Four friends from camp were involved in a murder. They swore themselves to secrecy and that they would never communicate again. Now, twenty-six years later, someone is sending them threatening notes. They reconvene to try to figure out what is going on.

I liked the premise here, but I think there was too much going on structurally. We had multiple POVS, multiple timelines (with the multiple POVS throughout), and no real method to switching back and forth between the two. For instance, we would get a snippet of present timeline and then three chapters of the past. It made it harder for the suspense to build for me I think.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Lucinda Berry for the copy of If You Tell a Lie.

I have come to enjoy everything of Lucinda Berry’s that I have read, and this one is no different! Such a creative and wonderfully written story. Not how I expected this to go, but sooo good!

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I thought this was going to take the crown for my favourite Lucinda book up until the ending, but more on that later.

Here’s what I loved. The representation in the girls/ women was fantastic. Graces battle with both her body and mind about her weight and then her eventual acceptance and learning to love her body made my heart happy.
Thera’s backstory about her mom broke my heart into a million pieces.

The dual timeline was probably the best I’ve ever read.
At the end of the present day sections I needed more immediately and it was the same with the 1997 timeline.
Because this was done so well I found it near impossible to put down.

I will say this definitely got me out of my months long reading slump and was a fantastic quick paced read.

So here’s what made this go from a 5⭐️ read for me to a 4⭐️ - that ending.
The ending felt so abrupt and I really thought I was maybe missing an epilogue.
Where’s the closure for Grace and Thera?
What ended up happening with Meg?
These questions will probably haunt me forever.

Thank you @netgalley @amazonpublishing #partner for the gifted eARC.

I am a sucker for books with settings at camps and after reading The Perfect Child, I was pumped to jump into this one. Set at Camp Pendleton, a camp for gifted kids, we follow a group of teens going through the tough years of growing up. The focus being what they eat, who they are friends with, who the ring leader of the group is, popularity, and of course who likes who. When one of the girls, Blakely decides she likes one of the camp counselors all bets are off as she concocts what I’ll call “a teenaged plan”. What starts as something somewhat innocent turns into a terrible disaster. The girls then are left with dealing with the guilt and grief as the years tick on. And boy oh boy what a mess they’ve created! 👀

Thoughts: Be fair warned there are a lot of very intense feelings and tough topics explored in this book. The more intense topics were eating disorders and grooming and of course murder. I am dead inside so these things don’t bother me but thought I should mention. 🙃

I really love the setting of this one. When I read books like this it makes me nostalgic for when I was younger and just puts me in a good headspace. There are a lot of characters in this story so make sure you closely pay attention to them or jot a quick note down in the beginning…I wish I would have. I do think Lucinda does a great job creating the mindset of a typical teenager. We all know they are easily influenced and can make terrible decisions. This story was definitely no exception! I felt sad for some of the characters being sucked into situations they didn’t really seem to know how to get themselves out of. 😬 This book was loaded with lots of twists and shocking actions! I did enjoy this book and do plan to continue to read more of Lucinda’s backlist!

When four childhood friends are tied together through a deadly secret, drama and trauma are sure to follow.

At their last year of summer camp, Blakely, Meg, Grace, and Thera find their beloved tennis coach murdered due to a dangerous lie. Traumatized and sworn to secrecy, the group goes their separate ways and doesn’t speak for twenty years.

A mysterious letter reunites the four friends and they find out their secrets were not as confidential as they thought. As the friends untangle the mess from their last summer together, they open a can of worms that will change them forever. This is a twisty thriller told in dual timelines that will leave readers shocked and disturbed.

Lucinda does it again! Great read. Perfect thriller for the summer! I struggled with the multiple (5) POVs plus the dual timeline. I had to constantly check whose chapter was who. Other than that, it was a good read that kept me intrigued to know what was going to happen next.

I’ve always enjoyed Lucinda Berry’s writing, so I was really excited for If You Tell a Lie. It’s everything you expect from her; its dark, we have complicated characters, its full of triggers, all of which I like. Because this one is set in dual timelines, with current day and a flashback to when the women were only 17-year-old girls, it did feel a bit YA at times, but it was to be expected and didn’t leave me cringing, so that’s a win in my book. I liked the twist, though I did feel it coming, and at the beginning I was confused a few times on trying to keep our four characters straight, but I quickly got the hang of it and couldn’t peel myself away. I can’t wait to see what we get next from Lucinda Berry. If You Tell a Lie will be published 7/23. Thanks to Thomas and Mercer for my eARC.

Full of twists and turns, this one had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

This was my very first from this author, but the writing is so fun and I will definitely be reading more!

A group of best friends made at summer camp will always know some of your deepest darkest secrets. Sometimes, those secrets are deadly.

Following a back and forth timeline, we get this really intricate plot, full of murdery intrigue, consequences and reparations. I LOVED this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. Four friends meet in camp every summer, and swear to never tell the secret of that final summer between them and the handsome tennis coach. Twenty years later a sinister note brings them back together. I absolutely loved the different timelines and getting to know each character. A thrilling novel with a giant twist!

📚: If You Tell A Lie by Lucinda Berry
⭐️: 3/5

The gist: Camp Pendleton, 26 years ago — a horrific crime scene, a dead tennis coach, and four senior campers, swearing each other to secrecy.

The good: Summer camp thrillers are becoming a solid, festive (if you will) summertime trope for me. This read has a quick pace, a gripping storyline, and a twist at 80% in that had my jaw hanging.

The eh: Unfortunately, aside from that jaw dropping moment, the rest felt pretty predictable, along with an abrupt ending that made me say, “wait that’s it?!” out loud. (If anything begged for an epilogue, it’s this book.)

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. If You Tell A Lie is out next week on 7/23!

