The Book of Lies - by Mary Horlock (Paperback)

About the Book

A brilliant debut novel, in which a teenage girl's "Mean Girls"-like experience on the remote English island of Guernsey pushes her to murder her best friend--a scandal that mirrors her uncle's hidden story of the island's Nazi occupation in World War II.

Book Synopsis

On the English Channel island of Guernsey, a teenage girl's Mean Girls-like experience pushes her to murder her best friend in a scandal, she will discover, that mirrors her uncle's previously unknown story from the days of the island's Nazi occupation during WWII. Told through the voices of fifteen-year-old Cat Rozier and her long-dead Uncle Charlie--known to Cat only by the audio recordings he left behind--The Book of Lies lucidly illuminates the interior lives of a scorned modern girl with attitude and a defiant, faded man. With echoes of Nicole Krauss's The History of Love and Jennifer McMahon's Promise Not to Tell, Mary Horlock's stunning debut novel is an unforgettable exploration of aspiration, anguish, and rebellion.

From the Back Cover

Life on the tiny island of Guernsey has just become a whole lot harder for fifteen-year-old Cat Rozier. She's gone from model pupil to murderer, but she swears it's not her fault. Apparently it's all the fault of history.

A new arrival at Cat's high school in 1984, the beautiful and instantly popular Nicolette inexplicably takes Cat under her wing. The two become inseparable--going to parties together, checking out boys, and drinking whatever liquor they can shoplift. But a perceived betrayal sends them spinning apart, and Nic responds with cruel, over-the-top retribution.

Cat's recently deceased father, Emile, dedicated his adult life to uncovering the truth about the Nazi occupation of Guernsey--from Churchill's abandonment of the island to the stories of those who resisted--in hopes of repairing the reputation of his older brother, Charlie. Through Emile's letters and Charlie's words--recorded on tapes before his own death-- a "confession" takes shape, revealing the secrets deeply woven into the fabric of the island . . . and into the Rozier family story.

Review Quotes

"The joy of this ingenious debut is that, somehow, it manages to link twin stories convincingly to create an impressive fable about the relativity of truth and the deceits that make living on a small island possible. Highly recommended." - Financial Times
"Moving, engaging and complex . . . Horlock's authorial debut is impressive." - the Scotsman
"[An] assured debut. . . . Horlock has created an authentic voice and not only illuminated the history of a small island but also thrown light on the subjectivity of history, truth and memory." - The Independent