Book Review: Fragile Lies by Laura Elliot

If I am being completely honest, Fragile Lies is not my usual type of book and, possibly for that reason, it took me a good few chapters to really get into this book. However, I quickly found myself wanting to read more.

Lorraine Cheevers is an artist and mother who moves her teenage daughter, Emily, from Dublin to the small town of Trabawn  In an attempt to hide from her misery and recover from her broken marriage, Lorraine has ran to a place holding fond childhood memories for her.  You immediately get a sense of the sheer devastation she feels at the end of her marriage. She struggles to get through each day, not helped by Emily’s dismay at leaving her entire life behind.

Michael Carmody is a writer on a popular teen drama. His only son, Killian, lies in a coma after being involved in a tragic accident. All Michael wants, other than having his son back, is to track down the people who left his son for dead.

The characters are all well-written and you can feel the emotions flowing from them, whether those feelings be love, devastation, hatred or frustration. You also cannot help but feel some sympathy for almost all of the characters, even the adulterous Adrian when you realise what an impact his actions have had on his own life.

The author switches between the characters, providing the reader with more of an understanding as to the events that unfolded prior to our joining the story.

The story itself, whilst initially a slow burner, is gripping. It turns in a complete circle, finally reaching its climax back on the pier where Killian’s tragic accident occurred. Somehow I found the ending slightly shocked me, even though I could almost predict what was coming.  

The author has a beautiful style of writing which causes the reader to become engrossed in the story as it becomes more complex. It is at this stage that we see the different aspects start to entwine and reveal the true events of that tragic day.

Overall, whilst certainly not a cheerful story, the writing style is lovely and the story really does contain everything a good book should have – love, betrayal, tragedy, intrigue and revenge! Sometimes revenge really is best served cold…