TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH by Gilly Macmillan

 

"A spellbinding book about a missing child, and about the life of a writer. Bold, suspenseful, and impossible to put down. This one will stay with me for a long time." — Samantha Downing, #1 internationally bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

To tell you the truth . . . everybody lies.

This is a story that will stick with you for a while. You are going to wonder, "what happened to Teddy?" Is he out there somewhere? Is he happy? Safe? Alive? Who did what and why?

Lucy was only a child when her baby brother went missing. She was a nine year old, curious, inquisitive, little girl. Did she know what happened all those years ago or did she honestly not remember? You'll get to know her as a grown woman and a young girl. You can decide if you believe her or if you think she has something to hide. 

Then there's Dan. I sure disliked Dan. He was a bully. A jerk. A game playing husband who was not nice to Lucy at all. He seemed to only care about what he wanted and getting what he wanted no matter what. He seemed to have a dark side going on too. What was he hiding from Lucy? 

Both Lucy and Dan wanted to be writers, but it was Lucy that became the best selling author of a series of mystery books. Her main character was Eliza. Eliza was her childhood invisible friend who know all of Lucy's secrets. All of them. She knew exactly what happened the night Teddy went missing. She knew everything Lucy did and every thought Lucy had. She was a well loved character in Lucy's books. A top notch detective. Everyone who read Lucy's books loved her. 

When Dan bought the house that was close to Lucy's childhood things seemed to change for them. They drifted. He became secretive. Confrontational. He was a very hateful man. He had some deep secrets he was keeping from Lucy. Was there someone else? Did he know about things that would harm Lucy? Who exactly was Dan? He left one night after they had a fight and just seemed to disappear. What happened to him? 

You will find out almost everything in this story. It's an edge of your seat thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. I loved it but was a bit disappointed in one thing. What happened to Teddy? Will we ever know for sure? This book is really one of those that keeps you guessing. Keeps you wanting more. It's told in a way that you won't figure out who did what until the author wants you to know. It was well written for sure. A top notch story.

Told from two time frames. When Lucy was nine years old and as a young woman. You'll get to know the child Lucy and the grown Lucy. She's a very well liked person at both stages of life. You will feel bad for her in both time frames too. I'm afraid I did find her to be a bit too trusting. But it's also one of the things you will like about her. There are three sets of neighbors that you will get to know also. Can you trust them and if not which are ones you can trust? What do they contribute to this story. A lot actually. A whole lot.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #GillyMacmillan, #HarperCollinsPublishers for this ARC. This is my own thoughts about this book.

5/5 stars and a high recommendation to you all. Enjoy!