A text from Drew?

How could that be - he left and has passed away.

April and Drew worked at a doorbell camera company, fell in love, she became pregnant, and then Drew disappeared.

THE FIVE YEAR LIE has the reader following April and Drew when they were together and then only April after the five years of her being alone and now wondering just who Drew really was.

April finds out a lot about Drew that she didn’t really want to know and things she didn’t want to know about her family’s doorbell company.

Computer geeks and mystery fans will enjoy this book even though it’s a bit frightening what can be found and hacked.

Lots of secrets, illegal transactions, shady characters, and a few unrealistic but good things that do happen.

This was my first book by this author, and I truly enjoyed it. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ( )

The Five Year Lie is the newest domestic thriller from Sarina Bowen.

Five years ago, Ariel fell in love with Drew, an Army veteran who worked as a programmer in her family's doorbell camera company. They had a wonderful summer, then one day he was just gone, with no word or warning. When she finds his obituary online, she knows that he'll never be coming back. She receives a text from him five years later, she can't help but go and see if he shows up. Of course he doesn't, because dead men don't text or walk around, but it opens a wound for her and she starts digging into him and his life, along with Zain, who had worked with Drew. They find out he's not who he said he was, and he had found something not quite right in the Chime Co. network. After they get too close to what's going on, things get very heated and dangerous.

Told from Ariel's point of view in the present, and unknown narrator(s) in the past, this was a page-turning mystery of lies, secrets, and revenge. Ariel is trying her best to build a good life, and she just wants the truth about who the love of her life was. Zain was a little suspicious, but in general a good guy willing to get his hands dirty. There were likeable characters and characters who were just the worst, but it wouldn't be a great mystery is everyone was a great person.

All in all, a gripping thriller with romance, revenge, family, and secrets. If you enjoy a female main character who isn't afraid to stir the pot, then definitely give this one a shot. For lovers of mystery and suspense who enjoy Riley Sager or Christina Dodd novels.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @HarperPerennial for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own. ( )

The Five Year Lie is Sarina Bowen's new novel.
Bowen's previous books are romantic fiction. But, with this new book, suspense takes the driver's seat. The romance is still a big part of the plot, but in a supporting role - not overpowering the suspense.

Ariel had a whirlwind affair with Drew - but he left her without a goodbye. That was five years ago, and she still doesn't know why. But a computer glitch sends her on a last chance hunt to find answers. And what she finds is frighteningly real. I'm not going to spoil what that is, but I'm sure it's already in place somewhere.

I liked Ariel as a lead character. She's the antithesis of her family, living life on her terms. Bowen gives us some chapters from the past - from those chapters we come to know Drew through Ariel's eyes. There one clear cut 'bad' player, and a few others that I couldn't quite decide on.

Bowen does a good job with the plotting of The Five Year Lie. Again, the catalyst for the plot is quite believable. (If you're like me, you might ask yourself...) The action ramps up as the final pages turn. And the ending? Just right!

The Five Year Lie would be perfect for a beach bag this summer. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Five Year Lie. ( )

I was hooked in the beginning. It’s revealed early on that the text Ariel received was one of hundreds of five-year-old texts that, due to a cell tower malfunction, went undelivered to the people of her town until that moment. All the texts originated from a short span of time during which her boyfriend disappeared without a word and her father died. The reveal immediately upped the tension and raised so many questions. Not just about the boyfriend (What did he need to tell her so desperately? What happened that made him give up on trying to reach her and instead run for the hills? Is he actually dead then?), but about everybody (Who else got a delayed text? What new mysteries or information might they have suddenly learned? What might they have done because they didn’t know? How will things change now that they do?) and the situation (Why did this happen? Was it intentional? How does everything that happened five years ago tie together?)
Suddenly everyone in Ariel’s life has a little scrap of information from this moment in time when her life was upended with no explanation and she has no way to know if it’s as meaningless as a missed notification for a delivery or as crucial as the evidence to a murder nor who has something to hide.

Unfortunately, the story lost some steam as it went along. The characters’ attitudes towards their situation felt inconsistent. Ariel both realizes she’s getting deep into some dangerous stuff and should be worried and is totally oblivious to obviously worrying behavior from her friend and fellow investigator. The love story half of the book was slow and not particularly engaging, maybe it just didn’t mesh well with the rest. Most of the twists weren’t very twisty; it’s going right where you suspect after you get past the set-up. ( )