Tag Archives: Lisa Hall

Have You Seen Her by Lisa Hall

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5 Stars From Me!

I warn you now, you will not want to put this book down.

Have You Seen Her by Lisa Hall is a sure fire bestseller. It is fast paced and gripping with a killer storyline.

Much like her previous novels, the attention to detail which accompanies the story is faultless – the perfect description of the way a circle of mould sinks into the dregs of a cup of coffee, the crisp crunch of frosty grass – exquisite, essentially unnecessary details which add a sheen of excellence to an already brilliant story.

The main characters, Anna, Fran, Dominic, Ruth, Ella etc are so incredibly well defined that I feel like I know them; Anna especially so, and as such I couldn’t help but imagine their anguish and feel their pain. I would easily have raced through this book in one sitting except that I had some actual real life things to do, consequently I started it on Saturday morning and finished it in a second sitting on Sunday morning – as such I know for sure that it is compelling, addictive reading because I thought about the characters for the rest of Saturday. Unconsciously, my mind was picking away at the threads of the story trying to work out what had happened to Laurel.

As for the story itself – no spoilers from me as ever – it is relentless, it continually tests you and races from one dead end to another, it is clever, the relationships within it feel so flawed they have to be real, it is awash with red herrings (or is it…) and it is simply and utterly brilliant.

In a nutshell: if this lady so much as writes a shopping list, I want to read it.

Don’t hang around reading this review, seriously you are wasting time just go and buy the book already!

 

Synopsis: Bonfire Night. A missing girl. Anna only takes her eyes off Laurel for a second. She thought Laurel was following her mum through the crowds. But in a heartbeat, Laurel is gone.

Laurel’s parents are frantic. As is Anna, their nanny. But as the hours pass, and Laurel isn’t found, suspicion grows.

Someone knows what happened to Laurel. And they’re not telling.

Have You Seen Her is the breath-taking new thriller with a killer twist from bestseller Lisa Hall.

Praise for Lisa Hall:

‘A dark, compelling read that demands to be read in one sitting.’ Sam Carrington

‘Compelling, addictive… brilliant!’ B A Paris

‘This is an unrelenting and scarily plausible story weaved expertly around some very real characters. Good luck putting it down…’ Heat

‘An addictive read.’ Closer

‘This is a fast-paced book, and with twists up until the final page, you won’t regret investing in it.’ Woman Magazine

‘Breathlessly fast-paced and cleverly unsettling, this thriller about a couple trying to escape their past is the very definition of unputdownable.’ Heat

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The Party by Lisa Hall

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5 stars from me!

Wow what a doozy! This book hits you from very the beginning when poor Rachel wakes up and the events of The Party hit her like a tonne of bricks. Make sure you’ve got a comfy chair and a mug of tea as you will be hooked!

It is easy to imagine the horror she feels and her bravery as she confronts the situation is really quite commendable. She is a tenacious character and I liked her. You can’t help but imagine yourself in her situation and it is an uncomfortable realisation that she could equally have chosen to do nothing.

Having read Tell Me No Lies and Between You and Me by Lisa Hall I had high hopes for The Party and I wasn’t disappointed.The book switches between ‘before’ and ‘after’ and you piece information together as you go along, some characters are more likeable than other but all of them are there for a reason!

There is some wonderful misdirection and many a dead end of of which is testament to Hall’s mastery. Do you like the right people, do you trust the right people, do you trust yourself?

Like the two earlier books, The Party is a standalone with fabulous characters who draw you deeper into the story with every turn of the page. I did guess the ending but it in no way spoiled the story for me.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all three books and can’t wait to read more by Lisa Hall.

 

Synopsis: It was just a party. But it turned into a nightmare.

‘Compelling, addictive…brilliant’ B A Paris

When Rachel wakes up in a strange room, the morning after a neighbour’s party, she has no memory of what happened the night before. Why did her husband leave her alone at the party? Did they row? Why are Rachel’s arms so bruised? And why are her neighbours and friends so vague about what really happened?

Little by little, Rachel pieces together the devastating events that took place in a friend’s house, at a party where she should have been safe. Everyone remembers what happened that night differently, and everyone has something to hide. But someone knows the truth about what happened to Rachel. And she’s determined to find them.

The Party is the gripping new novel from bestseller Lisa Hall.

Tell Me No Lies by Lisa Hall

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Tell Me No Lies5 Stars from me!

Arrrgggghhhh – this book is so good I literally just want to run around waving my arms above my head shouting ‘aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh’ at everyone!

I remember a similar feeling after reading Between You and Me, so hats off to Lisa Hall as she is clearly the master of messing with minds!

Throughout the story I felt I knew where it was heading, I thought I’d spotted all the herrings – red or otherwise – and that I was one step ahead of the tale. Ha.

Tell Me No Lies contains brilliant characters – most of whom I couldn’t stand – and takes you swiftly along a pschological thriller that will stay with you for a long time after you’ve finished it. And then, trust me, you’ll be wanting to run around with your arms in the air shouting ‘aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh’ in people’s faces.

If you like a good, intelligent, psychological thriller – you’ve simply got to read this book!

 

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of Between You and Me don’t miss Lisa Hall’s new gripping thriller.

Don’t. Trust. Anyone.

It was supposed to be a fresh start.

A chance to forget the past and embrace the future.

But can you ever really start again?

Or does the past follow you wherever you go…

Between You and Me by Lisa Hall

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Between You and Me5 Stars from me!

Such a clever book!

I will confess to discovering and reading this book purely because of the author’s name… but I’m so glad I did! I sat down with it one Friday bank holiday morning and I read and read and read and read. Several cups of tea and two coffees later I had read the whole darn thing!

Between You and Me tells you a story from two different perspectives, I found I very quickly had a ‘favourite’ out of these two and read the other person’s versions almost dismissively! Because the two different view points are both written in the first person I will admit that I found the first couple of chapters almost difficult to read. Not because of the story or because of the quality of writing, as they were both marvellous, it was more a case of my brain needing to re-train itself to read a certain way; which it did very quickly.

Later on in the book the reason for this is abundantly clear. The author will be gratified to know that I got to a certain point and then found myself thinking ‘oh god there are typos in here, she’s made a mistake’ and then page backwards through the story to see where it had gone wrong.

Of course, it hadn’t gone wrong and that is the beauty of this book. The subtle tricks that are played are quite brilliant; the glass of wine with the neighbour I think was probably the clincher for me, leading me cleverly down the wrong path.

As ever with this type of storyline, I do wonder how many people contact the author to discuss their own situation or to thank her for highlighting the issue. It is very sad that people live in such situations. If you are one of those people, here are some organisations that can help:

http://www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk/

http://www.refuge.org.uk/what-we-do/our-services/helpline/

https://www.gov.uk/report-domestic-abuse

http://www.mensadviceline.org.uk/

http://www.thechange-project.org/

Synopsis: They say every marriage has its secrets. 

But no one sees what happens behind closed doors. 

And sometimes those doors should never be opened… 

Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.