‘Bestselling author Lucinda Berry serves up a haunting thriller about four friends sworn to secrecy over the events of one fateful summer―and the dark truths that threaten to erupt years later.’

While I’ve been a fan of some of Berry’s previous work, this one just wasn’t for me. It was fun to reminisce about summer camps of yesteryears, but that was really all it had going for it, in my opinion.

I tend to enjoy a dual timeline and multi-POV, but the characters blurred together a bit. Berry attempted to give our four MCs distinguishing characteristics and backgrounds, but their voices and personalities came off too similar. I often forgot which character’s chapter I was in.

And speaking of characters… all four of the MCs were… kind of dumb. I can understand young girls making questionable choices based on friends, wanting to be included/liked, and just being immature, but grown adult women acting completely juvenile drives me batty. To have established lives and families, but then to drop everything for summer-only-friends you haven’t seen in decades? Nope. The mob mentality/social contagion aspect, while interesting in theory, wasn’t flushed out nearly enough to make any of the characters’ actions intelligible.

Lastly, without getting into spoilers, so much seemed unbelievable. I started keeping a list of things that couldn’t/wouldn’t happen in real life, that seemed questionable, or were just flat out absurd. There were many and included the final twists. The twists were almost laughable with how ridiculous they were. Add to that an abrupt ending (excuse me but we had no closure for 3 of the 4 characters…) and I was left very underwhelmed.

Again, I’m a fan of Berry’s previous books and tend to like how she includes her experience as a clinical psychologist into her work, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. That being said, read if you need a bit of summer camp nostalgia and like a psychological thriller with a bit of suspension of disbelief.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ADC.

I adore Lucinda Berry's twisted thoughts in all of her books and this one did not disappoint! She blew my mind throughout this whole story.

I went in blind on this one and I am so glad I did. However, the story is following four teen girls who meet at summer camp and in their final year, tragedy strikes. They are sworn to secrecy and vow to never speak of that summer again. But secrets don't stay secrets forever.

I loved the back and forth between all the girls involved to see the differences in the main story. I think she did a great job of going back and forth from past to present and not making it confusing along the way. I had only one moment through the whole thing that I semi guessed what happened and even then Lucinda STILL threw me for a loop with what actually happened. The ending literally had my jaw dropping!

If you've read her books before you'll know there's usually some type of triggering topic so definitely be aware. She does so good of portraying these sensitive issues without making it feel worse than the topics already are. So before going in just be cautious of the child abuse aspect in this. I was constantly shocked throughout this story but still also heartbroken for what happened. She really makes you feel like a part of the story and connected with these characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Lucinda Berry for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!!

If You Tell a Lie is a fun thriller with Mean Girls and I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, and I was hooked from the prologue.

Bestselling author Lucinda Berry serves up a haunting thriller about four friends sworn to secrecy over the events of one fateful summer—and the dark truths that threaten to erupt years later.

"𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 117 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 .𝗔𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲'𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁. "

Told is alternating timelines with five points of view, but it was still easy to navigate the storyline.

This novel explores some heavy topics, so be sure to check your trigger warnings ⚠️ With Berry's psychologist background, she is able to utilize these issues in a realistic setting, creating tention in the story.

I found as much as I enjoyed the book,it was a slow build-up, and the more the plot unfolded, I realized none of the characters were likable in the past or present which made it difficult to relate or connect to anyone.
However, I loved the concept of the story, and the ending was completely unexpected 😲

Lies have a ripple effect, and the consequences can change the course of your life forever as these girls find out, and we learn that everyone handles peer pressure, guilt, and childhood trauma differently .

My sincere thanks to Netgally, Thomas Mercer, and the author for my gifted copy. My review was voluntary.

My Review on Instagram:
http://www.instagram.com/sheilasenchantedbookshelf


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Thank you, Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Lucinda Berry for an advance copy of "If you tell a Lie." This book is told in multiple timelines with 5 points of view. I do enjoy multiple points of views but at times, it was hard to keep up based on the past and present of the characters. I did really enjoy how she added Regina point of view because it made an impact in the book, being able to hear how she felt towards the turn of events. This story is about how easy lies can keep on spreading even when you think they are over. This book does cover a lot of difficult topics, which made it hard to read sometimes. The twist at the end definitely wasn't what I was expecting but did make me want to know more details.

Thank you again for the opportunity, and this book will be available on July 23.

Lucinda always knows how to get me immediately invested into her stories and this one was no exception. We had multiple POVs, dual timelines, and unreliable narrators all over the place. The unreliable narrators in this one were truly so captivating and I loved reading from their POVs.

It definitely was not as dark as some of her other books, more on the level of Keep Your Friends Close. It was so so good & I definitely recommend!!

This book was a slow burner for me but ended with a big twist that made it all worthwhile. The description of teenage bonds and the lengths they would go to to fit in or feel included had me second guessing everything and everyone .

I always love the summer camp thrillers and I especially liked how this had dual timelines. The ending was a bit rushed and confusing, but overall I really enjoyed this!

