The Lies I Tell by Joel Hames

Today it’s over to Mandie who has a blog tour review of The Lies I Tell by Joel Hames. Thanks to publisher Spellbound Books for inviting us to be a part of the tour and providing the copy of the book for review. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

SHE’S WATCHING YOU, BUT WHO’S WATCHING HER?

From the bestselling author of Dead North, a tense, claustrophobic psychological thriller perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Claire McGowan and Clare Mackintosh.

Meet Polly.
Meet Emily.
Meet Belinda.

They’re all me.

My name is Lisa and I’m an identity thief. If I’m not inside your system stealing your money, I’ve probably already stolen it. I’m your friend. I’m your enemy. I’m in control.

Only now, the tables have been turned. I’m in danger. My son is in danger. And I don’t know where that danger’s coming from.

NOBODY CAN BE TRUSTED.

Mandie’s Thoughts

Lisa is an identity thief. She makes fake identities, befriends people online, cons them out of money and then disappears only to repeat the process with the next victim. She is quite happy with this life as it means she can provide for her young son without having to get an actual job, that is until the tables are turned, and someone starts messing with her life and setting her up for things she actually didn’t do. Now the race is on for her to find out who is doing this to her before the police arrest her.

Well for a paranoid nelly like myself there were elements of this book that made me think I was right to be nervous about what I do and don’t do online especially after the experiences my son had with hackers. I don’t click on links; I double check everything and only accept friend requests on Facebook from people I am 100% sure I know and am likely to interact with. There are times I wish for the life we used to lead, before social media, the internet, and mobile phones, not that it stopped identity theft, but it was that little bit harder.

When I first started with this book, I wasn’t sure that I would like Lisa, or whoever she was pretending to be at any one time, after all they say Karma is a bitch and what goes around comes around but the more I read the more my opinion began to change. With the story going between the past and the present you find out about how she became Lisa and why she distrusted people so much. It doesn’t excuse her behaviour as lots of people have crappy starts in life, but she was surviving the only way she knew how and no matter what there is still a vulnerability about her that has you hoping that she does manage to find out who is behind it all and keep her son safe.

With so many potential suspects it was never going to be easy but one of her potential victims sees the good in her and I think that it is this genuine kindness that spurs her on to confront her past and work out what was going on and trust me the truth is probably not what you will expect. This is definitely a book that will keep you hooked and also probably have you double checking everything you do online just to be on the safe side.

About the Author

A Londoner in exile, Joel Hames lives in rural Lancashire, England, with his wife and two daughters.
His works of fiction include the bestselling Sam Williams trilogy and the psychological thriller The Lies I Tell.
When not spending time with his family, Joel likes to eat, cook, play the piano, and make up excuses to avoid walking the dog. There’s the MMA thing, too, but he doesn’t like to show off.

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