"Read this book if you like mystery…You may solve this one, but…you may also be left astounded as I was."

Everything I Tell You is a Lie (A novella)

by Fingers Murphy

Genre: Mystery

Book Synopsis

Fingers Murphy pushes his work in a new direction with this deceptively simple novella that explores the basic question: what drives someone to kill?

The answer, like life itself, is never as simple as it seems. As a prison psychologist and his young patient peel back layers of violence, abuse, mistrust, and missed opportunities, we see a family imploding on itself and the disastrous affects parental decisions can have on their children. Most people who kill never intend to kill, and yet they do.

This 30,000 word novella will keep you up late to finish it in one sitting, and it will stick with you long after you thought you put it down.

Bec's Rating

Bec's Review

This is a novella as opposed to a novel, which makes it a short read dealing around the question of what would drive a person to kill. When we are introduced to the unnamed protagonist we know little about him, beyond his being in prison. But slowly the layers are peeled back and we learn the true nature of the crime he committed and, finally, who his victim was. It was the suspense leading up to finding out the victim, something which takes most of the book, which had me turning page after page, ultimately finishing this in one day.

Mystery is a powerful tool in this book. As you are introduced to many of the characters in our protagonists life you are also left wondering if they were the one he killed. Did he snap at his dad after being pushed too far? Or was a drunken fight the cause of his imprisonment? These questions and more plague your mind as you intently focus on the characters involved and how they interact through the retelling, an intense focus you would not have if you came into the story knowing the victim. The mystery of the victim is what makes this book so interesting.

Read this book if you like mystery, particularly trying to piece together clues and solve it before the big giveaway. You may solve this one, but then you may also be left astounded as I was.

Disclaimer: May not be appropriate for children due to violence and references to drugs and alcohol.