The Perfect Lie cover art

The Perfect Lie

an addictive and unmissable thriller full of shocking twists

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The Perfect Lie

By: Jo Spain
Narrated by: Sophie Jo Wasson
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About this listen

 'Will keep you guessing and guessing' Cara Hunter

********

He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny's police colleagues one morning, it's the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband's murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.

********

'A jewel of a thriller' Heat

'Another twisty and intense thriller from the great Jo Spain' Adrian McKinty

'This will have you absolutely gripped' Prima

'Superbly written, cinematic and pacey' Steve Cavanagh

(P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited©2021 Joanne Spain Crime Thrillers Detective Domestic Thrillers Genre Fiction Medical Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Marriage Crime Murder Exciting Suspense

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Critic reviews

A real page-turner with a brilliant mystery at its heart. Superbly written, cinematic and pacy!
Jo Spain is a brilliant, compelling storyteller. The Perfect Lie will pin you to your seat until you reach the last page
Another twisty and intense thriller from the great Jo Spain that will keep you guessing until the final pages
Without doubt my favourite Jo Spain book so far, and that's saying something - a fabulous page-turner that will keep you guessing and guessing
Grabs from the explosive opening chapter and pulls you in deeper with every page - a top-notch thriller
Jo Spain takes it to another level in The Perfect Lie. Intense, clever writing and packed with twists and turns. Loved it
The Perfect Lie had me completely fooled - such a brilliantly twisted plot that I just couldn't work out. And on top of that Jo Spain is still making us care so much about the characters. I loved this book and it deserves to fly to the top of the charts
This is domestic noir at its best . . . will have you captivated from the very first chapter
Chilling and all too plausible . . . with some expertly done twists
This book grabs you by the throat on the first page and holds you there until you are dropped like a stone on the last
From its killer premise to the jaw-dropping pay-off, The Perfect Lie delivers on every single level. Such a clear, confident voice drives the most compelling of plots. Be warned, once you start reading, you won't put it down again until you unravel the twisted truth. A sure-fire smash hit!
It's so good that you will not want it to end
With so many "oh my gosh" moments, this will have you absolutely gripped
A jewel of a thriller
Be warned: this book will keep you up all night!
A great page-turner
There's plenty to keep you guessing in this one, we would expect nothing less from thriller master, Jo Spain
Thoroughly absorbing throughout
Braided together in flashbacks and flash-forwards, these three narrative strands deliver a drip-feed of revelations that work upon Erin like Chinese water torture, inexorably wearing away her illusions until all that remains is the defiance required to speak truth to power
A slice of suspense
Clear a few days in your schedule and pick this up - you won't want to put it down again
A superb suspenseful mystery for fans of gripping thrillers
Like a close-up magician, all the skill is in the art of distraction, in showing us what we want to see, and Spain pulls it off with style
Delivers a brilliantly layered tale where nothing is as it seems and, like Erin, you're soon questioning absolutely everything
All stars
Most relevant
Having read most of Jo Spain's books now, I have come to eagerly await her next novel. I downloaded this straight away and listened to it over two days and,was captivated from the first chapter. And what a shocking opening it is, starting with a knock on the door and the policeman husband of Erin Kennedy throwing himself from the balcony of their apartment to his death. Not since last year's After the Fire, have I been so gripped from the onset of a book like this.
It is narrated by Sophie Jo Wasson rather than Michele Moran who did Dirty Little Secrets or my favourite, Aoife McMahon who has done most of Jo Spain's other books and this takes a little getting used to at first. However, there are plenty of twists and turns throughout that will keep you guessing until the end which manages to tread the fine line of being both unexpected and plausible.
Jo Spain is an author who,in my opinion, gets better with every book and I can't wait for the next one.

Another fantastically twisty novel is best so far

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Loved it, it kept me engrossed for hours, I didn't see the twists coming. Excellent story line, perfect narration

The best of Jo Spains book so far

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I did enjoy this book and the way it ultimately wove its way to the conclusion was very clever.

It was difficult in the early chapters to understand what was going on - one where I wished I had bought it as a book so I could flick back!! I kept thinking I had missed something but I hadn’t it was just all part of the suspense.

It did keep me guessing and several times I thought I had cracked it only to be wrong.

The narrators voice is lovely - so much so that often I found it had washed over me and I had missed chunks! Although in the end the way she said “Danny” started to grate!

Clever ending but too long.

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I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook . Jo Spain does it again. Good narration. The story was developed well and all your theories were shot down. The ending is not what you expect .

A good listen full of surprises

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I like Jo Spain’s books and I realised early on that this one featured a character from a previous book that I had also enjoyed. It is deliberately confusing almost til the end and then it all becomes clear. The narrator is also very good and her narration and change of accent etc make out a really good listen.

A good listen

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