by J.T. Ellison
Narrator: Matthew Waterson, Saskia Maarleveld, Sarah Naughton, Julia Whelan
Length: 11 hours and 36 minutes
Genres: Suspense Thriller
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4 cups
They built a life on lies.Sutton and Ethan Montclair's idyllic life is not as it appears. The couple seems made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional and personal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate each other. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her.Ethan finds himself the target of vicious gossip as friends, family, and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies the couple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer? Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child she never wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.
Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison delivered a psychological suspense thriller with unreliable narrators and plenty of twists to keep me listening. With a full cast of narrators, Ellison kept me on edge.
Caffeinated Reasons to Grab Your Earbuds and Listen to Lie to Me:
- You enjoyed books like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train and edge of your seat tales. Lie to Me hooks you from the first pages when Ethan Montclair’s wife Sutton leaves an ominous note and disappears, leaving everything behind including her ID and purse.
- Ellison shares both past and present in the Montclair’s marriage, courtship, and daily trials making you question everything. If you love unreliable narrators and picking apart, the subtle clues given in Lie to Me.
- I bounced back and forth between believing her and him. As I read chapters by each, I started to question their motives. Did he kill her? Has she gone all GONE GIRL on him? Ellison did an excellent job of making me both loathe and feel for these characters. Trust me, we will never be besties as I found them to be self-centered and arrogant, but slowly Ellison introduced twists that had me rethinking everything.
- Multiple perspectives, suspenseful scenes, and the buildup were all well developed and had an air of believability.
- Matthew Waterson, Saskia Maarleveld, Sarah Naughton, and Julia Whelan narrate which enhanced the tale and made the change in perspectives seamless. Each did an exceptional job portraying their characters as the author intended.
- Ellison surprised me with events and discoveries before delivering a satisfying conclusion.
As with any good book in this genre, I have kept things vague. I recommend Lie to Me to fans of psychological thrillers and unreliable narrators. With the full cast of narrators, this is the perfect fall listen.
Lie to Me by J.T Ellison delivered a psychological thriller w/ unreliable narrators and twists #audio Share on X
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Darlene
Oh, yeah! This sounds right up my alley. I love books that mess with your mind and leave you scratching your head trying to figure out who is believable! I’m adding it to my list. Thanks, Kimberly!
Kimberly
It was a good thriller Darlene.
Karen Blue
Awe I’m sorry you didn’t LOVE this the way that I did. I thought it was fantastic. Maybe it was because it has been a while since I read a psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator. Those are my favorites though. Great review!
Kimberly
I enjoyed it Karen and yes I read a lot in this genre.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs in Gone Girl and I’m intrigued to hear this one has a similar setup. I really enjoyed the one book I’ve read by Ellison and desperately need to read more. This sounds like a good one to try.
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer
It really enhances the story when you have a cast like this 🙂
ShootingStarsMag
Oh, I think this is one that I’d really enjoy. I love a good suspense novel and I’m glad it had a satisfying ending.
-Lauren
Kimberly
I had a good time with it Lauren, and hope you do as well.
Felicia GeekyBlogger (@thegeekyblogger)
This is on my TBR . I want to read it so hard.
Kimberly
Are you listening? I think the audio enhances it, with the different narrators.
verushka
If a book can keep you guessing like this, it’s so going on my TBR. Great review!
Kimberly
Right. It was VERY twisty.
Lorna
Oh this does sound intriguing. Right now I am stuck on contemporary romances, with an occasional historical romance, when I’m not reading paranormal. So I am going to have to pass on this one. But I am happy you enjoyed it!
Kimberly
I am murder, horror, and suspense right now. Joe Hill and Armstrong.
Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books
I thought this book was good. Not great but good. I would think that the audio would probably be a bit better especially with multiple narrators. Great review!
Kimberly
Completely agree, the audio and cast of narrators pushed this to a 3.5
Nadene
I have been curious about this book, ever since I heard about it. I love it when thrillers keep you guessing and this sounds like it did just that. Great review Kim.
Kimberly
Thanks, Nadene. I loved that it had multiple narrators.
Sophia Rose
I’ve actually not read any of the comparison books though I will eventually. I do like the sound of unreliable narrators and not knowing who is telling the truth in a thriller.
Great review, Kimberly!
Kimberly
I am surprised you haven’t Sophia.
