Secrets, suspense, and a missing sister-who may not want to be found-are at the center of Briana Cole's latest enthralling multicultural drama. Will appeal to fans of psychological suspense, gritty drama, and listeners of De'Nesha Diamond, Kiki Swinson, Saundra, Wahida Clark, Ashley & JaQuavis, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Shelly Ellis. Thanks to Tantor Audio, the author and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review* Whew what a story. I can't imagine going to identify someone in a morgue. Then being the only person to see an error. Deven does not believe it is her sister. Content Advisory: 26 f-words, 64 s-words, 50 d-words; one short sex scene; suicide; miscarriage, including one dream post-miscarriage that was a little gruesome] Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: When Deven is told by the police that her younger sister, Kennedy, was found dead of an accidental overdose, she can't believe it. When she's shown a picture of the body, she's firm in her belief that it is NOT her, albeit the similarities are extremely close. Deven decides to embark on her own investigating to find out what's happened to her sister, but she'll come to realize she's nothing of what she was led to believe. And the journey to the truth could be more sinister and dangerous than she imagined. Did she ever know Kennedy? & just what was she involved in?

Featuring ~ dual 1st & 3rd person POV, dual timeline, suicide references, miscarriage, secrets, lies, drama, step-siblings It is told through a couple different perspectives: the present, several months ‘before,’ and a few different diary entries from her sister’s childhood diary.My word almighty that ending was beyond a tailspin! Even though I had it figured out, Cole did brilliance in how she unveiled everything, dished it out & wrapped it up! I was left with one very open and sore jaw. Such an amazingly twisted thriller Cole has done! My word almighty. I need more from her like this! Trust me when I say, set aside a piece of your favourite desert / chocolate because you're going to need it at the end of this scrumptious twisted fluffed up ride! Later, in London, Rob-as-Adele’s fixation on beauty and appearances see him dressing almost entirely in white (the colour of the rehab uniform in which he first met, and idolised, Adele) and spending his life maintaining her athletic body and magazine-spread house. I have had a miscarriage (7+ years ago) and since then I’ve had four kids, including twins. I was okay reading this book now. I think she handled writing that part pretty well. But I don’t think I would have wanted to read this book if that pain and grief was still fresh. Especially with the short dream sequence that is described after her miscarriage. I don’t think that would have sat well with me. This was my first book by Briana Cole but definitely not the last I’m so glad I requested this audiobook and was able to read it. The main thing that took this book down a notch was the swearing. I could have done without that. However, a couple of the characters are sketchy criminals so their way of talking, I suppose, requires it. But even the main character, Deven, swore a lot too.

I don’t like what Deven did with that diary at the end. I don’t think that was smart, especially with the slightly open-ended ending. I think that would have been something important to keep if she wanted complete justice eventually. I thought Cole did a good job writing the diary entries as if they were from a 11-12 year old. Sometimes authors do a bad job and it sounds too grown-up or too childish, but I thought she wrote it just right! Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Briana Cole herself for reaching out & giving me this ARC. Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Behind Her Lives.Though I thought it strange that Deven’s character admitted that she intentionally didn’t date outside her race, I did appreciate that the author didn’t try to do too much with the love story part of the book. That was not central to the plot and considering all the things Deven was dealing with, I think it’s more realistic to plot the relationship the way Cole did. I sympathized with Devan, but at the same time, she let herself be taken advantage of by the people in her life. She let her boyfriend take advantage of her. Personally, I think he was a narcissist. But not to worry, he gets his later in the book. There are people that care about her, but it takes her a little while to fully trust them and their motives. Actually, there are many characters that are hard to trust, and for good reason, as you will learn. We have the before and present timeline, and childhood diary entries, that keep the story flowing along nicely. I felt invested and wanted to know what was up with Kennedy. I wasn't overly in love with Deven, or many of the characters, but the epilogue was great! The police think she’s in denial and aren’t treating it as anything other than a routine suicide, so Deven is on her own to find her sister and find out what really happened. This new thriller from Briana Cole threw several plot twists at me that kept me guessing for most of the book. Every now and then, I did guess a few of the twists, but definitely not the major one at the end.