Hi Reader, and Happy March!

I hope you’re enjoying the lighter days, the warmer temperatures and the reawakening of nature that this glorious month brings. I’m happy to be back outdoors in my garden, cup of tea in front of me, laptop open and sharing my book reviews with you as the birds sing. It’s really peaceful and feels great.

I’ve had a super time reading lately as the weather has changed. I’ve read 8 books so far this year, my goal is 45, so a good start so far. I’ve also joined a book club! We had our first meeting on Thursday this week and it was great to discuss all things bookish and meet some new people who also enjoy fiction.

It’s starting to get busy in publishing with many new titles being released from this month onwards, and I’m very fortunate to have received a brand new thriller as a proof copy, which is what I’m going to share my review of today! So as always with a proof copy, please note that I received this book as an AD/PR Product from the publisher, author or their agent, and that my review is honest and my own.

Now that’s out the way, let me introduce you to a brand new psychological thriller that I’m certain you’ll want to read if you’re a thriller fan!

SOMEONE IS LYING, BY HEIDI PERKS

The tagline on this proof grabbed me instantly… ‘your daughter is missing…no one believes you’. I mean, what a panic creating, heart stopping, anxiety inducing feeling that would be. I knew this was going to be a psychological thriller I had to read.

Synopsis:

‘How do you find your daughter when no one believes she is missing?

Single mother Jess and her daughter Issie have always shared an unbreakable bond. For the last seven years, it’s been just the two of them.

That is, until Issie meets Dylan.

When the pair announce their plans to go travelling, Jess is devastated – Issie is only seventeen after all, and Jess doesn’t trust her daughter’s new boyfriend.

And when she stops hearing from her altogether, she’s terrified.

With Dylan refusing to talk, and the police unwilling to help, Jess is faced with a mother’s worst nightmare.

Can she find her daughter before it’s too late?‘

The book begins with the disappearance of two teenagers, Issie and Dylan, on holiday together travelling across Portugal. Jess, Issie’s Mother, instantly blames Dylan for Issie’s disappearance. However, Jess doesn’t come across as the most reliable character to follow the beliefs of. She clearly has an issue with Issie’s father, and is still burnt from her own relationship breakdown from years previous. It comes across rather quickly that she may just be prejudiced towards Dylan, rather than there being anything sinister about him. That is, until things take a turn.

The missing teenager’s case is picked up by a True Crime Podcast, and what’s interesting as a reader is that we realise we are reading Jess’s chapters in the past, and the True Crime Podcast in the present. The short Podcast sections ask questions to us as readers as we play armchair detective, trying to work out the plot and the character’s motives.

Eventually, we pick up the POV of Kay, Dylan’s Mum, who has the complete opposite view of the circumstances.

With the UK Police Force powerless, missing young adults and anxious parents, what can Jess do when her Police Force can’t help her, and the Portuguese police insist it’s just teenagers being teenagers. Jess insists that they are wrong and she knows her own daughter. She wouldn’t just go radio silent… or would she?

This is the question of how far a parent would go to protect their child and how far a child would go to protect themselves.

CAN’T PUT IT DOWN RATING: 4/5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The chapters are the perfect length for you to exclaim ‘just one more chapter!’, the three POVs add depth, layering, intrigue and interest and the different timelines keep us guessing. We think as readers we’ve got it sussed out, but then the author shouts ‘PLOT TWIST!’ and we take a different direction.

I felt the anguish of the parents, the fear, the panic and the difficult choices that they have to make. They think they know their kids, but do they?

It was gripping, thrilling and super twisty. A solid 4 star read for me. The only thing that I found is that some of the suspense could have been drawn out a little longer for my personal taste, I found once I knew the ending I knew how things were going to go.

Perfect for readers who enjoyed ‘wrong place wrong time’ by Gillian McAllister, which whilst more sci-fi in nature, again deals with a Mother’s point of view and a child at the centre of the plot.

This novel is available in paperback on March 27th, 2025.

Good news however..! I’ve just spotted that it’s on kindle in the UK for just 99p today for immediate download (09/03/25 – price may change, please check before buying)!

So if you have a kindle and fancy this one, download it by clicking/tapping here (please note that this is an amazon affiliate link which I earn commission from if you purchase this book using this link).

Do you enjoy psychological thrillers? Let me know your recommendations in the comments below!

Until the next Chapter,

Emma X0

@papyrusandpeppermint