The Five Year Lie

The domestic thriller is a subgenre of the larger thriller genre. As a genre, thrillers rely on tension and suspense; unlike other crime narratives, they typically work by shrouding a crime in mystery and then building toward a climactic resolution that includes twists and surprise revelations. Thrillers comprise a variety of subgenres; for instance, espionage thrillers are set on large-scale backdrops, featuring the maneuvering of countries and governments. In contrast, domestic thrillers bring conflict into intimate spaces like homes and neighborhoods, creating tension from the secrets and lies between couples, families, and community members. The subgenre often deals with dark themes such as abuse, violence, mental illness, and betrayal—disturbing undercurrents that are juxtaposed with the seeming warmth and familiarity of home life. This contrast between a veneer of idyll and interior darkness casts doubt on the stability and trustworthiness of relationships. The Five Year Lie fits this mold, exposing the family drama and lies surrounding Ariel Cafferty’s supposedly dead lover, the father of her child.

While some argue that even ancient Greek tragedies like Euripides’ fifth-century BC play Medea can be considered domestic thrillers, the more recognizable form of this subgenre became popular in the mid-20th century. For example, the 1944 movie Gaslight is a marriage thriller in which a husband slowly tricks his wife into thinking that she has a mental illness; its title is the source of the modern term “gaslighting.” More recent examples include Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (2012), Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies (2014), and Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere (2017). Like these novels, The Five Year Lie shows that the seeming coziness of the family circle is illusory; updating the genre for contemporary readers, the novel also questions the reliability and protection offered by the technology that people rely on to feel safe.