Title: The Darkest Lies
Author: Barbara Copperthwaite
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: May 12th 2017
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: May 6th 2017
Pages: 433

“One week ago you had home home as usual, chatting about homework, rushing around, laughing. Until you’d lies to us, and gone out for the night. Then everything had changed.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

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I always have a weak spot for a good psychological thriller and Bookouture has never disappointed me with its selection of the genre so far. The Darkest Lies just sounded too good to ignore and I can now say this story definitely didn’t disappoint. What at first glance looked like another missing girl/brutal attack case, turned out to be so much more than that. Because everything is covered and trapped in a huge web of lies. Nothing and nobody is as it seems and you will find yourself shocked as you slowly start finding out what really happened to Beth that night and what secrets she was hiding. The ending was definitely a huge surprise! I did see some things coming and had my suspicions, but overall the plot twists were more than satisfactory. The writing style is enjoyable to read and adds to the whole suspense and mystery around what happened to Beth. I really liked the setting as well and the important role the marsh played in the story. I did have mixed thoughts about some of the main characters in The Darkest Lies and I’m still not sure if I liked some of them, but this mostly didn’t distract from the story itself. I did wonder about Melanie’s reaction to what she saw Jacob do with her own eyes… And I found her a bit naive in general. The many plot twists will make you forget all about that though, and in short The Darkest Lies was without doubt another excellent psychological thriller with a rather shocking ending.

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Everything seemed to have worked out perfectly for Melanie Oak, who still lives in the small village she grew up in, married her childhood sweetheart and now they have a teenage daughter. They live a happy life together, until one day her daughter Beth goes missing. She was supposed to spend the night with her best friend, but she never arrived… And while Beth is found shortly after, almost beaten to death and frozen, the police is having difficulties finding out who is behind the attack. Melanie is frustrated and decides to find her daughter’s attacker herself; she just can’t believe nobody saw anything that night. But she might not like what she finds out… Because Beth has been hiding secrets of her own.

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The Darkest Lies started out strong and stayed that way during the whole ride. I did find some of the characters less likeable than others, but that’s really easy to forget about with so many plot twists to keep you busy. If you like suspenseful reads that will surprise you, you are in for a treat. Because you won’t believe what really happened the night Beth went missing… And the web of lies and secrets that has been cast over the small town. Recommended!

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