The prologue of Claire Douglas’ new work of psychological suspense is set in London in May 2022. Author Emilia Ward wants to bring an end to her popular mystery/thriller series and plans to kill off her protagonist, Detective Miranda Moody, in the yet-to-be-released final installment, The Last Chapter.

There’s just one little problem. Someone who knows not only the entire series but also the unreleased manuscript by heart is taunting Emilia with elements and prop pieces from it. The aim of this anonymous person starts to become increasingly threatening, which makes her realize that this individual may intend to finish with her death in much the same way that her novel ends with Miranda’s demise.

"These thoughts elevate THE WOMAN WHO LIED to a level of brilliance that I have never seen before from the always exceptional Claire Douglas, giving it an extra edge that will leave you reeling before the whole truth is uncovered."

THE WOMAN WHO LIED is a terrific piece of meta-fiction involving a work of fiction within a psychological thriller and one that a twisted killer may be using to commit murder for some unknown reason. The story begins in March 2022. Emilia is trying to live a quiet existence with her husband, Elliot, and their children, Jasmine and Wilfie. Aside from her editor and publicist, and a handful of people at her publishing house, only her immediate family and best friends have been given an uncorrected manuscript of her upcoming book.

After meeting with her editor to hand over the manuscript and explain that she will be killing off Miranda, Emilia's ride home is diverted by what ends up being a bomb scare. It just so happens that a bomb scare took place on the same route for Miranda. But the coincidences don’t end there. Emilia receives a parcel containing a statue of a seagull with its head chopped off, which is another similar plot element from her series. This is followed by a troll doll hanging from the tree in their front yard, which mimics one of her novels.

This all reminded me somewhat of MISERY. Just a page or two later, I got chills when Emilia references Stephen King’s classic and wonders if it could be a fanatical reader who is angry at her for offing her main character. Great stuff!

One evening, while Elliot is away on a business trip, Emilia hears someone walking in their attic and awakens to the skylights being opened. Upon Elliot’s return, they set up a full video surveillance system and call the police. Of course, she also shares these concerns and creepy coincidences with her friend, Louise. The last straw for Emilia is when Jasmine and one of her friends go missing. They were at a concert that they initially had been told they could not attend. It turns out that the boyfriend of Jasmine’s friend received a note from someone containing tickets to the concert and instructions to give them to the girls --- just like the killer does in The Last Chapter.

Emilia’s head is spinning as she jumps hypothetically to various people close to her as possible suspects. The book’s second part offers much to think about and ponder. For instance, what if we are not getting the full picture from Emilia? What if she is the woman who lied? These thoughts elevate THE WOMAN WHO LIED to a level of brilliance that I have never seen before from the always exceptional Claire Douglas, giving it an extra edge that will leave you reeling before the whole truth is uncovered.