Jackie Swift does whatever it takes to succeed. At work, she spins lies to protect questionable clients at a shady public-relations firm. At home, she helps her younger sister, Madi, evade consequences for dangerous choices she’s made about friends and drugs. But Jackie’s professional and personal worlds collide one night when she gets a call from Madi telling her she overdosed. Rushing to the rescue, Jackie stumbles on an awful scene at an Upper East Side mansion. Madi is nowhere to be found, but she’s left behind a dead body.
Worse for Jackie, she knows the dead man all too well: He’s her former boss and mentor, and she’s been paid to cover up his crimes in the past.
Jackie is willing to do anything to protect her missing sister, even as the NYPD builds a case against Madi, who may be involved in the deaths of other sexually abusive men. As Jackie searches for her sister—and sets up plausible suspects to take Madi’s place in the eyes of the police—she’s haunted by the terrible things she’s done in service of her career. And she soon discovers there are people who’ve been waiting in the shadows for a chance to take her down.
I went into this book completely blind and hadn’t read the author’s work before, but I knew I’d at the very least love the narration because thriller queen Brittany Pressley does a stellar job with every book. As for the book, it is a slooooow-burn thriller with some intriguing elements—a missing sister mystery, family secrets, workplace corruption, and a large ensemble cast. For the first 30%, it felt like there was a new character being introduced every chapter, and I was a bit overwhelmed. It really helps to jot down names and connections to keep track of who’s who. Every single character, including the FMC Jackie, is morally gray and pretty unlikeable—and that was one of the main reasons this didn’t work for me because I wasn’t really invested in anyone. On the positive side, the story is not at all predictable—there’s a slow unraveling of past events and truths through conversations and shifting loyalties that’s well done.
The story is told via Jackie’s 1st-person POV, beginning when she receives a strange midnight call from her sister, Madi, who sounds disoriented and has apparently overdosed at the home of Jackie’s former boss, Eric. When Jackie arrives, she finds Eric’s dead body, but her sister is nowhere to be found. Sounds like a great setup, right?
Unfortunately, despite this propulsive opening, the majority of the story is driven by Jackie’s interactions with other characters—and there’s a LOT of dialogue. This is one of the reasons I’d highly recommend reading this on audiobook. If I hadn’t been listening to Brittany narrate with all her engaging character voices, I may have put this one down. Jackie becomes an amateur sleuth trying to find her sister and who killed Eric, but instead of action-packed plot points, most of the story unfolds through conversations, and most of the reveals are about things that happened off-page in the past. Having said that, Jackie still has to navigate shady colleagues at her workplace, a man she’s dating whom she wants to keep in the dark about everything, and the relentless Detective Sullivan, who wants answers from her. Madi remains mostly off-page for much of the book, which made it harder for me to feel at all connected to her—and the little we do see of her doesn’t make her particularly likeable. But Jackie’s persistence in finding her did help keep me engaged.
There are darker themes throughout that may be triggering, including references to child abuse and drug abuse/overdose. While there are lots of suspicious characters and red herrings, I did guess the identity of the main villain early on, though it’s impossible to know their true motivations and need for revenge until right before their mask is lifted. The ending did a nice job delivering some karmic consequences for those who deserved it, which was satisfying, and the story wrapped up quickly from there. If you enjoy character-driven slow-burn thrillers and don’t mind a large cast of unlikeable, morally gray characters who drive the story through dialogue rather than thrills or action, then you may really enjoy this one!
Narrator Performance
Every Lie I Told is narrated by award-winning narrator Brittany Pressley. She gives protagonist Jackie Swift a steady but emotionally nuanced voice that captures her determination to find her sister and the truth while also emphasizing her as an unreliable, morally gray character. You can really hear Jackie’s concern for her sister, Madi, throughout the performance, and even though their relationship is strained, Pressley makes Jackie’s need to protect Madi feel genuine. During Jackie’s many inner monologues, Pressley subtly shifts her tone to make it clear that Jackie isn’t telling you everything about her past or what she knows. For Madi, who only appears in fleeting moments throughout the story, she uses a younger, sharper voice that captures her anger, bitterness, and desire for what she believes is justice.
