3.75/5
Dive into the thrilling world of If You Tell a Lie where summer camp and sinister secrets collide!

Book Description:
Best friends Blakely, Thera, Meg, and Grace have been meeting every summer at camp since they were eight years old. This is their last year at Camp Pendleton, and they're determined to make it their best year yet.

But this summer, with all the girls crushing on the hot new tennis coach, things take a dark turn when Coach Crosby turns up dead. The girls make a pact of silence, sealing their fates with a promise that ties them together forever.

My thoughts:
Peer pressure during adolescence is intense and can cause reasonable people to do unfathomable things. Lucinda Berry crafts a gripping page-turner perfect for summer escapades, weaving dual timelines and the girls' perspectives to unravel the chilling events of that fateful summer.

Warning: "If You Tell a Lie" delves deep into themes that may unsettle some readers, so consider checking trigger warnings. As a fan of thrillers and crime fiction, I can't explain without spoilers why this one hit different for me. I found Berry's novel compelling and a great read for anyone craving a ride into the darker corners of adolescence and the secrets we keep.

📚Read this if you like:
•  Friends sworn to secrecy
•  I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes
•  Dual timelines
•  Multiple POVs

whew, I can appreciate that it all didn’t turn out the way I expected it to, at all. The characters were unlikeable but the plot was easy to follow. I certainly think Blakely was the worst, but relatable in the sense than everyone knows someone like her.. to a degree. My friends are currently reading some of the authors older books and I am looking forward to catching up to where they are at.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher + the author for my DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Really love Lucinda writing but this one did not hit like a lot of her others for me. Loved the multiple POV and duel timeline. The ending twist was great but felt like I still had questions that did not get answered by the end.

3.5 rating rounded up to 4.

Out now!

I mostly love Lucinda Berry's stories (there are a couple exceptions to this LOL) and this one goes on the "pretty good" list. It didnt blow me away but I liked the story. I think Lucinda does well with multi-POV & multi-timeline. The POV didn't feel too confusing to me because each of the girls is pretty different; and they are well-written to have their own things going on yet in the camp chapters to come together as best friends. Overall, I liked getting to know each of the characters through their POV.

This didn't feel overly twisty but it worked. the ending, however, was a letdown big time. A couple other reviews mentioned they hope there could be a sequel and I sort of wish the same so that we can see some justice done!

IF YOU TELL A LIE had an interesting premise, with multiple characters quickly introduced and a story that promised some mystery and intrigue. Really enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half quickly spiraled out of control. It felt like the stories introduced initially were pivoted away from, and new motives/actions were brought in that were confusing. The ending was unsatisfying and left a lot open.

I’ve enjoyed many Lucinda Berry books in the past but this was not my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review IF YOU TELL A LIE.

This book centers around the stories told by five adult women as they flashback to an incident that happened over 20 years ago when they were kids. This book was so well written and had me constantly wondering what was going to happen next. It’s crazy how easily people can influence others. Great read!!

This one was a like, not a love. Berry has a knack for writing thrillers, and in that respect she did a great job on this plot. But the multi-timeline, multi-POV got a little confusing at times and made it difficult to keep the characters straight. I didn't feel closure at the ending, so it left a sour taste in my mouth.

LUCINDA!!! I loved this book….but, that ending! Seriously?!?! I have so many unanswered questions. I know you generally do just standalone books, but I feel this story needs another book to answer my questions. lol!!

In all seriousness, this book was definitely a page turner and left me thankful that my parents never sent me to summer camp. I also loved the diversity of the main female characters , but that ending definitely leaves you saying “what the hell Lucinda?!?!”

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lucinda Berry has a way with thrillers that make you quite literally devour them in one sitting. She also always manages to bring a WTF factor to the book that will have you staring off into space wondering “how the heck did she come up with this?”

Full of turns, this book delves into the past and present and weaves a tale that will have you clutching your pearls.

I love everything this woman writes and this book is no exception! Lucinda will keep you on the edge of your seat with the multiple POVs and dual timeline. If you are a thriller reader, specifically psychological thrillers, or if you have loved some of her other books, definitely check this one out!

