Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Sometimes I Lie
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.alicefeeney.com/
CITY: Surrey
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
RESEARCHER NOTES:
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| HEADING: | Feeney, Alice |
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| 670 | __ |a Sometimes I lie, 2018: |b ECIP t.p. (Alice Feeney) data view (Alice Feeney is a writer and journalist. She has spent 15 years with BBC News where she worked as a Reporter, News Editor, Arts and Entertainment Producer and One O’Clock News Producer. Alice is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Alice has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in the Surrey countryside, where she lives with her husband and dog) |
PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:Faber Academy Writing a Novel course, graduate.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Journalist and fiction writer. BBC News, reporter, news editor, arts and entertainment producer, One O’Clock News producer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Journalist and fiction writer Alice Feeney has worked at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and also writes thriller fiction. Her highly anticipated and successful debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, which was auctioned to publishers, follows in the dark psychological thrills of Gone Girl. With a fifteen-year career at the BBC, Feeney has worked as a reporter, editor, and news producer. Also interested in writing fiction, she graduated from the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. She has lived in London and Sydney and now lives in the Surrey countryside with her husband and dog.
In the 2018 Sometimes I Lie, Amber Reynolds lies in a London hospital bed on Boxing Day, December 26, in a coma. However, she is completely paralyzed and unable to open her eyes, but she is mentally alert. With no memory of what happened, she listens to the medical staff and people who visit her to help her piece together the events leading up to her predicament. A week ago she was in a car accident that ejected her through the windshield. She suspects her husband Paul, a novelist, had something to do with it, and so do the police. Paul may also be having an affair with her younger sister, Claire. At her job as a radio announcer, Amber was about to get fired. Also, she recently met her nasty ex-boyfriend who now works at the hospital she’s in and has access to her room. Amber also recalls the diary she wrote as an unhappy child twenty years ago and the dark secret she keeps with her sister. With all this information possibly helping her resolve why she is paralyzed in the hospital, Amber admits to herself that sometimes she lies.
“Blackmail, forgery, secret video cameras, rape, poisoning, arson, and failing to put on a seat belt all play a role,” noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor who said the excessive number of plot elements eventually weighed down the story, however, fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy Feeney’s debut. Calling the story a serpentine tale of betrayal, madness, and murder, a reviewer in Publishers Weekly said the overambitious debut packs a series of head-spinning and head-scratching plot twists. Feeney’s aim is to “leave readers wondering exactly what happened—and how much of Amber’s account they can believe,” according to the reviewer.
Terry Ann Lawler noted in Library Journal that the story becomes more convoluted with each surprise more intense than the last, with the story overall being a “fun thriller with a terrifically twisted ending that fans of Gone Girl and Girl on a Train will love.” In Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt acknowledged the rash of thriller novels with unreliable female narrators following the success of Gone Girl that encourages writers to pack more and more outrageous elements that result in a “piñata of sociopaths, a wicker basket full of crazy.” Greenblatt admitted that Feeney “obligingly deliver(s), even if the end reward feels a lot like diminishing returns.”
Acknowledging that her book jumps on the bandwagon of Gone Girl, Feeney explained in her article in the Washington Post: “Perhaps the real reason we are drawn to reading and writing about lies is because, in a society divided by social, political and religious beliefs, lying is something that unites us—something we have in common. Lying is a language we’re all fluent in. We lie to fit in or to stand out.” A reviewer online at Crime by the Book called Sometimes I Lie a “twisty, addictive psychological thriller that delivers exactly the kind of jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat read that its plot summary promises. Go ahead, expect to be surprised and completely entertained: Alice Feeney’s outstanding debut is more than up to the task.” Zoe Morris exclaimed online at Bookbag that the book swept her away with stories within stories. “So beyond working our way through the clues, we also have to sift the truth from the fabrications. Who can you trust when you’re not sure you can trust yourself?” said Morris.
Writing on the Shelf Awareness website, Elyse Dinh-McCrillis commented: “As immobile as Amber is for much of the story, Feeney manages to keep the pace at a fast clip. Her crisp prose is packed with acute observations.” She added that Amber’s “unflinching self-awareness is what makes Amber an engaging protagonist. She knows she’s flawed but does the best she can with what she has. She doesn’t let herself off the hook when she makes mistakes, but refuses to wallow in self-pity, too.” In an interview with Dinh-McCrillis, Feeney explained why she wrote such a dark novel: “I think the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given as a writer is to write the book you want to read. I read a lot of books, all genres, but my favorites tend to be rather dark and twisty. I don’t think psychological thrillers are new; I’d argue that Agatha Christie wrote one or two.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Entertainment Weekly, March 16, 2018, Leah Greenblatt, review of Sometimes I Lie, p. 110.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2018, review of Sometimes I Lie.
