I’m pleased to be welcoming Paul Clayton to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, My Lie Your Lie.

He thought heartbreak was the worst part.

Then came the need for revenge.

Patrick Tyrrell’s perfect marriage shatters the day his husband, Barney, leaves him—for a woman.

Marcella. Beautiful. Alluring. Dangerous.

Patrick can’t let it go. Why her? Why now? The questions consume him — until obsession turns to something far darker. As unsettling events unfold and violence creeps closer, Patrick faces the one temptation more powerful than love or jealousy:

Revenge.

But revenge has its own price. And once it begins, there may be no way back.

A taut, unsettling psychological thriller about betrayal, obsession, and whether vengeance ever truly heals the wound — or only feeds it.

There’s a chance to win a signed copy of My Lie Your Lie below but first, Paul has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

*****beginning of extract*****

As a child of around ten, I vividly remember another child in the village going missing. The hysteria and panic were instant — the whole village poured into the streets to search. The child was found soon after, curled up asleep in an alleyway, but the memory of that fear has never left me.

In this scene from My Lie, Your Lie, Marcella’s seven-year-old son, Jace, is snatched in plain sight. A teacher’s lapse, a stranger’s charm, and a chillingly calm abductor converge to create one of the novel’s most shocking turns. The extract captures the book’s central themes of obsession, betrayal, and revenge — and the terrifying question of how far someone will go when love curdles into something darker.

*****

Known for her cheerful demeanour and endless patience, Miss Bentham had a strict cut-off at 3:30 p.m. – school was over, the last child collected, her saintly duties done. Tonight, she had plans: Arthur Bullivant, Costa Coffee, and the latest instalment of Alien. Second dates were rare enough to deserve punctuality.

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