The Lies Among Us

A Novel

By: Sarah Beth Durst

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

From the award-winning author of The Bone Maker and The Lake House comes a haunting novel about sisterhood and grief, where difficult truths must contend with the corrosive power of unchecked lies.

After her mother dies, Hannah doesn’t know how to exist without her. Literally. In fact, Hannah’s not even certain that she does exist. No one seems to see or hear her, and she finds herself utterly alone. Grief-stricken and confused, her sense of self slowly slipping away, Hannah sets out to find new purpose in life—and answers about who (and what) she really is.

Hannah’s only remaining family is her older sister, Leah. Yet even Leah doesn’t seem to notice her. And while Hannah can see and hear her sister, she also sees beautiful and terrible things that don’t—or shouldn’t—exist. She learns there’s much more to this world than meets the eye and struggles to make sense of it all.

When Hannah sees Leah taking the same dangerous path that consumed their own mother—where lies supplant reality—she’s desperate to get through to her. But facing difficult truths is harder than it looks…

©2024 by Sarah Beth Durst. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Elements of fantasy and magical realism provide an intriguing framework for exploring the ideas of complicated grief and whether not telling the truth can leave real remnants that affect the world around us.” —Booklist

“An extraordinary and deftly scripted novel by an obviously talented author, The Lies Among Us by Sarah Beth Durst is impressively original and will hold a very special appeal to readers with an interest in stories about family, friendship, and the psychological impact of domestic trauma.” —Midwest Book Review

“The Lies among Us is a wonderfully inventive novel, beautifully written, with a cast of characters that is fantastic in every sense of the word…a marvelous read!” —Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

The story line was brilliant.

Hard to get in to but once I understood the “lies” I was hooked and rushed to finish the book. The subtleties were intricately woven into the story and we hard to predict.

Solo female performer

The story is told from Hannah’s perspective. Here’s the crazy part. Hannah is dead. Her mother kept Hannah’s life in existence with lies. Hannah finds herself lost and confused after her mother dies. Now Hannah searches for answers as to what her purpose in this type of existence means.
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Meanwhile Leah is going through her own emotional turmoil with the death of her mother. Leah lived with her mother’s lies about Hannah. Leah lived with her father leaving her and her mother to start a new life after Hannah’s death. Leah isn’t coping well. With no one to talk to about the pain she spirals into a dark place.
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I’m wildly curious about Hannah’s placement in the story. However, there are moments when I’m not sure what to make of the information being provided. At some points I’m confused by the metaphors used to define lies. What keeps me rooted is the ability to solve the mystery of who Hannah is. This was a thought provoking read. It had me questioning how lies were used and the reason why they were beneficial to some people.
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Sarah Beth Durst brought to light an interesting concept about manifesting people into existence. I’m compelled by the unique quality of the writing of this storyline. I’m drawn to the originality of this idea to explore possibilities of the unknowns. I love a good mind teaser.
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I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook while also following the words upon the ebook pages. If given the opportunity I will buy both the ebook and audiobook versions. I’m an eyes and ears person who benefits by having both versions to enhance my experience. This is exactly the type of concept that is better received when a good performer can bring life to the characters in the story. Soneela Nankani was an excellent performer providing excellent talent for an interesting story.