Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC.

Harriet is lying on the floor, mortally wounded. She knows she is going to die and she would like to solve the mystery of who did this, how and why before she dies.

She has three suspects in her mind - her husband Malek, her best friend and lover Victoria, and her daughter's best friend's mother Karen. The action starts on the day of her "surprise" 40th birthday party that she has heavily planned herself and invited everybody to. We get to know the three suspects and a lot of other people too - that first part feels quite slow because we have to get to know so many people.

We learn a lot about Harriet's personality, and while she is complicated, selfish and manipulative and treated some people horribly, she also has a good side. She loves her family even though she doesn't always treat them right.

This is a very suspenseful thriller, with many twists and turns and red herrings. I'm not very good at picking up clues just nodding afterwards ("oh yeah, she did say that!") but they are definitely there and strategically placed for people with a good memory. Even I know though that if persistent rain and a murdered young girl elsewhere in the country are continually referenced, you better pay attention to that.

The last part is almost hyperventilating with tension - everything seems to speed up and happen at once when Harriet's birthday party gets underway without her. There are so many questions that need to be solved and so many "something is not right" and "I have a bad feeling" statements uttered that the reader almost gets whiplash trying to keep up. 

Throughout the narrative we encounter quite a few toxic men who think the women of this world owe them something. It is very clever of the author to intersperse the story with random statements of people at the periphery of the action who see things but choose not to get involved, to the detriment of others, like the guy who says nothing when a mate passes nude photos of his girlfriend around, or a neighbour who doesn't inform the partygoers of certain happenings they ought to know about. It seems that even the difference between Harriet surviving or dying hangs on someone not coming forward about something they've seen.

This is also an exploration of modern relationships with spouses, lovers, friends and teenage children, incorporating the LGBTQ+ community and things like open marriages and throuples, and the emotional pitfalls that lie therein.

Here's a life hack: never play Two Truths and a Lie with anyone, it will come back to bite you, especially if you have traumas in your past!

I think this book, though suffering from a few pacing issues, is cleverly written and incredibly entertaining. I stayed up late until I had finished it and would highly recommend it as a dramatic page turner with interesting, believable characters and friendship dynamics.