This is kind of a different kind of book for McManus. I loved it! Our slightly morally grey characters who really just wanna survive the weekend we're so enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Another stellar offering from Karen McManus. The relationships are nuanced and interesting and there are more twists than I can count which makes this one quite the page turner!

This was simultaneously very confusing and very boring. Fun premise, but the story tried to do too much, which ended up throwing off the momentum -- just the mother/daughter jewel heist could have been fun, but then it got all overly-convoluted with long-lost family and murder and a (lame) twist and another (lame) twist and blargh. This was super disappointing.

Karen McManus is a master at YA mystery storytelling. Seriously, I do not know how she continues to dazzle me with these stories. You'd think that knowing her writing as well as I do by now that she would start to become predictable, but that is not a problem she has. Phenomenal.

While this book was entertaining, it just didn't grab me like her other books have in the past. I liked the story and the characters alright, it just felt like something was missing. Don't get me wrong I would still buy it for my library, I just won't add it to my recommendation shelf. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

What can I say about Such Charming Liars? It had everything a good drama should have. Or rather, a murder mystery. The liars were Kat and Jamie. The other stars of the book were Liam and Augustus. Liam was Kat's step brother, and Augustus was the guy Liam was attracted to. He was also Ross Sutherland's grandson. Another liar in the book was Liam's father, Luke. His mission in life was to prey on rich women and steal their money.

Kat and Jamie ran scams for Gem. The Sutherlands were an extremely wealthy family. Ross was the patriarch of the family and Analyse was his daughter. She was the woman Luke wanted to marry. She had a necklace that was worth millions and Gem had made a replica of it. Ross was having his 80th birthday party and Gem had seen to it that Jamie was on the wait staff. Her goal was to sneak into Analyse's bedroom, still the necklace and replace it with the replica. Kat was not supposed to go with Jamie on this trip but she forced her way in.

When Jamie was to report for work she became violently ill and Kat subbed for her. Afterwards, when she got back to their cottage, she found that the replica necklace was missing. She assumed another server, Vicky, had taken it.

During the course of the party, a gunshot was heard. It turns out, Ross's son, Blake, had been shot and killed. And Analyse's necklace was found on him. But that's just the beginning.

They were all sorts of twists and turns in the story. The necklace changed hands several times and there was a twist ending. My favorite kind of ending. The author created believable characters and in spite of the many ins and outs and tangles in the saga, it was easy to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I gave it five stars.

This might be my favorite Karen McManus book. I could not put it down! I love how the book felt older than some of her others, definitely darker.

Kat & Liam had the best chemistry and I love me a male/female (sorta sibling) friendship!

The plot was a little overly complicated at the end, but this is a fun thriller that those who enjoyed her other books will also eat up.

Kat and her mother, Jamie, are a convincing con-artist duo, but Jamie's looking to get out of the game. When she agrees to do one last heist before they start over again, she doesn't anticipate all of the challenges ahead. It's a fast-paced thriller sure to capture Karen McManus's readers. Fans of her work will be satisfied with this standalone that's brimming with tension and vivid descriptions of opulent jewelry and fashion.

This was a decent YA thriller/mystery. I like that it was a slight deviance from Karen McManus's usual books but still had a lot of the same elements as her others. I really enjoyed the connection between the two main characters as well as the heist plotline. I did feel that some of the twists at the end were only added for shock value, but it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment so I would still recommend.

Wow, so many twists and turns! This book was like watching an episode of Jack Ryan. I loved the dual POV from Kat and Liam. Both have such interesting sides to the story. Kat ends up going on a work trip with her mom unexpectedly but she was determined to go and meets Liam. He is the son of the man her mom married in Vegas for 48 hours. Liam is traveling with his dad to visit his girlfriend's rich family at their family compound where Kat's mom's mission is to steal a very expensive necklace. Many twists and turns later and a few other plot twists we find out what really happened at the Sutherland family compound. Highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this twisty story. It was your typical heist story. I didn't like that the end of the story was quickly finished. Like it felt like there could have been more added to complete the story better.

