A novel about friendship and betrayal. Weaving together two lives across the decades, it proves that no truth is as simple as it seems. It is a well written insight into the twisted mind of an unashamed murderer, as she admits in the second paragraph of this book (see the link to the Opening Extract on this page). In fact, The Book of Lies is so easy and approachable, and makes you so familiar with the writer, it feels like you are reading a personal letter from her to you. Alongside the subtly-woven, insightful narrative, throughout this book there are interesting footnotes about the island of Guernsey which add an interesting historical perspective as well as underpin the credibility of the story. It is an uncompromising debut about the trials of growing up and the dark histories we all harbour and a compelling read.
Guernsey, 1985. When fifteen-year-old Catherine sees her best friend fall from a wild cliff path, she vows never to tell. But Catherine was the last person to see her alive.
1940. Charlie is also holding back a secret from the adults on the island. As German soldiers arrive on Guernsey, he carries out an act of rebellion with consequences that will reach far into the future - and into Catherine's own life.
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'Extraordinary... beautifully evoked.' - The Times
'She has your undivided attention. The end is brilliantly double-edged, bearing witness, as does the book, to human nature's complexity.' - Scotland on Sunday
'An original, compelling and powerful new voice in British fiction.' - Hanif Kureishi
Author
About Mary Horlock
Mary Horlock spent her childhood in Guernsey, moving to England at the age of eighteen. She read History and History of Art at Cambridge, and was previously a curator at Tate Britain. Mary lives in London with her partner and their two children.
