Little Black Lies

obsessed with this book! first book in the Zoe Goldman series. huge plot twist. couldn’t put it down!

To review this novel as the best thriller I've read this year is too mild. A reader’s hot sauce. The hottest of the hot. The height of suspense. Best. Thriller. Ever. Read.Dr. Zoe Goldman is a psychiatry resident with 2 other physicians under the supervision of Dr. Grant at a hospital in Buffalo, New York. Medication keeps her ADHD under control. Zoe is hoping for more help from her psychiatrist as another part of life has remained elusive. She wants to piece together the puzzle of her recurring nightmare. Answers from her adoptive mother have always been limited, and now, with her mother in care, Zoe qualifies answers as BD or AD before or after dementia.Mothers. The relationship between mothers and daughters is not lost on Zoe at home or work. Her latest patient, Sofia Vallano, has been in psychiatric hospital care for years for matricide. All of which influences her desire to locate her birth mother.I loved every aspect of this well-written novel. Whether in the hospital, at home, in the coffee shop, or in the car, I was immersed and engaged by the descriptive writing. The description of Jean-Luc is one to luxuriate, revel, and bask within the words.The story takes place over 4 months, from November to February. The vital clue to the mysteries of the answers Zoe is seeking is subtle. But then I must report it in that manner since the clue to it all was tucked in the story with care, and I flat-out missed the significance. At the reveal, I was in the first car of the roller coaster train approaching the tip of the top hat and then the drop. The track I thought the curves were taking wasn't even there. Shock! Adrenalin pumping, edge of my seat, gripping the rail with white knuckles, fantastic, extraordinary ecstasy. WoW! What a ride!A "Reading Group Guide" and "Discussion Questions" are available at the end of the novel.

I really enjoyed this book and was thrilled to find a new author and a new series! I flew through this book and immediately started the second in the series. I love Zoe Goldman. Her description of the world around her is hilarious. The subject matter is serious of course but her outlook brings humor and an insight that brings it to an interesting and less intense level. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Zoe Goldman is a psychiatry resident whose mother is suffering from dementia. She has known since she was a child that she was adopted, and her mother who raised her told her that her real mother died in a fire, and that she was her mother’s best friend. Pictures she saw in her mother’s yearbook make her question this story, and she goes on a quest to find her real mother. When she finds out the truth she understands why her mother who raised her went to such lengths to conceal the truth from her in an attempt to protect her. The book was well written with very descriptive language and was very suspenseful.

Little Black Lies is not a bad book, indeed certain audiences would probably like it. However i found it somewhat slow, rather boring, and overall an arduous read.I feel that it is actually a book that i would rather see as a movie. Which isn't something i would normally say. The book follows Zoe through her mundane life- working at a hospital, researching at the diner, and journeying through a rocky relationship. The crux of the story evolves around two situations: 1) Zoe has a patient who killed her mother, Zoe's boss wants to release the patient but Zoe is not sure... 2) Zoe was adopted and wants to find out about her real family... but why is there so many secrets there?The plot is fine and the ending interesting but the rather sporadic and uneventful way that we get to that point bored me to death.