Format: Paperback, 336 pages
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Publisher: Park Row
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Psychological
Everyone has a secret they’ll do anything to hide…
Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold.
For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.
Heather Gudenkauf's This is How I Lied takes place over a 25 year period through three different characters. Eve Knox, Maggie Kennedy, and Nola Knox. 25 years ago,
the body of 15-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her
home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie,
and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her
boyfriend, Nick Brady, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately
went cold. Maggie's father was the lead detective on the case, but could never put the pieces together.
Flash forward to the present. Maggie is a Detective in the Grotto Police Department and very pregnant. She's married to Shawn O'Keefe who was 2 years ahead of her in High School. When a new piece of evidence is found in the cave where Eve was found, Maggie is asked to take over the case. This puts Maggie is a horrible position because she not only found Eve, but she was her best friend right up until the day she was murdered. In reality, the case should have been solved 25 years ago, but understanding why it wasn't, is key to uncovering who the actual murderer is.
This book also has several therapy notes from Nova as well as newspaper articles and 911 transcripts. Like many other reviewers, this story really is all about Nova. What did Nova know about Eve's murder and why did she never come forward and tell anyone what she saw that day? Is Nova really a sociopath, or is she trying to cover for her desire to become a veterinarian? Maggie struggles partly because she too has a secret that if it came out, could have devastating affects on her marriage and her career as a Detective.
But, when her shed is burned to the ground, and people start calling her a home wrecker and worst, there's something else happening here. When Nova makes it personal by calling Maggie a killer and making it known that either she or Nick is going down for Eve's murder, it's time to really dig deep into the facts to what led to Eve's death and why. As Maggie goes over the original notes, pictures, and witness statements, Maggie realizes there are a lot of suspects. Maggie’s father, Henry, now with dementia, tried to bring answers to Eve’s
family but those 25 years went by without any answers and Eve’s case was
filed away. How can Eve’s murder be solved without Maggie risking her own secrets being revealed?
The killer could be anyone. For Maggie isn’t the only one in Grotto with secrets.
Fairness in reviewing; I figured the killer out who the killer was from the beginning. It was figuring out what really happened and why that was the mystery. It is figuring out why Eve was in that cave in the first place. It was reading how horribly Eve was treated by not only her mother, but her sister and her alleged creep of a boyfriend who constantly did horrible things to her. It was also deciding whether or not I should care about Maggie once her secret is revealed, especially since Maggie's actions are anything but angelic.
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