Eleven Liars by Robert Gold @BooksSphere @books_gold #ElevenLiars #paperbackbooks

 Eleven Liars by Robert Gold

Published by Sphere

Publication Date: 23rd November 2023

Book Description:

Journalist Ben Harper is on his way home when he sees the flames in the churchyard. The derelict community centre is on fire. And somebody is trapped inside.

With Ben's help the person escapes, only to flee the scene before they can be identified. Now the small town of Haddley is abuzz with rumours. Was this an accident, or arson?

Then a skeleton is found in the burnt-out foundations.

And when the identity of the victim is revealed, Ben is confronted with a crime that is terrifyingly close to home. As he uncovers a web of deceit and destruction that goes back decades, Ben quickly learns that in this small town, everybody has something to hide.

My Thoughts:

Just a few short weeks after finishing the first book in the Ben Harper series, and I'm back in the small town of Haddley with the second book, Eleven Liars. The book begins with our main character forced to abandon his Uber journey due to heavy traffic, walking the final part of his trip home and allowing his mind to wander. This is an excellent chance for the author to recap the previous book but without too much detail - a great scene setter if you happen to pick up this book without having read the first one.  Ben is brought abruptly back to the present moment when he spots the local community centre ablaze, and realises that there is a person inside. Amazingly, this sets up the entire foundation for the whole book - you will understand just how well plotted this is when you turn the final pages.

As with the first book there's plenty going on here, but instead of Ben being the character hit hard by the revelations, it's another prominent character from that first book, police officer and close friend of Ben's, Dani Cash.

The intricate layering of the plot is equally as impressive as that in Twelve Secrets - you know certain people are involved in events but the reveals will have your jaw dropping and the pages turning faster and faster. Forget your planned bedtime - you're going to want answers! Reading this book so soon after its predecessor made the whole experience even more enjoyable as the characters and their back stories were still fresh in my mind and made for shocking reading at some points.

I am so excited to continue this series - instalment 3, Ten Seconds, awaits me among my "soon to be read" pile and I am safe in the knowledge that book 4, Nine Hidden Lives, is waiting in the wings ready for release in April too.

Please join me in reading this series - I promise, if you like a gripping, tense thriller book, you will absolutely LOVE this one!

About the Author:

Robert Gold is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Twelve Secrets and Eleven Liars. Originally from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Robert Gold began his career as an intern at the American broadcaster CNN, based in Washington DC. He returned to Yorkshire to work for the retailer ASDA, becoming the chain's nationwide book buyer. He now works in sales for a UK publishing company.

Robert lives in Putney and his new hometown served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Haddley in his thrillers.