This was a really enjoyable mystery/thriller, it did reminded me of books like When We Were Liars (Lockhart) and the upcoming All These Beautiful Strangers (Elizabeth Klehfoth). Lots of twists and turns, never really knowing who you can trust.

As well as being a mystery/thriller, there's the universal story of an unrequited crush, and while the relationship between Pearl and Reese isn't the main storyline in this novel, it is most definately one that teen readers will be able to identify with

Tenney's Harbour in Maine is a small town, with few locals, but during the summer the rich arrive in droves to stay in their holiday mansions. When one of the well renowned families, the Garrison's, were burnt to death along with their home, the small town was thrown into confusion and suspicion. All but one remains of the Garrison's, Tristan, who had not been there on the fateful night that his entire family burnt.

"It seemed everyone felt fascination-meets-revulsion in Tristan Garrison's presence..."

Pearl Haskins is one of the few permanent locals. She has a personal interest in the Garrison case, as her Father was the caretaker for the family until that fateful night.

In a small town where rumours travel quickly, and having been the only surviving witness to this atrocious crime (where nothing like this has ever happened before) has caused difficulties for the Haskins, as her Father is treated with cautious suspicion by all.

Pearl sets out to clear her Father's name and find the truth behind the suspicious circumstances of the Garrison fire, but in doing so she has placed herself in imminent danger as the culprit has never been found or brought to justice, and he doesn't want to be found out.

This book was an enjoyable introduction to Gillian French's work. It had me captivated from beginning to just shy of the ending. The characters were complicated and it was interesting to read as French peeled back layer after layer throughout the book. I did find some unnecessary characters, like Reese and Indigo...was there a point to them?

Gillian's plot was well laid out and the clues were great. I did find some parts of the book unnecessary, but that could have been a bit of impatience on my behalf, as I wanted to get back to the main plot line. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey but the conclusion fell flat for me, which brought on frustration as this book was filled with potential! It wasn't the WHO but rather the depth behind the murders.

The Lies They Tell by Gillian French is a captivating mystery thriller that will have you guessing till the final page. A cast of complicated teens with varied upbringing takes this novel's mystery into a different level. Gillian French truly takes her readers to Tenney's Harbour, trying to navigate the lives of these complicated individuals, whilst trying to solve the mystery, that may or may not be staring at you in the face.

I went into The Lies They Tell with absolutely no clue what this book was about. I saw the cover with the giant heart and I guess I kind of assumed it was a contemporary romance (most likely tragic).
Interestingly enough, it was quite far away from what I thought. The Lies They Tell was like E.Lockhart's 'We Were Liars' meets Cherie Priest's 'I am Princess X'. I literally can't think of a better comparison than that! (Meaning, this book is literally their baby)

I loved this book! I'm generally a bit iffy when it comes to mysteries because you run the risk of there being either predictable plot-twists or everything becomes about the mystery which results in characters that lack...well, character!
I literally loved everything about this book - the character development, the mystery, the scenery, realistic family issues - except for one thing. Everything was so slow and brooding as the mystery of Tenney's Harbor unfolds, however it felt like by the end the author had had enough and was rushed to get an ending. I actually thought that it still had a good 100 pages to go! The author went to so much effort to build up great characters and scenes, but by the end suddenly everything is wrapped up in a neat bow within 20 pages. Whyyyyyyyyy.
I was so in love with this book, and it literally made me feel like 'We Were Liars' in the end. The end was a bit of a cop-out and it just really bothered me!

As this is a mystery novel, I can't really say more than that out of respect due to spoilery reasons, but I do still recommend that if you see this around, you should definitely pick it up. It's one of those books that you need to have on a cold night, rugged up by the fireplace. So, when winter comes a-knocking (winter is here already for me!) you should get yourself a copy of this!