Book Review: SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney

Title: Sometimes I Lie

Author: Alice Feeney
Read: March 2018

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

People think that good and bad are opposites but they're wrong, they're just mirror images of one another in broken glass.


Book Description:

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie. 

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?

My musings:

WTH have I just read????? My mind is still reeling! I love it when a book messes with my mind, and this must be one of the darkest, twistiest thrillers I have ever read. I am still trying to work out what just happened here!

Amongst the vast number of books that are marketed as psychological thrillers, Sometimes I Lie certainly lives up to its claim. Amber, the narrator of the story, tells us right from the start that she doesn’t always tell the truth – and with that the stage is set. What can you believe and what is a lie? That is the big question throughout the entire book, and I was quite often wrong in my assumptions. I will not go into the plot at all, since this is a book you should dive into blindly with all seat belts firmly fastened, as you will be in for some turbulence!

It is hard to believe that this is Feeney’s debut novel, as she employs just about every plot device the genre has to offer, and she does this very well. The story unfolds in three timelines – the now, as Amber Reynolds lies in a coma, able to hear those around her but unable to move or talk; the days leading up to the accident that put her in hospital; and diary entries from fifteen years ago. It doesn’t help that Amber is also experiencing strange dreams in her coma, which further blur the line between reality and lies. The frustration Amber feels as she is trapped in her own body and unable to reach out to anyone was well portrayed, as was the feeling of claustrophobia and fear as she slowly remembers the events of “before”. However, of all the timelines, I found the diary the most chilling, and if you read the book you will find out why. It was a very dark and disturbing thread that had me covered in goosebumps many times. The undercurrent of menace is always there, at one point culminating in a situation that had me truly terrified for all the people involved. Enough said.

I started out listening to the audiobook, but once things heated up I switched to the print version as I absolutely could not tear myself away and had to find out what would happen – and I read a lot faster than the narrator. My husband is still slightly miffed that I locked myself away in the bedroom with a Do Not Disturb sign, refusing to talk to anyone until I had found out the answers. Answers I could never have predicted, by the way, so cleverly had the author laid her traps. In fact, there are still things I am not sure I interpreted right, and I am just itching to discuss them with someone. Utterly brilliant!

Summary:

In summary: there are three things you should know about Sometimes I Lie:

1)      It is a dark and claustrophobic psychological thriller that firmly earns itself a place in the “twister hall of fame” for its many unpredictable twists that you will never be able to foresee.

2)      It is totally addictive and will have you firmly hooked, so make sure you have lots of time to spare when you start reading it.

3)      Don’t take anything for face value in this book, and don’t trust anyone!

Anyone looking for a true psychological thriller that messes with your mind – this is it, folks!