Review: Everything is Lies by Helen Callaghan@hecallaghan

No-one is who you think they are

Sophia’s parents lead quiet, unremarkable lives. At least that is what she’s always believed.

Everyone has secrets

Until the day she arrives at her childhood home to find a house ringing with silence. Her mother is hanging from a tree. Her father is lying in a pool of his own blood, near to death.

Especially those closest to you

The police are convinced it is an attempted murder-suicide. But Sophia is sure that the woman who brought her up isn’t a killer. As her father is too ill to talk it is up to Sophia to clear her mother’s name. And to do this she needs to delve deep into her family’s past – a past full of dark secrets she never suspected were there . . .

What if your parents had been lying to you since the day you were born?

Review

It is hard to believe that this is Helen’s second book. I loved her debut, Dear Amy and this one definitely exceeded my expectations. It is such a brilliant read!

Everything is Lies tells the story of Sophia, a regular, young lady living a somewhat carefree life away from home. However, her life is quickly turned upside down when her parents are involved in what police believe to be a murder-suicide attempt. Soon, things get crazier as Sophia starts uncovering long, buried family secrets.

This wonderful story is narrated in two main timelines. Sophia’s narrations are set in the present and mostly focus on her discovery of her family’s secrets. There is a second timeline set in the past narrated through notebooks discovered after the murder-suicide attempt.

I am deliberately being vague because this is the kind of story that you need to discover for yourself. The less you know about the book, the better your reading experience.

I won’t say anything more about the plot apart from the fact that it is totally captivating. I was thoroughly immersed in the narrative that I completely forgot everything else around me. I liked the character development and how well the author researched different themes. I also love the fact that story kept my mind so active. I desperately wanted to figure it out so I kept guessing and changing my guesses. I was right a few times but I ended being surprised most of the time. Even when I was right, it was because the author left enough clues that practically led me to the answers. Helen’s writing is everything! It is beautiful, descriptive and captivating.  If you enjoy books about secrets, lies, manipulation and family drama then you dare not miss this one!

Definitely recommended!