Library Journal, March 1, 2018, Terry Ann Lawler, review of Sometimes I Lie, p. 48.
Publishers Weekly, December 18, 2017, review of Sometimes I Lie, p. 102.
Washington Post, May 22, 2018, Alice Feeney, “The Truth about ‘Lies’ in Literature.”
ONLINE
Bookbag, http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/ (July 1, 2018), Zoe Morris, review of Sometimes I Lie.
Crime by the Book, http://crimebythebook.com/ (March 11, 2018), author interview.
Shelf Awareness, http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ (October 4, 2017), Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, review of Sometimes I Lie.
A
Alice Feeney Sometimes I Lie
ABOUT ALICE
Alice Feeney is a writer and journalist. She spent 15 years at the BBC, where she worked as a Reporter, News Editor, Arts and Entertainment Producer and One O’clock News Producer.
Alice is has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in the Surrey countryside, where she lives with her husband and dog.
Sometimes I Lie is her debut thriller and is being published around the world.
Feeney, Alice: SOMETIMES I LIE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2018): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Feeney, Alice SOMETIMES I LIE Flatiron Books (Adult Fiction) $26.99 3, 13 ISBN: 978-1-250-14484-3
A pathological liar, a woman in a coma, a childhood diary, an imaginary friend, an evil sister-- this is an unreliable-narrator novel with all the options.
"A lot of people would think I have a dream job, but nightmares are dreams too." Was it only a week ago Amber Reynolds thought her job as an assistant radio presenter was a nightmare? Now it's Dec. 26 (or Boxing Day, because we're in England), and she's lying in a hospital bed seemingly in a coma, fully conscious but unable to speak or move. We won't learn what caused her condition until the end of the book, and the journey to that revelation will be complicated by many factors. One: She doesn't remember her accident. Two: As she confesses immediately, "Sometimes I lie." Three: It's a story so complicated that even after the truth is exposed, it will take a while to get it straight in your head. As Amber lies in bed recalling the events of the week that led to her accident, several other narrative threads kick up in parallel. In the present, she's visited in her hospital room by her husband, a novelist whose affections she has come to doubt. Also her sister, with whom she shares a dark secret, and a nasty ex-boyfriend whom she ran into in the street the week before. He works as a night porter at the hospital, giving him unfortunate access to her paralyzed but not insensate body. Interwoven with these sections are portions of a diary, recounting unhappy events that happened 25 years earlier from a 9-year-old child's point of view. Feeney has loaded her maiden effort with possibilities for twists and reveals--possibly more than strictly necessary--and they hit like a hailstorm in the last third of the book. Blackmail, forgery, secret video cameras, rape, poisoning, arson, and failing to put on a seat belt all play a role.
Though the novel eventually begins to sag under the weight of all its plot elements, fans of the psychological thriller will enjoy this ambitious debut.
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Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Feeney, Alice: SOMETIMES I LIE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528960017/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=b7884bd4. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528960017
2 of 3 6/4/18, 10:09 PM
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Sometimes I Lie
Publishers Weekly.
264.52 (Dec. 18, 2017): p102. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Sometimes I Lie
Alice Feeney. Flatiron, $26.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-250-14484-3
Almost nothing is as it initially appears in BBC News veteran Feeney's bold if overambitious debut, a serpentine tale of betrayal, madness, and murder. Amber Reynolds, a radio show presenter, is lying in a London-area hospital in a coma the day after Christmas, body unresponsive but mind alert, struggling to piece together what happened to her--and whether it has anything to do with Paul, her husband (whom the police suspect), or Claire, the younger sister she fears Paul's fallen for. Not to mention the menacing man who sneaks into her hospital room. But as days pass and memories flood back--both from the turbulent previous weeks, when she was fighting to keep her job and near-frantic about Paul being unfaithful, and from the particularly fraught year when she was 11--it becomes clear that this is an infinitely more sinister story. Feeney packs the final 60-odd pages with a series of head-spinning and, in some cases, head-scratching plot twists; the overall effect is to leave readers wondering exactly what happened--and how much of Amber's account they can believe. Feeney is definitely a writer to watch. Agent: Jonny Gellar, Curtis Brown. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Sometimes I Lie." Publishers Weekly, 18 Dec. 2017, p. 102. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A520578847/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=4f4bb95a. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A520578847
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Lawler, Terry Ann
Source:
Library Journal. 3/1/2018, Vol. 143 Issue 4, p48-48. 1/6p. 1 Color Photograph.
Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie. 9 CDs. 9:26 hrs. Macmillan Audio. Mar. 2018. ISBN 9781427293367. $39.99. digital download. F
Amber has just become aware that she is in a hospital, in a coma. While she can hear what is going on around her, she can't move, even to open her eyes. She hears that she was in a car accident and went through a window. She hears that the police think her husband had something to do with it. She hears the doctor threatening her, putting something in her IV. When Amber flashes back to a few weeks before and the time leading up to the accident, she starts to piece together why she is there. Amber also flashes back to childhood, to a sometimes sinister ten-year-old's diary, which never mentions her younger sister Claire. In pieces and fragments, the story slowly comes together, only to change as soon as readers think they have a handle on what is true and what isn't. Stephanie Racine reads with the right amount of fear, urgency, and sly treachery. Her performance helps to confuse readers as the story becomes more and more convoluted, with each surprise bigger than the next. VERDICT A fun thriller with a terrifically twisted ending that fans of Gone Girl and Girl on a Train will love.
WHAT LIES BENEATH: TWO HYPED NEW THRILLERS.
Authors:
Greenblatt, Leah ()
Source:
Entertainment Weekly. 3/16/2018, Issue 1506/1507, p110-110. 1p. 2 Color Photographs.
Reviews: Books
Mystery—and coincidence—doubles down in these dark tales. But has the genre reached its saturation point?
THERE'S AN ALMOST freakish amount of shared surface area between Clare Mackintosh's Let Me Lie and Alice Feeney's Sometimes I Lie, two much-anticipated novels set for release March 13. Both feature tricky young protagonists; both take place in or near London, primarily in the week between Christmas and New Year; and both titles, of course, bleed into each other portentously. But more than anything, both are reaching for the same prize: another gold brick in the House That Damaged Literary Ladies Built.
Like so many players in the post—Gone Girl era, including a few that have already become their own phenomena in 2018—A.J. Finn's The Woman in the Window, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us, and Alafair Burke's The Ex—these stories rely, to a fault, on unreliable narrators. Sometimes has Amber Reynolds, a 35-year-old radio presenter who wakes up in a hospital bed, her mind bristlingly conscious but her body unresponsive. Unmoored at work and nearly friendless, with a faltering marriage to blocked novelist Paul, she knows she's unhappy, though there's only blank space where the memory of what landed her there should be. It could be Paul, or the college ex who recently tracked her down; or maybe it has something to do with the old diary entries interspersed from her primary-school days.
Let Me Lie's Anna Johnson (oh, for an unusual surname, just once!) is less confused about the source of her pain. At 26, she's freshly orphaned by her parents' near-joint suicides, and a new mom to her own first child—conceived with her grief counselor, no less. But did her mother and father actually take their own lives? The answer to each book's mysteries leads, eventually and inevitably, to a sort of piñata of sociopaths, a wicker basket full of crazy. And how much water can wicker hold? Not much, really, though the current ubiquity of novels like these seems to demand that the outcomes grow more outrageous with each new wave, as if we've become too saturated to accept anything less than a bonanza from our big reveals. And Mackintosh and Feeney—both shrewd, skillful writers—obligingly deliver, even if the end reward feels a lot like diminishing returns.
The truths about 'lies' in literature
Authors:
Alice Feeney
Source:
Washington Post, The. 05/22/2018.
Life is full of unreliable narrators.
When I first dreamed up the character Amber Reynolds, there were only three things I knew about her: She was in a coma, her husband didn't love her anymore, and sometimes she lied. That became the opening of my new novel, "Sometimes I Lie." The facets of deceit fascinate me, so I wrote a story that asks: Is something a lie if you believe it's the truth?
I'm not the only author to be seduced by the lies we tell ourselves and others. In the past year, there have been numerous books, many of them thrillers, using variations of the word "Lie" in their titles. The word "Girl" enjoyed a similar experience after the success of Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl." There was a sudden explosion of "Girls" adorning a galaxy of book covers. It was like a literary big bang, one that both publishers and readers believed in. But are "Lies" the new "Girls," and if so, why?
Publishing, like every industry, has bandwagons that beg to be jumped on. But I think this latest trend might be more than that. Perhaps the real reason we are drawn to reading and writing about lies is because, in a society divided by social, political and religious beliefs, lying is something that unites us - something we have in common.
Lying is a language we're all fluent in. We lie to fit in or to stand out. We lie about our age, our weight and the amount of alcohol we consume. We lie on résumés, greeting cards and dating websites. Nobody reads the terms and conditions; we all just tick the box.
