CASSIE HAS ALWAYS KNOWN THE COST OF LIES.

Because She Lied is a powerful semi-autobiographical psychological thriller set in the 1990s on Australia's Gold Coast. The novel centers on Cassie Smith, once proud to be an Indigenous girl—it was all she knew. She believed in family, love, and the bonds that should have protected her. But lies shattered everything she held dear, leaving her questioning not just her past but her very identity.

Now, Cassie is forced to confront the devastating consequences that have bled onto those she loves most. It was one thing to endure hell herself—but discovering the same lie, repeated again? That ignites a new kind of fury.

Because when lies are spoken, someone always pays the price.

But Cassie isn’t one to stay silent.
She didn’t back then, and she won’t now.

In her haunting debut novel, Penelope Henain delivers a gripping psychological thriller that fearlessly explores the cost of silence and the power of truth.

BECAUSE SHE LIED shatters taboos, giving voice to the stories long overdue to be told.

GRIPPING, UNFLINCHING, AND DEEPLY POWERFUL, Because She Lied will haunt you long after the final page.