Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Sue Fortin for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Had Your Little Lies not been an advanced reader copy that I committed to reviewing, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. That said, I’m glad I pressed on and finished it, for by the end it gave me a lot to think about and was a decent mystery.

Hannah and Jasper are partners who move with their 7-year-old daughter to an exclusive community in the south of England on the English Channel. Jasper loves her, despite the fact that he knows she has secrets. He accepts her anxiety and behavior without question, believing that when the time is right she will tell him. Moving out of London to the community of Silverbanks was supposed to be part of reassuring Hannah.

That’s not how it turns out. When Hannah recognizes a neighbor, she’s worried that her past is catching up to her, despite the reassurances Bryan gives her. Another neighbor, Annabelle, seems to draw Hannah out of her shell a bit until a few incidents put Hannah on edge. Is she imagining it or is someone targeting Hannah and her family? When Bryan turns up dead, it would seem Hannah’s worst fears are confirmed.

Your Little Lies is a psychological thriller, which only works if the protagonist seems to be in peril. That is certainly the case here. Hannah flashes back to her old life as Laurel Jordan to explain how she got to this place. She was put into witness protection when she testified in a murder trial of Daniel Sully, who was a loan shark with ties to organized crime. The problem I had was that most of the peril that Laurel/Hannah found herself in practically had neon signs in front warning her off. It’s obvious from the start that Annabelle is someone to be cautious of. I wanted to scream at Hannah as she continually dismissed the warning signs, yet we’re told that for the past 11 years, she has been so cautious. The same is true in her old life as Laurel. There are so many warning signs from Daniel, yet she feels drawn to him despite being a married woman. Laurel’s husband, Matt, turns out to be a jerk, but at the beginning of her story, they are a happily married couple with a son.

It was upon reflection that I saw something else about Laurel/Hannah. She’s typical of so many women who were raised to doubt themselves even when the truth is right in front of them. Daniel is a smooth talker and charmer, yet Laurel seems to fall for him rather quickly. Her supposedly loving husband has been undermining her confidence, treating her work as an interior decorator as a hobby and telling her that Daniel has only hired her because he pities her. Yet, he expects her to do whatever it takes to help him get a contract with him. Laurel tells Matt that she’s uncomfortable with some of the things Daniel has said and done, but Matt doesn’t stand up to protect his wife. Instead, he tells her she is overreacting and dismisses her discomfort.

The same is true for Laurel when she is Hannah. There are so many red lights about Annabelle’s behavior, yet Hannah seems to be so desperate for a friend she continually talks herself out of heeding the warning signs that are pretty hard to miss. Jasper is more supportive of her than Matt ever was, but he can’t help being confused that she still won’t confide her secret to him.

Your Little Lies was a decent mystery, and I eventually appreciated Hannah as the embodiment of a woman who has little to no confidence in herself and needs a man to reassure her. I don’t think that’s the type of heroine I could root for in the long run, though. I found myself more annoyed by her behavior and obtuseness. When I can’t root for the protagonist, it’s hard to feel invested in the thriller/mystery part of the story.