Publication Date: 2nd August from Penguin
Source: Netgalley
Susanna Fenton has a secret. Fourteen years ago she left her identity behind, reinventing herself as a counsellor and starting a new life. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe.
But everything changes when Adam Geraghty walks into her office. She’s never met this young man before – so why does she feel like she knows him?
Adam starts to tell her about a girl. A girl he wants to hurt. And that’s when Susanna realises she was wrong.
She doesn’t know him.
He knows her.
And the girl he plans to hurt is her daughter.
I really REALLY enjoyed “The House” by Simon Lelic last year so was a right eager beaver when I got hold of a copy of “The Liars Room” and if I really enjoyed “The House” it has to be said that I LOVED this.
The Liars Room is a considered, intelligent and claustrophobic thriller set for the most part in a single room where two people face off in a psychological battle of wills heading inexorably towards their own hidden truths…
When Susanna welcomes new client Adam into her office it isn’t long before she has a distinct feeling of disquiet, for good reason as Adam has a very specific purpose for this visit and it doesn’t bode well for Susanna’s daughter…
I’m not going to give any more specifics of the plot away than that – why Adam is there, his connection to Susanna, what happened in her past,, to her family, all of this comes out over the course of the story, it is extraordinarily addictive, more and more emotive as things become clearer and is utterly gripping. Some brilliantly thought provoking themes explored here, from rather different angles than the standard and I was enthralled from first page to last.
I loved that this ultimately was not a novel in which you could “take sides” in the way you might usually, all the players in this drama have their own realities, it is an authentically engaging character study, a story of perspective and personality.
Really really clever. Often unexpected. It will make you think about current issues in a slightly different way, plus it has one of those endings that will linger and play on your mind. I have actually changed my own mind about how I felt about everyone in it several times since I finished it. The Liars Room is that sort of book.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading!
