Great mystery! Emma returns to Camp Nightingale 15 years later after her 3 cabin mates disappeared one night never to be found. Their disappearance caused a lot of hard feelings and closed down the camp. Emma is hiding something from that night but we don't know what. When the camp reopens, Emma finds clues to their disappearance. There are some creepy scenes when one of the disappeared girls visits Emma.

Caveat: I did enjoy this read, however, it was easy to put it down, which is why I gave it the rating I did.

The suspense continued throughout the story. The characters well defined. The problem for me was that the premise of the story was quite similar to another book that I read in the past. But I would definitely read more books by this author!

However, I am sure that many would enjoy this book, which is why I gave it a 4. For me, it was a 3.5.

Emma has been carrying a secret around for fifteen years, involving a lie she told. She is invited to spend six weeks back at the camp that inspired this lie. After much consideration, Emma decides to go to see if she can exorcise the ghost that follows her around and find out who or what was responsible for the disappearance of her three cabin mates.

Riley Sager has done it again.

I loved Final Girls and was so looking forward to this new one. I was not disappointed.

Emma has lived with what happened at Camp Nightingale every day of her life. Her three bunk mates went missing one night, never to be seen or found again. There is something she can't let go of. There are lies and then there are lies. What is she holding on to? She paints the girls in every painting she does. So when the camp owner asks her to come and teach painting, she does it, hoping to find answers. What she finds is more questions. A lot of the people from back then are back at camp. Someone has to hold the key to this mystery. But who?

And then we get this little tasty tidbit at the end.

You will keep reading to find out just what happened, hoping beyond hope that Emma isn't somehow involved more than we know. There is a great creepy factor and great outlying characters. It is a very well-rounded story.

This comes out in July so look out for it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton for a copy of this book.

Riley Sager is without a doubt both the most promising and most disappointing writer I've read in the last year. The Last Time I Lied offers to unravel the mystery of 3 missing campers 15 years later by having our protagonist Emma head back to the same camp as an adult. Seeing this in book form (rather than cheesy slasher film) gives the reader great hope that there is so much more to be done with this plot line other than to have events repeat themselves.

Alas, much like Sager's debut (The Final Girls) the concept here is great, but overall execution is poor. Each chapter offers an allusion by the main character to, "what I did to them." However, the big reveal of Emma's "lie" from the last time, is a major letdown and hardly a factor at all in understanding the disappearance of the girls. Sager offers us multiple suspects, but in the end, it almost feels as if he chose his present-day villain by throwing darts at a list of names.


The pacing plods along for the first half of the book, with Sager often repeating information for us in a heavy-handed way. We bounce back and forth between Emma's first time at Camp Nightingale 15 years ago and her later return. With this, Sager handles the movement between past and present well without jarring the reader out of the storyline. Flat and minimal motivation is given for most of the characters and mainly by way of exposition like the end of a Scooby Doo episode.

I give 3 stars to this novel – fun to read, but ultimately a letdown. The book is left open-ended, but I'm praying there's not going to be a sequel.

Thanks to Net Galley for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

This book was okay for me. I felt the same way about his debut, Final Girls. I am not sure if I will read anything else from this author.

Wow! I loved this book! I had a feeling I would since I really enjoyed this authors previous book Final Girls. I enjoyed this one just as much. Miss Sager just really knows how to write a thriller. She’s so great at creating spooky atmosphere and keeping you hooked every step of the way. I found myself not wanting to be alone in the house during several chapters but her writing is also never gory which is something I hate in thrillers. She has definitely moved to the top of my must read authors list. The characters, the setting it was all so good and so well written I felt like I could see this playing out like a movie in my head the whole time that’s how captivating her writing is! Definitely an amazing read for any thriller fan!

Another hit from Riley Sager! THE LAST TIME I LIED is the perfect read for 90s kids who grew up on camp horror stories and for anyone looking for a rollicking good thriller.

When Emma was 13 she went to Camp Nightingale, an exclusive camp for rich girls in the Adirondacks. Because she arrived late she was put into a cabin with three older girls who are around 16.years old. Vivian, Natalie, and Allison were the epitome of cool older girls. Vivian was the ringleader and she took Emma under her wing. One night the three older girls snuck out of the cabin and told Emma to be quiet, that she was too young to come with them. They were never seen again and Camp Nightingale was shut down. Fifteen years later Emma is a rising star in the art world of New York. At one of her openings the owner of Camp Nightingale, Francesca Harris-White, shows up and wants Emma to come back to Camp Nightingale for the summer. She has reopened it and wants Emma to teach art to the girls who will be attending the camp. At first Emma does not want to go. Ultimately she decides to go so she can investigate what happened 15 years ago. I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of being at a camp and how teenage girls act rang very true for me. I went to camp as a preteen and teen and it was pretty accurate. The characters were fully alive for me but at the same time you felt they all had secrets. The true tale of what happened at Camp Nightengale will shock you and satisfy you. I highly recommend this book to thriller lovers! I thought Riley Sager’s first novel Final Girls, was good, however, this one blows it out of the water. I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Dutton Books and Net Galley for this book.

Riley Sager has done it again! I loved Final Girls and had high hopes for The Last Time I Lied. It was just as good. The best part about both of this one was that many readers are going to be able to put themselves into the story. If you ever went to any sort of youth camp as a child, these are the kinds of stories campers told each other to freak themselves out. What if those creepy stories were ALMOST true? Emma was a likable character and I wanted to see her art, as the descriptions of her paintings were fascinating. Vivian was a fantastic character, the bad girl everyone simultaneously loves and hates. Sasha, Kathryn and Miranda were each quirky and unique and we all probably have friends like one or all of them. In the end, The Last Time I Lied made me want to go back to camp! I want to have my own camping mystery to solve! Great concept to capture the readers’ intrigue the whole way through.
Thanks so much Riley Sager, Dutton Books, and NetGalley for granting my wish to read this awesome novel!

