The Perfect Lie: The addictive and unmissable heart-pounding thriller

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Spain carefully researched the topic of suicide, insisting she wanted to "treat it as much more than a plot device". RTÉ had been reading my Tom Reynolds series, and though they didn't want to adapt them, they asked if I wanted to write for TV. I always start my books with an idea for a hook. I let this stunning opening mull away in my mind for some time before piecing together all the secrets about her apparently 'perfect' husband.

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Goodreads The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Goodreads

With crime fiction you already know that plot and pace are really important and that's what matters on screen."

I loved this. Jo Spain writes THE BEST twisty psychological thrillers, the premise for this one is highly intriguing and the execution does not disappoint. Jo, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, writes TV screenplays full-time. Her first crime series was broadcast on RTE in 2018 and she's currently involved in a number of TV developments including adaptations of her own novels. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with the Emmy award-winning David Logan (airing 2022). 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. The Perfect Lie is an unnerving, sinister thrill ride that introduces us to Erin Kennedy, a young publisher who, after seeing her husband suddenly commit suicide in front of her very eyes, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her husband was being internally investigated, he had been seeing a psychiatrist weekly for the length of their marriage, he had bank accounts full of money he couldn’t possibly have made, he was working secretly with the brother of a victim who never received justice, and she ends up on trial for a murder that she may or may not have committed.

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Waterstones The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain | Waterstones

Having moved to New York five years ago following a family tragedy, Erin's fortune changed when she met her now husband, police detective Danny.It opened the world for me. It's almost like the Freemasons; once you've got one show made, your name is out there. I'm now in the position now where I am battling away work." She dedicated The Perfect Lie to 'the Irish diaspora, who were far from home when Covid entered our lives'. With the hefty word count comes an obvious hefty cast of characters with many likely suspects and red herrings and potential victims but Spain’s characterisation was good enough to cause no confusion with who was who. Erin was a likeable leading lady and I couldn’t help but cheer her on. Karla, her lawyer, was a standout from the supporting characters and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up in another of Spain’s books one day. Spain also has a burgeoning career as a scriptwriter. She made her screenwriting debut with the 2018 RTÉ Dublin crime drama Taken Down, which she co-wrote with Love/Hate's Stuart Carolan. I HATE plot devices where the mystery hinges upon the characters withholding information. It is lazy and after having read some stellar psy thrillers in the vein of Gone Girl etc., it feels downright cheap. If you don’t mind that, then by all means this book will appeal to you.

The Perfect Lie: the gripping new psychological thriller from the The Perfect Lie: the gripping new psychological thriller from the

She is also working on her 2022 novel: The Drowning is about "an Englishman who travels to Lapland where his sister has died in pretty horrific circumstances". If there was a hiccup or critique, it was that most of the story is told from Erin’s first person point of view except for a few chapters which are told from the point of view of another female character, Ally. Ally’s boyfriend’s identity needs to be kept secret from the reader for quite a while so as not to give too much away leading to Ally constantly referring to ‘my boyfriend’ ending up a little clunky. Maybe Spain could have simply said ‘he’ now and then to break up the weirdness of this part. Told in three different time lines, I guarantee that you will not be bored for a minute. It was absolutely unputdownable and it has “one sitting reading” written all over it, cause you’ll need to make sense of how both lines tie together. I won’t say much because of spoilers, just pay attention to the details. I did and I guessed some of the twists and oh, Ms. Spain…that was clever! Flash forward 18 months and Erin is now in court, on trial for her husband's murder, as she discovers that the life she though was perfect was all built on the perfect lie.Don’t you just love when you come into a book with no expectations at all and it blows your mind away? That’s exactly what happened to me with The perfect lie. I’ve had some Jo Spain’s books sitting on my kindle for years but never got to them. This was my first and now I can say I’m a fan and need to read her previous work pronto! The first half was awesome. I absolutely had no idea what the hell was happening. But then, around the middle I figured it all out. It dragged a little after that but it was still okay.