We weave blankets of lies to wrap around our children, to protect them from the truths that might hurt too much or leave a scar. We use lies like Lego, building colorful houses in which to hide because sometimes the truth of who we are and what we've become is unpalatable. But those little bricks of deceit can hurt when accidentally stepped on. And lies don't come with gift receipts; you can't take them back.
We're fascinated by lies because they taste better than the truth, and we swallow them down like bittersweet pills because we're addicted to the way they make us feel. Tongues oiled with lies tend to loosen more easily, and lying is a bad habit we've become rather good at. But familiarity breeds credence, not contempt, and lies told often enough can start to sound true.
We're all familiar with little white lies, but the spectrum is infinite. Some lies are shades of blue, like the ones that dismiss depression and loneliness as two of the biggest dangers to our health. Other lies are green, like the ones that suggest we are not destroying our own planet. Some lies are red, like those that blind us to bloodshed and inhumanity if it occurs on a different continent than our own. Ignorance isn't bliss; it is merely fear postponed to a later date. When we blow out all the candles of truth, it tends to leave us in the dark, no matter what we wished for.
Books about lies offer a paper sanctuary from the screen-shaped variety. We broadcast our Sunday-best smiles 24/7 on the stage that social media built, and permit our own personal curtain of anxiety and tears to fall only when we're sure the lights on our camera phones are safely out. We forge fake friendships, and we think lies are the answer to our loneliness. We post pictures made from lie-shaped pixels, pretending to be someone, something, somewhere we are not. We gorge on the online lies of others, hoping they might fill up all our empty spaces. If you could smell the screen you're staring at, it would stink of fear.
The stories we tell one another about our lives are like snow globes. We shake the facts of what happened in our minds, then watch and wait while the pieces settle into fiction. If we don't like the way the pieces fall, we just shake the story again, until it looks how we want it to.
If "Lies" are the new "Girls," then what next? The one thing in life I've never known to be a lie is true love. Without wishing to sound too sentimental (I write dark and twisty thrillers, after all), perhaps one day, there will be a wave of books with the word "Love" in their titles. Love is something we can hide inside, but also believe in, if we choose to.
We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives, but while there is still love in the world, there is also hope, and that's no lie.
bookworld@washpost.com
Alice Feeney, a former BBC reporter, is the author of the book "Sometimes I Lie."
Q&A: ALICE FEENEY, AUTHOR OF SOMETIMES I LIE
Flatiron Books; March 13, 2018
Fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and Behind Closed Doors - look no further. Your newest psychological thriller obsession is here: SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney releases tomorrow (March 13th), and I can’t recommend this book highly enough! SOMETIMES I LIE was the first psychological thriller in quite a while to really hook me - this is exactly the kind of dark, twisty confection that was missing from my reading list, and I’m confident you’ll feel the same way. In honor of SOMETIMES I LIE’s US publication week, I’m delighted to share a Mini Q&A with author Alice Feeney with CBTB readers today! In our chat, Alice touches on the advice that helped her write this knockout thriller, the project she’s working on next, and a whole lot more.
Before we dive into my Q&A with Alice - let’s take a quick look at exactly what I loved about this book! You can read my full “Buzzworthy 2018 Books” post about SOMETIMES I LIE here, but the main takeaway...
“SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney is the twisty, addictive psychological thriller that delivers exactly the kind of jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat read that its plot summary promises. Go ahead, expect to be surprised and completely entertained: Alice Feeney’s outstanding debut is more than up to the task.
I know all too well—it can seem hard to find a psychological thriller that can fill the huge shoes left behind by some of 2016 and 2017’s biggest releases, but I promise, SOMETIMES I LIE is the puzzle piece your reading list has been missing. Feeney keeps the reader constantly wrong-footed in a debut suspense novel that’s equal parts claustrophobic and captivating. With the shocks of Gone Girl, the interpersonal drama of Behind Closed Doors, and the unreliable characters of The Girl on the Train, SOMETIMES I LIE is a guaranteed hit for readers looking to be swept up in a story that thrills and entertains from the first page to the last. Sinister, shocking, and just plain fun to read, SOMETIMES I LIE is impeccably on-trend yet also inventive and original. Feeney’s debut is the answer for any reader looking to find the next buzzy, trendy psychological thriller in the new year. ”
— crimebythebook.com
About SOMETIMES I LIE:
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.
Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?
Sometimes I Lie: A Novel
By Alice Feeney
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Sometimes I Lie Alice Feeney.jpg
Author Q&A: Alice Feeney
Crime by the Book: SOMETIMES I LIE is your debut novel - congratulations! Have you always aspired to being a writer?
