Title: Sweet Little Lies
Author: Caz Frear
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

[Synopsis]

What happens when the trust has gone?
Cat Kinsella was always a daddy’s girl. Until the summer of 1998 when she sees her father flirting with seventeen-year-old Maryanne Doyle.
When Maryanne later disappears and Cat’s father denies ever knowing her, Cat’s relationship with him is changed forever.
Eighteen years later, Cat is now a Detective Constable with the Met. Called to the scene of a murder in Islington, she discovers a woman’s body: Alice Lapaine has been found strangled, not far from the pub that Cat’s father runs.
When evidence links Alice to the still missing Maryanne, all Cat’s fears about her father resurface. Could he really be a killer? Determined to confront the past and find out what really happened to Maryanne all those years ago, Cat begins to dig into the case. But the problem with looking into the past is that sometimes you might not like what you find.
For fans of Erin Kelly and Belinda Bauer, Sweet Little Lies is a suspenseful page-turner from a talented new voice.

[My Review]

Sweet Little Lies is a sharp, intelligent novel which offers a more emotive side to the usual police investigation novels, because DC Cat Kinsella’s own family may be snarled up in their most recent case: the murder of Alice Lapaine, and an older case involved Maryanne Doyle.
We follow Cat and the team as they investigate a series of murders, some recent and some from years ago. Cat herself is a conflicted character with her own problems and issues, and she has various flaws which she’s well aware of, and is struggling with a troubled relationship with her own family which was interesting to read about. I look forward to future novels with her in as she seemed a likeable, smart character who I enjoyed reading about, as are her family members.
The case itself swings between fast paced and intriguing to a little slower; in fact the story in general did slow down at some points, and I found myself less gripped by the novel, but it soon picks up again. I was also aware that this made the book more realistic – police investigations can’t always be all go go go!
There are some humorous observations by Cat which kept me entertained throughout and made me laugh, and the fact that the novel really delves into Cat’s life adds an extra dimension to the story.
I really enjoyed Sweet Little Lies and feel that it’s something a little different.

[Rating: 4/5]

Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review!

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