Annie lives a quiet, contained, content life. She goes to work. She meets her friend. She’s kind of in a relationship. She’s happy. Not lonely at all.
If only more people could see how friendly she is — how eager to help and please. Then she could tick “Full Happy Life” off her list. But no one sees that side of Annie, and she can’t understand why.
That all changes the night Chloe Hills disappears. And Annie is the last person to see her.
This is her chance to prove to everybody that she’s worth something. That is, until she becomes a suspect.
Drenched in atmosphere and taut with tension, All Your Little Lies takes a hard look at why good people do bad things.
I read and reviewed Marianne Holmes' previous novel A Little Bird Told Me back in September 2018 and remember being really impressed by it. I've been looking forward to All Your Little Lies and once more, this clever author has created a complex literary crime novel that is both engaging and intriguing.
I'm keen on an unreliable narrator, it's well known that everyone has their own story of events that take place and lead character Annie is certainly not to be trusted. However, she's not an outright liar, or someone who is desperately trying to hide misdeeds. She is so much more than that, she's a woman who can be infuriating for the reader, but whose layers are peeled away in such a meticulous and precise fashion that one cannot help but become consumed by her.
Whilst All Your Little Lies is a 'missing girl' story, it is also a perfectly plotted tale of how society reacts to anyone who is a little bit different, and there are times when it is quite brutal.
So Annie, who is lonely, but claims not to be, has only one friend and also thinks she's 'almost in a relationship' is possibly the last person to have seen Chloe Hills, a twelve year old girl who has gone missing. Only Annie is not so sure that she actually did see her, that night is a bit of a blur due to feeling humiliated at a work conference.
However, Annie becomes involved in the search for Chloe and her strange ways and the fact that she's not quite like other people in the community lead to a mob mentality that is quite brutal, and then Annie becomes a suspect in Chloe's disappearance.
All Your Little Lies is not a fast paced thriller. It's a slow burner where the author gently reveals just a touch more. It can feel claustrophobic at times; the setting feels dark and dreary and there are very few characters, yet it is a compulsive read throughout.
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