REVIEW: The Lies That Bind: A Novel by Emily Giffin

In The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin, New York City seemed like the perfect place for Cecily Gardner to make her mark after finishing college. More familiar with small towns like the one she grew up in, it took some time to adjust to apartment living and to her job as a reporter at a local paper . But Cecily eventually begins to thrive. Particularly when she starts dating Matthew. Things are great for a few years, before she realizes they don’t seem to be heading towards anything more serious. So after an emotional breakup with Matthew, Cecily takes her lonely self to a neighborhood bar–and ends up meeting a man who will change her life forever.

‘I guess that’s always the case when it comes to intimate relationships. There are some things that only the two people involved can ever really comprehend.’

Grant Smith was the voice of reason, just when Cecily was going to cave and contact her ex. As she and her mysterious barroom friend strike up a conversation, she can tell this is something special. Something that could become serious. But Grant’s life is complicated. His plans to travel to the UK with his ailing brother will take him away just when Cecily realizes how hard she’s fallen for him. Although she has some unanswered questions about Grant, she trusts the bond they’ve formed. Then tragedy strikes. NYC is shaken to its core by terrorist attacks. And Grant, having just arrived home, is among the missing. What Cecily finds out after 9/11 is a tangled web of half-truths, unfortunately leaving more questions than answers.

‘The world is unpredictable and unsafe–we know that now more than ever–so maybe it’s about holding on to the things we can really count on.’

The Lies That Bind was an angsty novel set mainly in NYC, much of it during 9/11. With vivid descriptions of what locals endured at the time, paired with the heroine’s ongoing romantic drama, Emily Giffin certainly pulled a lot of emotions out of this reader.

”Every story is about people.’ I keep hearing my favorite professor’s words in my ears. Never has his statement been more true, I think, just seeing the fear and grief and shock etched on the faces of everyone we pass.’

Well that was a wild ride. That was my exact thought when I finished the final page of The Lies That Bind. I’m honestly on the fence about it, though, in terms of rating and the story’s conclusion. I went with 3.5 stars, but if it were based solely on how well written the parts about 9/11 were by Giffin, it would have been 4 stars. In some ways it made me relive those moments again, remembering the way it felt that day and the following weeks, months, when we wondered if we would ever be “normal” again. (Sounds familiar in that regard as to what is going on today.) But In Cecily’s case, living smack dab in the city and being a journalist, having to carry on in her job…it was heartbreaking but oh so real. And that was where Giffin captured my heart and attention.

The sticking points for me were two things, really: the ending and Cecily waffling over, well, everything. I liked our heroine for the most part. She had a good heart, was compassionate and saw the little details about life that made her a good journalist. But boy didn’t she seem to be a feather in the wind most of the time, letting those around her dictate what she should do. I don’t think it was that Cecily was a people pleaser or a pushover, per se. It almost felt like it was just easier for her to go along with what she was being pushed into instead of standing up for herself. (If that makes sense) But toward the end of the book Cecily finally showed her backbone. And not surprisingly, that was when her life started to turn around.

You’ll probably notice I’m not mentioning the guys–Cecily’s ex-boyfriend Matthew or her handsome stranger Grant. That’s because there were a *lot* of twists and turns to do with both of the men in Cecily’s life, so I don’t want to inadvertently give anything away. I had an inkling of how things would likely end and who she’d wind up with. I think many readers will, too. And while the conclusion fit the story, it was very abrupt–which might not work for everyone. I have a feeling that Giffin leaving things open for interpretation. But for me it was a little jarring how Cecily’s HFN just came out of nowhere and then the book stopped.

A perceptive novel where deception, large and small, made with good intentions or not, had drastic consequences, The Lies That Bind was what can only be described as quintessential Emily Giffin.

Book Info:

Publication: Published June 2nd 2020 | Ballantine Books |

In the irresistible new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace. . . .

It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city—and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.

As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours—and shots of tequila—the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse—Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.

Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be?

The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth—in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.