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📖 Book Description

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📚Publication Details

AUTHOR: Helen Matthews
BOOK TITLE: House of Lies
PUBLISHER: dp Books 🔗 instagram 🔗 facebook
PUBLICATION DATE: 27 August 2026
EDITION REVIEWED: Digital Edition
ISBN: 9781918343496
PAGES: 393

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✍️ About the Author

Helen Matthews

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🌟 Book Tour

I’m delighted to be taking part in the Virtual Book Tour for House of Lies, hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours.

📆 Full Tour Schedule

🛒 Purchase the Book

My sincere thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book, and for providing a digital edition of the novel.

Zooloo’s Book Tours  🔗 Website • Facebook • Instagram • TikTok

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👩🏻‍💻 My Review

A Story of Secrets, Betrayal and One Woman Who Just Kept Going

The early chapters had me imagining a derelict ruin in the French countryside, a new life, and perhaps a little romance woven into the story. It didn’t take long for that picture to change. This is a thriller, and the sense of unease gradually creeps in as secrets, manipulation and increasingly difficult situations begin to unfold.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing. The story creates a strong sense of place and atmosphere, but more importantly, the writing made me feel. There were times when I was frustrated, angry, uncomfortable and desperate to know what would happen next. Whatever my feelings about some of the characters, I can’t deny that the author succeeded in getting a very strong reaction from me.

I particularly enjoyed the use of dual perspectives. Rather than simply alternating between the two viewpoints in a predictable pattern, the chapters move between them at different points in the story, allowing each perspective to add something to the unfolding narrative. Seeing events from both sides gave me a much fuller picture of what was happening and gradually revealed things that I hadn’t necessarily understood from the other perspective.

And then there was the male protagonist. I found him increasingly frustrating as the story progressed. There were so many moments when I wanted to shake him and tell him to grow a backbone! His decisions – and sometimes his complete lack of them – tested my patience enormously. What was particularly interesting about having his perspective was that, rather than making me reconsider my feelings towards him, it often reinforced them. I found myself becoming even more frustrated with his choices.

There is another character whose behaviour becomes increasingly disturbing, but I don’t want to say too much because discovering their role in the story is part of the experience. This creates a very different kind of tension, and some of the situations surrounding them made for very uncomfortable reading.

And that was the strange thing about this book for me: I didn’t enjoy it, but I couldn’t stop reading it. The story keeps adding complications, secrets and revelations, and the tension steadily builds. I was frequently frustrated by the characters, but I always wanted to know what happened next. The writing is powerful enough to pull those reactions from the reader, and I think the author deserves credit for creating characters capable of provoking such strong feelings.

The character who will linger longest in my mind, though, is Emma. Whatever was put in front of her, she kept going. When one problem was overcome, another appeared. When life became harder, she adapted and found another way forward. She kept putting one foot in front of the other, even when she had every reason to feel overwhelmed.

What I loved about her journey was watching her gradually discover a strength and independence that perhaps she didn’t realise she possessed. She doesn’t have an easy path through this story, but she keeps moving forward.

She just kept going.

And ultimately, that is what I will take away from this book.

I can’t honestly say that I enjoyed the journey, because I didn’t. There were characters who tested my patience beyond measure, and events that made for very uncomfortable reading. But I appreciated the writing, the atmosphere, the dual perspectives and the way the story kept me turning the pages. Most of all, I will remember Emma – not because everything was easy for her, but because whatever life put in front of her, she kept going.

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