Silent Lies: A gripping psychological thriller with a shocking twist

This story should have stayed silent, cause it's really that bad. If you feel you have to read it, do yourself a favor and just read the first few chapters, then the last few (ch31 til the end). Everything in between is just fluff, and you won't have missed a darned thing adding to the story. The characters have no distinct personalities, they all meld into one another and talk and act the same. They don't go anywhere. They don't do anything. There is nothing descriptive about these people or their surroundings. It's just dialog, the same old dialog, going round and round again, chapter after chapter. The ending is different, I'll give it that, but even that is not so great that I'd recommend it to anyone.

5 years ago, Mia buried her husband Zach. Their little girl (Freya) is now 7. She doesn't remember her father. A few months ago, Mia opened her own counseling business. And, a new client, a young woman named Alison, has scheduled an appt. In their first session, Alison blurts out that Zach didn't kill himself. Then, she quickly retracts her statement, claims to have said no such thing & practically runs out of Mia's office.Zach was a professor at a university. He was impressed by the writings of one of his students; Josie. She was interested in literature & creative writing. She fell for him, even though she knew he was married with a child. Whether or not anything physical happened between them, there's no disputing he had feelings for her. They were involved on a personal level. He was not just helping her with academic issues. It was inappropriate. Josie was Zach's student & he had a duty to keep his distance from her.It's rumored that Zach murdered Josie & then committed suicide. The police could never determine what happened to Josie. There was enough blood in her apt. for them to suspect she had been killed. But, in the absence of a body, nothing could be proved. Even 5 years later, they still haven't found it. They're probably no longer even looking, especially since their main suspect is dead. Alison & Josie shared the apt. The apt. where Zach died. Whatever did or didn't happen, there's no denying that he was in the apt. What was he doing in one of his student's apt.?Alison clearly has issues. She's on medication for depression & anxiety. She has been, for years. And, she's prone to concocting stories. She's extremely troubled & unstable. She claims to have seen & spoken to Zach on the night he died. And, she's convinced that he had no intention of harming himself. Does she really know this about Zach or is she fabricating these stories? Does Alison know what happened to Zach? Josie? We do find out in the end. But, you have to read a boatload of drivel, before the outcome is revealed.

I was disappointed in this book after reading all the good reviews. None of the characters was especially likable and their stories didn't gel. The ending left me cold--totally unbelievable. I felt I wasted my time reading it, although I did keep reading it until the end.

This was a decent psychological thriller - it kept a steady pace all the way through and had a HUGE twist at the end. It was set in/around modern-day London and was about a wife whose husband committed suicide in his student's flat after brutally killing her, although her body had never been found. Five years later, the dead girl's former university roommate shows up in the wife's counseling office and tells her that her husband didn't commit suicide.The wife broke all kinds of confidentiality rules and personal boundaries in this story. worst counselor ever! And foolishly and willingly got into a car with the former roommate's violent and abusive boyfriend.The husband and the boyfriend were both a little too soft and unbelievably "perfect" for me. The husband's constant lessons in philosophy were also very annoying.Still an enjoyable quick and easy read, 3-1/2 stars. My second by this author. I'm ready to read another!

Kathryn Croft has quickly become my go-to author for fast-paced psychological thrillers. You won't get a ton of description, filler type fluff in this book (or any of her books), so if you're after that, then I would not recommend. But for a book with twists and turns (some you might see coming but a lot you probably won't ), I highly recommend this book. I love how you never quite know who the bad/good guys are!

The book had a lot of potential, but it never got there! The story line was weak and did not measure up to be considered a thriller. Very disappointing! Thankfully I only paid $0.99.

I gave this book five stars for many reasons. One I couldn't put it down and would have finished several days before but on a family outing, I had no time to read. Two, Croft had me hooked right from the start. Who are these people? How are their lives, so different and so strange intertwined? Which one of these people is truly deranged? Towards the end, I was sure I had it all figured out but blam...not so much. I also felt like all of them needed to be put away and let God figure it out. Too many deranged, damaged, and baggage carrying people for anyone to survive.If you haven't been reading Kathryn Croft, you should start.

