Book Club Bonus: “Sometimes I Lie,” by Alice Feeney

Sometimes I Lie, by Alice Feeney

GHM Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Overall, I really like this book and could easily recommend it. It’s a solid four stars but could be a five if you were in the right mood – and, I was!

It follows Amber as she “wakes” up and realizes she’s in a coma. The narrative changes from her cognizant but fading state trying to remember what happened, to scenes from the previous month to excerpts from childhood diaries.

Each point of view slowly adds more to the story. First we come to suspect Amber is probably a bit depressed, certainly deals with OCD, and her marriage is about as exciting as a deflated balloon.

The mystery unravels as her sister, Claire, and husband, Paul, visit her in the hospital and she hears anger and tension and she has an overwhelming feeling of distrust.

Reading this book was a bit up and down. When I first picked it up I thought it would be a short quick read, as the book wasn’t as long as many others on my stack. However going back and forth between someone who doesn’t quite have a grip on reality and a depressed person’s brain was a little exhausting. By page 84 I felt like I’d been reading a lot longer.

That being said, once I really got into it all of a sudden I looked down and there were only 30 pages left in the whole book.

The mystery and suspense side was done just enough to be well done. The author didn’t try too hard to try and make anything too twisty (I find sometimes it can come off a little like a soap opera in this genre, where suddenly everyone is related to everyone and there are two secret extra twins). Even the very last surprise was well-placed.

Generally, what pops a book from four to five is how much I think about it. And, this is the type of book that the more I think about it the more I like it. Definitely add “Sometimes I Lie,” by Alice Feeney, to your to-read list!

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