Tanen Jones | THE BETTER LIAR

Plot (via Goodreads):

When a woman conceals her sister’s death to claim their joint inheritance, her deception exposes a web of dangerous secrets in this addictive new thriller for fans of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn, and Paula Hawkins.

“Like most of the dead, I want to be remembered.”

Robin Voigt is dead. If Leslie had arrived at her sister’s cramped Las Vegas apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father even as she began building a family of her own. But when their father passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together—or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. And unbeknownst to anyone, even her husband, Leslie needs it desperately.

When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin—and has every reason to leave her past behind—the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name. Even as Mary begins to suspect Leslie is hiding something, and Leslie realizes the stranger living in her house, babysitting her newborn son, and charming her husband has secrets of her own, Robin’s wild, troubled legacy threatens to eclipse them both.

Review:

The Better Liar by Tanen Jones is the reason why I love debut authors. I had an idea as to what this one was about, but found that this story is best to go into blind. From the opening and rather harrowing scene, I knew I was going to be in for something that was an in-your-face and devilish story with a plethora of secrets - I was right. I was in a reading slump with my current read and found that it wasn't really doing much for me and a ton of other bloggers on Bookstagram were talking about this one whether they loved it or they were looking forward to it, so I decided to pick it up. What happened next was me basically reading over 100 pages in the bathtub and completely losing all track of time. I finished this in one night, promising myself to put it down after 100 pages and get a good night of sleep for once. I failed. I devoured this one and was left with in shock.

I loved that this one was a bit of a character study combined with thriller elements and dives into the world of family relationships and the ties that bind. I liked the slower build up that was sprinkled with so many mysterious elements that even the smallest detail could be a major hint as to what is to come. The characters are exceptionally written and I loved going back and forth between the voices of Leslie, Mary, and Robin. There isn't so much action and twists and turns throughout this novel, but rather this panicky feeling of disaster that is starting to brew. The overall feeling of this book is like watching dark clouds roll in and wondering just how big the storm is going to be. I loved every single second of it. To be reading a psychological thriller like this and just knowing that the shit is going to hit the fan and still being so entertained and at the same time not being able to look away whatsoever. This was easily one of the most psychologically tense books I've ever read and the way the pacing was parallel with the different perspectives from each character was jaw-dropping.

This is the kind of read that you completely absorb yourself in, you relish in it's haunting prose, and you run away with the characters. I suggest blocking off a day or two to completely get lost in this one and keep an eye out for more Tanen Jones. She's not going anywhere.

Special thanks to Ballantine for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5