The Lies We Tell by Jane Corry
This is a rather excellent book. I devoured it in one sitting, it is that easy to read and you just want to keep going and not put it down.
It starts off in present time with Sarah, her husband Tom and their fifteen-year-old son Freddy. Freddy is kind of out of control and has returned home with the statement he has killed someone but refusing to say anything more. Tom wants to immediately hand him in to the police, but Sarah just wants to protect him and so the story eventually continues with her going to great lengths to do just that.
A large portion of the story was told from the past of Tom and Sarah, from the moment they met, until that night. As is sometimes the case in books, you wonder why we have to know all this, and it detracts from the actual plot of the book. But this wasn’t the case here, it all felt very relevant and like I said, it was very easy to read and be immersed in it all.
Tom and Sarah both have major secrets from their pasts that they drip feed each other over the years, but ultimately Sarah’s biggest secret, she keeps to herself right till that fateful night and it all comes out.
I disliked both Sarah and Tom. Especially Sarah as she did push Tom away when Freddy was born, and she did exclude him from their little bubble. She never reprimanded or disciplined Freddy as he grew up, mollycoddling and ignoring his behaviour. She was quick to blame Tom for the way he turned out, even many years later. Yes, Tom wasn’t around much, always at work, but he had started out wanting to be a good dad, but Sarah never made it easy. Freddy turned out the way he did partly through his own actions, he was old enough to know right from wrong, but his parents, though mostly his mum, played a major part in how he turned out.
I enjoyed the book, and the last part was as it should be.
Submitted by Stephanie
