but out of my life. I thought about how ironic it was that the first time Eliza appeared to me “in person,” it had felt as if something amazing was happening. I was writing my third novel at the time and I actually believed that Eliza’s physical manifestation meant that I’d reached a kind of peak writerly success. I could visualize my character in three dimensions! Hold conversations with her in person, not just in my mind! It was more than just a little intoxicating.”No one is happy about the beloved Eliza’s disappearance from the series. Especially Lucy’s husband—Dan—who is quite pleased to be spending Lucy’s money. After an argument between Dan and Lucy, he goes missing. The arrogant douchebag wasn’t missed by me, but Lucy and the police thought it necessary to investigate, haha!Eliza was, by far, my favorite character and the most interesting to read about. I had mixed feelings about Lucy. She was an introvert, slightly bizarre, timid and insecure. Her husband was the opposite. A repulsive narcissist!This was a 5-star read until the ending. It was exciting, suspenseful and page-turning, so I was expecting an elaborate twist, expanding on the details of Eliza. I might be expecting too much, but I think the ending could have been better. Ms. Macmillan is such a fabulous writer, the ending felt too blah. Thank you to Edelweiss, Gilly Macmillan and William Morrow for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!Another incredible group read with No Rules - Just Thrills! My Rating: 4 ⭐️’sPublished: September 22nd 2020 by William MorrowPages: 320Recommend: Yes!@GillyMacmillan @WmMorrowBooks @weiss_squad#psychologicalthriller #NoRulesJustThrills #ImaginaryFriend #MustReadThriller2020 #InExchangeForReview #JustFinished #BookReview #EdelweissAfter publication, my reviews can be found:Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amz... Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/takemeaway21BN.com, BookBub

"To tell you the truth" was my first Gilly Macmillan read and a pretty enjoyable one, although truth be told that may be in part cause I love stories where the main character is a writer him/herself.When Lucy was a kid her little brother Teddy went missing and police suspected she wasn't telling the truth about what happened that night. Now she is a bestselling thriller writer and is married to Dan, another aspiring writer. When Dan goes missing history seems to be repeating itself. Was she involved in his disappearance?As the story unfolds we find some of the typical tropes of this genre: - Unreliable narrator: ✔️ - Gaslighting: ✔️ - Despicable husband: ✔️✔️✔️ (I seem to be on a roll of books with despicable husbands).I found interesting Lucy's character and her interactions with Eliza. Is she just a fictional character brought to life by her creator or is Lucy suffering from split personality?This was tense and gripping all throughout the story but the ending fell a bit flat and weak for me as it felt a little out of the blue. I would have like for the resolution to be more of a link between both past and present lines and to have some answers to some secondary plots that were left hanging there. Also that last chapter left some things open to reader's interpretation.Overall it was a well written, quick and easy read that kept me guessing till the end so I would recommend it no doubt.Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK/Cornerstone for providing and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have started to never read a Gilly Mackmillon blurb before starting her books, as I know it be will an amazing story with twists galore!! She never disappoints, I was completely hooked from the start. Lucy Harper was 9 when her 3 year old brother Teddy went missing, after she had taken him out one night into the woods for Solstice night. They never find him.Lucy is now grown up and is a successful crime writer living with her husband Dan. Dan surprises Lucy by buying them a new home right by the woods where Teddy disappeared, Lucy has never gotten over the trauma and is reluctant at first to move into their new home.When Dan disappears the police suspect her and the story gathers speed with twists galore. Is Lucy telling the truth? The story goes back to the night of Teddy’s disappearance her parents suspected her but only she knows the truth about what happened that night and has only ever told Dan. Is there a link between the 2 disappearances? A must read book that will keep you guessing.10 out of 10 from me. Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

“Fiction isn’t just what you find in books, it’s the lies we tell ourselves. [...] The only way to avoid creating your own fiction is not to think at all.”Ever since she broke my heart with BURNT PAPER SKY, Gilly Macmilland has been on my list of favourite mystery writers. Whilst all her books are vastly different, they share the same sense of tension and urgency that makes for a compulsive all-night readathon. It’s funny how sometimes you just know within the first few pages that you’re going to be in for a treat – here it took only a couple of paragraphs to get me hooked.Lucy Harper, a crime writer whose main character has taken on a life of her own, must be one of the most disturbing and yet compelling women I have ever encountered in a mystery. If you like an unreliable narrator, then rest assured that Macmillan has run with this theme and taken it to new heights. On one hand, Lucy is a woman whose past is still haunting her. She may have settled into a comfortable marriage, but her guilt and insecurities have always given Dan the upper hand in their marriage. How would you feel if your husband bought a house with your money without consulting you? Or, even worse, if the house was in the very neighbourhood of your worst childhood memories surrounding the disappearance of your baby brother, a fact that Dan is fully aware of?So here is Lucy, a lonely woman, a bit frumpy, a bit insecure, tucked away in her studio working on a sequel to her famous Eliza Grey detective series. Her fictional character Eliza has been with Lucy since childhood. Starting off as her imaginary friend, Eliza has become a star in Lucy’s novels and a key to her success. On the shadow side of her fame, Eliza has taken on a life of her own, an almost flesh-and-blood quality who is with Lucy all the time. Unlike Lucy, she is strong, focused and capable. So can you blame Lucy if she lets Eliza take control sometimes when she needs her most?When Dan disappears in the same mysterious way Lucy’s brother did all those years ago, the police come looking for answers. From here on, the book is a heck of a ride. Tense and atmospheric, with a backdrop of the sinister woods bordering Lucy and Dan’s property, the suspense and constant underlying thread of menace and danger had me reading late into the night. I could not put this book down! Could I trust Lucy? Supported by a rich support cast of characters who are all hiding something themselves, and the mysterious figure of Eliza always hovering in the periphery, the tension gradually mounted to its satisfying finale. I applaud the author for finding the perfect ending for this tale, which will keep the story in my mind for a long time to come.All in all, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH was a fantastic read. Taut, gripping, multi-layered and unbearably tense, it constantly challenged my perception of reality and the trustworthiness of each and every character. With the shadowy figure of Eliza, a fictional character, always hovering in the peripheries, the book took on a haunting quality that made me frantically turn the pages. And whilst some writers may have been tempted to insert that infamous “killer twist”, the ending here was like a breath of fresh air and satisfying in every way. Making TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH one of the best mysteries I have read this year, and cementing Gilly Macmillan firmly on my list of favourite mystery writers. all the stars! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review. *blog* *facebook* *instagram*

A dazzling thriller with a compelling and unreliable narrator, To Tell You The Truth is fresh, bold and ferociously smart.The story begins with our protagonist, Lucy, a successful thriller author with a dark past – her little brother Teddy went missing after she took him out in the woods for a Solstice festival when she was nine. When her husband, Dan, unexpectedly buys a house in her old neighborhood, old memories are drudged up. But Lucy doesn’t know if she can trust her memories at all. She’s so used to making up stories, she barely knows what was real then and what wasn’t. So of course, when Dan goes missing, Lucy is the first that the police suspect. But is she telling the truth? Or is everything she says just make believe?Throughout the story we also get to meet Lucy’s best and only friend, an imaginary girl called Eliza. But is Eliza Lucy’s better half? Or her worse half?Compelling and clever, To Tell You The Truth had me gripped to the end. Every twist felt fresh and unpredictable, every scene atmospheric and moody. I highly recommend this pacey and intriguing thriller.