Alice Feeney: I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, even as a child I used to sit in the back of my parents’ shop scribbling mini books onto folded up pieces of paper. I worked for the BBC for sixteen years and I loved my job, but my secret dream was always to be an author. It was such a secret that most people I worked with had no idea that I was busy writing Sometimes I Lie on the train to work and during my lunch breaks. I work in my garden shed now with my co-writer, a giant black Labrador who is scared of feathers.
CBTB: When did you first decide to try your hand at writing a book? Was SOMETIMES I LIE the first idea that came to you?
AF: I had a great job working for the BBC, but deep down I knew that all I really wanted to do was write books, like I’d imagined myself doing as a little girl. I started my first novel the year I turned thirty and it feels like I’ve been scribbling in my spare time ever since. I’ve tried and failed a few times. I have my fair share of rejection letters, but each time, I just picked myself up and tried again, it’s just what you have to do. I think you have to follow your dreams - no matter how scared you are of failing – your dreams always know the way.
CBTB: If you had to describe SOMETIMES I LIE in three adjectives, which would you choose?
AF: Dark, twisty and wicked.
CBTB: My personal favorite element of your book is how fun it is to read - it’s genuinely twisty and shocking and just totally addictive! How did you find the process of writing your debut? Was it as fun to write as it is for us to read?
AF: Sometimes I Lie was so much fun to write. The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is to write a book that you would want to read yourself, which is what I always try to do. It was like an obsession and I could not stop thinking about it. The whole experience was pretty fast and furious, I wrote the book in six months and then sent it to my dream agent. Everything that has happened since has been a wonderful whirlwind, and I still sometimes worry it might not be real! Seeing the book out in the world is the most magical feeling, and I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
CBTB: When you’re not writing crime fiction, are you also a crime fiction reader? If so, what are a few crime novels you’ve read recently that you’ve particularly enjoyed? (If not, what genres do you enjoy reading?)
AF: Oh, yes! I live in a tiny old Victorian house in the countryside, and it is full of books. When I’m not writing I am probably reading, although I read everything, not just crime. Some of my favourite thrillers last year include The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, The Lying Game by Ruth Ware and The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn. Other books I loved in 2017 include Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout, This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent. There were lots more, it was a really good year for great writing.
CBTB: What are you working on next?
AF: I’m thrilled that Sometimes I Lie is being made into a TV series by Legendary, they made amazing films like Inception and Interstellar which I loved. I’m a consultant on the show and I can’t wait to see Amber brought to life on screen. Books wise, I’m pleased to say I have written a brand new dark and twisty story called Sometimes I Kill, which will be out next year, and I’ve just started scribbling a third thriller, which I'm really excited about. I feel very lucky to be a full-time writer now, it’s the best job in the world and I’m incredibly grateful.
Many, many thanks to Alice for taking the time to answer my questions so thoughtfully! I’m so excited for CBTB readers to get their hands on SOMETIMES I LIE - I highly recommend this one, and am confident you’ll find it as gripping and downright fun to read as I did.
Book Details:
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books (March 13, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250144841
ISBN-13: 978-1250144843
Crime by the Book is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the above book.
Buzzworthy 2018 Books: SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
December 18, 2017
Buzzworthy 2018 Book #5: SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
Flatiron Books; March 13, 2018
Are you a fan of big-name psychological thrillers like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and Behind Closed Doors? Then look no further—your 2018 obsession is here. SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney is the twisty, addictive psychological thriller that delivers exactly the kind of jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat read that its plot summary promises. Go ahead, expect to be surprised and completely entertained: Alice Feeney’s outstanding debut is more than up to the task.
I know all too well—it can seem hard to find a psychological thriller that can fill the huge shoes left behind by some of 2016 and 2017’s biggest releases, but I promise, SOMETIMES I LIE is the puzzle piece your reading list has been missing. Feeney keeps the reader constantly wrong-footed in a debut suspense novel that’s equal parts claustrophobic and captivating. With the shocks of Gone Girl, the interpersonal drama of Behind Closed Doors, and the unreliable characters of The Girl on the Train, SOMETIMES I LIE is a guaranteed hit for readers looking to be swept up in a story that thrills and entertains from the first page to the last. Sinister, shocking, and just plain fun to read, SOMETIMES I LIE is impeccably on-trend yet also inventive and original. Feeney's debut is the answer for any reader looking to find the next buzzy, trendy psychological thriller in the new year.
If you’re unfamiliar with my “Buzzworthy Books” series: these posts serve to preview reads I’m already recommending for the coming year. Each post highlights three key elements that make the featured book exceptional enough to start learning about it well in advance!
