The Liars by Katherine Fleet

 

Twenty-five years ago a teenage girl went missing on the Greek island of Eos. When her friends return to the island memories are rekindled and dark secrets uncovered.

The Liars by Katherine Fleet is a psychological thriller that draws you in, drip-feeding you information, slowly building the tension and having you completely hooked so that you keep turning the page, desperate to know exactly what happened on the island of Eos twenty-five years ago.

We first meet our narrator, Zoe, as she is returning to the island of Eos, for her step-father's funeral. It is twenty-five years since she has visited the villa her step-father, Richard, loved. The place they retired to a decade ago. The story then alternates between now and Zoe's first visit, when she meets her soon-to-be step-sister, Lex.

Zoe and Lex are roughly the same age but light-years apart in every other respect. Zoe has been brought up by a single mother, living a normal life in inner city London and attends a state school. She's bright, works hard at school and appreciates the sacrifices her mother has made for her. Although Lex is a child of divorced parents she has led a life of privilege, something she takes for granted, she tends to look upon everyone with disdain.

Although the girls know of each other's existence, the holiday is the first time they have met. Unassuming Zoe is immediately wary of Lex but also in awe of her rebelliousness, something Lex is quick to flaunt. The pair quickly form a bond. The arrival of a family with long-time connections to Richard and Lex throws another teenage girl, Abigail, into the mix and this brings out Zoe's jealous side.

When the story returns to now and Richard's funeral, lots of old faces from twenty-five years ago return to the island. Gradually, memories are stirred, particularly as it's the twenty-fifth anniversary of the disappearance. Zoe's feelings of guilt slowly build and build, becoming oppressive, just like the summer heat before a storm. The reader is given tantalising hints about historic events as secrets are slowly revealed and we learn that no one has a complete picture of exactly what happened on the fateful night.

The Liars by Katherine Fleet will be published on 15th August 2024 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for a review copy.

Author Details

Katherine Fleet is a writer and author tutor for The Novelry. As a journalist, she wrote for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Red, Stella and Grazia.
She lives in a Cotswolds valley with her two rescue dogs, where she writes full-time. A trip to the small Greek island of Paxos was her inspiration for The Liars.