In spring of 2016 I read and reviewed Clare Mackintosh’s debut novel I Let You Go, and loved it. Then, somehow, last year I completely missed her second novel I See You. But this spring along comes her latest psychological thriller, Let Me Lie, and because I loved the first book, I jumped at the chance to get a copy from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

As was the case with I Let You Go, it’s a challenge to say much about this one without spoiling some of the fun. Just know that I sat down to read this yesterday around noon and didn’t stop until I finished it (I love when that happens!)

The outline of the story is that a young single mother, Anna Johnson, is grieving the loss of her parents, both of whom apparently committed suicide seven months apart by leaping from the cliffs at Beachy Head at high tide. (Beachy Head is a place that really exists and is a popular suicide spot, with approximately 20 people a year jumping to their deaths). We learn that her father was apparently bipolar and her mother the victim of domestic abuse. Anna is grieving and totally hormonal from the recent birth of her daughter when, on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death, she gets a note telling her “it wasn’t suicide.”

She goes to the police station where she tells her story to a recently retired detective who has taken a job as a civilian employee, staffing the reception desk at  the station. Rather than refer this on to the “real” policemen, he begins investigating it himself. Along the way, several people seem possible suspects: her dead father’s brother Billy, the doctor next door whose remodeling plans caused a feud with Anna’s mother Caroline, Caroline’s goddaughter Laura, who hangs around a LOT, and Anna’s partner and the father of her child, a counselor she met when she went for grief counseling and with whom she subsequently fell in lo. There are lots of plot twists and turns for sure, along with a dead rabbit (very reminiscent of the movie Fatal Attraction).

I tend to like stories with alternating points of view, when it is well done. This one is, and I really enjoyed the character development of Murray Mackenzie, the detective. My best advice is just go with it. It is a fun read, with lots of suspense and twisty plotlines. As usual, I didn’t guess the ending, and my suspicion about at least one of the suspects was wrong, but at least I did have an inkling about another one.

There are some days when I just want a book to envelop my whole day and to keep reading until I finish the book. If you have days like that and enjoy this genre, be sure to pick up the latest from one of my favorite thriller writers. Five stars. And an extra star for her acknowledgements, particularly about the dog and the impact of mental illness.