Review: The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaite

The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaite
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG,what a totally unexpected ending,absolutely jaw dropping,I didn't see that coming.

Melanie Oak`s perfect life with her husband Jacob and loving teenage daughter Beth is shattered into a million tiny pieces on the day that Beth disappears and is discovered hours later beaten almost to the point of death,her broken body lying in a creek on the marshes near their home.

Consumed with grief Melanie is determined to find out what happened to Beth and who attacked her.She soon discovers that Beth had been keeping some dark secrets of her own.The more secrets and lies Melanie uncovers the more endangered her own life becomes...

This twist packed thriller opens with a nerve shredding prologue that draws you in and perfectly describes the beauty but also isolation of the marshes that are the backdrop of this gripping story.

The characters are realistic and believable from the know all but say nothing tight knit villagers to the creepy manipulative psycho who really made my skin crawl.Most of the chapters are voiced by Melanie who I didn't like very much at the beginning of the story but her guts and determination did cause me to like her a little bit by the end.Beth voices the story of the events that lead up to her being attacked.There are also some chapters that are voiced by a young girl called Tiffany and a number of chapters that are voiced by a mysterious stranger.

The authors descriptions of the life giving machines and atmosphere in the paediatric intensive care unit where scarily realistic.My daughter spent a lot of time in intensive care when she was younger so I could fully understand Melanie and Jacobs feelings of helplessness as they sat with their daughter not being able to do anything but wait and hope that she was going to get better.

The book does have quite a lot of chapters but they are short and snappy,there was a number of unexpected twists and plenty of mystery and intregue to keep the reader hooked and entertained.I really enjoyed this riveting thriller and would happily give it more than five stars if I could.

Many thanks to Bookouture for a arc of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review