Stormi Johnson
It seems this is one of those that some have liked and some haven’t from the reviews I have seen but it sounds interesting. I don’t listen to many with more than one or two narrators so that has me curious too. 🙂
Kimberly
I think the narration definitely added or enhanced the story Stormi.
Angela Adams
Sounds like there’s lots of intrigue and guessing in the novel. Thanks for the post.
Kimberly
Indeed. Thanks, Angela.
Melissa (Books and Things)
These kind of books always frustrate me in a good way. I do think you have me curious about this one. Hm… now do I see if my library has it on audio or do I read it. That is my mystery. 😀
Kimberly
LOL. I know what you mean Melissa.
Heidi
I read another book by this author, No One Knows, and it was a good twisty mystery, but I felt like she forced the ending to make it shocking, thus it was not believable. I think I am going to pass on her books.
Kimberly
She tied these in but made for tv aspects to be sure.
Jenea's Book Obsession
I like the unreliable narrators, I think it just adds to the suspense even more. And this sounds right up my alley too!
Kimberly
Me too Jenea.
Blodeuedd
I have yet to try a thriller on audio 🙂
Kimberly
One of my favorite genres for audio next to UF.
Lily
okay I love twists and the fact that it’s great for a fall I’m curious. I want the audiobook now hah. Oh, what speed do you listen your audiobooks on?
Kimberly
Lily, when reviewing I always listen to the first chapter at normal speed to gain an idea of the narrator, sound quality, and pacing. After that, the speed varies according to the narrator from 1.25 to 1.7
Laurel-Rain Snow
I really enjoyed this book…and it definitely had a Gone Girl vibe. Thanks for sharing!
Kimberly
Glad you agree. It was a great fall listen.
Debbie Haupt
I featured this on my blog last week Kim and my goodreads group had a month long book discussion of it from mid September to Mid October and JT joined it to answer questions and make comments. It was a great book for a book club.
I enjoyed your review of the audible version
Kimberly
This is perfect for a book club read Debbie. So cool that she joined you!
Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous)
It sounds like the author did a good job keeping you guessing throughout the story.
Kimberly
I had ideas, but she threw in some twists.
Vanessa
Ohh, I love the sound of this one. Looks like it will leave me guessing ’till the end, and I love that!
Kimberly
Nice twists and perfect for audio.
Wattle
I quite enjoy unreliable narrators, you’re always on the edge of your seat trying to figure out how bias they’re being. I’ve not read Gone Girl, or Girl on the Train (yet, I own both lol) but I find it interesting that the trend continues – or maybe it’s just more noticeable now, due to its popularity?
Kimberly
Maybe, I love not knowing who to belive.
Nick
I do enjoy books with unreliable narrators, but I feel like they are everywhere at the moment, so it’s starting to get old. I’m glad you enjoyed the mystery in this one and had fun with it.
Kimberly
I think because I mix my genres I don’t feel it as much Nick.
Kristin @ Addicted to HEA
UGH! Gone Girl again? And I swear she’s written this book before herself… o.O I guess if it works, right? I must need more coffee this a.m. b/c my cranky-meter is peaking… 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
LOL. Go drink some coffee. This had some clever twists.
kindlemom1
I do love an unreliable narrator, there is just something so much about them while you try to figure out if they are evil, insane or just very confused and telling the truth completely. 😉
kimbacaffeinate
Exactly Ali 🙂
Nina
Great review. I haven’t read Gone Girl or Girl on the train, but both of them are on list to borrow for my next trip to the library. Sounds like a really great read.
kimbacaffeinate
I enjoyed both Nina, and hope you add this as well.
Geybie's Book Blog
Awesome review, Kim. ❤️ Sounds like Gone Girl. I loved the movie so I’m curious about this book. Anyway, Kim, did you accidentally duplicate the review? I saw they are the same.
kimbacaffeinate
It was and it wasn’t. Same kind of tension and not knowing. It was a good listen.
Melliane
I enjoy books like that from time to time so I confess that I’m curious about this one as well
kimbacaffeinate
It was a good one for fall.
Rachel
I can’t say I’m a fan of the unreliable narrator, but I have enjoyed a book or two with that type of storyteller. Glad to hear this worked out in this story, and because I’m a huge fan of suspense/mystery books I’m off to the library to see if they have an audio copy. Wonderful Review, Kimberly! 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I love the not knowing and guessing.