Take a photo of a barcode or cover
criminallyconcise's review against another edition
2.0
ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES was not my favourite. There are aspects people will find disturbing but that wasn’t my issue. Rather I found it kinda boring and wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters.
kittykate99's review against another edition
3.0
Harry's stepmother Alice, calls him just days before his college graduation to inform him that his father has fallen to his death in their hometown in Maine. Harry returns to Maine to bury his father and help run his father's bookstore, and soon finds himself fending off advances from Alice and trying to learn more about a mysterious woman who suddenly appears at his father's funeral. Along the way we learn more about Alice's past entanglements, both romantic and platonic, none of which end well.
enifomeee's review against another edition
1.0
messy as hell in topic and execution.
at the end it was a bunch of nothing
at the end it was a bunch of nothing
krbfleming's review against another edition
3.0
Surprised by the ending, and thought the murder mystery part was unique. but I didn’t like the statutory rape and borderline incest. I just didn’t care about any of these characters.
backinthelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Woah....finished this twisted mystery in one day, I couldn't put it down. These are some seriously deranged characters. Almost everyone in this book is evil, except Harry.
Content warnings apply! There is sexual abuse and taboo relationships, and those behaviors were somewhat normalized in the writing as a "passed down" trait (where it's expected that victims will become abusers). Because this is a work of fiction I was able to suspend belief, but readers who are looking for a "realistic" thriller might not like this one.
It did work for me, however. While uncomfortable and ugly, it kept me guessing with lots of delicious twists that Peter Swanson is known for. Having read four of his books so far, I'd rank All The Beautiful Lies currently as my second favorite, behind The Kind Worth Killing.
Content warnings apply! There is sexual abuse and taboo relationships, and those behaviors were somewhat normalized in the writing as a "passed down" trait (where it's expected that victims will become abusers). Because this is a work of fiction I was able to suspend belief, but readers who are looking for a "realistic" thriller might not like this one.
It did work for me, however. While uncomfortable and ugly, it kept me guessing with lots of delicious twists that Peter Swanson is known for. Having read four of his books so far, I'd rank All The Beautiful Lies currently as my second favorite, behind The Kind Worth Killing.
frannien06's review against another edition
5.0
I love Peter Swanson. Honestly, the way he writes his stories is just amazing. This story, like his others, was addicting. He has the creepiest most endearing characters that you cant help but love even as they do evil things.
The description is pretty spot on, except that it makes it sound more exciting than it really is. Harry's dad dies a few days before his graduation. Turns out it may not have been a natural death. Alice, harry's step mom, is oddly attracted to him. Things start getting fishy (about his dad's death) and BOOM we get the full story.
The book goes from past to present, the past being Alice's story and the present is Harry's. I really enjoyed Alice's story the most. She is a creepy one, I tell ya. She was also the most fascinating character in the book. She is stoic and bland, all while being intriguing af. She gets away with a lot by simply being bleh. She's manipulative and kind of perfect.
I have to give the book 4.5 * Stars* because the age gap was weird. It's like....it was introduced in the book as no big deal, but as the story continued, it was clear that it was pedophelia and he should've just written it that way from the beginning. that's just my take on it.
overall, not my favorite of his but still very very good.
The description is pretty spot on, except that it makes it sound more exciting than it really is. Harry's dad dies a few days before his graduation. Turns out it may not have been a natural death. Alice, harry's step mom, is oddly attracted to him. Things start getting fishy (about his dad's death) and BOOM we get the full story.
The book goes from past to present, the past being Alice's story and the present is Harry's. I really enjoyed Alice's story the most. She is a creepy one, I tell ya. She was also the most fascinating character in the book. She is stoic and bland, all while being intriguing af. She gets away with a lot by simply being bleh. She's manipulative and kind of perfect.
I have to give the book 4.5 * Stars* because the age gap was weird. It's like....it was introduced in the book as no big deal, but as the story continued, it was clear that it was pedophelia and he should've just written it that way from the beginning. that's just my take on it.
overall, not my favorite of his but still very very good.
frannien06's review against another edition
4.0
oopps reviewed wrong book lol this was enjoyable as most of his books are. The mystery, thrill, and jaw dropping final chapter was all there. highly recommend.