To Tell You The Truth by Gilly Macmillan

 

Imagine you are on a holiday. 

You are on a beach, lounging on one of those sunbathing cots.

Or you're at this Air B&B, which is the in thing these days, and you're lying on a hammock or sitting in the porch, overlooking large trees, listening to the chirping of birds.

And you have a choice of book to read or listen to. 

I would suggest you pick up this one. 

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With that build up, here's a review:

The book is written in two timelines - one with Lucy as a child and one as an established author.

Lucy Harper is a prolific writer. Her childhood imaginary friend and the main protagonist of her books, DS Eliza Grey are her USP. Her publisher and publicist are super happy with the way the books are being churned out and selling like hot cakes. Her writing also has a web page where fans can leave comments. All is good. 

Lucy's parents are no more. Lucy's brother, Teddy disappeared when summer solstice night when he was a little boy. The trauma of not knowing or even understanding where her little brother could have gone when she had turned her back for a few minutes cannot be healed. The heart will bleed forever.

Lucy has a pathetic, loser, something short of a manipulative husband, Dan. What do you call those men who are living off their wife's money and gloating in it? Well, he is one of those. 

And Lucy has a secret that she herself is unaware of.

Dan has been planning something. Something, if exposed, will shatter Lucy. It would be heart breaking to have someone create stories based on your trauma; based on your loss. It's betrayal of trust. But, Dan does just that. 

One night, after an argument, Dan packs his bags and walks out the doors of the house. The house, Lucy is not warming up to as it is too close to her parental home and the woods where she lost her little brother. Dan does not return. Soon she is informed that Dan was dead; probably murdered.

What secret was Dan harbouring that leads to his death? Did Lucy abandon her little brother and now kill this stupid husband of hers who was a walking, talking red flag?

Is Lucy hallucinating? Is she as unstable as she comes across? It is frustrating to watch the anger seething inside her but dissipating as it comes out, almost like a whimper.

With the way her writing career is going in full speed, with the help of her imaginary friend, Eliza, I wondered if she had this split personality who did things and left no trace of the chaos which Lucy, in her right senses, would not understand. 

A new author in my TBR and definitely not disappointing. She leaves trails that lead to nowhere, you will realize at the end of each plot. Her language is simple and deliberate. The ending is unpredictable and you would not even guess it. But, it is a plausible ending; I mean it makes sense. I "huh'd" loudly as I heard the story unfold. What the hell!

The icing to good writing is smooth accented narration by Emma Fryer. Emma's voice could lull you to sleep and Gilly Macmillan will keep you awake with her plot line. Now that is a combination you don't want to pass! Happy reading!