The Lying Club: A Novel by Annie Ward
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Park Row, for providing me with an ARC of The Lying Club in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gist
Well, where shall I start with this one? It’s been a heck of a week, which isn’t anything new. Yet, it still makes for a rather grumpy mood and I’m wondering if that has influenced my perception of The Lying Club.
Anyone, who has read at least a few reviews of mine, would know that I love murder mystery stories. Having to deal with a cold and being denied the pleasure of a good murder mystery may have significantly added to my bad mood.
The Details
What was going on with the characters in The Lying Club? They are all stock characters!
We have the “bored”, rich housewife who is constantly looking for something else to nip, tuck, stretch, tighten or gloss. There is the worried working mom. The character with a secret. And, of course, the one character who is so obvious I knew exactly their role in the story as soon as I saw their name and title.
So predictable! I found none of the characters likeable or interesting enough to make The Lying Club easier to get through.
At this point I should jump ahead and talk about the writing style before I can comment on the plot. I have to say the writing style was really very good.
The writing is easy to follow, has a great flow and is very relaxing.That’s what makes the next part so frustrating for me: there are too many abrupt changes in scenes. It’s ridiculous how quickly the setting changes from “the gym” to “later on that same night”.
I was in a sort of trance, reading this very relaxed style of storytelling when all of a sudden I find myself a handful of scenes later and I had to backtrack to find out where the jumps were.
I appreciate a good writing style and a writing style that allows me to take a breath and be taken on a journey. But not at the expense of being ripped out of it by severe jumps in time. Doesn’t work for me.
Having said that, the plot in The Lying Club appeared equally there but not really. It begins all so promising, only to be jolted this way and that. Throwing a whole bunch of tangents, red herrings and distractions in the mix, combined with a lot of unnecessary details makes for a very frustrating read.
The Verdict
Overall, I can’t say I enjoyed this. It started out very strong but quickly nosedived into a slow jumble of details and false pretences that makes The Lying Club a tedious read.
I can’t really recommend The Lying Club, it appears I’m in the minority with my unfavourable review.
About the Author
Annie Ward is the author of Beautiful Bad. She has a BA in English literature from UCLA and an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Her first short screenplay, Strange Habit, starring Adam Scott, was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award winner at the Aspen Film Festival. She has received a Fulbright scholarship and an Escape to Create artist residency. She lives in Kansas with her family.
