?Review: Her Dark Lies by J T. Ellison

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 16 Comments

I knew going into this book I would be in for a thrilling ride, and it did not disappoint. Riddled with secrets, lies, revenge and death, Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

In this story we meet Claire and Jack who are in the middle of planning their wedding, but someone doesnโ€™t want them getting married. A fact which became clear after the many attacks, most of which resulted in someoneโ€™s death, against Claire. The questions running through my mind as I went deeper into this twisted world, is why and who would want to attack Claire and hurt Jack. Did it have anything to do with Jack being a multi-millionaire and Claire a struggling artist, or the death of Jackโ€™s first wife, which occurred under mysterious circumstances? Whatever the answer, someone did not want these two joined in marriage. The further I dug, the darker the revelations became. Despite the storyโ€™s predictability, it still had me turning the pages.

The fact the wedding was scheduled to take place on the same island where Jackโ€™s first wife died mysteriously added to the intensity of the story. Also, the strange occurrences leading up to the wedding made the story atmospheric. The story began on an interesting note, with the pace slowing down as the author described the island, the villa and the surrounding area. It picks up the pace at around the twenty percent mark and maintained a steady momentum throughout the story.

The story delivered the POVs of Claire and the person behind the attacks, which provided interesting insights into their minds. Claire was no saint, actually neither were any of the characters featured throughout the story. They all had skeletons in their closet, which they would not want revealed. Jack never spoke about his first wife with Claire, and she never told him about her shady past. What a pair they both made.

After all that had transpired, I expected a dramatic ending, but I found it to be anti-climactic. Despite this, I found Her Dark Lies entertaining. A must read for fans of thrillers.

 

EXCERPT
Chapter 1
Beginnings and Endings
She is going to die tonight.
The white dress, long and filmy, hampers her effort to run. The hem catches on a branch; a large rend in the fabric slashes open, exposing her leg. A deep cut blooms red along her thigh, and the blood runs down her calf. Her hair has come loose from its braid, flies unbound behind her like gossamer wings.
In her panic, she barely notices the pain.
The path ahead is marked by towering cypress and laurel, verdant and lush. A gray stone waist-high wall is all that stands between her and the cliffside. It is cool inside this miniature forest; the sky is blotted out by the purple-throated wisteria that drapes across and between the trees. Someone, years ago, built an archway along the arbor. The archโ€™s skeleton has long since rotted away and the flowers droop into the path, clinging trails and vines that brush against her head and shoulders. It should be beautiful; instead it feels oppressive, as if the vines might animate, twist and curl around her neck and strangle her to death.
She tries not to look down to the frothing water roiling against the rocks at the cliffโ€™s base. She thinks the ruins are to her right. From what she remembers, they are between the church and the artistsโ€™ colony, the four cottages cowering on the hillside, empty and waiting.
A horn shrieks, and she realizes the ferry is pulling away. A crack of lightning, and she sees the silhouette of the captain in the pilothouse, looking out to the turbulent seas ahead. A gamble that he makes it before the storm is upon them.
Donโ€™t panic. Donโ€™t panic.
Where is the church?
There it is, a flash of white through the trees. The stuccoed walls loom, the bell tower hidden behind the overgrown foliage. Now the path is moving upward, the grade increasing. She feels it in her calves and hopes again she is going the right way. The Villa is on the hill, on the northwest promontory of the island. If she can reach its doors, she will be safe.
It is too quiet. There are no birds, no creatures, no buzzing or cries, just her ragged, heavy breath and the scree shuffling underfoot as she climbs. The furious roar of the water smashing its frustration against the rocks rises from her left, echoing against the cliffside.
The dogs begin to howl.
Climb. Climb. Keep going.
She must get to the Villa. There she can call for help. Lock herself inside. Maybe find a weapon.
A branch snaps and she halts, breathless.
Someone is coming.
She startles like a deer, now heedless of the noise sheโ€™s making. Fighting back a whimper of fear, she breaks free of the cloistered path to see an old decrepit staircase cut into the stone. Careful, she must be cautious, there are gaps where some steps are missing, and the rest are mossy with disuse, but hurry, hurry. Get away.
She winds up the steps, clinging to the rock face, until she bursts free into a sea of scrubby pines. Two sculptures, Janus twins, flank a slate-dark path into a labyrinth of rhododendron and azalea.
This isnโ€™t right. Where is she?
A hard breeze disrupts the trees around her, and a rumble of thunder like a thousand drums rolls across her body. Lightning flashes and she sees the Villa in the distance. So far away. On the other side of the labyrinth. The other side of the hill.
Sheโ€™s gone the wrong way.
A droplet of water hits her arm, then her forehead. Dread bubbles through her.
She is too late. The storm is upon her.
The howls of the dogs draw closer. The wind whistles hard and sharp, buffeting her against the stone wall. She canโ€™t move, deep fear cementing her feet. Rain makes the gauzy dress cling to the curves of her body, and the blood on her thigh washes to the ground. None of it matters. She cannot escape.
When he comes, at last, sauntering through the storm, the barking beasts leaping and growling beside him, she is crying, clinging to the wall, the lightning illuminating the ruins; the ancient stones and stark, headless statues the only witness to her death.
She goes over the wall with a thunder-drowned scream, the jagged rocks below her final companions.

 

Story Evaluation
Plot
4
Characters
4.5
World Building
4.5
Writing Style
4.5
Pacing
4
Cover
4
Enjoyment
4.5
Ending
3
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

About J.T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison began her career as a presidential appointee in the White House, where a nuclear physicist taught her how to obsess over travel itineraries and make a seriously good pot of Earl Grey, spawning both her love of loose leaf and a desire for control of her own destiny. Jaded by the political climate in D.C., she made her way back to her first love, creative writing. More than 20 novels later, she is an award-winningย New York Timesย andย USA Todayย bestselling author with thrillers published in 27 countries and 15 languages. She is also the EMMY-award winning cohost ofย A WORD ON WORDS, a literary interview TV show. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two small gray minions, known as cats in some cultures. She thinks theyโ€™re furry aliens.

Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading
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16 responses to “?Review: Her Dark Lies by J T. Ellison

  1. I get so frustrated when I have read a whole book, only to be let down by the ending. It’s a pity as I really like the sound of the plot. Great review.

  2. FAB review Nadene, JT is one of my all time faves and this is on my shelf and is now heading to the top of the pile thanks to your thoughts. I swear women thriller authors are dark creatures when they write aren’t they?
    xo