Hi everyone! Today is my tour stop for Lies That Bind by Ashley Farley, which is hosted by the amazing Kate over at Kate Rock Book Tours.
Lies That Bind
Author: Ashley Farley
Publication Date: 14 January 2020
Genre: Adult Fiction – Women’s Fiction
Pages: 288
Publisher: Indie
A suspenseful story of three women who, in search of freedom from the lies that bind them, experience personal growth, discovery, and forgiveness.
Ten years ago, Stuart Carpenter was killed in a single-car accident after retrieving his daughter, Reese, from college. The first responders to the accident saw no evidence of her, and she’s been neither seen nor heard from since. A decade later, Reese’s mother, Eva, struggling to make it through her days, holds out hope her daughter is still alive.
Maggie, on the rebound after the breakup of a long-term relationship, rushes into marriage with a man she knows little about. On the surface Eric is a stable man and a good provider, but when his job takes them from Oregon to Virginia, his dark side begins to show. Eric is ready to start a family. Maggie is more interested in pursuing a career as an investigative journalist. Eric will do whatever it takes to get his way.
On a snowy Sunday in early March, Maggie befriends her across-the-street neighbor, Eva, who confides in Maggie about her missing daughter. The story intrigues Maggie, and she can’t stop thinking about Reese. When Eric’s controlling behavior turns abusive, Maggie uses the investigation of Reese’s disappearance as an opportunity to go undercover.
Maggie travels from Virginia to Ohio to Washington DC, unraveling the secrets of the dysfunctional family that drove a young woman to a desperate act of survival.
Lies That Bind is told from three different POVs that follows the lives of three women: Maggie, Eva, and Reese, and each of them have their reasons for the intricately woven lies they hold onto. Maggie rushed into a marriage with her dream husband only to find out he’s actually an abusive monster. Eva’s past is full of tragedy (husband died in an accident and her daughter has been missing for a decade), and she has turned to alcohol to occupy the shell of herself that has been left behind. Reese made some questionable decisions that lead to life changing consequences that leave her hanging on by a thread.
Farley tackles so many tough real life scenarios (e.g. domestic violence, rape, unplanned pregnancy, alcoholism, addiction, etc.) without cheapening the plot or ticking off an artificial box. Each of the POVs were both engrossing and immersive, and I found myself tearing through the pages as I wanted to know more about each of the three women and how their stories would ultimately intertwine and end. Their characters were beautifully developed and the plot constantly propels forward.
Overall, if you love character driven plots that unravel lots of secrets and twists, definitely check this one out!
Thank you to Kate Rock for the tour invite and to the author for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
The Reading Chemist 