Review: Living Lies

Living Lies

"In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past."

Author: Natalie Walters
Length: 336 pages
Series: Harbored Secrets (book 1)

"God doesn't make mistakes.

You are here on purpose.

With purpose."

Let me start off by saying "I want my own Charlie". 😍 He was such a great character. He was so sweet and understanding , he was willing to stay through thick & thin. (The uniform was just an added bonus. 😉) 

I want to applaud Natalie for tackling the subject matters she did in this book. Heavier topics such as depression, anxiety and suicide. She shined a light on topics that no one wants to talk about, but need to.

That being said I had a hard time connecting with Lane because of this. I personally don't struggle with depression or anxiety so I couldn't understand some of her thought processes. However, I know that there are many people who DO struggle with this so I'm happy there is a character out there who is open about what they're feeling. 

I did enjoy the steps toward healing that happened towards the end. They did feel a little rushed, but I am hoping to see it progress throughout the series.

I'm big on being taken by surprise in suspense novels. I want to be blindsided by the identity of the bad guy. In this particular book the villain was spelled out for us and that kind of took away the surprise factor for me. I do know not everyone likes that though, so for anyone who likes a "birds eye view" type suspense novel this one is a good choice.

There were a few technical/plot problem that came to mind at the end of the book, but for a debut novel it was a good story. I am excited to see this author grow and perfect her writing style.
I rated it a 3.5/5 stars.

*I received this book from the author/publisher**All opinions are my own*

Quotes:

"Honey, we can only be who God created us to be. Mess and all"

"Honey. God never makes mistakes. You are here on purpose, Lane. With purpose."