#BlogTour ‘The Lies We Tell’ by Jane Corry

About the book…

‘Leaves you asking – what would I do? Jane Corry’s best yet’ BA PARIS

Sarah always thought of herself and her husband, Tom, as good people. But that was before their son Freddy came home saying he’d done something terrible. Begging them not to tell the police.

Soon Sarah and Tom must find out just how far they are willing to push themselves, and their marriage, to protect their only child . . .

As the lies build up and Sarah is presented with the perfect opportunity to get Freddy off the hook, she is faced with a terrifying decision . . .

Save her son . . . or save herself?

My thanks to Rob from Adventures With Words, for the invite to read and review Jane Corry’s latest thriller, ‘The Lies We Tell’, published by Penguin on 17th June.

It is the first of her novels that I have read -yes, I know, where have been living all this time?!-and is a long, moving story of two people, and the ripple effect their actions have, on both themselves, and their son.

”If you ask me, the truth depends on how you see it.Everyone interprets it in different ways, don’t you think?”

Sarah and Tom shouldn’t work as a couple. She is a vegetarian hippy who teaches art classes in the local college, Tom is an actuary who , in the nicest way, needs the stick taking out of his arse.

Two more different people you could not imagine, and yet, they are drawn to each other by their opposite characters. Meeting for the first time at Sarah’s class, Tom takes out a ruler and tries to find the mathematical correctness in the shape of the elderly lady who is posing for the life drawing class. This is a beautifully written scene, which perfectly illustrates the characters who split the narrative of the book between them. Tom searches out the facts as he tries to get to know people, using numbers and analysis to keep him safe within his boundaries. Sarah, lives each day in a burst of colours and randomness which makes Tom shudder and yet, her very free nature excites him, as his steadfastness creates a sense of safety which Sarah has never had.

Between them is this beautiful space ready to be filled by children and yet, after multiple miscarriages and failed IVF, the day which should have been the culmination of their dreams, the birth of only child Freddie, is a catalyst for the birth of a new phase of their marriage.

The cracks formed by lies which neither can bring themselves to admit, begins to undermine the foundation of all that they have built. The expectations on Sarah to become more like Tom’s friend, Hugo’s wife Olivia, slowly erases her personality. Her braids become shorn, she starts being more ‘acceptable’ and in response, Tom feels more and more put to the side whilst Freddie and Sarah manage without him.

As I don’t want to drop spoilers, only encourage readers to pick this book up, neither partner will fully admit to what they perceive as the mistakes of their past-and they really weren’t their responsibilities or fault at all-and Freddie is the one who pays for it.

One terrible night, at the beginning of the book, as Tom and Sarah prepare to leave for a new house, a new start at their marriage and parenthood, 15 year old Freddie comes back, 2 hours past his curfew, and says he has killed a man.

And then, Sarah and Tom narrate the path of their love, how they met, and all that came before that night. It feels as though each is confiding in you, the reader, trying to get you to think which one of them is right. As Tom loosens up and acts in a most un-Tom like way, Sarah straightens up and in doing so , loses that artistic part of her soul. It feels as though both need to lose everything they hold dear, as they were always so frightened would happen, in order to forgive themselves, take the consequences of their actions and learn to live again.

Neither one has felt the benefit of forgiveness, or had someone they felt they could tell the whole truth of their lives to, being scared of a world which looks aghast at someone who has been in prison, or, involved in a scandal at a boarding school. But when they do decide to tell the truth, to themselves, each other, and the world, only then do they realise that they have actually had an impact for good on more people than they realise. And , that it is possible to love, and be loved in return if you just learn to let go, and trust. It is their son, and his girlfriend, who provide the inspiration for honesty, but as a reader, you can completely understand why they were reluctant of being judged, in and out of court.

I loved the way this relationship was drawn, in so many different shades and what Tom and Sarah created was, in the end, more than the sum of its parts. And it is actually pretty damn beautiful.

About the author…

Jane Corry is a writer and journalist who has spent time working as the writer in residence of a high security prison for men – an experience that helped inspire her Sunday Times bestsellers ‘‘My Husband’s Wife’‘ and ‘‘Blood Sisters’‘.

Jane runs regular writing workshops and speaks at literary festivals all over the world. Many of her ideas strike during morning dog-jogs along the beach followed by a dip in the sea – no matter how cold it is!

Links-https://www.janecorryauthor.com/

Twitter @JaneCorryAuthor @Penguin @wordadventures