Happy publication day to Fiona Cummins for Some Of Us Are Liars! It’s the latest book in the Detective Saul Anguish series. Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early read. Before I give you my review, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

She must face justice. As her sister it kills me to say it. As his mother I demand it.

When Jen Miller entrusts her youngest child to the care of her beloved sisters, she has no idea of the devastating tragedy that is about to unfold.

To celebrate her sister’s wedding, global superstar Winter Kellaway throws the party of the decade at her luxurious beachside estate. The decorations are flawless. The champagne is on ice. The guests have arrived. But one misstep will have heartbreaking consequences that will rock this close-knit family to their core.

With her life in pieces, how can Jen ever begin to forgive?

Saul Anguish, a brilliant but tormented young detective, is called in to investigate and uncovers a long-buried and shocking family secret. As the trail takes a dramatic turn, they must now all face the truth that you can never truly leave the past behind . . .

 

My Review

A flawed detective is part of crime tropes but I don’t think I’ve read any as flawed as Detective Constable Saul Anguish. Even his name belies his tortured soul. In other hands, he might have become a caricature but Fiona Cummins has created a real flesh and blood character, who’s just always slightly out of reach. If you’ve read all of Cummins’ books then you know we first met Saul in The Collector as a troubled teenager. I think seeing how Saul’s developed into an adult really helps with the connection to the reader.

In Some Of Us Are Liars, we have less of Saul and far more about the Kellaway sisters – Winter, Jen and Alyssa. The story unfolds through various timelines and points of view, as tragedy engulfs the family. It’s hard to say much about the plot because I don’t want to give any spoilers away. Suffice to say, there are layers upon layers upon layers and just when I thought I’d got it, the story would twist again. I found this book particularly moving ( another trait of Cummins’ writing). It’s hard to explain, but to me, it felt like melancholy was wrapped around the story like a silk shawl – just as I got comfortable, something would shift and I’d feel the chill again.

As I said, there is less of Saul in this book but judging by the ending, I think there’s plenty more to come for Saul Anguish and I can’t wait.

You can buy Some Of Us Are Liars here.

 

The Author

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, was the subject of a huge international auction and has been translated into several languages. It received widespread critical acclaim from authors and reviewers. She has since written bestsellers The Collector, The Neighbour, When I Was Ten and Into the Dark in which she introduces DC Saul Anguish, a brilliant young detective with a dark past. Fiona lives with her family in Essex.