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Why Did You Lie?

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Why Did You Lie?

By: Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Narrated by: Katherine Manners
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About this listen

A standalone thriller from the prizewinning queen of Nordic noir and author of the Thora Gudmundsdottir series.

A chilling thriller from the author of The Silence of the Sea, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel.

A journalist on the track of an old case attempts suicide. An ordinary couple return from a house swap in the states to find their home in disarray and their guests seemingly missing. Four strangers struggle to find shelter on a windswept spike of rock in the middle of a raging sea. They have one thing in common: they all lied. And someone is determined to punish them....

Why Did You Lie? is a terrifying tale of long-delayed retribution from Iceland's queen of suspense.

©2013, 2016 Yrsa Sigurdardottir. English language translation. Victoria Cribb. Published by arrangement with Salomonsson Agency. (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant  
Brilliant. The ending could not be predicted. The opening rescue scene made little sense until later in the story. Cleverly done. Highly recommended.

My rating: 5/5.

It's Bad To Lie

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Completely disappointed. No resolved ending, I didn't feel for any of the characters, a lot of people were murdered...for what. Wouldn't recommend.

Not for me

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A brilliant story which keeps you guessing until the very end. I will definitely read more from this author.

Fantastic

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The murders are gruesome so a very thoughtful plot is required to justify the this. I am not satisfied that this was the case. I enjoyed the first half as the brooding atmosphere and inexplicable horror were developed. Unfortunately I spotted the ending as soon as the characters involved in the first murder were set into context. This was reinforced by the context of the third murder. As a result I was left wondering why the author chose to render the police so slow on the uptake when there were evident clues or obvious lines of enquiry in abundance. The final chapters were risible. The lead investigator goes from clueless to suddenly providing the perpetrator with a detailed backstory account of their crimes before the inevitable final conflict. The narration is OK compared to the dreadful narration for Why Did You Lie but inexplicably the characters' accents change randomly and pointlessly since the characters are set out clearly in the third person narrative. Although Icelanders, some characters adopt a fluctuating estuary-English accent, another sounds like an Aussie and one develops an Irish lilt part way through a conversation.

Contrived ending disappoints

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I have read the Freya series, am halfway through Thora and getting through all stand alone novels. Yrsa Sigurdadottir pens terrific tales, steeped in Icelandic culture, daily life and environment. Translation is excellent and narrators give a lilting life to events and pronunciation. Extremely enjoyable.

Can't get enough of this author

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This is a gripping story, cleverly pulled together, despite the reader who does it no favours.

Yes, I finished it....

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Found this a bit long winded. Conclusion was predictable and characters not very relatable.
Did not enjoy as much as some of the author's other books.

hard to relate to characters

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I found this book to be gripping and exciting. Yrsa manages to interweave several stories and draw them together at appropriate times which builds the suspense. Skilfully read. Only negative is that it is too short.

Queen of Nordic Noir

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I have long been a fan of Sigurdardottir but this stand-alone novel reflects her at the top of her form. I was listening today while walking to the shops but I had to turn off my iPod because I was becoming too nervous--in the middle of a sunny Saturday afternoon on the high street.This novelist is a master in integrating descriptions of weather fronts and the sea into her narrative. These descriptions are not irritating digressions from the plot lines but rather are important elements in the unfolding of her characters' actions. Sigurdardottir weaves three distinct narratives with fully drawn protagonists into an integrated whole by the end of the book and I was left shaking my head in admiration at a novelist with such ability to match her confidence.

WOW

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Very well read and sometimes quite shouty so not easy. Several
storylines that intertwine nicely. All in all very enjoyable, I would definitely recommend.

Good story, excellently read

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