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The Liar's Chair

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About this listen

The Liar's Chair is Rebecca Whitney's stunning psychological thriller debut set in Brighton.

Who can she trust
If she can't trust herself?

Rachel Teller and her husband David appear happy, prosperous and fulfilled. The big house, the successful business . . . They have everything.

However, control, not love, fuels their relationship and David has no idea his wife indulges in drunken indiscretions. When Rachel kills a man in a hit and run, the meticulously maintained veneer over their life begins to crack.

Destroying all evidence of the accident, David insists they continue as normal. Rachel though is racked with guilt and as her behaviour becomes increasingly self-destructive she not only inflames David's darker side, but also uncovers her own long-suppressed memories of shame. Can Rachel confront her past and atone for her terrible crime? Not if her husband has anything to do with it . . .

A startling, dark and audacious novel set in and around the Brighton streets, The Liar's Chair will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final page has been turned. A stunning psychological portrait of a woman in a toxic marriage, Rebecca Whitney's debut will show that sometimes the darkest shadow holds the truth you have been hiding from . . .

'A twist-filled tour of a marriage made in hell' Peter Swanson

*Perfect for fans of Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard*

 Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Marriage Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

There are echoes of Gillian Flynn's 2012 blockbuster Gone Girl in this compelling debut . . . a fresh example of 'domestic noir', the story focuses on a marriage that is deeply flawed, but this time it is the wife alone at the epicentre . . . taut and heart-rending, it paints an uncomfortable portrait of a woman tearing herself apart over a murder she never intended to commit
Those Gone Girl-inspired thrillers are going nowhere. Rebecca Whitney's debut, The Liar's Chair, is about a seemingly perfect relationship that's actually toxic.
A stylish, Brighton-based psychological thriller that blows open the smokescreen of superficial happiness in a successful young couple. This British noir is the work of Rebecca Whitney, an extremely promising literary newcomer.
This impressive debut will cleverly draw you in, then spit you out shivering and on edge.
Disturbing and realistic. I recommend it to readers who love a good thriller - and a tale of redemption . . . An impressive debut thriller . . . it is sleep-with-the-lights-on chilling . . . Whitney is definitely a name to keep your eye on.
A convincing and intelligent psychological thriller by a gasp-inducingly good new writer.
Set in and around Brighton, Rebecca Whitney's debut novel The Liar's Chair is the tale of a toxic marriage. Both compelling and unsettling. (Laura Wilson)
Whitney's The Liar's Chair may, like Gone Girl, have a toxic marriage at its heart, but the story Whitney tells is of a woman who has lost the ability to connect to anything in her life. Adrift from everything, including her emotions, Rachel haunts her own story, wrongfooting the reader throughout. Like many of the new breed of bad girl stories, Rachel's draws its power not so much from her bad behaviour - drugs, drink and casual sex - but from the convincingly claustrophobic details of her home life. Where fictional anti-heroes live their lives in public, making their mistakes at work or walking down Philip Marlowe's mean streets, these anti-heroines operate in a domestic sphere.
Rebecca Whitney presents a harrowing psychological thriller with The Liar's Chair . . . a shocking close, unpredictable until almost the final page. Impossible to put down.
An unsettling portrayal of a toxic relationship, this pacy debut thriller is pitch dark.
A toxic marriage, deeply unlikeable characters, and dark secrets - an excellent example of the genre.
The Liar's Chair is riveting, a dark story of desperate people and reckless acts. You won't want to put it down.
All stars
Most relevant
This book was a really slow start but worth persevering with. Good narration. The character Rachel seemed a really awful person but has the story unfolded you realised why and started to feel for her. Ultimately I really enjoyed this audio book

Slow start but worth persevering

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The nicest character in the story is a drug dealer. The story was relatively engaging and I did finish it. But if someone had finished off the "heroine" I wouldn't have been sorry to see her go.

Unpleasant characters without exception

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What did you like most about The Liar's Chair?

the story kept me interested throughout the narrator was fabulous

What did you like best about this story?

fast paced and very descriptive writing

What does Emma Fielding bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

you forget you are being read a story you are so wrapped in her tone, her expressiveness

loved this

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The story builds and builds to keep you interested from beginning to end! Not sure I liked any of the characters though

A dark fascinating read

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This book really had me gripped throughout. It is beautifully written. I would highly recommend it.

An excellent book

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