Trope Tuesday: The Lie That Starts the Story — 8 Favorite Picks
- genredpodcast
- Jan 20
- 4 min read
The Lie That Starts the Story is exactly what it sounds like. One lie, omission, or false assumption sets the entire plot in motion. If the truth came out early, there would be no book, no spiral, and no emotional devastation. Instead, the lie grows teeth, consequences pile up, and everyone pays for it eventually.
This trope thrives on tension, delayed reveals, and the quiet dread of knowing the truth will surface. The only question is how much damage will be done by the time it does.
Why We Love It
Because lies are rarely clean.
This trope works so well because it taps into very human instincts. Self protection. Fear. Love. Survival. The characters are not lying for fun. They are lying because telling the truth feels impossible, unsafe, or inconvenient.
We love this trope because:
It creates instant narrative momentum
It fuels unreliable narrators and moral ambiguity
It makes readers complicit in rooting for characters who are objectively making bad choices
It guarantees a reckoning
Whether the lie is about identity, guilt, love, or the past, this trope always asks the same question: was the lie worth it?
Our Favorites (With Vibes)
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Vibes: true crime • buried secrets • justice delayed
A cold case resurfaces when a podcast host investigates a crime everyone agreed was already solved. The lie here is collective. An entire community benefits from not asking questions, and the truth has been waiting years for someone brave enough to dig it up.
Why we love it:
This book nails the idea that silence can be a lie. It shows how convenient narratives become dangerous when no one is willing to challenge them.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Vibes: psychological • obsession • unreliable truth
A woman stops speaking after allegedly murdering her husband, and the therapist determined to uncover her truth may be lying to himself most of all. Nothing is what it seems, and every revelation reframes the story you thought you were reading.
Why we love it:
The lie here is layered. What is withheld matters just as much as what is said, and the payoff is designed to make you rethink every page.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Vibes: small town • podcast energy • secrets everywhere
A high school senior reopens a local murder case as a school project and quickly realizes the official story does not hold up. The lie that started the story was easy, convenient, and wrong.
Why we love it:
This is a perfect example of how a lie can calcify into accepted truth. It also highlights how dangerous it is when a community decides closure matters more than accuracy.
The Shadows by Alex North
Vibes: childhood trauma • memory • creeping dread
A group of friends told a lie as kids and spent the rest of their lives haunted by it. When similar crimes begin happening again, the past demands accountability.
Why we love it:
This book understands that some lies never stay buried. The longer they sit, the more power they gain.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Vibes: old Hollywood • ambition • hidden love
Evelyn Hugo built her career and her legend on carefully curated lies. The truth about who she loved and why she made the choices she did is more complicated than anyone expected.
Why we love it:
This is a softer but devastating take on the trope. The lie is not malicious. It is survival in an industry that punished honesty.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Vibes: dark academia • power games • intellectual betrayal
Six powerful candidates are invited into an elite society under false pretenses. Every alliance is built on omission, and every truth revealed comes at a cost.
Why we love it:
This book thrives on deception as currency. Knowledge is power, and withholding it is how everyone stays ahead.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Vibes: puzzles • money • rich people behaving badly
A teenage girl inherits a fortune from a billionaire she barely knew, and the explanation for why is intentionally vague. The inheritance itself is the lie.
Why we love it:
This is a fun, high momentum version of the trope where the mystery is not just what happened, but why everyone is pretending it makes sense.
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Vibes: historical • chosen family • quiet rebellion
A marriage built on false expectations sends a woman down a path she never planned, one that leads to freedom, friendship, and resistance.
Why we love it:
Not all lies are explosive. Some are quiet compromises that slowly change the course of a life.
💬 Join the Conversation
Which lie hurt the most?
Do you believe some lies are justified, or does the truth always deserve daylight? Tell us which book on this list made you sympathize with a character you absolutely should not have trusted.
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Mini FAQ
Is this trope the same as unreliable narrator?
Not always. Some books feature intentional deception, while others rely on omission, memory gaps, or collective silence.
What genre does this trope work best in?
Thrillers use it most aggressively, but romance, fantasy, and literary fiction all use it in emotionally different ways.
Where should I start if I am new to this trope?
Start with The Silent Patient for a high impact twist or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder for a more approachable, fast paced entry point.
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