Once Upon a Lie: A thrilling, emotional page-turner from the Richard & Judy Book Club bestselling author

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'TENSE AND SHOCKING' Renee Knight 'A PAGE-TURNER OF A THRILLER' Saskia Sarginson 'GRIPPING, TENSE AND MOVING' Claire McGowan 'I WAS ABSOLUTLEY GRIPPED' Karen Dionne ________ Clare and Lorraine have been friends since college and trust each other with their lives. So when Lorraine, a single mother, needs a much-needed night away without her children, she calls on Clare and her husband Sam to look after them. They're godparents - what could go wrong? While Clare and Sam believe the children to be asleep, the unimaginable happens and Clare finds baby Theo lifeless in his room. The police are called. Statements are taken. But the biggest nightmare for any parent is about to spiral out of control. Because a lie has been told. An enormous and terrible one. Out of Clare, Sam and Lorraine, one of them isn't telling the truth . . . ________ A thrilling, emotional page-turner about the lies we tell to keep the ones we love safe, from the Richard & Judy Book Club bestselling author. What everyone is saying about Lisa Ballantyne's thrillers: 'Gripping' Clare Mackintosh 'Sophisticated, suspensefu' Lee Child 'Tense' Sunday Times 'Unsettling and compulsive' Rosamund Lupton 'Moving' Guardian 'Emotionally intense' Richard & Judy Book Club 'Grips like a vice' Daily Mail 'Thought-provoking' Gilly Macmillan 'Tense' Rachel Abbott 'A page-turner' Daily Express 'I couldn't get this book out of my head' Jenny Colgan 'Outstanding' Daily Record *DON'T MISS LISA BALLANTYNE'S NEW THRILLER, THE INNOCENT ONE, OUT NOW*

Lisa Ballantyne is the internationally bestselling author of four novels. Her debut, The Guilty One, was a Richard and Judy Book Club bestseller, Edgar-Award nominated and translated into nearly thirty languages. Her second novel, Good Bad Love (previously Redemption Road), was a USA Today bestseller. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

Gripping, tense and moving -- Claire McGowan A tense and shocking thriller that has the added treat of Lisa Ballantyne's deft prose. I loved it -- Renee Knight A powerful, rich read: it's a page-turner of a thriller, raising urgent moral questions, and yet at the same time, at its heart it's a tender, emotional exploration of friendship and love. I couldn't put this beautifully crafted, beautifully written book down; and the complex, flawed characters stayed with me for a long time. I loved it. -- Saskia Sarginson As compelling as it is heart-breaking, a beautifully crafted story of unspeakable tragedy that tests the characters' relationships to their limits. I was absolutely gripped from the first page to the last. Highly recommended! -- Karen Dionne Thrilling . . . so tense * Crime Monthly * Praise for Lisa Ballantyne: Thought-provoking * Woman & Home * A gripping and emotionally charged story. Just brilliant -- Clare Mackintosh Moving, insightful * Guardian * Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling This tense psychological thriller focuses relentlessly on the way its characters cope as stress piles up and the mess deepens * Sunday Times * A tense and moving story that I will remember for a long time Thought-provoking and clever Grips like a vice * Daily Mail * Thought-provoking, brave and challenging, this book is an unsettling and compulsive read Dark, intelligent, suspenseful One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year I couldn't get this book out of my head. It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through. I loved it A page-turner with real emotional depth * Daily Express * A compelling and emotional read with convincing characters that stayed in my head. Lisa Ballantyne deals with a difficult and controversial subject in a sensitive and thoughtful way Tense, unsettling * Morning Star *