Review: The Truth And Other Lies by Sascha Arango

Title: The Truth And Other Lies   

Author: Sascha Arango     

Published: June 2015, Atria Books   

Format: ARC e-book, 256 pages    

Source: Netgalley  

Dark, witty, and
suspenseful, this literary crime thriller reminiscent of The Dinner and
The Silent Wife follows a famous author whose wife—the brains behind his
success—meets an untimely death, leaving him to deal with the
consequences.
“Evil is a matter of opinion…”

On the surface,
Henry Hayden seems like someone you could like, or even admire. A famous
bestselling author who appears a modest everyman. A loving, devoted
husband even though he could have any woman he desires. A generous
friend and coworker. But Henry Hayden is a construction, a mask. His
past is a secret, his methods more so. No one besides him and his wife
know that she is the actual writer of the novels that made him famous.

For
most of Henry’s life, it hasn’t been a problem. But when his
hidden-in-plain-sight mistress becomes pregnant and his carefully
constructed facade is about to crumble, he tries to find a permanent
solution, only to make a terrible mistake.

Now not only are the
police after Henry, but his past—which he has painstakingly kept
hidden—threatens to catch up with him as well. Henry is an ingenious man
and he works out an ingenious plan. He weaves lies, truths, and
half-truths into a story that might help him survive. But bit by bit the
noose still tightens.

Smart, sardonic, and compulsively
readable, here is the story of a man whose cunning allows him to evade
the consequences of his every action, even when he’s standing on the
edge of the abyss.

My thoughts: This was a very interesting book from start to finish. And while I found myself having a hard time getting into the book at first, mainly because I really didn’t like the main character, I was so utterly compelled by the storytelling and the set-up of the book, that I couldn’t put it down.

It’s hard to write much about this book without giving major spoilers, so my review might be a bit vague, and I do apologize for that. Once again we have an unreliable narrator that has some pretty big secrets that were they ever to get out, would be the end of him. Things start to spiral out of control when his wife dies. He has always been able to manipulate things just so, but not this time…the lies and half truths seem to be catching up with him, as is his past.

It’s hard to read a book where you don’t really like the characters, but you just need to find out how things end up. It’s like passing a car accident without looking – you know you will have to look as you drive by. In Henry’s case, while I didn’t find him likeable at all, I will say, he is one clever guy. I kept trying to figure out if what he was telling us was the truth or just another lie – that’s how good he was. We don’t really get to know the other characters, especially his wife. I really didn’t get why Martha was with Henry in the first place – they just don’t fit in my opinion – and since she really isn’t in the book that much, this question never really got answered.

The book moves along quite quickly, though in a few spots I did feel it drag a bit. But, the twists and turns kept me hooked and I really had to see how it would turn out. All in all, it was a good book and I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t love it like I thought I would after first reading the description. Oh well, can’t love them all!