Barbara Copperthwaite

Adam Bourne is a serial killer who thinks he is a saviour. He believes he is the perfect boyfriend. He pays attention, he buys flowers. He knows everything about Laura and looks after her every need. He cooks, he cleans – he even does the dishes without being asked.

But Laura has never met Adam. Still grieving after a devastating car crash that killed her family, she’s forgetful and struggling to pull her life together. She’d be horrified to know the depth of this unsettling fantasy in which she is the star.

After everything she’s been through, Laura’s ready to fight back and stop being the victim in her own life story. But in Adam’s world, there are no happy endings…

I was attracted to this book because of it's cover and the premise and I was not disappointed!

The minute I started reading this I was hooked and I couldn't wait to finish it. The book was written in such an amazing way, alternating between the past and present, so as to describe the abuse that Adam suffered leading him to turn into a psychopath.

The main characters were written so well. While most part of the book I got creeped out by Adam, there were times when I actually felt bad for him and wished that he find the girl of his dreams. Laura and Mike were good too and it was interesting to see them both cope with their losses.

The unique feature in this book was that each chapter was named after different flowers along with the meanings and significance of each of them. This was something interesting and knowledgeable.

Overall, an enjoyable and creepy psychological thriller!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!… (mehr)

This book introduces you to two main characters, Adam and Laura, whose worlds collide in this gripping psychological thriller.
Adam grew up with a terrible childhood, having a mother who abused him and a father who was gone for long periods of time. The only true love he ever felt was from his grandmother, who taught him the secret language of flowers and their meanings. He starts using these at an early age to express to others what he is feeling, not realizing that not everybody understands what he is trying to say. I felt he used them as he as he did not have a way with words, stuttering when he was nervous. His grandmother also read fairy tales to him all the time, making him seperate fantasy from reality. He wanted to be a woman's knight in shining armour, finding women at the local park, stalking them by putting cameras in their house and tracking their phones, doing things for them while they were gone such as cook and clean for them, and watched them while they were sleeping. All while slipping under the cracks because he was able to break in without any signs of forced entry. I kind of felt sorry for him in a way because all he ever really wanted was true love, but how can you love someone you've never even met until they show up one day only to kill you?
Laura grew up with a traumatic experience of her own, only loosing her parents and brother only five years earlier. She promises her aunt she is going to try to start living again and trying to be happy, and just when she's starting to find herself again, she unknowingly becomes one of Adam's victims. It takes her three long months before she realizes she is being stalked by a stranger and does everything in her power to catch him in the act, which is kind of hard when he has her house bugged and watches her every move. The police don't believe her because their is no proof of anybody else ever being there, so she has to find a way to prove she is in danger before it is too late.
This book had a very slow build, going through Adam's childhood and what he did to all the women before Laura, but you could feel the tension flying off these pages. It was just a matter of time before Adam shows his face. The main police officer who helped Laura was quite the loveable character as well, Being a big teddy bear type, raising his daughter on his own after his wife dies from cancer. This was quite the enjoyable read and I am happy to give it a great review. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this one!… (mehr)

The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaithe was an interesting read.
The Plot flowed brilliantly and some things that you were certain you had guessed were turned completely on their head.
I loved the way the story jumped from the mother then to daughter, unfolding the story perfectly through Beth's eyes gave us such a profound insight into the inner workings of Beth's teenage thought process.
The characters were extremely diverse and thought provoking and I found myself thinking what if? what if this was my daughter? what would I do faced with an identical situation?
I wasn't overly fond of the mother, I found her to be quite selfish and single minded, but saying that none of us knows exactly how we would behave in this scenario. This sort of plight can bring out the best and the worst in us.
I didn't guess the end and was rubbing my hands together in glee over the sweet poetic justice it brought.
So overall this was a very enthralling read that I enjoyed very much. I received a free e-copy of The Darkest Lies from NetGalley and this is my own honest opinion.

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