All Your Little Lies by Marianne Holmes

⭐Publisher featured review.

An introverted and awkward woman helps in the search of a missing schoolgirl. Her interactions with the other group members is uncomfortable, often with  inappropriate remarks and actions, and suggests that she is on the autistic spectrum. Her attempts to fit in and to be noticed makes uncomfortable reading, especially the fact that she is attracted to her boss and believes he feels the same - which he does not. Cringe.

A parallel narrative shows a small child who tries to fit in with older children. She is bullied by other girls who demand she does things against her best interests. The intensity increases and this is totally engrossing and chilling.  Obviously the two stories will ink up at some point. 

The story is set in a small town just outside of London, where a parochial attitude feeds anxiety. This is a clever yet simple story and all of us will identify with the uncomfortable aspects to a certain degree. Often repetitive in the unravelling  thought processes of protagonist's mind, this pushes the reader on  - we are (mostly) with her. She deserves sympathy. I wish the title didn't involve the word 'lies', though, as so many other books about domesticity use the word. This book is better than that.

A kind of familiar, unsettling story. Recommended.

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Published by Angora Books 22 October 2020.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publishers.

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