
Count My Lies
Sophie Stava(Author)
Penguin (Cornerstone) (Publisher)
Published on 23. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-80495-269-6 (ISBN)
Description
I'm your friend. But can you trust me? A voice-driven, read-in-one-night suspense thriller narrated by a compulsive liar, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley, and Laura Dave.
* A Good Morning America March book club pick *
* Soon to be a HULU television series starring Lindsay Lohan *
'Utterly intriguing, the pages turned themselves' LIZ NUGENT
'This smart, original, twisty story had me gripped from the first to the last page. I just had to keep reading!' LIANE MORIARTY
'The author nails it from the first sentence ... With its punchy, chatty writing style nothing will stop this from becoming a runaway bestseller' Daily Mail
_________
Sloane Caraway is a liar.
They are harmless lies, she tells herself, to make her own life a bit more interesting.
So when she sees a child in tears in a playground one afternoon, she tells the girl's (very attractive) dad she's a nurse and helps him pull a bee sting from his daughter's foot.
With this lie and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for Jay and Violet Lockhart who have everything: a beautiful brownstone house, a daughter in private nursery school, and long summers on an idyllic island just off the coast of New York.
Sloane wants to be just like them. She wants their life and she's prepared to lie about almost
everything to get it.
But Sloane isn't the only one lying, and soon she begins to realise that all that's picture-perfect about her employers hides a much more dangerous truth . . .
_________
More praise for Count My Lies:
'Utterly gripping and unputdownable' AMY TINTERA
'Readers will find themselves racing through the final, jaw-dropping pages, desperate to gather every last clue of this astonishing web of lies' KATY HAYS
'Get ready for a rollercoaster of twists' LIV CONSTANTINE
'Sophie Stava masterfully weaves suspense, deception, and heart into a brilliant, twisty thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last page' TRISHA SAKHLECHA
Readers are loving Count My Lies:
'So addictive' 5-star reader review
'Jaw dropping' 5-star reader review
'Thrilling' 5-star reader review
'I couldn't put it down' 5-star reader review
'Twisty, and absorbing novel' 5-star reader review
'Just when you think the big twist has happened, there's another, and another, and another!' 5-star reader review
* A Good Morning America March book club pick *
* Soon to be a HULU television series starring Lindsay Lohan *
'Utterly intriguing, the pages turned themselves' LIZ NUGENT
'This smart, original, twisty story had me gripped from the first to the last page. I just had to keep reading!' LIANE MORIARTY
'The author nails it from the first sentence ... With its punchy, chatty writing style nothing will stop this from becoming a runaway bestseller' Daily Mail
_________
Sloane Caraway is a liar.
They are harmless lies, she tells herself, to make her own life a bit more interesting.
So when she sees a child in tears in a playground one afternoon, she tells the girl's (very attractive) dad she's a nurse and helps him pull a bee sting from his daughter's foot.
With this lie and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for Jay and Violet Lockhart who have everything: a beautiful brownstone house, a daughter in private nursery school, and long summers on an idyllic island just off the coast of New York.
Sloane wants to be just like them. She wants their life and she's prepared to lie about almost
everything to get it.
But Sloane isn't the only one lying, and soon she begins to realise that all that's picture-perfect about her employers hides a much more dangerous truth . . .
_________
More praise for Count My Lies:
'Utterly gripping and unputdownable' AMY TINTERA
'Readers will find themselves racing through the final, jaw-dropping pages, desperate to gather every last clue of this astonishing web of lies' KATY HAYS
'Get ready for a rollercoaster of twists' LIV CONSTANTINE
'Sophie Stava masterfully weaves suspense, deception, and heart into a brilliant, twisty thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last page' TRISHA SAKHLECHA
Readers are loving Count My Lies:
'So addictive' 5-star reader review
'Jaw dropping' 5-star reader review
'Thrilling' 5-star reader review
'I couldn't put it down' 5-star reader review
'Twisty, and absorbing novel' 5-star reader review
'Just when you think the big twist has happened, there's another, and another, and another!' 5-star reader review
Reviews / Votes
The author nails it from the first sentence ... With its punchy, chatty writing style nothing will stop this from becoming a runaway bestseller. * Daily Mail * This compelling, tautly plotted book will appeal not only to lovers of Gone Girl-style tales of suspense but anyone with a taste for smart, well-crafted fiction. A page-turning thrill-ride of a story from a debut novelist * Kirkus Reviews * [A] gripping debut thriller . . . The author has taken on quite a challenge here, and she pulls it off spectacularly. * Booklist * [A] taut, "just one more page" novel * iNews * This twisty debut novel about a young woman named Sloane, a habitual liar who finds work as a nanny for a 'perfect' New York couple, has garnered comparisons to Gone Girl. * The Washington Post * Stava's suspenseful debut strikes all the enticing notes of a captivating psychological drama . . . Count My Lies features a finely crafted, engaging plot laden with thrilling detours, idyllic settings and deeply flawed yet attractive personalities for whom telling the truth is strictly optional. * Shelf Awareness * Devilishly plotted . . . Stava keeps the pages turning. This is good fun. * Publishers Weekly * Debut novel of the month ... Well observed. Brilliant. * The Critic *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
278 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80495-269-6 (9781804952696)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Sophie Stava
Count My Lies
The addictive new domestic thriller and Good Morning America Book Club pick
E-Book
03/2025
Penguin (Cornerstone)
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Sophie has loved to read as long as she can remember. Her passion for reading lead her to study English Literature at University of California Santa Barbara, where received her B.A. She spent a number of years as (among other things) an event planner, executive recruiter, and ghostwriter before pursuing her own writing. She currently resides in Southern California with her family. When she isn't writing, you'll find her reading, acting as personal assistant to her children, and travelling. Count My Lies is her debut novel.
Instagram: sophiejstava
Instagram: sophiejstava