Let Me Lie - Clare Mackintosh

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

First Paragraph(s):

Death does not suit me.  I wear it like a borrowed coat; it slips off my shoulders and trails in the dirt.  It is ill fitting.  Uncomfortable.
     I want to shrug it off; to throw it in the cupboard and take back my well-tailored clothes.  I didn't want to to leave my old life, but I'm hopeful for my next one--hopeful I can become someone beautiful and vibrant.  For now, I am trapped. 
     Between lives.
     In limbo.

My Thoughts:

Let Me Lie is the third book by Clare Mackintosh and, as with her previous books, I Let You Go and I See You, I was caught up in the story.  Anna Johnson has lost both her parents to suicide or so it seems.  First her father and then, some months later, her mother, in exactly the same way.  She now has a child and would like to move on with her life, but she still has niggling doubts about their deaths.  On the first anniversary of her mother's death, Anna receives a card that suggests a closer look is warranted.  She goes to the police and relates her story to ex-detective (now civilian employee) Murray Mackenzie.  Even though he's unofficial, Murray decides to ask some questions.  And what he finds, well, I'll let you read the book and discover for yourself. 

I did like Let Me Lie and actually listened to it on audio, very well narrated by Gemma Whelan.  As I walked my usual daily route of exercise, I was muttering though.  The characters were not completely unlikable, but I was annoyed with many of them.  I'm finding that I talk to characters that bug me (now, that doesn't look or sound odd does it?  Ha!) and say things like - 'Seriously?' or 'That's where your mind went?' or 'How clueless are you?'.  My favorite person was Murray, the ex-policeman, and how he cared for and supported his wife, Sarah.  Oh, I also liked Anna's baby, Ella.  She was a normal baby and really just interested in where her next meal would come from.  And there was a nice little dog named Rita.  There were certainly twists and I had a good time puzzling what they might be.  I was mostly correct, but not entirely.  I'd love to see Murray again in another book.  And, yes, I'll be reading the next one by Clare Mackintosh.  She's pretty much moved to my 'must read' list. 

Blurb:

Last year, Tom and Caroline Johnson chose to end their lives, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents' deaths, unwilling to accept the verdict of suicide.

Now with a baby herself, Anna feels her mother's absence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as she digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.

Sometimes it's safer to let things lie....