5 Reasons to Read

Friendships

I feel like we always get a love interest when it comes to YA so I enjoyed the change of pace where Kat and Liam are more along the lines of siblings than romantic acquaintances. It was fun seeing how each of them balanced each other out and came together after so many years a part.

Romances

I loved seeing the relationship between Liam and Augustus come together. Augustus was my favorite character of the three of them. He was fun and witty!

Heists

Kat and her mom Jamie have been pulling off heists for years. When Kat interjects herself into Jamie’s last heist before they go straight, she finds herself having to step in to make sure it gets done! Right from the beginning things start to fall apart and it’s now a race to fix everything before Gem, the ringleader of their crew, finds out that things have gone off the rails!

Murders

What more can I say? This was supposed to be a jewelry heist but at some point in this story someone got in the way and paid the ultimate price for it!

Plot Twists

Just when you think this book is predictable the plot takes a turn. It was so fun seeing how everything unraveled and then was put back together, and how the past and present intertwined with each other. This was so fun!

Lots of fun twists and turns, especially toward the end. It did feel like things wrapped up quite quickly (felt a bit rushed), and at times, the writing felt like a straightforward explanation of what was going on. But it was still a fun heist story. I think this would make a great movie or miniseries.

McManus always delivers a twisty thriller. I really loved the characters and the plot of this story. it kept me wanting more and reading. I never wanted it to end. I really liked the ending and and I highly recommend this book!

What an interesting and fresh read! Karen McManus is the queen of YA mysteries. This concept was new and innovative. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because I have seen better from her. I will still definitely recommend this title, though! It just did not feel as strong as her others.

Mystery loaded with con artists!

Kat and her grandmother Gem are in disguise at a posh store scouting items that Gem can make at fractions of the cost with cubic zirconia. Little does Kat know but Gem steals a diamond ring.
Liam halts a con that his father is on by setting up a fake lunch date and explaining what his father is up to. Kat’s mom is furious about Gem involving Kat in theft so she decides to travel to Maine for a job away from Gem. Liam’s dad and Kat’s mom are con artists who were married for two days twelve years ago. They haven’t seen each other since until they both end up at the very same place in Maine. They’re both furious and are worried that the other one is going to ruin their plans. Unbeknownst to them, other crimes and cons are being committed in secret and these cons will change their lives forever.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the humor and sarcasm of Augustus. The layers of mystery are interesting and fun to see unravel. Kat, Liam and Augustus are great characters.
Mature content: PG for kiss.
Language: R for 172 swears and 26 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity falls to white.

Great read! I love all of Karen's books. Lots of good characters, drama and fantastic storylines. I read it in just a few days!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is an entertaining YA Mystery/Thriller set on a billionaire's swanky compound. Kat is a teenager that grew up fast and had to be older than her years. Her mother is a jewel thief working for a woman that rescued her and Kat in Vegas after a disastrous quicky marriage and divorce to a smarmy con-man. Jamie is planning to go straight, but owes her boss one last job at the billionaire's birthday party. When they arrive at the location, they discover Jamie's ex-husband and his son Liam there too. Liam was Kat's step-brother for a hot minute while their parents were married. Neither has forgotten the other, and yearn to develop a relationship with each other again.

When things start to go wrong with the job, Kat steps up and tries to save it. But when someone is killed at the party, Kat, and eventually Liam, are put in the killer's cross-hairs. As one truth after another is revealed, Kat feels her life will never be the same.

This is a fun, quick, and easy read. I liked Kat right off the bat. She's smart, tough, and resilient. She watches out for her mom and is determined to have a better life. But she's grown up with shady people, so she doesn't trust easy and knows she can't believe everything she sees or hears. Liam lived a relatively normal life until he moved in with his father, and does everything he can to thwart his father's scamming ways. He just wants to graduate high school and move on with his life. Despite not trusting each other, I liked how Kat and Liam finally worked some things out and got closer. At first I had no trust for the Sutherland that Liam has a crush on, but as the story progressed, I felt better about the person.

The plot has plenty of twists, although I was able to work out most of them ahead of time. It was still fun to see how the author got there. This book isn't rocket science. It's just plain, good ole fun, and should be read with that in mind. If you like the author's other books, you'll like this one too.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from TBR and Beyond Book Tours. All opinions are my own.