Buzzworthy Book 1: THE CHALK MAN by C.J. Tudor
Buzzworthy Book 2: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn
Buzzworthy Book 3: THE SANDMAN by Lars Kepler
Buzzworthy Book 4: MACBETH by Jo Nesbo
Book Trailer & Plot Details: SOMETIMES I LIE
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.
Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?
What to Love About SOMETIMES I LIE
Three key elements that make SOMETIMES I LIE a 2018 Must-Read:
Sometimes I Lie Alice Feeney.jpg
1. Claustrophobia-inducing plot. Feeney has done a superb job establishing a psychological thriller with a genuinely unnerving premise: a woman is in a coma, and relates to the reader what she is able to experience as she lies immobile in her hospital bed, unable to even open her eyes. If this isn’t an intriguing premise, I don’t know what is—and Feeney develops it masterfully. I had a visceral reaction to main character Amber’s situation: I found myself tensing up and holding my breath as she describes to the reader her panic at not being able to communicate with those around her. This premise laces the entire story with a pervasive sense of claustrophobia, one that differentiates this book from every other psychological thriller I read this year. And lest readers worry that this setup might become uneventful: Feeney seamlessly balances moments of Amber sharing her current predicament (peppered with reveals made by family members visiting her in the hospital!) with flashbacks to the days leading up to her accident, keeping the plot driving forward even as Amber herself lays immobile. Hats off to Alice Feeney for playing with such an ambitious setup for a psychological thriller - and for delivering on that premise, serving up a read that’s as unnerving as its premise suggests.
2. Eschewing genre stereotypes. This is a tricky topic to discuss without spoiling anything, so you may have to take this one on faith. Here's what I can say: Feeney doesn't rely on psychological thriller stereotypes to deliver the entertainment value that radiates from every page of this book. This being in many ways an on-trend psychological thriller, readers will delve into problematic relationships brimming with manipulation and deceit, but I can practically guarantee that the ultimate revelations Feeney serves up will defy the reader's every expectation. Trust nothing about this book—not its apparent villains nor its seemingly innocent characters. Just trust that Feeney is setting you up to be surprised at every turn by her original and envelope-pushing suspense novel.
3. All those twists! For lack of a more professional way to say this: holy cow. Reading SOMETIMES I LIE is a bit like always being just one step behind of the author, but in the most entertaining way possible. Just when I thought I was closing in on the truth about Amber Reynolds, Feeney pulled the rug out from under me - and this happened over and over again. Some reveals were small, some were earth-shatteringly large; all were completely entertaining and totally unpredictable. If you’re a reader who prefers crime novels that are more methodical and procedural-oriented, SOMETIMES I LIE won’t suit you—this is a story that relies on a number of shocking twists, but I truly enjoyed every single one of them. Just when I thought I might have moved past the trend of really “twisty” psychological suspense novels, Alice Feeney has reminded me why this trend caught on in the first place. When done well, there’s simply nothing more fun than reading a psychological thriller that makes you gasp out loud and question everything you thought you knew about it. SOMETIMES I LIE delivered this kind of read for me—I actually can’t overstate just how surprised I was by the many twists and turns this story took. Is it a bit dramatic? Absolutely. Are these twists potentially a bit unrealistic? Sure, you could argue that - but why would you want to, when reading it is this fun? I loved every single surprising, twisty, shocking moment of this read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Book Details:
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books (March 13, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250144841
ISBN-13: 978-1250144843
Crime by the Book is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the above book.
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Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
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Buy Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Thrillers
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Zoe Morris
Reviewed by Zoe Morris
Summary: A gripping series of stories that offer each other full support, the only question is, can any of them be believed?
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 384 Date: March 2017
Publisher: HQ
ISBN: 978-0008225353
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Christmas is barely over but Amber doesn't have much to celebrate. She's in a coma, trapped with an active mind but an inactive body, able to hear and understand but not respond to what is going on around her. And her mind's a little fuzzy on a few things too, like how she ended up there, who else was involved, and what it all means.
This book has a before and after, but it also has a way back when, and the three times take it in turns to fill in the story. As well as coma Amber, we drop back just a few weeks to her going to work, leading up to Christmas and the incident, whatever it may be, that leads to her hospitalisation. Further back we also go, to a series of primary school diaries. Because sometimes to understand the adult, you also have to understand how they were as a child, the things that moulded them and scalded them. All three time points are intriguing and facts from one repeatedly become clues about another.
By the end of it you won't know which way is up, you'll be so turned around. It takes Amber an infuriatingly long time to remember what happened, almost as if she needs to relive those past few weeks in her mind and follow the trail of breadcrumbs right up to the present. You might think fine, she's in a coma, it's not like she's going anywhere. But something or someone knows what happened on the night of the accident, and until we find out more, there's every chance that person is closer than you think.
