Eleven Liars is a superbly written thriller it’s the second book in the Journalist Ben Harper series, you don't really have to read TWELVE SECRETS to appreciate this one but I would strongly recommend it so you have an idea of the characters and relationships. Gold has meticulously plotted a book that has it all, mystery, and deliciously placed twist and turns that reveals a complex web of years-old secrets and tangled lies. Gold throws you straight into the action and the plot develops at a startling pace from then on in. As Ben investigates the circumstances around the death, it is clear that his small town has a number of secrets that it would rather remain hidden. I wish each chapter was clearly labelled as to who the chapter was about and who's viewpoint it was. We also see the return of PC Dani Cash who I loved in Twelve Secrets. She is about to be promoted when she finds herself in the middle of major cases. For a small town, Haddley has its share of crime! as always in a small community, everyone knows everyone else’s business. Some people here know more than they are saying, and the answers to these cases lie in that truth. I loved reading about some of the returning characters such as Ben and Dani, both of them equally intriguing and fascinating to read about. I won’t say too much about the plot as I don’t want to spoil, but unlike the first book which dived into Ben’s life and the secrets hiding, this book focused on Dani and her life and things that happened in her past and I loved that.

As the police investigate the fire long buried human remains are discovered which turn out to have a major significance for Ben’s friend, Dani Cash who is a policewoman who has helped Ben on a previous case. Whilst helping Dani to look into the case, Ben discovers some long buried secrets which a number of local Haddley residents have reason to hope will never see the light of day. I was throughly surprised when I read this book. Walked into this book was zero expectations and left feeling surprised and happy it wasn’t a flop. This is the second instalment in the Ben Harper series. Ben is a journalist and happens to come across a fire at the local community centre. Rushing to the fire he manages to save someone’s life, but doesn’t know who they are as they run off. But it wasn’t just a fire, it was arson. This one crime unravels other crimes, to which Ben is determined to get to the bottom of, and starts to investigate with his police officer friend, Dani.There was some repetition in this book where it’s repeating the events that occurred in the first book, which is good if you need a refresher or if you plan to read this book as a stand-alone (which you definitely could!). I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first instalment of the series - the pace of this one was so much better and I like how each chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger because it makes you want to read on more. I couldn’t put this book down - I had to know what had happened! Haddley seems like a pleasant place to live but there is a lot beneath the surface which reveals it to be a rather unsavoury place, particularly with a view to substance abuse and drug dealing. Even the local vicar has something to hide! The ending had me heartbroken and crying but I really liked the ending and felt like it sets the scene nicely for the third book (which I need immediately!). When I sat down to begin writing Eleven Liars, I wanted it to be a story that would grip new readers while offering a degree of familiarity to returning readers of Twelve Secrets. For that reason, I chose to set the story once again in the fictional London suburbs of Haddley and St Marnham. The small town and village, nestled on a bend of the River Thames, create a closeness of community which might not be immediately associated with big city novels. In Eleven Liars we make a welcome return to the world of journalist Ben Harper and DC Dani Cash – but this time, instead of trying to find out what happened to his mother (and brother) as in Twelve Secrets (which I also absolutely loved!), Ben is trying to uncover who started a fire in a community centre that almost killed a teenager, and whether this could be linked to another death years ago…

About half way through, it changed and most of the story was from Ben's point of view, and that's when it all changed for me. I then found it much easier to read and absolutely flew through the rest of the book.Journalist Ben Harper is on his way home when he sees the flames in the churchyard. The derelict community centre is on fire. And somebody is trapped inside. I hadn't read Robert Gold's debut novel and I'm generally a completionist when it comes to book series however this can definitely be read as a standalone.