Between the Lies Louise Tickle

 I do like a good psychological thriller, so when I was asked if I'd like to join the blog tour for journalist Louise Tickle's debut novel Between the Lies, the only answer I could give was yes.

Have a read of the blurb before you dive into my review:

When it comes to families, is anyone a reliable witness?

Cherry Magraw can never forget the date her mother and brother were killed – the night of her ninth birthday. When her father was jailed for their murders, she lost everyone she loved.

Twenty years later, Cherry is a freelance journalist investigating domestic abuse and the secret world of the family courts, when she gets a letter from her father – still in prison for the killings – which contains a startling request.

From that point on, her past becomes entangled with her work, dismantling everything Cherry thought she knew about her family tragedy and plunging her into a dangerous of game of cat and mouse. Will her history cloud her judgement about another desperate family? And how far will she go to save someone else’s children?

This was an interesting story.

From the concept to the execution, I got a real sense of how much research had gone into the novel, including the authors own professional knowledge as she specialises in the subjects followed within the story.

*Trigger Warning* This book contains a lot of talk of domestic violence. 

It is done in a great manner, honest and thought provoking.

Cherry was a powerful protagonist. A freelance journalist, who  investigates domestic abuse and family court proceedings. Early on in the story she receives a letter from her dad, who at the time is in prison for the murder of both her mother and her younger brother. What could he want and what can he tell her about what really happened? 

From this point it becomes clear that her past is beginning to become entangled with her work.  I could sense how hard it was for her to remain impartial when it came to reporting such things, but I also admired how determined she was to see that wrong-doings in court were revealed.

The focus on the actual court proceedings was brilliant as we often forget the in-between from the initial crime to the end result.

The over all story was gripping.

There were times where I was left wondering whether certain situations had been misinterpreted by the victim and their attacker and this I guess is where the real problem lies because when it comes to the courts we are putting our faith in others and hoping that they can remain neutral when deciding the fates of families because unfortunately the abuse isn't always visible!

It's quite heartbreaking to see just how much the decisions made can really impact so many lives.

All the characters within this story are well-drawn. I found myself feeling quite emotional about a lot of it.

I can't believe this is a debut novel.

Expertly written, I found myself struggling to put it down.

Highly recommended. And if I haven't enticed you enough, check out the first chapters here: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/68366684/between-the-lies-sample-chapters