This book swept me away and the stories within stories gripped me tight. The woman lying there, seemingly peacefully in the crisp white hospital sheets seems so different from the woman on the radio show, or the young kid from 20 years ago. Sometimes I lie, she tells us, and so beyond working our way through the clues, we also have to sift the truth from the fabrications. Who can you trust when you're not sure you can trust yourself?
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending us a copy to review.
Sometimes other people lie too, and Lie with Me by Sabine Durrant is a great example that men can also be fibbers.
Buy Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney at Amazon.co.uk
Buy Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney at Amazon.com.
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Phillip Allen said:
Could someone please explain what this story is all about. I get it that lies will be told but when one character suddenly changes into another I am completely baffled. Is this the sign of a good story or not?
I like that Amber/Claire have a happy ending with their or their sister’s children but what happened to the other sister/friend. Have I just not paid attention?
Are all Alice Feeny’s novels like this or dare I risk another one? Dare I re-read this one when I feel stronger!!!
Please, someone out there give me a correct series of events with names etc
Wednesday, October 4, 2017: Maximum Shelf: Sometimes I Lie
Flatiron Books: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Flatiron Books: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Flatiron Books: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Flatiron Books: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Sometimes I Lie
by Alice Feeney
"My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I'm in a coma.
2. My husband doesn't love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie."
This is how Alice Feeney's debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, starts. And fans of psychological thrillers won't be able to stop reading after that.
Amber's story is told nonlinearly, in three different time periods: Now, Then (the week leading up to the present) and Before (diary entries from about 15 years earlier). As the book opens, Amber's awareness is returning. She realizes she's lying in a bed and can feel the light behind her eyes, but can't open them or figure out at first where she is or how she got there. She does know her name, that she's 35 years old and is married to Paul.
She hears two women discussing how they have no idea who she is. She shouts her name at them, but the women act as if she has said nothing. That's when she realizes she's in a coma.
Amber can't communicate with the other characters, but she can narrate her story because she can hear what's going on around her. Not that anything makes sense to her. The doctor asks Paul if Amber is the type of person who'd harm herself--what? Her sister, Claire, asks Paul what happened to his hand--what's wrong with it? When the two start arguing and Paul says Amber warned him not to trust Claire, Amber has no idea what he's talking about.
Feeney doesn't explain everything right away, of course. She takes readers back a week, to when Amber is working at a radio station and things with Paul aren't going well. A respected author, he is struggling with his latest book and has been moody and distant. Except with Claire.
Amber's sister lives nearby and has a habit of dropping by with no advance notice, but Paul always seems to welcome Claire's company and the two get along just fine without Amber. One day, Amber bumps into a handsome former boyfriend and contemplates accepting his invitation to meet and catch up. After all, would Paul even notice?
The diaries from 1991 and 1992, also in first-person POV, are about a girl named Taylor who is unpopular and bullied in school. Taylor's connection to current events are unclear at first, and when the answers are finally revealed, they'll likely surprise readers.
The Now and Then chapters are most engrossing due to their sense of urgency. In the now, Amber might be aware of her surroundings, but if she hears or senses something malicious, there is nothing she can do about it. Her vulnerability and helplessness are terrifying. As if that's not enough, Amber keeps seeing in her head "a little girl wearing a pink, fluffy dressing gown in the middle of the road. She's singing. Twinkle twinkle little star." More like creepy, creepy, little girl.
While reading about Then, one can't help being filled with dread, knowing Amber is speeding toward an unknown catastrophe. Bad luck befalls her, but readers will think, You still haven't hit the Big One yet.
As immobile as Amber is for much of the story, Feeney manages to keep the pace at a fast clip. Her crisp prose is packed with acute observations. During an uncomfortable situation at work, Amber puts on a fake smile, "the label still attached so I can return it when I'm done." While comatose, Amber thinks, "I’ve been returned to my factory settings as a human being, rather than a human doing." Recalling her wedding day, she notes it was a small ceremony because she's never had many friends. "Everyone you meet is inevitably flawed.... I don't avoid broken people because I think I'm better than them. I just don't like looking at my own reflection."
That unflinching self-awareness is what makes Amber an engaging protagonist. She knows she's flawed but does the best she can with what she has. She doesn't let herself off the hook when she makes mistakes, but refuses to wallow in self-pity, too. Paul will keep readers guessing about whether he's a good guy or a rotten egg. Claire, too, is somewhat of a cipher. She visits Amber in the hospital every day and is extremely supportive even when her sister isn't in a coma, so why did Amber warn Paul not to trust her?
