Review: Monday’s Lie – Jamie Mason

Posted 12 February, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 11 Comments

*I received a free copy of Monday's Lie from Gallery Books via Edelweiss. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

Review: Monday’s Lie – Jamie MasonMonday's Lie by Jamie Mason
Published by Gallery Books on 3 February 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
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5 Stars

Dee Aldrich rebelled against her off-center upbringing when she married the most conventional man she could imagine: Patrick, her college sweetheart. But now, years later, her marriage is falling apart and she’s starting to believe that her husband has his eye on a new life... a life without her, one way or another.

Haunted by memories of her late mother Annette, a former covert operations asset, Dee reaches back into her childhood to resurrect her mother’s lessons and the “spy games” they played together, in which Dee learned memory tricks and, most importantly, how and when to lie. But just as she begins determining the course of the future, she makes a discovery that will change her life: her mother left her a lot of money and her own husband seems to know more about it than Dee does. Now, before it’s too late, she must investigate her suspicions and untangle conspiracy from coincidence, using her mother’s advice to steer her through the blind spots. The trick, in the end, will be in deciding if a “normal life” is really what she wants at all.

Monday’s Lie is a finely woven psychological thriller, where all the action happens through Dee’s eyes, the chilling, the doubting, the spying…

My Monday’s Lie review:

What was the most enjoyable to me in Monday’s Lie wasn’t the suspense, the waiting, the spying or Dee’s brilliant deductive mind, it was the writing! It’s so vivid, using different metaphors, daring to go a little outside the conventional boundaries of a psychological thriller to simply show the readers the changes in Dee’s life, through her own eyes. From the very start, I was captivated by Dee’s inner musing and recollections of various encounters, dialogues and places. Riveted to the screen of my kindle by the mystery unfolding, even when Dee didn’t want to see what was going on around her, until she really couldn’t ignore that something was very wrong in her world.

Dee’s marriage to Patrick really isn’t what she wanted it to be, and it hasn’t been for a long time. The action of Monday’s Lie is mostly in a retrospective in Dee’s mind – from her childhood with a special op’s mother, to the beginning of her relationship with Patrick, and to the recent past, when she started having doubts and suspicions about Patrick and what he was up to when it came to their marriage, to herself, and with a very eerie feeling of being in danger.

From her earliest memories, Dee has been drilled in observation and she used this to her advantage once she realized Patrick might not be as quiet and nice as she had always thought he was. Mixed with the brilliant writing, the psychological twists and turns and Dee’s self-doubts, Monday’s Lie was a story I had no trouble breezing through. The pace was quite slow in some places, especially when Dee was remembering some wise words from her mother, or something very specific that could be of use to her in her current situation, and little by little, as the truth unfolded before her, the pace got faster, as did her heart-beat, and her need to salvage herself at all cost.

Impossible to figure out, I loved that Monday’s Lie showed everything that happened from Dee’s perspective, with every detail she noticed, I only became more focused, and sometimes more confused, just like Dee. If you’re searching for a story where there is a great mystery, a fierce and smart MC as well as writing that is just plain beautiful, hurry and pick up Monday’s Lie.

Some of my favorite Monday’s Lie quotes:

But a story is a house, a home for something that happened. The truth lives there forever, along with its cousins, the half-truths, and also with everyone’s servants – the lies. And no house has only one door. There’s always another way in. 

I don’t know why I even think of things this way, but I always do. Milestones of varying weight have always been marked in my mind by the day of the week.

You can buy more advantage with audacity than you can with a million bucks. Hello, Mama. I can hear her in my mind’s ear now as clearly as if she were right beside me, as if she hasn’t been dead for more than three years.

I let urgency trump my fear and let boldness chew my common sense to silence. If I can put a gag on anything that feels like wisdom, I’m hoping that all I’ll have left is courage. 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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11 responses to “Review: Monday’s Lie – Jamie Mason

  1. A mystery book that leaves you confused? I’m down for that. I love books that confuse me and give me a major mind f*ck. This happened with Nocte and Verum and that was just….just no…huge mind explosion. Since then, I’m looking for books that give me that feeling of confusion and not seeing anything coming at me at all so Monday’s Lies, you will be added to my TBR 😀

    BTW, I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award 🙂 It’s on my blog.

    Genesis @ GenGen's Book Blog recently posted: Review: The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley
    • Yup, left me confused, impossible to really figure anything out until the very end… I hope you’ll enjoy it when you get to it, Gen 🙂

  2. Berls
    Twitter:

    I love it when I find a book that excites me as much for its reading style as its story! This sounds really fantastic – like being IN the main character’s head and letting that really mess with your perspective & understanding of everything. Great review Lexxie!

    • Being inside the character’s head is awesome, and the way Dee’s mind works is truly awesome 🙂

      I think you’d really enjoy Monday’s Lie… the writing is absolutely fantastic!

  3. Wow, Lexxie. Monday’s Lie sounds like something I’d love. You know I like a story that keeps my guessing…makes me really think. Dee is my kind of heroine – smart and plucky. And it’d have to be well written if you couldn’t figure it out. II really like that first quote you shared, too. You know this is going on my tbr even if I have to climb the mountain and drag it there. 😉

    I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend! Did you get that paper done? I also hope settling back into routine hasn’t been too difficult. 🙂 Hopefully we can chat SOON! **BIG HUGS**

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged ~ #54
    • *groans* yes, I did get my paper done, and e-mailed it to my professor this morning… only to have her write me back and tell me it was too late. I can still use the paper, but I won’t get any credits for it for this exam session. So I guess, in being so late, I’ve managed to hand something in very, very early instead 😉

      I think you’ll love Monday’s Lie, Brandee. It’s very well written, and I loved Dee. She’s a great heroine to follow.

      I hope we can chat soon, too! I have no idea where the time goes, but it’s gong too fast. *BIG HUGS*

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