Review: One Of Them Is Lying, CL Swatman

Synopsis:

They all have secrets and no one can leave.

When Stella lands a job working at Titheridge Farm, she’s thrilled. She’s aware of what kind of man Alan Titheridge is – he’s been embroiled in scandals for months – but it’s now her job to try to clear his name.

Stella plans a weekend at the farm for the family and invites five VIP guests, in a bid to win them over. But as everyone arrives for their country break, a storm is brewing.

Forty-eight hours later, someone is dead.

Trapped by the weather and all with secrets of their own, one of the partygoers is lying and one isn’t who they say they are. Now they must work out who they can trust, before it’s too late…

Shop The Book: One Of Them Is Lying
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Boldwood Books has a habit of landing some of my favorite reads and this synopsis stopped me immediately. A stormy weekend, a dead body, a house full of people with secrets, and nowhere to go. That is exactly the kind of setup I cannot walk away from. Thank you to Boldwood Books for this one.

The Story

One of Them Is Lying follows Stella, a PR professional who takes a job trying to rehabilitate the reputation of Alan Titheridge, a wealthy man who has been mired in scandal. She organizes a weekend at his farm for family and VIP guests hoping to turn the tide. Then a storm rolls in, trapping everyone inside. Forty eight hours later someone is dead. Everyone has secrets. One of them is lying. And no one can leave.

Reading Experience

I will be honest with you. The first part of this book did not hook me the way I hoped it would. I liked Stella but I had a hard time getting invested in her job of trying to clear the name of a man who was clearly not innocent, and the other characters were not calling to me either. But then part two happened. A twist unlocked and I was completely hooked with no turning back. That shift changed everything for me and I wish I could go back and experience it again for the first time.

I do think the first part of the book could have been a little shorter, but only because I had no idea how much was coming in the second half and I wanted to get there faster.

Writing Style

CL Swatman writes with a lot of patience and a lot of cleverness. The secrets are layered in carefully and you really have to work for the reveals. You spend real time getting to know characters who are painfully selfish and sometimes genuinely obnoxious, and then the payoff makes all of that time feel completely worth it.

Characters

So many secrets, so much to hide. What surprised me most was finding myself feeling empathy for characters I did not expect to empathize with, because they did such a good job of masking their pain with horrendous attitudes. Literally everyone was hiding something big and likely painful and none of them knew about the traumas they all had in common.

Themes and Tone

This book is about abuse, lies, secrets, and trauma. It builds those themes slowly and deliberately and the weight of them lands much harder once you understand what has been hiding underneath the surface the whole time.

Please be aware this book contains content warnings for heavy themes. I would encourage you to look those up before reading if you are sensitive to difficult content.

Final Thoughts

One of Them Is Lying is a clever, layered thriller that rewards your patience in a big way. If you can push through a slower first half the second half delivers everything you put in the time for and then some. CL Swatman writes secrets well and the payoff is absolutely worth it. A solid yes from me.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this virtual book tour Boldwood Books.

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About the author

C L Swatman writes psychological thrillers and her second thriller, AFTER THE PARTY, was released last year. Her next book, ONE OF THEM IS LYING, will be published worldwide on 10th May 2026. She also writes commercial women’s fiction as Clare Swatman. THE GARDEN OF SHARED STORIES is out now.

Clare lives in Hertfordshire in the UK with her husband and two teenage boys. Even the cat is male, which means she’s destined to be outnumbered forever.

You can find out more about her books at www. clareswatmanauthor. com, or follow her on Facebook at Clare Swatman Author, or Insta @clareswatmanauthor.