Review: Little Liar by Clare Boyd

The perfect family… or the perfect lie?

When a child’s scream pierces the night, Mira does what any good neighbor would do: she calls the police. She wants to make sure that Rosie, the little girl next door, is safe.

Opening her front door to the police the next morning, Gemma’s picture-perfect family is forced under scrutiny of social services.

As her flawless life begins to crumble around her, Gemma must fight to defend the family she loves and protect her daughter from the terrible secret she’s been keeping.

But who has Rosie been confiding in when Gemma’s back is turned? And why has she lied to the police?

When Rosie disappears without a trace, Gemma thinks she only has herself to blame. That is, until she finds a little pink diary containing a truth even more devastating than the lie…

Review

Little Liar by Clare Boyd started out a bit slow. Readers are introduced to the two women, Mira and Gemma. Mira lives next door to Gemma with her husband, Barry. Gemma lives with her husband, two kids and she is expecting her third born. The neighbors co-existed peacefully until Mira heard screams next door and after a series of events, she suspected that Gemma was hurting her child, Rosie. Mira did what any good neighbor would do in a similar situation and called the police.

As I mentioned, this book started out a bit slow in the first chapter. However, I was soon pulled into the narrative and got totally immersed in the lives of the two women. The story is narrated through alternating POVs between Gemma and Mira. In Mira’s narrations, readers get to take a look at her past and present. I feel like her past really helped in building her character. It certainly helped in explaining her actions.

Little Liar is definitely an entertaining read. Apart from all the tension and drama though, it made me think critically about parenthood and its challenges. I would like to have kids someday. I think kids are super cute and adorable. However, reading this story made me think about the other side of parenthood and in particular, the tantrums. I have seen kids throw tantrums in public places. The kicking, lying on the floor and wailing but I have never really thought about how parents feel in these situations. Does it get frustrating? Do parents ever feel tired and helpless in the face of tantrums no matter how much they love their kids? I have never really thought about it before.

This is the perfect domestic noir filled with secrets and lies. The author did a fantastic job in building the tension from page to page. The two characters were in a situation that felt quite tense for both of them such that as a reader, I couldn’t help but feel anxious. I was especially  drawn to Gemma’s story and kept wondering what I would have done in a similar situation. This isn’t a book about big twists and shocking reveals. It is an intense read and the final turn was definitely dark and chilling. I would have wished for a different ending but I am okay with the direction that the author decided to take the story. This was definitely a captivating read.