Thursday 29 December 2016

A Suitable Lie - Michael J Malone



Andy Boyd thinks he is the luckiest man alive. Widowed with a young child, after his wife dies in childbirth, he is certain that he will never again experience true love. Then he meets Anna. Feisty, fun and beautiful, she's his perfect match... And she loves his son, too. When Andy ends up in the hospital on his wedding night, he receives his first clue that Anna is not all that she seems. He ignores it; a dangerous mistake that could cost him everything. A brave, deeply moving psychological thriller which marks a stunning departure for one of Scotland's top crime writers.

What did I think?

After seeing lots of bloggers discussing it on social media, I purchased A Suitable Lie for my book to read on Christmas Eve.  Although it's probably not the best storyline to read at Christmas, it's such an outstanding book that I couldn't have waited a minute longer to read it.  I feel slightly guilty saying that I absolutely loved this book as it has such a devastatingly emotional storyline, but it is so unbelievably brilliant that I want to tell everyone about it.  It's like a car-crash, as much as you don't want to see it you can't help but look and, once you do, it's impossible to tear your eyes away.

Andy Boyd had to suffer the terrible tragic event of his wife dying in childbirth.  He is left on his own to bring up his beautiful son, Pat, and he can't believe his luck when he meets Anna.  Anna is everything he could hope for in a wife and mother so Andy asks her to marry him.  Andy's mother isn't so sure and worries that Andy is marrying Anna out of gratitude because she is willing to be a mother to Pat. I was reminded of the phrase 'mother knows best' when Andy ended up with a broken nose on his wedding night after Anna 'accidentally' lashed out in her sleep.  It only gets worse after that and Andy tries everything to keep the peace with Anna, including distancing himself from his mother and brother.  Anna always seems to find some reason to pick a fight and Andy knows that if he ever fights back he could lose his son.  You just know that this is all going to end in tears...

Wow!  A Suitable Lie is such an emotional and raw novel.  I felt Andy's pain, despair and anger on every page and wondered why we are so quick to assume which party is at fault in such cases.  We talk about girl power and equal rights, but some women are happy to play the weaker sex card when it suits them.  I also found it interesting, and sadly know that this happens, that Anna didn't show her true colours until the ring was firmly on her finger.  

Devastatingly brilliant, A Suitable Lie deserves a spot on every reader's bookshelf and is certainly worthy of more than 5 stars to clearly exhibit its brilliance.  If you only plan on reading one book this year, make it A Suitable Lie.  I don't think I have ever read anything like it and I know for sure that this book will stay with me for a long time to come.  Absolutely exceptional, it completely blew me away and it's definitely going in the To Read Again pile.

My rating:





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1 comment:

  1. Michelle, thank you for your review. I LOVE your response to the book as I had no faith in it and was almost content to leave it rot in a computer file until a chance conversation with a man whose friend was being abused made me reconsider. Authors are not always the best judge of their work - and to see how it moved you means the world. Thank you.

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