Novel set largely in GEORGIA (the American South)
Thriller set on the ESSEX Coast
19th May 2026
Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins, thriller set on the Essex Coast.
The three Kellaway sisters. One tragic night.
Winter is the ‘successful’ eldest sister, a well off, a TV star who organises a party at her amazing house overlooking the sea to mark the wedding of middle sister Jen (the calm and practical one) to Phil. The third sister, Alyssa, sometimes spiky and haughty and the baby in the family, hangs back a little, in awe perhaps of Winter, but Winter just breezes in and takes over. ‘Family Always‘ is the mantra of these three siblings.
Early on there are hints that not all is well in sister-land and also that something momentous is about to unfold.
Saul Anguish is the detective in this story and he is initially called to Winter’s house as a panic button has been activated on the day of the celebratory party. An intruder. Of course Saul has history (which detective in fiction doesn’t?) and, among other things, his particular quirk is to take little mementoes from the victims at crime scenes (do you hear me gagging at this revelation?). He is later called upon to deal with much more serious matters.
There are secrets aplenty (and plenty of backstories – the clue is in the title) that are drip-fed into the storyline. The chapters move between eras (1980s/1990s and present) and it does feel as though the story jumps between time frames a bit, so it is important to pay attention.
Fictional Midtown-on-Sea in Essex (Thames Estuary) is the setting for this story, and the grey. rolling fog and the sense of dislocation and swirling mists graphically enhance the story as it twists and turns on the pages. A good pool-side read.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
You can read about How the ever-changing seascape finds its way into her novels here via Culturefly
Join team TripFiction on Social Media:
Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction) and BlueSky(tripfiction.bsky.social) and Threads (@tripfiction)
Please wait...
