Her First Lie
- Judith D Collins
- Apr 20
- 4 min read
Hannah Bauer #.5
By: Lucinda Berry
Narrators: Charlotte Lobdell, Tim Lounibos Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781662526060
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 04/21/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
In this chilling prequel to The Perfect Child, USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry plunges readers into the dark origins of a family’s secrets, where good intentions pave the road to unspeakable acts and a mother’s love might be the deadliest inheritance of all.
Becky Watson learned early that trust is a weapon and secrets are survival. From foster homes to abandoned backroads, she and her childhood confidant Orion have buried more than just memories. Now, as a college freshman, Becky’s harboring her most dangerous secret yet: her newborn daughter, Janie.
Desperation drives Becky to contact her estranged grandmother, Lillian. She swoops in like a guardian angel, but her salvation comes with a poisoned price tag. Behind Lillian’s nurturing facade lurks a web of generational secrets. As buried truths claw their way to the surface, Becky faces an impossible choice: sacrifice her daughter or herself to break a twisted family legacy.
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My Review
"Her First Lie" (Hannah Bauer #.5) by Lucinda Berry is a deeply emotional novella that serves as a compelling prequel to "The Perfect Child." The story revolves around Becky, a woman who, in a desperate bid to escape a traumatic and abusive past, conceals the birth of her child, Janie.
As she navigates the complexities of her hidden life, Becky's secrets begin to unravel, threatening to shatter her fragile existence. Confronted by a haunting family history and the chilling discovery of buried bodies, she is forced to grapple with a heart-wrenching and impossible choice that could alter her fate forever. The novella artfully explores the darker facets of love, sacrifice, and the lengths one might go to protect their future.
Characters...
~Becky (The Mother):
Resilient, desperate, traumatized, and fiercely protective.
~Lillian (The Grandmother):
Calculating, manipulative, "venomous," and chilling.
~The Family Legacy:
Toxic, "poisoned," inescapable, and cyclical.
This gritty, visceral prequel is an illuminating deep dive into generational trauma. Berry’s unflinching and propulsive writing creates a claustrophobic sense of ominous dread that makes it unputdownable. It’s a haunting and tragic origin story for anyone who couldn't stop thinking about Janie after The Perfect Child.
My thoughts...
HER FIRST LIE is a haunting, deep series; seeing how Becky’s past directly fuels Janie's future definitely makes the whole story feel much more tragic. Like most Berry thrillers, the pace makes you want to read it in one sitting. The themes of abandoned children and "generational curses" hauntingly stay with you. The author looks at difficult topics like child abuse without sugarcoating them.
The Making of a "Villain":
The most significant takeaway for fans of the series is the humanization of evil. It shifts the perspective on Janie from The Perfect Child—instead of being born "bad," the prequel argues she was forged in a furnace of extreme maternal desperation and generational manipulation.
Secrets as Poison:
The "First Lie" of the title represents the moment the cycle begins. The message is clear: once you start lying to survive, the lies eventually become the very thing that consumes you.
In short, the book serves as a grim reminder that monsters aren't born; they are raised in the shadows of their parents' secrets.
How the prequel relates to the book...
~Janie's Origins:
The book provides the backstory for Janie (the antagonist of The Perfect Child), explaining how her early childhood trauma and her mother's experiences shaped her behavior. The prequel sheds light on why Janie is the way she is, reframing the "villain" of the original book as a victim of her own history.
~Backstory Context:
It explains why Janie was eventually abandoned, leading to the events where Hannah and Christopher Bauer adopt her in the original novel.
The book delves into the "dark corners of parenthood," portraying a mother’s love as something that can be both nurturing and dangerous when combined with extreme isolation and past trauma.
Themes...
~Generational Trauma
~Survival and Deception
~The Cost of "Good Intentions."
~The Flaws of the System
~Maternal Desperation
The physical isolation of Becky’s dorm room or past foster environments serves as a "psychological prison," mirroring the mental confinement of her trauma.
Vibe ...
~Visceral
~Claustrophobic
~Ominous
~Gritty
Takeaway...
The ultimate takeaway from Her First Lie is that "trauma is a predator that hunts in cycles."
A Gritty Descent into Darkness
"Lucinda Berry, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood trauma, delivers a visceral and unflinching look at the origins of the family seen in The Perfect Child. The story follows Becky Watson, a traumatized college freshman who is fierce in her protection of her secret newborn, Janie, while living in a claustrophobic dorm room. As the narrative peels back haunting layers of generational trauma, we see how Becky’s resilient yet desperate attempts to survive lead her into a toxic trap set by her manipulative grandmother, Lillian. The propulsive plot and ominous dual timelines make this an unputdownable and illuminating prequel that reframes Janie's villainy as a tragic result of a poisoned family legacy."
Verdict: 5/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. While it handles visceral and toxic themes that may be difficult for some, HER FIRST LIE is a masterful exploration of how trauma and generational secrets can shape a human being. Unflinching, disturbing, and absolutely unputdownable.
Recs...
If you enjoyed the dark, psychological tension and the "disturbing child" trope in Lucinda Berry's Her First Lie, you might find these books similarly gripping.
~The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
~A Welcome Reunion by Lucinda Berry
~Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
~The Push by Ashley Audrain
~We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Special thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: April 21, 2026
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She’s written multiple bestsellers, reaching millions of readers worldwide. Some of her bestselling works include The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, When She Returned, The Best of Friends, and Keep Your Friends Close. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into several languages.
If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.