Where Pressley’s performance really shines is in her ability to differentiate the supporting characters—and there are a LOT of them! Jackie interacts with so many people while trying to uncover the truth—colleagues, acquaintances, police, and people connected to her former boss, Eric—and Pressley not only gives each of them authentic, engaging voices but also many of them an air of suspicion that adds suspense and intrigue (which is very much needed given the slower pacing!). And for a story that’s heavily dialogue-driven, her dynamic delivery and excellent pacing really help keep you engaged.
Towards the climax, Pressley steadily increases the tension, and during the final confrontation, where explosive revelations emerge and Jackie is in real danger, her performance gives all the urgency and emotional range needed to keep you on edge—and you’ll be glad that you stuck it out until the end! If you’re considering this book, the audiobook is the way to go. Without Pressley’s engaging performance, the slower pacing and excessive dialogue may be difficult for some readers to get through, but her narration keeps the story entertaining throughout!
Narrator Performance
Every Lie I Told is narrated by award-winning narrator Brittany Pressley. She gives protagonist Jackie Swift a steady but emotionally nuanced voice that captures her determination to find her sister and the truth while also emphasizing her as an unreliable, morally gray character. You can really hear Jackie’s concern for her sister, Madi, throughout the performance, and even though their relationship is strained, Pressley makes Jackie’s need to protect Madi feel genuine. During Jackie’s many inner monologues, Pressley subtly shifts her tone to make it clear that Jackie isn’t telling you everything about her past or what she knows. For Madi, who only appears in fleeting moments throughout the story, she uses a younger, sharper voice that captures her anger, bitterness, and desire for what she believes is justice.
Where Pressley’s performance really shines is in her ability to differentiate the supporting characters—and there are a LOT of them! Jackie interacts with so many people while trying to uncover the truth—colleagues, acquaintances, police, and people connected to her former boss, Eric—and Pressley not only gives each of them authentic, engaging voices but also many of them an air of suspicion that adds suspense and intrigue (which is very much needed given the slower pacing!). And for a story that’s heavily dialogue-driven, her dynamic delivery and excellent pacing really help keep you engaged.
Towards the climax, Pressley steadily increases the tension, and during the final confrontation, where explosive revelations emerge and Jackie is in real danger, her performance gives all the urgency and emotional range needed to keep you on edge—and you’ll be glad that you stuck it out until the end! If you’re considering this book, the audiobook is the way to go. Without Pressley’s engaging performance, the slower pacing and excessive dialogue may be difficult for some readers to get through, but her narration keeps the story entertaining throughout!
Every Lie I Told is narrated by award-winning narrator Brittany Pressley. She gives protagonist Jackie Swift a steady but emotionally nuanced voice that captures her determination to find her sister and the truth while also emphasizing her as an unreliable, morally gray character. You can really hear Jackie’s concern for her sister, Madi, throughout the performance, and even though their relationship is strained, Pressley makes Jackie’s need to protect Madi feel genuine. During Jackie’s many inner monologues, Pressley subtly shifts her tone to make it clear that Jackie isn’t telling you everything about her past or what she knows. For Madi, who only appears in fleeting moments throughout the story, she uses a younger, sharper voice that captures her anger, bitterness, and desire for what she believes is justice.
Where Pressley’s performance really shines is in her ability to differentiate the supporting characters—and there are a LOT of them! Jackie interacts with so many people while trying to uncover the truth—colleagues, acquaintances, police, and people connected to her former boss, Eric—and Pressley not only gives each of them authentic, engaging voices but also many of them an air of suspicion that adds suspense and intrigue (which is very much needed given the slower pacing!). And for a story that’s heavily dialogue-driven, her dynamic delivery and excellent pacing really help keep you engaged.
Towards the climax, Pressley steadily increases the tension, and during the final confrontation, where explosive revelations emerge and Jackie is in real danger, her performance gives all the urgency and emotional range needed to keep you on edge—and you’ll be glad that you stuck it out until the end! If you’re considering this book, the audiobook is the way to go. Without Pressley’s engaging performance, the slower pacing and excessive dialogue may be difficult for some readers to get through, but her narration keeps the story entertaining throughout!
