THE LYING CLUB
by  Annie Ward

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Three women. Two bodies. One big lie…

 

A tangled web of lies draws together three women in this explosive thriller of revenge, murder, and shocking secrets.

At an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains, Natalie, an office assistant, dreams of having a life like the school moms she deals with every day. Women like Brooke—a gorgeous heiress, ferociously loving mother, and serial cheater—and Asha, an overprotective mom who suspects her husband of having an affair. Their fates are bound by the handsome assistant athletic director Nicholas, whom Natalie loves, Brooke wants and Asha needs.

But when two bodies are carried out of the school one morning, it seems the tension between mothers and daughters, rival lovers, and the haves and have-nots has shattered the surface of this isolated, affluent town—where people stop at nothing to get what they want.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Reade was an undeniably handsome seventeen-year-old. He played lacrosse in the spring, wrestled in the winter, and was the captain of the soccer team in the fall. To Natalie, he looked like the sort of boy who would go on to pledge a good fraternity, major in economics with a minor in sexual assault, and eventually become a businessman like his dad. Had his circumstances been less affluent, she assumed he would have been just fine because of his looks alone. There was always Chippendales, reality television, and porn.

 

Everyone had problems with everyone.  The whole bunch. Every single last one of them had a reason to hate the other. Sometimes it felt like I was trying to do my job in a shark tank.

 

My Review:

 

There was a lot to unpack with this tautly written tale which featured a plethora of itchy elements that kept me on edge and debating the motivations and veracity of the entire cast of characters. And there was quite an oddly compelling and uniquely vile assortment to sift through.

The storylines were uncomfortably realistic, edgy, and disquieting. I had full-on cold prickles and was so immersed in her characters’ narratives I often found myself flinching during perusal. This was my second time falling into a well-contrived Annie Ward enclave of ghastly humans, torrid secrets, and twisty intrigue, and while I’m looking forward to many more, I need a spa day to release a boatload of tension and knots in my neck.

Annie Ward is the author of Beautiful Bad. She has a BA in English literature from UCLA and an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Her first short screenplay, Strange Habit, starring Adam Scott, was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award winner at the Aspen Film Festival. She has received a Fulbright scholarship and an Escape to Create artist residency. She lives in Kansas with her family.