If you’re looking for a happy ending this is not the book for you!
I honestly got so confused trying to keep up with all the different POV and the alternating timeline from then to now. It felt a bit chaotic. I finally started keeping notes. For its length, this book took longer than anticipated to read because of that.
The characters are all fairly messed up. Blakey is Uber manipulative. Grace was honestly the only character I liked.
If you like unlikeable characters and unhappy endings then this is for you!
TW: Child sexual abuse, murder, attempted murder of a child, dismemberment, emotional abuse, death of a parent, eating disorder, pet death

I received his book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a HUGE fan of Lucinda Berry's work but unfortunately this book didn't hit me the same way as all of the others. The dual storyline sounded exciting and promising and drew me in but I found myself wanting more as the plot unfolded and I found all of the characters extremely unlikeable people in the past and in the present.

This will not stop me from reading anything that this author writes and being among my favorite authors but this one was sadly a miss for me.

I’m not exactly sure how to rate this… it was good, but could have been a lot better. The story was rushed, and the ending was especially rushed.

If you love thrillers with multiple POV’s, dual timelines and suspicious characters (like me!) this book is absolutely for you! If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry was exactly what I was hoping for. It followed four friends at summer camp and the secrets that they keep 20+ years later, making this the perfect summer read for this year. A fast passed thriller with characters that will make you cringe and choose sides but keep you guessing. Picture a Mean Girls crossover with Pretty Little Liars?? I couldn’t put this book down and can’t stop thinking about the wild ride it was!

I had to go back a bit to remember who was who because of some similar personality traits between characters. With the dual timeline and 5 character POV’s it was a little confusing at times but it didn’t take away from the book at all.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. Also thanks to Lucinda Berry for coming through with an amazing book as usual!

If I Tell You is the 2nd Lucinda Berry book, I’ve read.

The storyline, although fast-paced, seems rushed and also falls flat. I liked the concept, and the story was interesting; plus, there were some good plot twists, but this book is repetitive.

There are four character viewpoints; maybe that’s where the repetition happens. You get everyone's point of view at one point or another. Well, there are 5 viewpoints if you count Regina…

I loved the random social issues that were brought up. Bonus points for throwing in the submarine incident that happened last year, too. The ending wasn't great.

It wasn’t a bad book, but I did enjoy her other book more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

Four friends who met at summer camp reunite twenty years later when a secret they would prefer stay buried resurfaces. Will the finally be forced to repent for their sins from that final summer?

Blakely, Meg, Thera, and Grace loved their summers at Camp Pendleton; misfits in their normal lives, camp was a place where they could feel accepted. Of course, that all changed the summer when their tennis coach ended up brutally murdered by his wife. The foursome has always been able to downplay their role in his death, but now the past is catching up and newer secrets are coming to the surface.

Told mostly from the viewpoints of all four main characters, the plot has promise. It is interesting to see the way each character grows (or fails to), and how quickly they revert back to their adolescent selves. There are also some intriguing twists and turns throughout, keeping the reader guessing.

While the book has potential, the characters are profoundly unlikable (even the nice one isn’t actually very nice) and it is hard to root for any of them. They also blend together, which could be due to their voices being written in the same style. Every single chapter contains excessive amounts of fragments. This is probably intended to convey something like rushed thoughts or anxiety, but it makes for choppy reading.

With a solid premise, this could be a fun beach read for fans of mysteries with unreliable narrators.

Blakely, Grace, Meg and Thera became fast friends from their first day at Camp Pendleton, a camp for gifted children, where those who never fit in do fine. They spend nine summers together. Then, during their senior summer, Mr. Crosby, their tennis coach is making reared and the girls swear themselves to secrecy about what they know and promise never to speak again.

And they never do, and that’s that.

I kid, I kid. Of COURSE they cannot keep that vow. Now it is twenty-six years later and the women get a threat in the mail…someone knows their secret. They are drawn back together and it appears Blakely is calling the shots just as she did before…or is she?

The book is told in a dual timeline with each of the girls narrating chapters, along with Regina, the tennis coach’s wife who was convicted of his murder. So, the “then” was a little typical, a little not, the “now” was partially completely unbelievable and part of what made me like the book as much as I did. An odd little read!

This is a twisted tale of lies and manipulation with some absolutely and utterly evil and unredeemable characters taking central stage.

If you tell a lie is a well-written thriller that will keep you guessing till the very end. It is also a very hard-to-put-down read and if I had no responsibilities, I would’ve finished it in one-sitting just because I was so invested in where this wild story was going.

Having 5 POVs swinging between two timelines was a tad confusing at first but once the story got going and I got used to the five characters, things got a bit more easier to follow.

I also felt that some parts of the story were a bit slow and repetitive and the story would’ve flowed better, had those parts been cut off. Moreover, the ending felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book.

In a nutshell, I would recommend this book to lovers of psychological thrillers!

If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry was a slow-burn read. It did read like a teen movie.

During four friends' senior summer, Mr. Crosby, the handsome tennis coach, wound up murdered after a reckless lie. Blakely, Grace, Meg, and Thera swore themselves to secrecy. And never spoke to each other again. Now, twenty years later, a sinister note claiming to know what they did brings them back together.

The story is told in dual timelines and shows how peer pressure can have dire consequences.

