Michelle Adams | BETWEEN THE LIES

Plot (via Goodreads):

What would you do if you woke up and didn't know who you were?

Chloe Daniels regains consciousness in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. 
She doesn't recognise the strangers who call themselves family. She can't even remember her own name.

What if your past remained a mystery?

As she slowly recovers, her parents and sister begin to share details of her life. 
The successful career. The seaside home. The near-fatal car crash.
But Chloe senses they're keeping dark secrets - and her determination to uncover the truth will have devastating consequences.

What if the people you should be able trust are lying to you?

Review:

My second Michelle Adams novel and I loved it even more than her first one. While If You Knew My Sister was more of a psychological and suspense novel, Adams kicks things up a notch with an emotionally charged psychological thriller in Between the Lies. From its jarring and stunningly confusing opening to the bittersweet and harrowing finale, Between the Lies is the perfect follow-up for Adams fans that have been patiently waiting for something new and exciting in their hands.

The novel opens rather confusingly (in a good way) and immediately drew me in with some chilling scenes of a woman waking up on a farm with a family she doesn't remember and a loss that is even more complex than I would have ever imagined. While I didn't find this one as atmospherically dark as If You Knew My Sister, I did really enjoy the change in atmosphere with this one - the farm especially and how creepy Adams used the setting to her advantage in some of the more chilling scenes. The plot to this one was much more emotional, which was a nice change of pace compared to some of the other thrillers I've read. In typical Adams fashion, the novels pacing is utterly brilliant. The novel really progresses quickly from a psychological thriller to a nail-biting suspense novel as the reader approaches the finale breathlessly.

I will say - I enjoyed the characters in this one just as much if not more. Chloe was not only a character that I found sympathetic, but brave and complex. I loved being right by her side as we got to the bottom of what happened that dark and disastrous evening. While the other characters were exceptionally well written, I loved how Adams really gave me some serious trust issues with everyone who wasn't Chloe. I couldn't tell who was helpful, who was a red herring, and who was going to drop a major revelation next. It was an utterly immersing read that just kept me hostage the entire time.

Similar to If You Knew My Sister, getting to the bottom of this read was bittersweet. I didn't want the story to end, yet I needed to know what happened. While the twists and turns were saved more or less for the last tenth of the book, I am astonished at how addicted Michelle Adams kept me throughout the dazzling plot of her second book. As I closed the novel and devoured the very last sentence, I was left satisfied, saddened, and immediately ready to embrace more novels from this stunning talent.

Special thanks to St. Martins Press for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5