Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

Little Black Lies

Author: Sharon Bolton

Genre: Mystery / Psychological Thriller

Date: 29 September 2021

Rating: 4 stars

Review: So I am now a proud member of the local library, something that I haven’t done since I was 19. There was a time that I had become a menace for all the librarians in my vicinity in Pune. I would take a membership, read the entire children’s, Young Adult, New Adult, Classics and in some cases even the Adult section and then pester the librarians to get more books. Oh the good old days, when I could read an entire book in one evening without getting a genuine headache or a stress-induced one because I should have been working instead. Now, I am back to borrowing a book from a library. I remember the thrill of selecting a book before the man writes it down on my card. I am loving the challenge of reading a book a day, not because I cannot keep the book for longer than a day but because I have a 1 book per day plan and I intend to get my money’s worth out of it. And I absolutely love the guilt-free selection of books.

Something always holds me back while buying books that I consider frivolous. The mystery/thrillers, the romances, the family sagas of the world. I tend to pick up more erudite novels - literary fiction, modern classics, magical realism - when I am paying full-price for a book and bringing it back to put it on my bookshelves forever. As a result, for the last couple of years I have forgotten what it's like to read anything and everything. I have missed the feeling of picking up a book that I haven’t heard reviewers raving about, or seen on Bookstagram thousand times over or know for a fact will make me smarter. I have missed picking books because I know I’ll enjoy them and I’ll be able to zoom through them. So I have made the decision to do just that. Pick books because they will give me a kick. No expectations. No judgement. What a kick!

I think people judge me on the books I read because I judge people based on the books they read. I have been called a snob before for doing this and I don’t mind that name. I shame people for having the need to watch vapid housewives spit wine at each other (This is not the first time I have found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Alex from Modern Family and I don’t think it will be the last). But I shame myself about watching attractive men and women stranded on gorgeous tropical islands, trying to find true love or lust. It is something that happens. But that doesn’t mean I cannot then go on to enjoy an episode of genuinely smart writing. Balance is key. And I believe a little bit of shaming is key for balance. So I excuse my reading of fast-paced mysteries and toe-tingling romances by reading brilliant literature other times. I am such a snob!

But having said that, anyone who thinks that books, regardless of the stereotypes assigned to their genre, cannot teach you something new are stupid. I just read a mystery novel that introduced me to the conflict with Argentina on the Falklands Island. I remember hearing about it in the latest season of The Crown but this book gave me a context for the war that I wouldn’t have gone seeking in any other book. That brings me to the book that I am here to review: Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton.

There was a time when Sharon Bolton, who used to write under the name S.J. Bolton till recently (Kudos for dropping the initials that are a sexist upholding of the idea that men won’t pick up a book if it has the name of a woman on it!), was my absolutely favourite writer. I devoured her Lacey Flint novels. I stayed up nights discussing every little detail about them with my best friend. The characters, however creepy and inappropriate, were my friends, the stories were spine-chilling in the best possible way. I loved her writing, so much so that I contemplated writing fan letters to Bolton, courtesy of her publisher. The kind of fan letter that would have (hopefully) inspired her to write a book about stalker fans. And then some time about 5 years ago I stopped picking up her books. She didn’t stop publishing new stuff, I just happened to forget about them.

Then I saw her standalone book on the shelves of my library on the first day there and I picked it up. It was like stepping into an old home, which is a creepy thing because Sharon Bolton writes grim, dark and twisted tales of murder and psychopaths. I loved every minute of the books.

Set in a small community on the Falkland Island, Little Black Lies, follows three main characters. There is Catrin who lost her two sons to a tragic accident three years before the start of the story. There is Callum, a soldier in the Falkland conflict suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and Rachel, Catrin’s childhood best friend who also happens to be responsible for the death of her children. Young boys are going missing from the island and with the death anniversary of damaged Catrin’s children approaching, the plot thickens as another boy, this time not an islander goes missing. A solar eclipse, wrecked ships, dark waters and a bloody beach whaling add to the already thrilling setting as the mystery unfolds. 

Bolton has this way of creating main characters that stay with you despite being damaged and dark and twisted. They do unforgivable things but you understand their motives, they lie and cheat but Bolton makes you get their decisions. It is a journey. Go into the book without reading the synopsis beyond what I’ve mentioned for the only reason that Bolton is so good at revealing tidbits of information at the just the right moment. Every revelation leaves you reeling and wondering what comes next. Every secret makes you question everything that you know about the characters and the story. Just a brilliant experience.

If I have one complaint it would be that I would have loved to see a little more of Mel in the book. I loved his character and the description, only if they had done more with it. Also, I would have liked to get a little more on the dynamic between the brothers (Rachel’s sons) but maybe that would have given away more about the plot than is suitable for a story of this kind. But all in all, loved the book and enjoyed it to the fullest.

I especially loved the end, not what you think is the end mind you. The real end. The real end just made me close the book and yell into my pillow it was that good.