I got to read an ARC of The Last Time I Lied from Netgalley. The prologue starts "This is how it begins" in italics and is told in third person point of view as we're told what is happening at Camp Nightingale. Chapter 1 and the rest of the book is told from the main character, Emma's, POV 15 years after a tragic incident. Still haunted by the disappearances of her friends and cabin mates, Emma has an opportunity to go back to Camp Nightingale after 15 years for the grand reopening to investigate for herself and hopefully get some closure. The story bounces between things that happened 15 years ago and now as Emma tries to remember the last time she lied and what all led up to the end of the camp. Everyone seems to be a suspect at one point or another, and I wasn't sure if I was even reading a reliable narrator because mental health issues were well written. This was a fast paced read and kept me interested from start to finish. The twist at the end, I did not see coming. LOVED IT.

This was a super fun read, especially if you’ve ever attended a sleep away summer camp! I remember my own experiences and scenery through Sager’s Descriptions which were fantastic! I really didn’t trust any of the characters throughout the book so it was hard for me to figure out who dunnit, even though i went back and forth suspecting several-which was brilliant of the author to make you wary of several of the characters at different times throughout the book. The ending was the best surprise of all because it’s all wrapped up and then Sager throws in a little something extra that causes a final explosion! Loved it! Will be a huge summer hit!! 4.5 bright stars!

In his 2017 International Blockbuster Thriller “Final Girls,” Riley Sager established himself as a deft writer who could keep readers breathlessly turning page after page as they followed his twisting tale of murder and suspense. His latest novel, “The Last Time I Lied,” proves that Sager has what it takes to deliver satisfying mysteries with a touch of the macabre.

NYC artist Emma Davis finally gains recognition for her dramatic wall-sized paintings, which hide secrets from her childhood. Emma’s paintings are inspired by ghosts from her past; three girls who disappeared from their shared cabin at summer camp.

Heeding the call of the former camp owner, and hoping to find the resolution to her own unanswered questions, Emma returns to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale. But cryptic messages, overt surveillance, and ambiguous threats cause Emma to question her hold on reality.

Fast-paced, edgy, and with plot-twists around every corner, “The Last Time I lied” is a must read for mystery/ suspense fans.

I’m a fan of Final Girls but The Last Time I Lied is even better. Sager knows how to pace a novel.
We follow Emma who returns to the summer camp she attended as a 13 year old to heal old wounds from her three cabin-mates disappearing.
This book was suspenseful, I could not put it down. The jump between past and present and the multiple story lines/mysteries were wonderfully crafted. Sager keeps you guessing the whole novel.

LOVED this book! Such great twists throughout. I found myself with chills more than once while reading the book. Anything I thought I could predict simply wasn't the case.

It reminds me on Gone Girl but without the challengingly slow beginning. The book was fast-paced right from the start and so enjoyable.

The author did a great job portraying young girls and their emotions and thoughts. I didn't expect that with a male author and was so pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be reading this author's first book and watching for future titles from him as well. If you're into suspense, you should definitely add this to your list to-read!

This is how you do a thriller!!!! All the elements that I love were present here - a mysterious disappearance years ago, family secrets, drama and deceit. When Emma returns to Camp Nightingale years after her three friends disappeared, she is on a mission to figure out what happened once and for all. I loved the dual timeline and trying to guess “whodunnit” along with Emma - and boy, was I wrong!!!! Do not miss this one in August!!

Thank you to Dutton for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Another great one! If you enjoyed reading Sager's first book, "The Final Girls," you will enjoy this one.

Emma is suffering from memories of her three cabin mates disappearing 15 years ago. Now she finds herself heading back to Lake midnight yet again and staying in the same cabin. She searches to find the secrets left behind and handling what seems to be happening all over again.

I've heard all about Riley Sager through his first book, Final Girls. I didn't read that one though and I'm going to ASAP. As soon as I finished this one I knew I had to go read it right away. Anyway, after seeing all the hype over Sager's first book I jumped on the first opportunity not to miss this one!

And I'm SO glad I did. I had to put the book down quite often due to daily life but that didn't stop me from thinking about it and picking it up every time I could sneak a few pages in.

I really couldn't figure it out. I kept thinking no- it can't be *this*, that's too obvious. Then Sager turns it around and makes you second guess everything you thought it couldn't be. When the ending comes near and you think everything is revealed... Woah ho hoooo, hold on to your socks cause Sager is the King at turning things around.

Tragedy strikes at a cabin in the woods. Three girls vanish without a trace. One girl makes it out with no idea what happened. Fifteen years later she goes back to said camp to start over, give it another try. But it's much more than that. Truths are squashed, lies are told. This is her story.

By the end of the book you'll be questioning everyone's sanity, even your own ;)

Final Girls was one of my favorite books from 2017!!! Sooooooo, I absolutely couldn’t wait to get my hands on Riley Sagers second novel, The Last Time I Lied, and let me say it was a fantastic as I hoped it would be!

Riley Sager is a master at building a mystery and just when you think you have it all figured out there’s a twist that blows your theory to smithereens (several times)- love that! I found the storyline riveting and I enjoyed getting lost in the web of craziness that Riley Sager created for us! The Last Time I Lied is a 5 star novel that is a must read for all mystery/thriller fans! I am still reeling!!