Review: All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson

All The Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson

Published: April 3, 2018

Publisher: William Morrow

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Harry Ackerson has always considered his stepmother Alice to be sexy and beautiful, in an "otherworldly" way. She has always been kind and attentive if a little aloof in the last few years.

Days before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news. His father is dead and the police think it’s suicide. Devastated, Harry returns to his father’s home in Maine. There, he and Alice will help each other pick up of the pieces of their lives and uncover what happened to his father.

Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace McGowan. Though she claims to be new to the area, Harry begins to suspect that Grace may not be a complete stranger to his family. But she isn’t the only attractive woman taking an interest in Harry. The sensual Alice is also growing closer, coming on to him in an enticing, clearly sexual way.

Mesmerized by these two women, Harry finds himself falling deeper under their spell. Yet the closer he gets to them, the more isolated he feels, disoriented by a growing fear that both women are hiding dangerous—even deadly—secrets . . . and that neither one is telling the truth.

My Thoughts

Since I've discovered Peter Swanson’s book I have devoured them slowly but surely so when I read he had a new book coming out I knew I had to get my hands on a copy! In All the Beautiful Lies we met Alice who married to a much older man and is stepmother to Harry. We find out that Harry’s father is dead and Harry comes back to town to deal with it. He has always found Alice attractive and semi close in age but he tries to not think of her in that way. Soon he finds himself taken by both Alice and a mysterious lady, Grace who claims to have had a relationship of sorts with his father. Harry soon realizes that maybe his father's death wasn’t just an accident but maybe something more sinister.

We soon find out more about Alice and her upbringing and that to me is the meat of this story. We see her growing up and see some of the things she dealt with, like an alcoholic mother and a stepfather who wasn’t all that he lead us to believe. Alice’s past and her relationships showcase what lead her to become the person she is today. She definitely has some issues that she needs to come to terms with and those are some of the things that make this novel so riveting.

Peter Swanson gives us a tale that is twisted and dark, about obsession and lies and that’s what I love about his writing. There are some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and Alice’s background story was amazing! He gives us another winner in this novel and I can't stress enough about how great his books are so please if you haven’t read them what are you waiting for??