Amazon
I didn’t realize it didn’t post. Posted today. Lona Claire.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a Lucinda Berry book and this one was the perfect summertime thriller to jump back in with. Ms Berry is an artist and she paints a perfect picture of adolescence and how easy it is to succumb to peer pressure. Not to mention how quickly things can spiral out of control and you can still be dealing with the repercussions decades later.

The way I went from feeling sorry for one of the characters to feeling PURE HATRED was insane. She knows how to write characters that evoke emotion from her readers. Definitely a 100/10. Add this to your must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Compared to Lucinda's other books, I found myself less invested in the characters this time. However, she still managed to evoke strong reactions, showcasing her talent for character development. Creating characters that readers care about or intensely dislike is not always easy, but Lucinda makes it seem effortless.

There were some loose ends that left me with more questions than answers. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll say that these issues are quite subjective and may differ from reader to reader.

Overall, it was an entertaining book.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry. I enjoyed it, but not as much as her others. I feel like it was a slow-burn read. Blakely, Grace, Meg, & Thera had been friends since they met at Camp Pendleton, a haven for gifted children. During their senior summer, Mr. Crosby, the handsome tennis coach, wound up murdered after a reckless lie. They girls swore themselves to secrecy, and never spoke to each other again. Until twenty years later when a sinister note claiming to know what they did brings them back together. I would recommend if you like dual timelines, friendships, suspenseful thrillers, & psychological thrillers.

Lucinda Berry has done it again! If You Tell a Lie is a twisty, addicting thriller about four friends sworn to secrecy after one fateful summer at camp. Told in two timelines from five points of view, this book had a LOT of drama and intrigued. ⁣
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⁣I wish the characters would have been more memorable and the ending was too abrupt, but it was a great pallet cleanser! I enjoyed! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley for an ARC of If You Tell a Lie in return for my honest review. It’s available now!

If you tell a lie was a super fast paced read for me. Four girls who go to summer camp every year have a secret about that last summer. After twenty years they each receive a note. Will all the secrets of that summer come out? Told in past and present everyone has secrets who’s is the deadliest?

This is a story told through the point of view of 4 different girls who attend a summer camp which ends in murder and alternates between past and present. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book as much as I thought I would. I tend to enjoy this author very much but I believe all the alternating left me confused on who was who. It felt like just when I was starting to get to know a character, it was the end of the chapter and a new character started.

Lucinda Berry never misses- I love her books and the twisted endings they tend to have. This book followed a group of four friends that did something bad at summer camp in the 90’s and in present day, the secret may come out so they meet again to talk about their next move. Things do not go as planned and the twists get wild! I highly recommend if you love murder mysteries and thrillers in general :)

Is your best friend a psychopath? How would you really ever know? These 4 friends had no idea one of them were and they had been living with them every summer at camp since they were just little girls. Their last year at camp, a scandal rips apart a young family’s life and it’s all their fault. In Lucinda fashion, it’s a twisty ride!

I’m a huge Lucinda Berry fan, but this one didn’t pack the usual punch like her other books.

The story follows 4 young girls at summer camp, who become the best of friends. A staff member at the camp is accused of a horrible crime, and these girls lives are forever changed.
Twenty six years later the girls are reunited after receiving anonymous letters. Who and why is someone sending them?

I had a few gripes with this book, the writing is very YA. Not the usual Berry greatness. The going back and forth between past and present with 4 characters was a lot! I had to keep going back to the beginning of the chapter to remember who I was reading about. Often it made me lose interest.
The ending felt rushed. I wanted a bit more. No real twists and turns like us Berry fans are used to.

I will still be counting down the days, until her next book, but this one is pretty forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read an early copy.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

I have come to realize that Lucinda Berry is probably not the author for me. I just find her writing boring and the thrills just don't do it for me.

This book was the same issues for me as her other books. I think she is just not for me. I felt bored and none of the characters were interesting to me so it was hard to connect to anyone.

People who love this author will probably enjoy this one but it just wasn't for me.