Lie with Me

As soon as I started this, I was hooked. Narrator perfect in role. Dark story, impending doom feeling from start to finish, redemption too late etc. would recommend to anyone.

Very cleverly put together, quite a frightening idea. I really enjoyed this book and it was well read.

Sabine Durrant's sinister slow-burner scores high for creating a vivid and mixed array of characters who, despite being an unpleasant lot, I found intriguing, mainly credible and involving. I was hooked by the story and enjoyed the increasingly uncomfortable sense of something dark going to happen.

Paul Morris is an arrogant womaniser, although he's frequently been too drunk to remember his conquests. He's also a liar and a loser. His writing career has flopped after one long- forgotten novel; he's lost his home, and his money has run out. But when he meets Andrew, an old university friend - one whom in truth he barely remembers and never liked - he is introduced to Alice and the circle of friends who holiday on Greece together each year. That's when the lies start - Paul makes up a West End apartment, American publishers vying for his latest novel - and he and Alice quickly become lovers. What could be more natural than Paul being included in the Greek holiday line-up?

The holiday makes for compulsive and unsettling listening as things go disconcertingly awry. Why are Alice and Andrew seemingly so close? Why is Alice so obsessed with the disappearance of a 14 year-old girl on the Greek island years before? Why did Alice lie about her teenage son being brought back to the holiday villa dead drunk in the early hours?
Paul becomes increasingly uneasy himself, but every doubt seems to have a simple answer - until a young tourist on the island is raped after a night out. Even worse follows, and the police are involved. This is a mystery-thriller well rooted in everyday reality which makes the listening compelling and rewarding, and it also has a strong cautionary tale element about lying as Paul becomes enmeshed in the tangle of his own web of self-aggrandising lies.

The very competent narrator helps the story glide along, and Lie with Me gets full marks for its gripping story, for the intricate details of its plot and for Durrant's classy, fluent writing. I didn't give the story a full 5 because although the resolution of the plot has a good shock element, if you think about it in any depth, it raises just too many questions about credibility. But never mind, this is a great listen!

The first time I had heard a book by this author. I love the way this book is written.. The descriptive language is fantastic. The narrator is also great. My only criticism is the end of the book was disappointing.

It was wonderfully narrated, it gave depth to the storyline

It is similar to many books in that it slowly reveals it's characters as harbouring dark secrets and lies and ultimately being different people from the ones portrayed at the start of the book.

He managed to tell the story and convey beautifully an undercurrent of something sinister.

No, I just enjoyed the story

Well worth a listen, although a stronger finish would have been more satisfying.

Pleasantly surprised as how much I enjoyed this book. I do recommend it for an easy listen.

When I thought the description sounded promising, I checked the reviews - there were none!
Surprising as there were many ratings - indeed averaging 4+stArs.
I took a chance and do not regret the credit. Increasingly uncomfortable atmosphere and credible narration.

Sabine Durrant is a good writer and I enjoyed her previous two novels. In this one she introduces us to Paul, a shifty arrogant man with a selective memory and a lifestyle that relies on preying on the goodwill of others. He is unlikeable but I did feel sympathy for the fact he is so delusional about his looks and popularity and that at the age of 42 he is forced to return home to live with his mother with only a few bin bags of possessions to show for his life. It was also a nice touch to make him an animal lover and so not entirely devoid of humanity.
The scenes set in Greece are tense and oppressive and the characters in this story all have an intriguingly sinister edge. You just know something is going to go horribly wrong and the suspense is maintained until the end. What lets this down for me is the preposterous nature of the plot. I felt it relied far too heavily on the victim of the story doing everything exactly to plan for the ultimate outcome to be a success. For me this over precise engineering was simply not believable but I admit it was an enjoyable ride and it would make a good TV show. I also think that it is entirely appropriate that one of the characters runs a shop called ‘Ripping Yarns’.
I thought Kirk Bage sounded about ten years older that Paul's character, but that is a minor grumble and overall he did a very good job.

Very good. keeps you guessing the whole way. I would recommend it to anyone! !

All characters are very plausible. I disliked the self centred, cheating, lying central character and was looking forward to his come uppance. When it was finally delivered, my sympathies changed. Strong plot with plenty of twists and great sense of place.

I didn't 'like' any of them, for all sorts of reasons, but they were still part of a compelling story and each had a role.

Great narration and good character voices which brought individuals to life.

It made me cross from time to time. The manipulation and selfishness was well portrayed.

A neat little psychological thriller, well paced and a few surprises. Kept me listening throughout and keen to hear more.