The Lie By C.L. Taylor

[amazon_link id=”0007544278″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’The Lie’ is the latest book by C.L. Taylor.

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She’s happier than she’s ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist. Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women. Jane has tried to put the past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed Jane and everything she loves.

Cally Taylor is an author I heard about last year when her first book, ‘The Accident’ was released and she received a lot of praise. So when I was sent a copy of ‘The Lie’, I was eager to see what type of author she was.

‘The Lie’ is a cleverly written story that spans over many years and is completely seen through the narrative of Jane, who is infact really called Emma and begins right at the point when Jane receives her first letter from someone claiming to know that her real name isn’t Jane.

The story then flicks back between the past and present when Emma and her then three best friends travel to Nepal and end up on the top of mountain embroiled in a cult where they all become enemies and the trust between the friendship is gone. Emma’s oldest friend is Daisy, but she has a new friend now called Leanne and the pair of them prefer to bully and tease Emma, leaving her out of activities. I found the scenes with the three girls uncomfortable as they are grown women, straight out of university but they resort to play school bully tactics, whispering rumours and generally making Emma feel uncomfortable. Thankfully Emma has another friend called Al, who is the reason they are all on this holiday, after her recent breakup. She is caught in the middle and doesn’t like to take sides, but she believes Emma when she begins to doubt the ethics of the group. With being the outsider of the girls, Emma is seen as a challenge by the leader of the cult Issac and this annoys Daisy as she wants Isaac’s attention. The longer Emma spends being the outsider and discovering things along the way, the more she realises that they have to get out of this place for their own safety and this is how tragically only two of the four of girls return to England.

As the story is written in the past and present, it gives an great insight into the friendship and as to why Emma has changed her name. Both tenses are equally gripping and I found this book a compelling read. In the present tense, Emma now Jane, thought she was finally free from her past, having moved on with a good job and a new love but her past has caught up with her and it seems that old ghosts don’t want her to be happy. As the lead character, Emma comes across as quite weak, as she puts up with her alleged friends behaviour and ridicule, but as time passes over the year, we see her become stronger, even though she is still paranoid after how their trip turned out.

Cleverly written and where everyone is a suspect, ‘The Lie’ is a suspenseful and gruesome story that draws into the deep, dark world of cults, jealousy and shows no matter how hard you try to hide, your past always catches up with you.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0007544278″ target=”_blank” ]The Lie from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.