Tell Me Lies by
Tony Strong
pbk out April 03
(Bantam)
at £10.99
Ros Taylor wakes up to a horrific nightmare. She has been drugged and raped in her
North London flat and her best friend and flatmate, Jo, has been raped and murdered.
The police investigate but they are hampered by Ros's memory loss – a symptom of
the extreme trauma she has suffered. Gradually the enquiry focuses on one man, the
police know he is the killer but they do not have enough hard evidence to prosecute.
Ros, who has grown close to lead detective Bill Thomson, is prepared to lie and
'regain' her memory in order to see the man convicted. But the lie backfires and
leads to new and deadly consequences.
Fourth novel from Strong and a sharp, compelling and well-crafted read. The story is
told in five alternating sections by victim Ros Taylor and policeman Bill Thomson,
allowing the author to explore differing perceptions of the same events echoing the
wider theme of shifting truth and reality that he addresses. Strong is good at
developing a sense of unease and menace, whether in the hunt for the murderer or in
the trial when Ros has to deceive the court. This is also part love story: two very
different people who find themselves thrown together with a common goal and go
further in concert than either would alone. The denouement of the story is quite
macabre, almost hard to believe – would they really do that? - but we are told that
Tell Me Lies is actually based on a true story.
Manchester Evening News 19.4.03
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
Tell Me Lies by
Tony Strong