Readers who find alternating timelines challenging need not worry--Feeney won't let you lose the threads before she ties them together. Sometimes I Lie is meticulously plotted, deliciously twisty and gripping to the very end. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis
Flatiron Books, $26.99, hardcover, 272p., 9781250144843
Flatiron Books: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Alice Feeney: Embracing the Dark and Twisty
photo: Alice Feeney
Alice Feeney is a journalist and writer who worked at the BBC as a reporter, editor and producer. After living in London and in Sydney, Australia, she now resides in the Surrey countryside. Sometimes I Lie is her debut novel.
Talk us through your transition from BBC reporter to published novelist.
As a child, I used to sit in the back of my parents' shop scribbling mini books onto folded pieces of paper. I worked for the BBC for 16 years and I loved my job, but my secret dream was always to be an author. It was such a secret that most people I worked with had no idea I was busy writing Sometimes I Lie on the train to work and during my lunch breaks. The press release about my book deal was a big surprise for a lot of people! I work in my garden shed now with my cowriter, a giant black Labrador who is scared of feathers.
When did you decide to start writing novels?
I started my first novel the year I turned 30 and it feels like I've been scribbling in my spare time ever since. I've tried and failed a few times. I have my fair share of rejection letters, but each time I just picked myself up and tried again. It's what you have to do. I think you have to follow your dreams, no matter how scared you are of failing. Your dreams always know the way.
Did you attend the Faber Academy writing course before or after this decision?
I already had the idea for Sometimes I Lie and wanted to write the best book I could and give myself--and the novel--the best possible chance. In many ways, it felt like my last chance, so I worked even harder than before and it meant everything to me. I applied for a place on the course and got myself a 0% credit card to pay for it. I completed Sometimes I Lie just before I graduated and was approached by 15 literary agents, so all that hard work was worth it!
What was it like hearing it was sold at auction?
It was amazing and I'll never forget that moment! I was at work when I got the call, sitting next to one of the BBC's main news anchors (Huw Edwards), and I had to act like everything was normal when my whole life had just changed! I'm very lucky to have the best agent in the known universe (Jonny Geller), and I was completely overwhelmed and very flattered by the response to my book.
At what point did you quit your BBC job?
I was 21 when I started working in the newsroom and my colleagues were like a surrogate family, albeit a slightly dysfunctional one, so quitting wasn't an easy decision. I talked about leaving with my agent after the U.K. deal, and a few days later, when the book had gone to auction in the U.S. and Germany, I decided to take the leap.
What made you want to write crime fiction?
I think the best piece of advice I've ever been given as a writer is to write the book you want to read. I read a lot of books, all genres, but my favorites tend to be rather dark and twisty. I don't think psychological thrillers are new; I'd argue that Agatha Christie wrote one or two, and my favorite author is Gillian Flynn. As a child, I was obsessed with Stephen King novels, and that might also have influenced the way I write now.
What was your biggest surprise after publication? When did you feel you'd made it?
I don't really feel like I've made it yet. I’m not sure I'll ever feel that way. For me, it is just about trying to write the best books that I can for those kind enough to read them. Writers are nothing without readers and I'm so grateful to each and every one.
I live in a very old Victorian house full of books and it is in constant need of repair, but I love every brick and it's the only house that has ever felt like home. I always hated the kitchen tiles, but never seemed to be able to afford to do anything about them. Other things, like a new roof when the rain started coming in, were more important. So, my big treat to myself when I got a publishing deal was new kitchen tiles! I love cooking, and every time I see my new tiles, I remember that my stories paid for them and it makes me very happy.
Legendary Entertainment bought the TV rights to Sometimes I Lie. Without spoiling anything, what are some elements you will insist on remaining unchanged in the screen adaptation?
Legendary has made some of my favorite films, including Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight. I was beyond thrilled when I found out they wanted to buy the rights to Sometimes I Lie. I'm a consultant on the TV series, and it is lovely to be involved, but I trust the Legendary team to do what they do best. I can't say too much about it at the moment, but I'm really excited about everything they have planned and I can't wait to see Amber brought to life onscreen.
Is your next book, Sometimes I Kill, connected in any way to Lie or is it a standalone?
Sometimes I Kill is a brand-new story. I've just finished reading the latest draft and I'm super excited about it. It's dark and twisty, there are parts that genuinely surprised, shocked and scared me and I hope people will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Amber, the main character in Sometimes I Lie, starts the book with three statements about herself. Using that same template, what would your confessions be?
My name is Alice Feeney. There are three things you should know about me:
I write dark and twisty novels.
I also love to cook.
Sometimes I bake.