Eight Years of Lies by Lisa Hall

When her husband disappears, a wife uncovers that he had been living a double life.

Author

Diego Dunne
July 13, 2025

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Every Fall by Angela Douglas is a chilling domestic thriller about the haunting cost of toxic masculinity, where the greatest threat to a mother and her children may be the man sworn to protect them.

Eight Years of Lies by Lisa Hall – Review

Claire is looking forward to a normal day. Her husband, Tom, is out the door to take their daughter to school when she sees a Facebook post from a stranger claiming her husband and daughter are missing. But the picture on the screen is of Tom and her daughter. She tries to put it out of her mind, but when Tom doesn’t show up that night, or the following night, she knows something terrible has happened.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, identity theft.

This book is a psychological thriller spanning multiple locations in England.

Psychological thrillers: thrillers focused on the unstable minds of characters, exploring perception, reality, and psychological tension, often leaving readers questioning what’s real. The emphasis is on internal conflict and mental unraveling rather than external action.

Hall’s writing is utilitarian and invisible, which is appreciated. Dialogue flows naturally, and descriptions are kept to a minimum.

We follow a single point of view throughout a single timeline as Claire pursues new leads, and we find out more about Tom’s past.

The story unfolds slowly. Claire is a proactive character, but she hesitates with each decision. This makes for a satisfying read, albeit I wished she would get on with it at times. Nevertheless, I found the mystery of the disappearance compelling, and I rooted for Claire to find her husband and the father of their daughter. There was a sense of a ticking clock as the days passed, and she was no closer to finding him, which I found worked well.

The themes are very on the surface, as Claire struggles with the lies of her husband and goes back and forth on whether she should look past them to keep the family together.

There is no romance in the story; as such, there is no spiciness either. There are no scenes of graphic violence and no swearing.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

I love my stories to wrap up nicely, with a neat little bow at the end. I like to read a cathartic scene where everything our characters have been through finally pays off physically and emotionally. Then a denouement in another chapter (or chapters) following the characters decompress where things are resolved and I’m left delighted at how well things played out at the end, every plot thread resolved.

The ending was a mess. There was an attempt to subvert expectations, which ended up revealing significant plot holes. A brief denouement provided enough closure after the ending.

I enjoyed Eight Years of Lies up to the ending, so I would still recommend it to people looking for something to read where we follow one main character, uncovering clues to her husband’s whereabouts while grappling with the fact that he lied to her throughout their marriage.

Similar Books to Eight Years of Lies

  • He's Lying About Everything by Robin Mahle

  • Into the Fall by Tamara L. Miller

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  • Our Last Resort by Clémence Michallon: Fifteen years ago, Frida and her brother escaped a cult. Now her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and it isn’t the first time.

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  • The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins: When human bones are discovered in an artwork, an investigator is sent to the late artist’s home: a stormy Scottish island with only one house, one resident, and one way out…

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

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