Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison

October 23rd, 2017 Kimberly Review 58 Comments

23rd Oct
Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison
Lie to Me
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
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
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.

SUSPENSE thriller mystery twisted

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 Click To Tweet

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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. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

58 Responses to “Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison”

  1. 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!

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

  4. 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!

  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.

  6. 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!

  7. 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. 🙂

  8. 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. 😀

  9. 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.

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. Vanessa

    Ohh, I love the sound of this one. Looks like it will leave me guessing ’till the end, and I love that!

  13. 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?

  14. 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.

  15. 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… 🙂

  16. 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. 😉

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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! 🙂