Title: After the Lie

Author: Kerry Fisher

Published: April 29th by Bookouture

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: An addictive and gripping read about love, life and living a lie. 

One little lie can make one big difference… 

Lydia has the ‘right’ kind of friends, her children are at the ‘right’ kind of school and she’s married to the ‘right’ sort of man – kind, steady, reliable Mark. Her wedding business is flourishing and even though she is at loggerheads with her mother, she couldn’t ask for anything more from life. 

But the truth is that Lydia has been lucky. She has been living a lie for years and Mark has no idea who he is really married to. But nothing lasts forever and the past has a funny way of catching up with the present. When the person who knows all of Lydia’s dark little secrets turns up at the school gates, his presence threatens to blow Lydia’s life apart. 

What is Lydia’s terrible truth? Once the secret is out, you can’t put it back… 

First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: First of all, what a tense read! I read it in two sittings because I needed to know it all, at once. As soon as I picked it, I was curious to know about Lydia's life, what had happened to make her and her family change their lives completely and start anew in a completely different place? It was obvious that even if they all acted as life was good, it was eating at them in the inside. 

I was really surprised to read about Lydia and her mother's relationship. That woman! Seriously, how can a mother be so cruel  to her daughter? Maybe cruel is not the word for it, as she claims to do it all for Lydia's own good, but seriously, give her a break, woman! This character really got on my nerves and even if Kerry Fisher tried to soften her a bit once the story got messy, I just couldn't stomach her. I have to admit though, that I loved hating her. 

Lydia herself was a really complex character. It was difficult to really understand her without knowing her whole story. But as bits and pieces started to be unveiled, I also started to get her. I think she went through something really unfair but that something kind of spiraled out of control and when she found herself facing her past she just made some really poor choices. But I couldn't help root for her. 

But what I loved about this novel is how with every new bit of information the story got even more complicated. The Lie continued to affect not only Lydia's and her parents' current life but also her husband's and kids'. I really had no idea how the story was going to end and its turns and twists had me glued to its pages for hours. 

After the Lie is a tense and clever story that will keep you on your toes. You might think you know what's going to happen but I'm quite sure you'll be wrong. Kerry Fisher certainly keeps some aces up her sleeve with this one.

A novel about love. Raw important love. Small, beautiful love. And what happens when the person you love cannot be yours… Perfect for fans of Rowan Coleman, Jane Green and David Nicholls. 

Kate and Becca are cousins and best friends. They have grown up together and shared all the most important milestones in their lives: childhood birthday parties, eighteenth birthdays, and now a wedding day as they each marry their childhood sweethearts, Charlie and Julian. 

Kate has always loved Charlie - they were meant to be. Then she discovers that life never turns out quite how you expect it to. And love doesn't always follow the journey it should. 

But best friends are forever, and true love will find a way, won't it…?

Why so excited: I had the pleasure to attend the Spring Bloggers Evening at Books and the City and Juliet Ashton read us an extract of this novel. She also talked a bit about her writing process and what this story meant to her. It sound like an amazing read and I can't wait to start it!

Today I am over the moon to be able to share with you the cover for Kerry Fisher's new book. Kerry has just joined the fantastic publisher Bookouture and I am sure that together they will bring us great stories!

After the Lie by Kerry Fisher

An addictive and gripping read about love, life and living a lie… 

One little lie can make one big difference… 

Lydia has the ‘right’ kind of friends, her children are at the ‘right’ kind of school and she’s married to the ‘right’ sort of man – kind, steady, reliable Mark. Her wedding business is flourishing and even though she is at loggerheads with her mother, she couldn’t ask for anything more from life. 

But the truth is that Lydia has been lucky. She has been living a lie for years and Mark has no idea who he is really married to. But nothing lasts forever and the past has a funny way of catching up with the present. When the person who knows all of Lydia’s dark little secrets turns up at the school gates, his presence threatens to blow Lydia’s life apart. 

What is Lydia’s terrible truth? Once the secret is out, you can’t put it back … 

Publication date: 29th April 2016.

