In Gilly Macmillan's "To Tell the Truth," Lucy Harper writes popular crime fiction and her husband, Dan, is her assistant and business manager. Few people other than Dan know that, when Lucy was a precocious nine-year-old, she sneaked out of her house one night to attend a pagan celebration in honor of the summer solstice. Her three-year-old brother, Teddy, accompanied her. While Lucy watched the festivities, she left the exhausted little boy in her favorite hiding spot. Alas, when she returned to retrieve him, Teddy had vanished.

Thirty years pass, and Lucy and Dan's marriage has become fragile. Dan is spending money recklessly and behaving stealthily. An unexpected event upends Lucy's already shaky sense of security, and a savvy investigator, Detective Sergeant Lisa Bright, seems determined to catch Lucy in a lie and charge her with a serious crime. Bright hounds her in a way that is reminiscent of the many interrogations that Lucy endured in the days and months following Teddy's disappearance. The premise of this thriller is compelling, and for a while, we are hooked. Macmillan is a skilled storyteller who portrays Lucy as an imaginative, timid, although possibly unreliable narrator, while Dan is self-centered materialistic, and jealous of his wife's success.

Unfortunately, a number of flaws keep this from being a first-rate mystery. The heroine's cluelessness, whining, and imprudent choices make it hard to care about her. It is also difficult to fathom the role of Lucy's "imaginary friend," Eliza, whose voice Lucy hears and whose image she sometimes sees. Her bossy alter ego warns, chides, and advises Lucy on what to say and do, especially when Lucy in danger and is uncertain how to proceed. What ultimately sinks this tale, however, is its utterly chaotic ending. Macmillan's machinations in the final chapters involve too many extraneous elements that make little sense and emerge out of left field. The unfocused conclusion of "To Tell You the Truth" leaves us bewildered and frustrated. This could have been a far more satisfying work of fiction had the author constructed the final chapters as carefully and compellingly as she did her opening ones.
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Suspense

Even though the ending of this book was less than satisfying, I’m giving this 5 stars because it had one of the best lead ups to it. The main character in this book is going to be one of my favorite mystery/thriller characters going forward. She was strong, incredibly weak, smart, oblivious, and maybe a touch crazy. She lives with her imaginary friend in her head (and sometimes in reality), and I think it brought something so unique to this story. The rollercoaster of emotions kept me reading and reading— especially all the anger I had towards the victim. I’ll definitely try more from this author! ( )

Why do all the novels in this genre always star an unreliable, weak, confused and abused woman who's gaslighted so easily? And frankly, the murderer in this book is disappointing. ( )

A new friend recommended this mystery to me with reservations. Would I recommend it to you? Read my full review here. ( )