Robin Loves Reading

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

It was a game played in a small cabin at a summer camp, Camp Nightingale. Two Truths and a Lie. This game was played between four campers, Vivian, Natalie, Allison and Emma. One night three of the girls snuck out. As the youngest then, all Emma could do was watch, ordered by the leader of the pack, Vivian, to remain quiet.

It is over a decade later and Emma has become an artist. The girls were never seen again, and Emma continually paints them in huge canvases, but then covering them with dark and knarled leaves and branches. These paintings have gained notoriety, and have even caught the eye of Francesca Harris White, who is the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. It has been reopened and Francesca begs Emma to return as a painting instructor. Emma find this a great opportunity to try and discover whatever happened to her friends, once and for all.

Things are just not right at the camp even now. Also, Emma is haunted by the events, especially when it comes to Vivian. Emma discovers clues Vivian left behind. Everyone seems suspect, including the son of the owner. All the while, Two Truths and a Lie cover every aspect of the past and the present.

This book was full of despair and suspense. Sad that three teens apparently died and suspenseful because Emma left no stone unturned during her time back at the camp.

Riley Sager did a fantastic job of keeping me guessing. In fact, what happened more than midway through the book was truly shocking, and actually gave me pause. I remember talking to someone at this point while reading the book and wondering if it was not just a bit fantastical and whether or not I had the guts to go on. Well, of course I did, and I am thrilled to have done so. The story was already written with superb character development and perfect pacing. That only intensified ad that point, leaving me with a rather insatiable desire to work things out to see who really was responsible for everything strange going on.

Without adding in any spoilers, I want to say something about Emma. She was a truly unreliable narrator, and we got the entire story from her first-person point of view. I admit to doubting her time and again. This plays well to the excellent writing style of Sager. Get me to dislike or distrust a character and you have my attention. I enjoyed The Last Time I Lied and I look forward to Mr.Sager's next book, Lock Every Door. As a matter of fact, I think I am going to backtrack and check out Final Girls.

Many thanks to Dutton and to Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.