Another absolutely amazing book from Lucinda Berry! Just like all of her other books this one doesn’t fail to deliver the twists. This is a psychological thriller done right!

Summer camp is a time to eat hotdogs and marshmallows and tell scary stories while sitting around a campfire.new friends are discovered. Old friends reconnect. When they were younger, a group of women attended Camp Pendleton during the summer. As young girls, they forged a friendship. They participated in the usual camp activities. However, one summer, things get out of hand when they lie about one of the camp counselors. They” will have consequences that will follow them for the rest of their lives.,

As the girls grow into women, they must reckon with what happened at camp and the fallout. We meet the girls, now grown women with careers and families. But the past haunts them. The women each mysteriously receive an anonymous note hinting at what happened in the past. The reader meets the characters years after their camping days. As the women meet and reconnect, the story is revealed. The story moves fluidly between the past and present. Different characters are introduced as the story moves on. Plenty of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat until the shocking conclusions.

I tend to struggle with Lucinda Berry's books. They are quick reads and somewhat entertaining I suppose, but the ending is always super predictable to me. I also struggle with her books. Everyone calls them dark, but I can't say I agree. I think that her books just may not be for me, but that is fine! I still think that a lot of people who like a quick thriller will really enjoy this one and I will definitely recommend it to them.

3.5 stars. Thank you so much for this ARC. I was very excited to get it since I love Lucinda! My only issue with the book was the ending. It felt very abrupt and like nothing was wrapped up. Way too many loose ends. Other than that, I enjoyed the story. Though I did predict one of the big ending twists.

This sucked me in from the start! I enjoyed the multiple POV and didn’t have it figured out like I thought!
The ending felt rushed to me and I was left with questions but I enjoyed this a lot and will read Lucinda’s next book! Huge thanks to netgalley for this ARC set to publish 7/23/24

I got this as an ARC read, my first Lucinda Berry’s book. Story was well written, plot twist was unexpected and Blakely made my blood boil. Easy read, if you like thrillers give this one a chance.

I was really excited to read an early copy of If You Tell a Lie because I’ve been wanting to read something from this author for quite some time. A few of my book friends really love this one, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me.

I really liked that it was a quick popcorn thriller that could easily be read within a day or two. However, I really struggled to get invested in the story. I was interested in finding out what happened when the girls were seventeen at summer camp, but could’ve put it down and been okay with it. With that being said, I will say I was much more engaged following a major twist during a second half of the book.

I’m usually a sucker for a dual timeline but, I wasn’t a big fan of it in this one. The girls were teenagers in the past timeline, and it leaned super YA for me. There was some added character depth which was nice, but I felt like a lot of time was spent trying to defend their actions. [2.5 stars rounded up to 3].

Read if you like:

✨Summer camp
✨Multi POV books
✨Quick reads

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

I really liked this one. The twist was one I didn't see coming as with all of her books. The way this book grabbed me from the very beginning to end was great.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting that ending!
I have been looking forward to reading this one since I found out about it. I’ve enjoyed several of Lucinda Berry’s books and this is another one that I enjoyed.
Things were going a little slow in the middle for a bit but it picked back up in the end. I had my suspicions about what was going to happen and what had happened but I didn’t think it was going to be that!
I’ve read quite a few books about things happening at summer camp and I really like that setting. But it makes me question whether I’ll ever allow my kids to go to one. 😅
Overall, a good read!

First I want to thank the Publisher for this ARC. I was extremely excited to get my hands on Lucinda Berry's new book early! And in time for pride month since there is a gay character featured in the book. The thoughts expressed in this review are my honest opinions.

I am going to preface this with nothing Lucinda Berry writes is bad. She's a phenomenal writer and clearly knows how to dive into the darkest minds. However, this one just wasn't for me.

The story felt much more like a YA thriller (I guess?), although it never fully felt like a thriller. I love the premise but I was expecting more. I also felt the overall story arc and the character development was a little simplistic. Like everything was laid out really clearly and explained as if I wouldn't understand, which is why it gave me the feeling of maybe I'm not the target demographic.

Berry does a nice job with the teens do something bad that comes back to haunt them years later. Told with dual POVs and time lines, this is very much about what we do to be part of a group. These teen girls at camp might feel like stereotypes but there's a bit of bite to them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ArC. A good read.

I had a great time going to summer camp in this summer thriller. Lucinda Berry is one of the best psychological thriller authors of our time. I did not see that ending coming.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the arc of If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry. First I want to say this was an instant request because I’ve read everything that Lucinda has written. I loved the premise of this one especially since it has summer vibes. It involves 4 friends that met when they were very young and went to summer camp together every year. One summer they make a decision that changes their lives. They vowed to not only never mention it to anyone, but to never speak again. This broke their hearts because of their strong friendship. But then they each receive a note that says I Know What You Did. They decide to meet 26 years after that fateful summer and nothing is what it seems at all. There were gut punches thrown in there and twists until the very very end. I enjoyed every second and have a huge book hangover now!! Don’t miss this one.