I simply had to write a review after finishing this book as it was just so good. I have read thousands of thrillers and this one kept me hooked and guessing to the end. I am very surprised at some of the negative reviews here as I disagree with all of them. I guess its different strokes for different folks, as I have read many books that were hyped and I was disappointed. This book keeps you hooked and there are so many suspects and red herrings that are very skilfully done, that you you would never guess how it ends. The author also really delves into the characters and I can certainly identify with some of them. I will now be looking for more books from this author.

In many ways this deserves a higher rating and up to the last chapter or two I would have given it at least one more star. The novel’s well-paced and certainly kept me engaged and, although it was fairly obvious from the start that there was unreliable narration involved, it was all the better for that, and I didn’t predict the twist (or twists) completely correctly. What slightly disappointed me was at the end I wasn’t wholly convinced that the characters would have acted in that way on the evidence the reader is given (and how else can we judge?). I don’t think I would be giving anything away by saying that I found Alison’s motivation (in several respects) particularly difficult to explain (and unexplained, at least to my satisfaction). To be fair, it’s not the only novel of this genre where I’ve found the ending or explanations at the end the least satisfactory part of the story; and it is true to say that for almost the whole book I enjoyed reading Silent Lies, so perhaps three and a half stars would have been fairer. And because I enjoyed the process of reading it, I would say to others if in doubt give it a try – from the reviews plenty of people seem to have enjoyed it too.

Brilliant! Just ruddy brilliant!!This novel will keep you in suspence until the VERY last page and I don't say that easily.This is a brilliant read, I would say there are four main characters, each written with a real backstory, personality and drive that moves the book forward without stopping.Some of the characterisitcs of the university girls living together are disturbing and this tends to divert you away from the truth staring you in the face. The characters are mature and well written, each one was believable. You read on and 'expect' the typical route ( I can't say much more than that without given the story away ) of a storyline but the author cleverly uses that assumption and twists it ever so slightly to something you just don't expect in the story. I really thought I had worked out the answer half way into the book I'm so glad I continued reading because I would never have guessed the ending, in hindsight the answers were there all along. But we have been so conditioned into thinking 'I read things like this before- I know how this will end up' but this book is not like that at all, so you feel tricked and tripped up in your assumption, which I'll never do again when reading this author's book. It is so clever.This book has the potential to have a follow up and I would love to know if justice is eventually served? And what happens to the characters left behind. READ this book, it won't disappoint!!!I'm definitely keeping my eye on this author. Brilliant.

The most memorable aspect of this novel is the unexpected twist at end. It’s a winner. Did Zach commit suicide, or was he killed ? And if so, by whom ? A triple question. To spice up the plot, three characters clearly belong in mental institutions, while two others belong in jail.The style is simple and clear. We all know what it means. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make a style appear simple.Chapters hop from Josie to Mia : two females who are very different in ages, personalities and backgrounds ; all written in the first person, which helps bring the story and its emotions closer to the reader.The main weakness resides in the endless going back and forth between various places and lodgings. The bulk of the novel goes round and round without seemingly pushing forward.“Silent Lies” should have been much shorter, more incisive, more like a long short story (if there is such a thing) or at least a 100-page novella.

Mia Hamilton had a beautiful life with her husband Zach and their daughter and the one night Zach commits suicide. Coincidently on the same night one of his students disappears.Five years later Mia has finally gotten herself together and is finding her way in a new relationship and a new business counselling other struggling people. A new client should be routine but when Alison tells Mia that Zach did not kill himself, Mia’s world falls apart again.Katheryn Crofts books are always a treat to read and this one was no different. A story that is so well developed you have no clue what’s unravelling in front of you. This book leaves you trusting no one and questioning everyone. At some stage throughout this book I suspected every single character! The final chapter is a head spinner! This is a fantastic read.

I hadn't heard of Kathryn Croft before, but now understand that she has written several psychological thrillers. I shall certainly be catching up with those, as I was utterly enthralled by "Silent Lies". The story doesn't have too many characters, which is useful if you're a late night reader like me and sometimes have difficulty in remembering who's who when picking up the book the following night. The characters are very believable, as the main ones tell their stories individually and I came up with several "solutions" to the mystery along the way, but never the right one! The twist at the end is very clever and very believable. Like many other reviewers, I didn't see it coming! A highly recommended read and now I'm off to purchase another book by Kathryn Croft.