Lucinda Berry smashes it out of the ballpark with her latest thriller If You Tell a Lie. I do love everything and anything that Lucinda writes. This one is a wild ride and it does have a lot trigger warnings in it. Things were happening all over the place and I just could not put it down. The ending was not what I was expecting so I was glued to the very last page into the wee hours of the night. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my early review. To be published July 23, 2024.

A bingeable thriller perfect for summer reading and fans of Mean Girl. This one has an interesting dual timeline told from the perspectives of four girls who lived for their time at summer camp together every year. I liked the distinctive relationships that the girls had with each other and how they all altered their behaviour to be in Blakely's good graces. It reminded me of the teenage girl dynamics I remember from high school. I also liked the older perspectives of the women in their forties and how they evolved, yet the dynamics of their relationships stayed somewhat similar. I don't want to get into the plotting too much for fear of giving anything away but suffice it to say it's dark and twisted in typical Lucinda Berry fashion.

If You Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry starts off strong. Dual timelines with a before and after. The before starts at a summer camp for gifted students where four girls become fast friends. What happens that summer sucked me right in. I started off enjoying the dual timeline with the after even. However, the after to me was not very believable, are these girls really going to run to one of them after not seeing each other for almost 30 years? Maybe because of their shared secrets and what happened that initial summer. The ending also is so abrupt there were so many unanswered questions that I had.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of If you Tell a Lie by Lucinda Berry for an honest review.

Lucinda has done it again as she takes us on a journey of Meg, Blakely, Grace and Thera during their time at summer camp 20 years ago and how peer pressure and our own individual lives can affect the choices we make but also how one small choice can affect the lives of others. Then she leaves us wanting to throw the book at the wall when the ending isn't at all what you would hope for because if you know Lucinda, you know how she likes to end books! The twists and turns as you alternate between the past and present keep you wondering and guessing. I did have moments of confusion with this aspect on whose perspective and what time period I would be reading. It also took me a bit to get into the book as the character development took place but overall was a page turner, gut wrencher, and an emotional book. In the end, I felt honored to read an ARC by one of my favorite authors. A big thank you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review an early copy of this book. If You Tell A Lie by Lucinda Berry will be released on July 23rd, 2024.

I absolutely ADORE Lucinda Berry and her writing and can proudly say that I have read every single book that she has released to date. Unfortunately, If You Tell A Lie was not a sure-fire hit for me. The writing was great and the story was easy to follow, but the plot just wasn't it for me. I found it to be a bit...flat.

Sometimes even though you like the twists and the story and like/dislike the characters, you can end a story with a bad taste in your mouth. That was me with this book. It felt like the author took the chess board and upended it instead of playing out the game. That is really the only way I can describe it. I don't know what else to say without giving things away. Most people, I think, will really enjoy the story and may not have a problem with the ending like I did, so take my disappointment with a grain of salt!

4.5⭐️

Something happened when a group of girls were at summer camp, We know they are guilty of something, but not what. They never contact each other after that camp until twenty plus years later when they each get a card threatening them.

The group are Grace,Thera, Meg,Blakely (who was the group leader in the earlier time frame)

The book is told by each of the POV and flips between now and then.

This doesn’t start off as dark as some of her other thrillers that I love. The repeated inference of secrets adds to the suspense and waiting for the reveal. This one is more of a slow start that keeps building and building til it reaches boiling point, or volcanic eruption.

It definitely grew on me as it progressed even though non of the characters are likeable. By the end I loved it.

I have never read Lucinda Berry before, but have heard good things about her books. When I had the opportunity to read this ARC I was full of anticipation.
This story is about 4 friends who were involved in an awful tragedy 26 years ago. They have all gone their separate ways, and vowed to not discuss what happened. However, they begin receiving notes, and decide to get back together to figure it out.

Ok- my thoughts.

The characters were so one dimensional. They were unlikable in all ways, and as the story was told between the multiple POV's, there was no differentiation in the characters. And the dialogue felt like they were still living in the past!

The "plot" was very unbelievable- even suspending belief- it was still hard to comprehend. it was a but entertaining, but often dragged with repetition of conversations.

The "twist"- I had it figured out at about 50%. I seriously thought to myself, "Following the way this book is written, I bet the ending will be crazy and ___." (Fill in the blank- I don't want to spoil for anyone!)

There is also violence towards a dog- this was not necessary.

My other issue- we find out the entire premise of this book is based on a lie of sexual abuse/misconduct. This lie has awful consequences. I feel that this is an area where you have to tread carefully. However, I do not believe it was handled well in this story, especially with no growth from the characters. I just did not like that this is what the story was based on.

The ending was abrupt, and we still had no understanding about what actually motivated this group to do what they did.

I do not think this is an author for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. This is my honest, voluntary review.

WOW!!! Lucinda Berry you did it again!!! This was unbelievable!!! I enjoyed the flashbacks, but I obviously wasn’t prepared for that flipping twist!!! I have a new favorite Lucinda Berry book!!! This is a must add to your TBR!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy!!!

3.75 stars

I struggled with this one a bit, just because none of the characters are particular likable or come off as good people.

My first book by this author and the storyline was a little off the rails, causing the reader to have to suspend belief along the way, but still entertaining. We have 4 teens who engage in some behavior that has tragic and serious consequences for another family. Sworn to never talk about it again, they lose contact with each other until there are brought together once more 20 or so years later when they receive a "I know what you did that summer" type letter.

As adults these people are really no better than they were as children, falling into the same habits and roles as they did back then. The ending and twists felt a bit rushed and not completely fleshed out, but I think that's part of the "shock value" the author was going for.

Not my favorite thriller but I would give the author another read because I have heard so many people recommend her books.