Beautiful Liars

BEAUTIFUL LIARS

by ISABEL ASHDOWN 

Seventeen years ago Martha said goodbye to best friend Juliet on a moonlit London towpath.
The next morning Juliet's bike was found abandoned at the waterside.
She was never seen again.

Nearly two decades later Martha is a TV celebrity, preparing to host a new crime show... and the first case will be that of missing student Juliet Sherman. After all these years Martha must reach out to old friends and try to piece together the final moments of Juliet's life.

But what happens when your perfect friends turn out to be perfect strangers...?

There's nothing more alluring than a story about friendship between a group of girls who share a complicated history. There's nothing more alluring than a story about a missing girl and a cast of characters who all seem to harbour secrets, each perhaps knowing more than they care to reveal. And there is nothing more alluring than a writer who can deliver a story full of multiple narratives, edge of your seat cliffhangers and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked until the final denouement. Prepare yourself for a perfectly thrilling and deliciously dark read! 

I really enjoyed this thriller. The premise is a simple one, a call for a fresh investigation of a cold case, led by the close friend of the girl who went missing. But there is nothing simple about the complex, interlinking storyline that Ashdown effortlessly weaves throughout multiple narratives, never losing the reader - although often deliberately misleading or confusing them! 

The setting - a towpath, a late night, a dark, isolated part of town - is immediately intriguing and establishes the dark undertone of the story. The use of several contrasting narratives is also immediately intriguing. Each section is distinctive, each voice feels authentic and each character well crafted to gain the reader's empathy and pique their curiosity. I was absorbed, and honestly completely caught out with the clever plot twists that had me gasping out loud and racing on to the next chapter desperate to see what impact the revelations would have on the investigation and the characters. 

This is a story which places a group of girls who were friends at school in the centre of the story. Although primarily a novel concerned with a mystery to solve, a crime needing closure, it is also a story about friendship, mental health, lies and deception. Casey was a truly fascinating character and especially well crafted. 

I think what struck me most about this novel was how forever surprising and unpredictable it was. Ashdown's imagination, conception and delivery of such a compelling story is impressive. It's not just whether you see the twists coming or not, it's about the sophistication of the twists, the way the characters really become alive and take ownership of the plot threads and the story is continually spinning off in another direction. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this fluent, engaging, psychologically thrilling novel which is just a great read for all fans of this genre. Ashdown's writing is utterly rewarding and I really was impressed with Beautiful Liars. 

My thanks to Tracy Fenton and the publisher for an advance copy of this novel and an invitation to join the blog tour. 

Don't miss any of the other stops on the tour!