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Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Sometimes I Lie

by Alice Feeney
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  • First Published:
  • Mar 13, 2018, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2018, 288 pages
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Reviews

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There are currently 52 reader reviews for Sometimes I Lie
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Lil C. (Chestertown, NY)

Three Reasons to Read About Amber Reynolds
1. Alice Feeney had me at: "I am in a coma. My husband doesn't love me anymore. And sometimes I lie."

2. The first twist in the plot caught me completely off guard and shouting OMG.

3. The incredible twists and sense of danger filled the next chapters with psychological suspense. I almost held my breath until the very last page.

Now, that's a very good read. I will never look at a "sleeping" hospital patient and believe that they are NOT present.
Marsha S. (Nags Head, NC)

Sometimes I Lie
This is one of the most unusual books I have read in a long time, maybe ever. The twists and turns of the story are mind-bending. It was fascinating but also difficult to read at times because of the terrifying events. This one kept me guessing right up until the end - and beyond. I was able to identify and sympathize with Amber during the time she was in a coma and imagine her feelings of fear and helplessness. I didn't rate the book a 5 because I lost the ability to identify with her in the events that followed. This is a book anyone who likes psychological thrillers would love. But beware - it's a roller coaster ride! One book that I feel like I need to read again.
Susan L. (Midlothian, VA)

A interesting twist
I enjoyed this book and found it suspenseful. I thought having the back and forth with the past and present was very well done. The twist at the end had ne going back to see if there were any clues that I missed. Overall a quick read and entertaining.
Wanda T. (The Villages, FL)

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Written from a unique perspective, a person in a coma, the story alternates between the present, a few days in the past and several years in the past. Each chapter keeps you moving along to the next so you begin to understand why the main character is in a coma. Then there's the twist that made me reread a certain chapter! It all comes together and just as you think the story will have a happy outcome the ending takes on a Hitchcock type finale. I will definitely suggest this for my book club as I think it will generate a lengthy discussion.
Karen P. (Silver Spring, MD)

Good First Novel
This book used the storytelling device of the unreliable narrator to good effect. There were 3 different story lines that the reader initially assumes to be from one voice. The initiating event was an auto accident where a woman was rendered comatose, and the narratives branched off to the comatose woman, the events of the few days preceding the accident, and of a young girl in the 1990s. The assumption is that there was foul play, but the reader doesn't know for sure until nearly the end. Of the 3 narratives, I found the young girl's story of her rough upbringing with an alcoholic mother to be the most compelling, followed by the comatose woman's distorted perceptions and dreams next. The narrative describing the events leading up to the accident wasn't very interesting, rather prosaic, and failed to make me identify with the teller. If not for this, I would have rated the book higher, otherwise it is a good first try. The twist near the end was a real showstopper and turned my perceptions of the story around.
Michele N. (Bethesda, Md)

Sometimes I lie
Amber, the narrator of this book, wasn't kidding when she starts off saying "sometimes I lie." The author takes you on a roller coaster ride of twists and turns, leaving you to wonder what will happen next. The book held my attention but towards the end, I felt the author introduced one too many twists, leaving me annoyed. Definitely a story you need to read in one weekend, otherwise it's too confusing to keep everyone's lies straight.
Tracy N. (Mill Valley, CA)

Truth or Lies?
Told from her hospital bed, Amber is locked in by a coma as she relays her story. She begins by saying: "Sometimes I Lie". The tone is set for this thriller as she slowly shares her memories.

At first the tale is fragmented and lends to confusion, yet the technique serves the purpose of the book. Do the chapters titled "Before", "Then" and "Now" tell the truth? Is the narrator reliable? What is the accident or was it a crime?

Feeney creates a suspenseful story with a satisfying conclusion. Pay close attention there are plot twists!
Erica M. (Chicago, IL)

A book that requires two readings
You know from the title and the opening of the book, that there is something you will need to figure out beyond the story line itself. The story line is good. It keeps moving forward, told in different time periods. Not unlike Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" there is a trick - Although, in Flynn's book, it is better understood on second reading, in this book, I felt that it actually required a second reading to sort out the characters in order to now understand the trick. Maybe it's me. Maybe I needed to be paying closer attention or needed to understand the characters better. But trying to apply what I had learned at the end to what I had read from the beginning seemed a bit exhausting.

Beyond the Book:
  Coma

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