Book Review: Never Lie by Freida Mcfadden

---

My Review

There is nothing quite like a thriller that makes you say, “Just one chapter,” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m. and you’ve finished the entire book. Never Lie was exactly that kind of read. After reading two of Frieda McFadden’s other thrillers, The Housemaid and The Housemaid’s Secret, I was curious to see whether Never Lie would surprise me. 

The book follows two newlyweds, Tricia and Ethan, who are viewing a large, isolated house with the intention of buying. However, after the estate agent fails to show up and a large blizzard traps them inside the house, they decide to stay the night until the heavy snowfall eases. They quickly realise that the home belonged to an accomplished psychiatrist, Dr Adrienne Hale, who mysteriously went missing three years ago. While looking around the house, Tricia finds a hidden room full of cassettes recording all of Dr Hale’s therapy sessions with patients.

The book is told using Tricia’s narrations of present events, flashbacks from Dr Hale’s perspective, and transcripts of the recorded patient sessions. I enjoyed this method of storytelling, as it allowed me to piece together the story myself, adding to the suspense. I often find myself trying to predict the twists when reading thrillers, so I was constantly analysing what might be a clue to guess where the story was heading. In fact, after reading a quarter of the book, I thought I had identified the big plot twist, but I was pleased to find that I, in fact, had not. This made for a very refreshing read. 

McFadden’s novels are known for being fast-paced thrillers, and Never Lie followed this pattern. I did not like or grow attached to any of the characters in this book, although I don’t think this was necessarily a bad thing due to the nature of the story. The strength of the book was in its plot and suspense. I was thoroughly entertained by the plot and was even a little unnerved, especially since I was reading a large portion of it at night. 

However, I did find the book to be somewhat unrealistic, and I had to suspend my disbelief to continue and enjoy the story. Some of the characters’ decisions and reactions felt implausible when faced with situations that seemed to require a more logical response. I also felt that the ending came together a little too perfectly, with several revelations aligning in a way that felt convenient rather than natural. 

Overall, Never Lie was an enjoyable thriller. The suspense kept me engaged from beginning to end, and I appreciated that the plot twists truly felt like twists. While some elements of the plot felt a little too convenient on completion of the book, I still had a great time reading this book and would recommend it to fans of fast-paced thrillers.

---

Spoilers below: I had a few thoughts about some of the plot details after finishing the book and thought I would include them here. This section contains major spoilers, so read at your own risk!

I really did think that Tricia’s husband, Ethan, and Dr Hale’s patient, EJ, were the same person, so when it was revealed that they were not, I was wondering what the main plot twist could be. I was shocked that Tricia really was Patricia. I enjoy a good unreliable narrator; however, there was just a disconnect in Tricia’s character during the majority of the book and at the end. At the beginning, Tricia is apprehensive about the house and doesn’t want to live there, unlike her husband, Ethan, who is trying to convince Tricia that it should be their future home. However, it’s later revealed that they never had a viewing booked and that Tricia had expertly orchestrated their visit to coincide with the snowstorm. She explains to us that this was part of her plan to spend the weekend searching for EJ’s body, which is hidden somewhere in the house. Tricia had lured him there as part of a plan to help Dr Hale murder him. 

However, during most of the book, she is not searching and instead remains in Dr Hale’s office listening to the cassette recordings. I think we were supposed to interpret this as Tricia having some kind of mental block preventing her from consciously remembering the true reason she was visiting Dr. Hale’s home, but this was not made particularly clear. Also, part of Tricia’s plan was to get rid of EJ’s body, yet she arrived wearing boots that were unsuitable for heavy snow, despite repeatedly emphasising that she planned this weekend with extreme care. This seems like something that should have been considered if she was expecting to go outside during a blizzard. Perhaps McFadden specifically wrote this detail to further convince us that Tricia had a mental block, but to me, this seems like a plot hole.

Another detail that I struggled with was Ethan’s reaction to finding fresh food in the fridge. Why would Ethan not immediately suspect that there was a squatter, given that they were in the house of someone who had been missing for three years? 

Personally, I found the blackmailing situation to be a little dramatic. Yes, a prominent psychiatrist caught on camera slashing a stranger’s tyres in a fit of anger is bad, but I don’t think it’s career-ruining. I think Dr Hale could have faced the consequences of EJ realising the video, and I struggle to believe it was serious enough to justify the extreme actions that followed. 

Let me know what you thought of the book!

Buy this book: