Release Day Review: The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen

Bestselling romance author Sarina Bowen’s debut thriller, about one woman’s search for the truth after receiving a text from her deceased ex. 

Dead men don’t send texts . . .

On an ordinary Monday morning, Ariel Cafferty's phone buzzes with a disturbing text message. Something’s happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP. The words would be jarring from anyone, but the sender is the only man she ever loved. And it's been several years since she learned he died.

Seeing Drew’s name pop up is heart-stopping. Ariel’s gut says it can’t be real. But she goes to the tree anyway. She has to.

Nobody shows. But the text upends everything she thought she knew about the day he left her. The more questions she asks, the more sinister the answers get. Only two things are clear: everything she was told five years ago is wrong, and someone is still lying to her. 

The truth has to be out there somewhere. To safeguard herself—and her son—she’ll have to find it before it finds her. And with it, the answer to what became of Drew. 

For fans of Laura Dave and Julie Clark, but with a heart-stopping romance that only Sarina Bowen can execute, The Five Year Lie is a page-turning, spine-tingling thriller that will have you guessing until the very end.

Praise for The Five Year Lie

“I devoured this book in one day, and I guarantee you will too.”—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell

“An expertly woven story of love, revenge, and murder. In a world where so many books feel so similar—this was a refreshingly unique read and an addictive blend of love and mystery that I couldn’t put down. This is storytelling at its finest and I can’t recommend this book enough.”—AR Torre, New York Times bestselling author of Every Last Secret

Buy Links

Amazon | Apple Books | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Audio

Add to Goodreads

All the buy links in one place

What I thought about The Five Year Lie

 

When Ariel gets a text from the man she loved and thinks is dead, her whole world and what she knows about it is thrown into disarray and she must unravel all the lies she's been told for years.

 

This is the debut thriller from one of my favorite romance authors.  I was really eager to see how this would work for me as I have been reading quite a few domestic thrillers in the last year.  I am happy to say that I will be putting The Five Year Lie in my "favorites of 2024" category.  There's plenty of questions, lots of drama and so many lies and red herring that kept me reading. There is plenty of romantic elements here as well, which I really look for in a domestic thriller as it helps to make the stakes higher when there are feelings involved.

 

The story is told in multiple POVs, which keeps things moving along. There's plenty of tech in this one too, which is always a mixed bag for me as it tends to make me want to fact check things, but that was okay because accuracy with technology is important to this reader.

 

I'm glad to see this author branching out into other area as the writing is always top-notch and the characters are engaging. Can't wait for more!

 

 

About Sarina

Sarina Bowen is the award-winning author of more than thirty contemporary novels. She has hit the USA Today bestseller's list sixteen times and counting. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. She lives with her family on a few wooded acres in New Hampshire.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents.

Website | Twitter | Facebook