Available to pre-order now: 

UK: http://amzn.to/1KPGZ8L

US: http://amzn.to/1NJz4d0

About Kerry Fisher

Born in Peterborough, Kerry Fisher studied French and Italian at Bath University, followed by several years working as an English teacher in Corsica and Spain before topping the dizzying heights of holiday rep and grape picker in Tuscany. She eventually succumbed to 'getting a proper job' and returned to England to study Periodical Journalism at City University. After two years working in the features department at Essentials magazine in London, love carried her off to the wilds of the West Pennine moors near Bolton. She now lives in Surrey with her husband (of whisking off to Bolton fame), two teenagers and a very naughty lab/schnauzer called Poppy. Kerry can often be seen trailing across the Surrey Hills whistling and waving pieces of chicken while the dog practises her 'talk to the tail'. 

Kerry has spent half her life talking about writing a novel, then several years at Candis magazine reviewing other people's but it wasn't until she took some online courses with the UCLA (University of California) that the dream started to morph into reality, culminating in the publishing of The Class Ceiling. The Avon imprint of HarperCollins picked it up and retitled it The School Gate Survival Guide, published summer 2014. Her second book, The Island Escape, came out in May 2015. It won first prize at the York Festival of Writing for the opening line: 'I was wearing the wrong bra for sitting in a police cell'. 

Best advice ever received: 'This is fiction, we can skip the boring bits.' Lynn Hightower, UCLA Writers' Program. 

Website: www.kerryfisherauthor.com 

Follow her on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/kerryfswayne

Like her page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/kerryfisherauthor

Hi Kerry and welcome to Alba in Bookland. 

Alba, thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog. It’s lovely to be here. 

First of all, tell us a bit about yourself: 

I live in Surrey with two work-in-progress teenagers, a husband who never reads anything I write (but is quite lovely in other ways) and a naughty Lab/Giant Schnauzer called Poppy. I love cooking and seem to have developed a middle-aged obsession with gardening of late. I find a disproportionate amount of joy in seeing my seeds turn into flowers. 

Your latest novel, The Island Escape, is about a woman who escapes her real life and marriage and revisits an island where she spent a summer when she was young. Where did the inspiration for this story come from? 

I lived in Corsica as part of my French degree when I was nineteen. It’s a fabulous island, with the strong perfume of wild rosemary, thyme and gorse everywhere, carpets of wildflowers and the clearest sea. It’s the perfect setting for romance so I chose it for The Island Escape. The idea of the story came from hearing so many women in their forties expressing dissatisfaction with the way their lives have turned out. 

You're quite a traveler yourself, what's the best place you have ever visited and would like to escape right now? 

I love Sydney. There’s such a variety of things to do/see/eat, I can’t imagine ever being bored. The last couple of months have been so busy, I’d like to do the Bondi-Coogee coastal walk, which passes through the peaceful Waverley Cemetery. It sounds macabre but it’s an exquisite graveyard overlooking the sea. I love reading all the old-fashioned names on the headstones and wondering about their lives. 

And what place you haven't visited yet would you love to discover? 

I’m really keen to go to Iceland – the scenery is supposed to be spectacular. 

Are the characters in your novels completely fictional or are they ever based on anyone in real life? 

It sounds odd but I find it more difficult to make real people convincing than entirely fictional ones. What I do take from real life are characteristics or personality traits – a way of standing, a nervous tic, an aggressive or unfortunate manner… 

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment? 

I’ve just finished novel three. It’s a very contemporary story about how small secrets can grow huge as they contaminate the next generation, intertwined with a humorous look at how challenging parenting can be. 

And now the important questions ;) 

Secret guilty pleasure: I hardly ever watch television but I do love I’m A Celebrity. I get completely frustrated when contestants won’t even have a go at trials. 

Ultimate Book boyfriend: I’ve just read Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey and I loved her American bomber pilot, Dan. He had all the ingredients for a romantic hero – decent, brave, kind and respectful. 

Best plan for a Saturday night: I like to party but am probably happiest when the whole family is at home, with a film we all agree on (rather than our usual scenario of arguing about every film on Netflix before it gets too late to watch anything!) Add in the dog snuggled up with me on the sofa, a glass of Sauvignon blanc and all mobile phones banished to the kitchen – perfect! 

Thank you for having me.

Thank you Kerry for stopping by and answering all my questions. I would love to be in Corsica right now, but I think I'll have to settle with reading the fantastic The Island Escape.

Haven't you read this fantastic read yet? Find out more about it: 

Title: The Island Escape

Author: Kerry Fisher

Published: May 21st 2015 by Avon

Amazon | Amazon UK

Have you missed any stops on the tour? Check them out for more fantastic content, reviews and interviews with Kerry: