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I wish each chapter was clearly labelled as to who the chapter was about and who's viewpoint it was. Eleven Liars is a superbly written thriller it’s the second book in the Journalist Ben Harper series, you don't really have to read TWELVE SECRETS to appreciate this one but I would strongly recommend it so you have an idea of the characters and relationships. Gold has meticulously plotted a book that has it all, mystery, and deliciously placed twist and turns that reveals a complex web of years-old secrets and tangled lies. Gold throws you straight into the action and the plot develops at a startling pace from then on in.
About half way through, it changed and most of the story was from Ben's point of view, and that's when it all changed for me. I then found it much easier to read and absolutely flew through the rest of the book. Gold's writing reads easily, and I am enjoying the Cash\Harper interactions. Both Ben and Dani are engaging, likeable characters albeit with complex lives, and you can certainly feel sympathy for them. Cash's life in this book is far from stable and you are left wondering how that's all going to end up. A short time earlier - Ben Harper, taking a shortcut through the local cemetery, stumbles upon the fire and sees someone trapped inside. He manages to free them, only for the stranger to flee, leaving Ben wondering, why?In this new book, we see the return of leading characters Ben Harper and Dani Cash, with the story allowing the reader deeper inside their lives. By introducing new areas of the town, such as the centuries old church standing on the riverbank and the terraced homes built on Haddley Hill, I was also able to bring in new characters and new lives, each one embedded in the darkest parts of Haddley’s past. I loved exploring and imagining new parts of the town and meeting characters who had made Haddley their home for decades. Haddley seems like a pleasant place to live but there is a lot beneath the surface which reveals it to be a rather unsavoury place, particularly with a view to substance abuse and drug dealing. Even the local vicar has something to hide!
I liked the slow build up of the plot with a number of strands which are gradually brought together. Bob Mortimer wins 2023 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction with The Satsuma Complex One night on his way home, Ben Harper stumbles across a community centre on fire. Rescuing someone within the building, who subsequently runs away, leaves him confused. As does the discovery of a body within the building who appears to have been there for a long time
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Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration As the police investigate the fire long buried human remains are discovered which turn out to have a major significance for Ben’s friend, Dani Cash who is a policewoman who has helped Ben on a previous case. Whilst helping Dani to look into the case, Ben discovers some long buried secrets which a number of local Haddley residents have reason to hope will never see the light of day. In Eleven Liars we make a welcome return to the world of journalist Ben Harper and DC Dani Cash – but this time, instead of trying to find out what happened to his mother (and brother) as in Twelve Secrets (which I also absolutely loved!), Ben is trying to uncover who started a fire in a community centre that almost killed a teenager, and whether this could be linked to another death years ago… I hope this turns into a very long series as I would happily keep reading about Ben and Dani’s investigations! Their growing closeness, despite Dani’s husband, adds an extra level of interest and we can’t help but root for them to become more than just friends. Added on top of that is a really engaging writing style that is so easy to enjoy. I don’t think you need to have read Twelve Secrets to enjoy this novel, but it will help you better understand some of the references. Full of not so likeable characters and plenty of twists, Eleven Liars is a complex story that weaves its way through the town and its history. Although we have many characters and threads, at no time did I find myself confused.
This is the second instalment in the Ben Harper series. Ben is a journalist and happens to come across a fire at the local community centre. Rushing to the fire he manages to save someone’s life, but doesn’t know who they are as they run off. But it wasn’t just a fire, it was arson. This one crime unravels other crimes, to which Ben is determined to get to the bottom of, and starts to investigate with his police officer friend, Dani. We loved Robert Gold’s bestselling debut thriller Twelve Secrets and, ahead of his next book Eleven Liars, we wanted to know what it was like writing a second novel set in the fictional town of Haddley. Over to you, Rob…
With Ben's help the person escapes, only to flee the scene before they can be identified. Now the small town of Haddley is abuzz with rumours. Was this an accident, or arson? This was a really enjoyable book and definitely an author I will follow in the future. A really well developed, intelligent story which pulls you along with gentle ease bringing you towards a really satisfying conclusion. Just when you think you have it all worked out, some final twists just make you catch your breath. When I sat down to begin writing Eleven Liars, I wanted it to be a story that would grip new readers while offering a degree of familiarity to returning readers of Twelve Secrets. For that reason, I chose to set the story once again in the fictional London suburbs of Haddley and St Marnham. The small town and village, nestled on a bend of the River Thames, create a closeness of community which might not be immediately associated with big city novels.
This was an enjoyable read with likeable protagonists and I will certainly look out for the previous book in the series as well as any further books n the future. The reader response to Twelve Secrets has been amazing, and way beyond anything I had ever imagined possible. I hope all of those readers who do return to Haddley and St Marnham find something strangely familiar, while discovering a story that is both new and full of unexpected turns. I loved reading about some of the returning characters such as Ben and Dani, both of them equally intriguing and fascinating to read about. I won’t say too much about the plot as I don’t want to spoil, but unlike the first book which dived into Ben’s life and the secrets hiding, this book focused on Dani and her life and things that happened in her past and I loved that. We first started with Twelve Secrets, and now here we are with Eleven Liars, the second book in the series highlighting journalist, Ben Harper.Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures The ending had me heartbroken and crying but I really liked the ending and felt like it sets the scene nicely for the third book (which I need immediately!). HARLAN COBEN MEETS HAPPY VALLEY IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER NEW THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sitting down to write a second novel is an oddly daunting experience. I’m sure every author writes their first novel more in hope rather than in expectation. The idea of anyone reading that first book is something of a pipe dream, even as the story and characters come to life. A second novel is a different experience, one which often begins with your editor asking, “When will it be finished?”. ELEVEN LIARS is a great follow up to the first book in this series, Twelve Secrets. This book continued a lot of the plot points from the first book that weren’t really explained and really explained them and a lot of things added up. There were a lot of new characters with big secrets and it was really interesting reading about them all and how all their secrets connected.
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