Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

Summary and Reviews of The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

The Lies I Tell

A Novel

by Julie Clark
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (30):
  • First Published:
  • Jun 21, 2022, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2023, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.

The new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight!

She's back. Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be―a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she's done, you've likely lost everything.

Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat's long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg's true target is.

Kat

Present—­June

She stands across the room from me, in a small cluster of donors, talking and laughing. A jazz quartet plays in a corner, the bouncing, slipping notes dancing around us, a low undertone of class and money. Meg Williams. I take a sip of wine, savoring the expensive vintage, the weight of the crystal glass, and I watch her. There are few photographs of her in existence—­a grainy senior portrait from an old high school yearbook, and another image pulled from a 2009 YMCA staff directory—­but I recognized her immediately. My first thought: She's back. Followed closely by my second: Finally.

As soon as I saw her, I tucked my press credentials into my purse and kept to the perimeter of the room. I've been to all of Ron Ashton's campaign events in the past three months, watching and waiting for Meg to make her appearance—­called there by a Google Alert I set ten years ago. After a decade of silence, it pinged in April, with the ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. One of the most powerful tools in Meg's arsenal is a familiarity with social media. What do you think she could learn about you from your online presence?
  2. Since they both know the other woman is lying about her identity, Meg and Kat also know they shouldn't trust each other. How does their friendship grow despite this?
  3. Discuss the role of ego in Meg's cons. How do her targets create openings for her with their own bad behavior?
  4. At first, Kat blames Meg for what happened with Nate. When do you think she stopped feeling that way?
  5. The greatest downside of Meg's career is the loneliness. Do you think she could have kept in touch with her friends when she started scamming Cory? How would you feel in her position, moving cross-country every few ...
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

This novel is a lot of fun to read and also raises important questions about money, power, revenge, and justice in modern America (Rebecca H). What I enjoyed most was the insight into what makes a con work. I recommend this suspenseful thriller that will hold your interest to the ending. It will make you question, is doing the wrong thing for the "right" reason OK? The Lies I Tell is sure to be a great beach read this summer (Catherine H)...continued

Full Review (652 words)

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today.

(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).

Media Reviews

AP News
Clear your schedule to read The Lies I Tell because this book is nearly impossible to put down from the first page.

BookPage
Clark, author of New York Times bestseller The Last Flight, has yet again crafted a fascinating pair of women who wrestle with trauma, sexism, identity and whether it's ever okay to do bad things for good reasons.

Library Journal
Will twist readers through an intricate, domestic thriller as the two women's lies unravel. Perfect for fans of Kimberley Belle, Alice Feeney, and Michael Robotham.

Publishers Weekly
Intriguing...Clark skillfully fleshes out the strong, multifaceted characters. The story nicely mixes brisk plot points with slow burning reveals as it builds to a satisfying conclusion. Clark doesn't disappoint.

Author Blurb Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive
A meticulously plotted mindbender, with a last page I can only describe as a triumph. Do not miss it.

Author Blurb Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Marriage and Friends like These
The Lies I Tell is a uniquely riveting cat and mouse game with two artfully nuanced female protagonists that is at once a razor-sharp, page-turning mystery and a brilliant, thought-provoking exploration of what it truly means to do good in the world.

Author Blurb Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Julie Clark has done it again...taking you straight into the collision course of two dynamic, complicated women.

Author Blurb Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
Clark knocks it out of the park with The Lies I Tell. A modern-day Robin Hood with a feminist twist. This is one of the best books you'll read this year. Unputdownable!

Author Blurb Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
The Lies I Tell is a knockout. Smart, savvy and so duplicitous with a propulsive storyline and two of the most beguiling female characters I've ever met. Julie Clark does it again!

Author Blurb Sarah Pekkanen, co-author of The Golden Couple
Another terrific nail-biter by Julie Clark. The Lies I Tell weaves together the stories of two strong, complicated women: a brilliant con artist, and the journalist determined to unmask her. Fast-paced and beautifully plotted.

Reader Reviews

Summer Devlin

The Lies I Tell
A wonderful, engrossing read. Much like Julie Clark's first book, "The Last Flight" I was impressed with the two, strong women. Julie always researches her stories with great emphasis on accuracy. Whether it is real estate or politics - ...   Read More
saichaithanya

very good book
The new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight! She's back. Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who ...   Read More
JHSiess

Another Absorbing Mystery from the Talented Julie Clark
Bestselling author Julie Clark was fascinated by a podcast about a con artist who "went to elaborate lengths to lure in his victims, gain their trust, and then steal everything they owned." She envisioned female con artists being even more ...   Read More
Robin B. (Olmsted Falls, OH)

The Lies I Tell
I greatly enjoyed this book. I loved the twists and turns and enjoyed the mouse and cat game played between the two main characters. I am now reading another book by the same author I was so impressed. Characters were well developed.

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



Gambling Addiction

Slot machine in casino in dim lighting In Julie Clark's The Lies I Tell, main character Kat's boyfriend Scott struggles with a gambling addiction, which affects the two of them and their relationship. When asked in an interview what she wanted readers to take away from Scott's gambling problem, Clark stated, "I want readers to see the complexity and heartache of loving an addict. That they are more than the worst thing they've done."

Sometimes referred to as a gambling disorder, or compulsive gambling, this type of addiction is characterized by the ongoing urge to gamble, even when it leads to consequences that have a destructive effect on one's life and the lives of others. Poker or other card games, playing slots and betting on sporting events are all activities that ...

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Lies I Tell, try these:

  • The Favor jacket

    The Favor

    by Nora Murphy

    Published 2023

    About this book

    A gripping debut domestic suspense novel, Nora Murphy's thrilling The Favor explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands.

  • Two Nights in Lisbon jacket

    Two Nights in Lisbon

    by Chris Pavone

    Published 2023

    About this book

    More by this author

    Tautly wound and expertly crafted, Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.

We have 6 read-alikes for The Lies I Tell, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Julie Clark
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...
  • Book Jacket: The Women
    The Women
    by Kristin Hannah
    Kristin Hannah's latest historical epic, The Women, is a story of how a war shaped a generation ...
  • Book Jacket: The Wide Wide Sea
    The Wide Wide Sea
    by Hampton Sides
    By 1775, 48-year-old Captain James Cook had completed two highly successful voyages of discovery and...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Who Said...

Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now