The Perfect Lie
Chapters (79)
- THE PERFECT LIE
- Also by Karen Osman
- The Perfect Lie
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Prologue
- August 2017
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- September 2017
- 5
- 6
- October 2017
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- September 1989
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- November 1989
- 24
- 25
- December 1989
- 26
- October 2017
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- January 2018
- 33
- 34
- February 2018
- 35
- 36
- March 2018
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- April 2018
- 42
- 43
- May 2018
- 44
- 45
- June 2018
- 46
- July 2018
- 47
- 48
- 49
- December 1989
- 50
- July 2018
- 51
- 52
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- About Karen Osman
- Become an Aria Addict
THE PERFECT LIE
Also by Karen Osman
Also by Karen Osman
The Good Mother
The Home
The Perfect Lie
The Perfect Lie
Karen Osman
AN IMPRINT OF HEAD OF ZEUS
Copyright Page
First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Karen Osman, 2019
The moral right of Karen Osman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781786699206
Aria
c/o Head of Zeus
First Floor East
5–8 Hardwick Street
London EC1R 4RG
Dedication
For Fahad, Zane and Ryan
Contents
Also by Karen Osman
Welcome Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
August 2017
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
September 2017
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
October 2017
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
September 1989
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
November 1989
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
December 1989
Chapter 26
October 2017
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
January 2018
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
February 2018
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
March 2018
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
April 2018
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
May 2018
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
June 2018
Chapter 46
July 2018
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
December 1989
Chapter 50
July 2018
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About Karen Osman
Become an Aria Addict
Prologue
Even from this distance, she could see his fingernails bitten down to the quick and her body tensed instinctively, resisting the urge to run towards her son. It would only make things worse. Instead, she caught his eye and reassured him with a confident smile.
This will soon all be over, and everything will go back to normal.
Those had been her mother’s words as they had all left the house that morning. She’d noticed her son’s light brown hair had grown and it desperately needed cutting, but he’d resisted a haircut and instead combed it down with some gel. It was coarse hair, like her own, but unlike hers, it hadn’t been subjected to various treatments. Had it only been six months ago that she’d laughingly squirted her son’s stubborn tufts with water, threatening to tame his hair herself if he didn’t do something about it? He’d giggled then, rewarding her with a glimpse back into his childhood when she used to tickle him as he sat on her lap for story time.