PRAISE FOR
WATCHING EDIE
“Compelling, dark, and intense, this story of a friendship gone wrong will keep you guessing until the end.”
—B. A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors
“Gripping psychological suspense . . . wonderfully claustrophobic.”
—Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow
“Wonderful . . . a standout in a crowded field.”
—The Raleigh News & Observer
“A stunning conclusion. A novel that excels in portraying the torment of youth, the reverberations of the past, and the darkness of the heart.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“A twisted friendship comes back to haunt two women. . . . Betrayal and heartache come bubbling up in this supremely creepy psychological thriller.”
—BookPage
“Odds are you’ll need to read this one in a single sitting. . . . Way’s story of what happens when high school friends encounter one another in their thirties is sure to make you look twice at the people you call your pals.”
—Bustle
“[A] seamlessly crafted tale of betrayal and obsession . . . a psychological thriller that is impossible to set down.”
—Booklist
“Way expertly explores the dark side of friendship.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[A] book that will garner comparisons to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, except this time, women are facing off against each other instead of an evil man . . . one thriller to keep you hooked.”
—GoodHousekeeping.com
“A spine-tingling suspense thriller filled with obsession, rage, and betrayal. . . . The climactic conclusion demonstrates that old adage ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’”
—New York Journal of Books
“[A] captivating read. . . . The twists at the end of this novel should leave readers tied up in exquisitely delightful knots.”
—Dayton Daily News
“One of those novels that sucks you in and doesn’t let go for a moment. Way brings a powerful new voice to the psychological thriller genre.”
—Alex Marwood, Edgar Award–winning author of The Wicked Girls
“Eerie and atmospheric, Watching Edie had me hypnotized from the outset . . . a heart-stopping conclusion.”
—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of Not a Sound
“[Way has] a voice that is both accomplished and fresh. . . . A haunting tale of the worst kind of betrayal, skillfully brought to the perfect ending.”
—Diane Les Becquets, national bestselling author of Breaking Wild
“[A] truly terrific exploration of female friendship and the choices we make as teenagers that roar back to haunt us as adults.”
—Carla Buckley, author of The Good Goodbye
“A clever plot, a fateful friendship, a callous betrayal, and an ending that is as twisty as it is inevitable.”
—Alexandra Burt, international bestselling author of Remember Mia
“An excruciatingly suspenseful and intensely creepy novel about two women bound together by a horrific crime from their past. . . . The surprises come fast and furious as the novel reaches its stunning conclusion.”
—David Bell, bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter
“A taut, tricky suspense novel that drops secrets in all the right places. As she explores the heart of a dark female friendship, Camilla Way twists her way to an original ending that rings with truth.”
—Julia Heaberlin, international bestselling author of Black-Eyed Susans
“Terrific psychological suspense. A taut, compelling, thoroughly addictive read with a final twist that’s a real stunner.”
—Alison Gaylin, USA Today bestselling author of If I Die Tonight
ALSO BY CAMILLA WAY
Watching Edie
BERKLEY
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2018 by Camilla Way
Readers Guide copyright © 2018 by Penguin Random House LLC
Excerpt from Watching Edie copyright © 2016 by Camilla Way
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
BERKLEY is a registered trademark and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Way, Camilla, author.
Title: The lies we told / Camilla Way.
Description: First edition. | New York: Berkley, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018001098 | ISBN 9781101989524 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781101989548 (ebook)
Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION/Suspense. | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PR6123.A93 L54 2018 | DDC 823/.92—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018001098
First Edition: October 2018
Cover photo by Justin Case/Getty Images
Cover design by Emily Osborne
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
For Albert and Sidney
CONTENTS
Praise for Watching Edie
Also by Camilla Way
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Acknowledgments
Readers Guide
Excerpt from Watching Edie
About the Author
ONE
CAMBRIDGESHIRE, 1986
At first I mistook the severed head for something else. It wasn’t until I was very close that I realized it was Lucy’s. To begin with, I thought the splash of yellow against the white of my pillow was a discarded sock, a balled-up handkerchief perhaps. It was only when I drew nearer and saw the delicate crest of feathers, the tiny, silent beak, that I fully understood. And suddenly I understood so much more: everything in that moment became absolutely clear.
“Hannah?” I whispered. A floorboard creaked in the hall beyond my bedroom door. My scalp tightened. “Hannah”—a little louder now, yet with the same fearful tremor in my voice—“is that you?” No answer, but I felt her there, somewhere near; could feel her waiting, listening.
I didn’t want to touch my little bird’s head, could hardly bear to look at the thin brown line of congealed blood where it had been sliced clean from the body, or at the half-open, staring eyes. I wondered if she’d been alive or