The story was slow in parts and not as action-packed as other Lucinda Berry books. The ending was a bit disappointing and not a real twist.

I am normally a Lucinda Berry fan, but this one fell a bit flat for me. I would recommend other books by this author and will read more, but this one is a "leave on the shelf" read for me.

#IfYouTellaLie #NetGalley @AmazonPub

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book.

Wow what a wild , page turning rude ! Quite a few unlikable characters in this book, one in particular( BLAKELY ANYONE?!)

The ending was a pretty darn good twist, and I would definitely recommend this to others who likes fast paced thrillers. Lucinda does it again.

I absolutely loved this book! The first part to play at my heart when Lansing MI was mentioned. I am from MI and that gave me a part of home. The twists and turns of this book left you wondering what would happen next. The shocking surprise at the end made you almost believe it didn’t really happen.

I have never read a book by Lucinda Berry that didn’t deserve 5 stars & this is no different. It was aggravating though! Each chapter told you just enough that you HAVE to consume the next…past, present, multiple POV’s…she weaves it together so masterfully that you feel you’re close to seeing the entire picture & certainly the next chapter will allow you to see the entire dynamic. Nah!! Hold on to your boots & you’ll have to wait for the ending like I did. So rare for an author to consistently give me a 5 star read but L.B. hasn’t disappointed me yet 😛

just enough twist and turns to make this a compelling thriller without it being too hokey or unbelievable. I read this essentially in one sitting because it was that good

I adore Lucinda Berry’s writing and this was another great one!

Blakey, Thera, Meg and Grace all meet at Camp Pendleton as kids. A camp where they can be themselves and not worry about social status and appearances constantly. Their senior year at camp is supposed to be the most exciting until horrific accusations and one horrific act, tears one of the counselor’s family apart.

26 years later, the girls have all gone their separate ways, vowing to never be in contact again that last year at camp. Then their past comes back to haunt them as each girl receives a letter from someone claiming to know what happened that summer. They all reunite at Blakely’s home and there, even more secrets are revealed. Secrets that change everything. Will their friendship be as strong as it once was? Will each girl honor the promises they made when they became blood sisters at camp?

This read was addicting and I couldn’t get to the next page fast enough!

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced with a dark storyline that left me feeling disgusted and uncomfortable in the best possible way. I wouldn't classify this as a thriller though. It was more of a mystery steeped in psychological drama. A very well written story, but it was a little confusing at times trying to distinguish between which characters were narrating. They were all very similar and extremely unlikeable. Blakely was the only one who really stood out to me. It was sad how desperate these girls/women were that they would do anything to feel like they belonged. The ending wasn't a shocker but definitely held a few surprises. I can't say that I was happy with it and I'm sure others will agree once they've read the book. (No spoilers from me) I was unsatisfied with the result and felt that it was cut short. I wanted more information on a few of the characters instead of insinuation. It was still a very good read, and I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

I said this before and I'll never get tired of saying it, Lucinda Berry is a mastermind. The story revolves around 4 privileged girls on their last year of summer camp. But of course, what do you get when you put those together? Trouble. This is like a crossover between Stand By Me and I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is I'm totally here for. When I read the last chapter, I just wanted to scream and throw my Kindle across the room. But you know what? (view spoiler) This book is so real with that ending.

You'll never go wrong with Ma'am Lucinda Berry, I tell you. She writes books that are so real and attack the human psyche that you just can't help but relate to the characters and the situations that they're in. Definitely would be another hit. I didn't find many grammatical or typographical errors on the EARC that I got, so that's great. Thank you for this amazing exxperience.

‘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.’

Told from alternating perspectives and past and present timelines, If You Tell a Lie was composed of the most miserable and unredeemable characters ever. As teenagers, they were unlikable and stupid, and as adults they were even worse. And then there was the “social contagion” aspect….
Sorry to say, I just had a really difficult time with this one as a whole I was left with so many questions.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this arc.

Pub date: 7.23.24

If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry had me hooked from the first page. I always like dual timelines and this one was great, going between the story of four girls at camp and what happened twenty-six years later. Lucinda Berry never fails to deliver an amazing read and she’s done it again with this book.

This book had such a good set up and could have been so good, but for me the first half dragged and then the second half was super rushed and I felt like the story wasn’t complete. The beginning focused too much on all of the back stories of the 4 women. I understand that we needed to know what happened at camp, but did we need to know every disorder, mental health issue or family drama for each girl? Way too much time was spent on this for it to really never come back around in the present tense in a meaningful way. Then the ending felt so rushed. Like we never really got closure on anything. Also, Regina’s cell mate had access to the home security system so I feel like that should have played a part in the ending personally. It wasn’t a bad book and I liked the twist, but ultimately it’s just a 3 star read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC.

Thank you net galley for letting me read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Welp I read it in a day which is always a good sign. The storyline revolves around 4 friends who go to summer camp every year: the basis of the thriller revolves around the girls doing a “senior prank”. This prank leaves a real bad feeling in the depths of your soul and for me as a reader I was mad for the entire book about the prank gone wrong….which is why I probably read it so fast! Anyways if your a fan of Lucinda Barry and enjoy reading messed up thrillers…than you’ll enjoy this quick read