The premise of Carla Buckley's The Liar's Child is definitely an attention-grabbing one. It seamlessly combines the stories of a woman in the Witness Protection Program and an entire family in crisis. Throw a deadly hurricane into the mix, and you have all the makings of an absolutely gripping novel. At times, it certainly was that, but in other instances, it didn't quite live up to its potential.Sara Lennox (a fake name, of course) has had a troubled past and is taken to create a new life for herself in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She becomes a housekeeper and resides in the community of Paradise, which it most definitely is not. Whit and Diane Nelson, along with their two children, Cassie and Boon, live next door. Sara almost instantly can pick up that things are not right with this family. Their lives intertwine in a few ways throughout the book, most notably when a hurricane hits the Outer Banks. Sara must make a quick decision, one that may turn out to have dire consequences.
When The Liar's Child began, I could not turn the pages fast enough. I found the middle to be a slow read, but Buckley does throw in a few twists that left me genuinely surprised. The ending is what caused me to have very mixed emotions. There were questions that were left unanswered and that was deeply unsatisfying. However, there are a few pages in the book that make no sense when you read them but come together for a heartwarming conclusion at the end.
MY RATING - 3.5
