TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “OUR LITTLE LIES”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a recent download:  Our Little Lies, by Sue Watson:  Fans of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go looking for a dark, gripping psychological thriller, with a final twist that will put their jaw on the floor, will love Our Little Lies.

 

 

Intro:  It’s the way he says her name that first alerts me.  I’m buttering toast for the children when he says  ‘Caroline…’  I don’t hear the rest, just the way his mouth caresses Caroline.

It’s hard to explain, but something tells me she’s more than a colleague.  Perhaps it’s the way his tongue rolls languorously over the ‘r,’ ending with a contented sigh on the ‘ine.’

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Teaser Tuesday:  Oh, my God, he’s even lied about when I got pregnant and why we married.  He wasn’t forced to marry me.  He loved me, he wanted marriage and a family—with me.  But he can’t even admit that now.  And ‘your lovely mum.’  I don’t think so—I have to smile at this. (p. 161).

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Synopsis:  Marianne has a life others dream of. A beautiful townhouse on the best street in the neighbourhood. Three bright children who are her pride and joy.

Sometimes her past still hurts: losing her mother, growing up in foster care. But her husband Simon is always there. A successful surgeon, he’s the envy of every woman they’ve ever met. Flowers, gifts, trips to France – nothing is too good for his family.

Then Simon says another woman’s name. The way he lingers on it, Caroline, gives Marianne a shudder of suspicion, but she knows she can’t entertain this flash of paranoia.

In the old days, she’d have distracted herself at work, but Marianne left her glamorous career behind when she got married. She’d speak to a friend, but she’s too busy with her children and besides, Simon doesn’t approve of the few she has left.

It’s almost by accident that Marianne begins to learn more about Caroline. But once she starts, she can’t stop. Because what she finds makes her wonder whether the question she should be asking is not ‘should she be jealous’, but… ‘should she be scared’?

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What do you think?  Do you want to keep reading?

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