When She Was Good (Cyrus Haven, #2)

by Michael Robotham

“The world is getting faster just as I’m getting slower. I can’t keep up so I’ve stopped trying.”

Lying is so fundamental to our existence, it is wired into our DNA. That’s why babies learn to fake cry before they’re a year old and to bluff by the age of two. By four a child is an accomplished liar, and by five, he or she realizes that truly outrageous lies are less likely to be believed. People usually lie for all the right reasons and with the best possible intentions—to keep families together and to protect relationships and hold on to our friends and make people happy. These are the good lies, not the bad ones.

People think they want the truth, but the opposite is true. Honesty is mean and rough and ugly, while lying can be kinder, softer, and more humane. It’s not honesty that we want but consideration and respect.