The Woman Who Lied

A Novel

By: Claire Douglas

Narrated by: Ayesha Antoine, Gemma Whelan

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

“So cleverly plotted and brimming with tension.”—Gillian McAllister

“First-rate suspense . . . hard to put down.”—Shari Lapena

A bestselling detective novelist and her family are in danger when chilling events from her novels begin happening around her in this gripping thriller from the British sensation—the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girls Who Disappeared and The Couple at Number 9.

Emilia has a dream life. But someone knows the truth . . .

Emilia Ward lives in suburban London with her husband, their young son, and a teenager from her first marriage. Emilia is an ordinary mom—and she’s also the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels.

But when writing her tenth—and most difficult—book, life takes a disturbing turn: an incident mimicking the plot of one of her novels occurs in real life. Just an unsettling coincidence, right?

Until it happens again. And again.

Then someone she knows dies in the same way as a victim in the book she's currently writing.

Why is someone doing this?

What do they want?

How could they possibly know what she’s thinking—and writing?

Is Emilia and her family next?

©2024 Claire Douglas (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Überraschend Gut!

Nach vielen Behauptungen, dass dies das schlechteste Buch der Autorin wäre, habe ich nicht viel erwartet, das Buch hat mich aber positiv überrascht! Ich habe alle Bücher von Claires Douglas gelesen/gehört und sie als „ganz OK“ empfunden (spannende Handlungen aber meistens fehlte mir etwas, der twist war zu offensichtlich oder ich empfand da Verhalten der Charaktere nicht nachvollziehbar). Dieses Buch ist aber echt ein solider Krimi-vielleicht sogar das beste was die Autorin bis jetzt geschrieben hat.

Love this author.

Yes, it’s twisty, but a little confusing. Had to rewind a couple times to get the story straight at the end. I like this author a lot and will definitely keep listening to her!

Good story - lots of suspects

I liked this book. The writing was good, the plot seemed fresh with an ensemble of well developed characters. Obviously Emilia carries the story but all those connected to her have their own significant impact. This leads to a plethora of suspects. They kept changing for me, as I’m sure was the author’s intention. Whether contrived or planted with evidence everyone was being set up. Mystery and suspense were great throughout!

Narration by both was really good. Some of the male voices really should have just been spoken in their own voice because it did not come across well. But overall it was enjoyable to listen to!!

Twists and turns

I really enjoy Claire Douglas books. This read was wonderful and I truly loved all of the twists in the characters. I was thinking one character was guilty and I was soon to realize I was wrong in my thoughts. I give this book a five star review although at times I had difficulty keeping all of the characters straight in my mind.

Wonderful, wish I would have read it vs audio

I truly enjoyed this book and it definitely had me trying to figure out “who it was” until the end. I love audio books, and this one was great, the narrator(s) were perfect. I think there were so many details and layers I would have enjoyed it more reading it page by page with my full attention. Still a 5 star read

A solid listen

I am a big fan of Claire Douglas.
To me she is one of the all time best authors in the mystery genre.
Right there with the other greats like Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Alice Feeney.
This book is solid but not phenomenal or particularly unique like some of her other offerings.
Usually when I finish anything she’s written I am truly “wowed” by what I’ve just read.
That was not the case with this book, sadly.
I can’t put my finger on what’s different or what is missing from this particular book but it’s just not as good, not as well executed as her other offerings.
It’s interesting story, a solid plot with relatable characters but nothing stood out to make this a special or particularly original book.
I wait for her releases with bated breath and I find myself really not wanting them to end, that just did not happen here.
It fell very flat. It seemed like she just came up with a basic outline and filled in the blanks with little enthusiasm for the story or the characters in it.
Just about everything I’ve read of hers is riveting, this was good, a solid book, but considering the level of talent she’s working with it falls short.
Flat characters, a sort of “been there/done that” trope with the plot, it’s ultimately disappointing for a Claire Douglas book.
Granted she’s still better at this than 95% of her peers but I won’t be reading this a second time.
Hopefully we get something that’s more inspired next time.
The narration is good, not great.
This one comes in at right down the middle.

perfection as always

Loved the ending. It's was both sad and lovely. Love Claire's writing . Always a good listen.

Suspence

Great story line. The different perspectives. And the suspence of not knowing till the end.

The plot twist

Great book from the beginning. Keeps you on your seat and shocks you at the end in a great way!

Very enjoyable story

A story that wraps you around and you don’t know the ending until it surprises you.