Tell Them You Lied presents a dark exploration of toxic friendships, obsession, and regret, set against the backdrop of art school life and the events surrounding 9/11. While the dual timelines and messy characters offer intrigue, the narrative can feel bloated and directionless at times. The focus on art-world references and the relentless toxicity between characters may alienate some readers, making it hard to connect emotionally. Though part two introduces a satisfying twist, the characters' lack of growth and the convoluted relationships can be frustrating. A compelling but uneven read that’s more about emotional turmoil than plot resolution.

I found Tell Them You Lied to be a very strange book which didn't quite hit its stride until the final third. The plot is generally compelling though and it centers around Anna, a shy, socially isolated girl with a large amount of family trauma, who befriends a charismatic and somewhat dangerous girl named Willow, who is very wealthy, and very unpredictable.

This is a 9/11 story that isn't really a 9/11 story, 9/11 just serves as an event that blows the trajectory of a nasty plan that Anna has for Willow off track and then Anna is left to pick up the pieces with their group of friends. The book shifts between third person and first person narratives to detail the past art school experiences of Anna and her friends and the present day conflict.

I felt that this book was trying too hard to be some kind of Dark Academia story along the lines of The Secret History and When We Were Villains. The narrative of their experiences at art school seemed more like whiny, entitled, manipulative teens rather than anything truly sinister aside from one major event which was explained poorly and did not make a whole lot of sense. The girls have an obsession with their primary art instructor, Professor Kape, however it's unclear what makes him such a magnetic character to them aside from the fact that they state he's very influential in the art world. The character of Anna was very two dimensional as well. She comes from a poor home life and has a dark secret about her disabled brother, however it is depicted in a manner that came across as clichéd.

The present day narrative (set in 2001) also felt hollow because there is zero growth in these characters as they go through all four years, graduate from college, and begin their adult lives in New York City. They stick with the exact same friend group and are caught up in the same petty dramas and obsession with Willow that carried them through college (in addition to Anna, there is a boy named Milo also obsessed with her). This is where 9/11 comes into play. Anna and Milo decide to play a horrific prank on Willow to "get her back" for her behavior and then 9/11 happens, the city is thrown into chaos, and they don't know what to do next because Willow is now missing.

Much of the present day narrative drags on because it's endless panicking amongst the group, calling each other, calling the police, etc. It's also very confusing because the friends are apparently all lying to each other about various things and it's hard to understand entirely why or how this was even possible. From all the lies and changing narratives I was expecting this to end up as Anna being the delusional one or some similar kind of twist, but that's not what happened.

The last third of the book (Part 2) was the most interesting as that takes place largely post 9/11 and deals with what happens to all of them next. It did have a dramatic plot twist that I was not anticipating however I still had trouble understanding Anna's logic in parts of it, in terms of how she was still planning some kind of revenge on Willow. The ending was neatly wrapped up and finally demonstrated character growth.

This was an interesting book to examine toxic friendships, co-dependency, and the cutthroat nature of the art industry, however for anyone expecting this to be like similar dark academia books, this does not quite hit the mark.

Many thanks to Hyperion Avenue and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an early copy of this book to review!

This is a gritty tale centered around art and complicated friendships—messy and toxic ones at that. From the first page, the author pulls you in, and with the split timeline, you can feel the tension rising in the past as it converges with the present. I loved watching the two main characters spiral into the deadly sins “assigned” to them early on, and witnessing their already dysfunctional personalities unravel further.

I’m also a fan of books where every character is both unbearable and unreliable—and this one absolutely delivered!

The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is because of part two. While I appreciated the meaning and depth of the ending, the middle of the final section dragged a bit for me.

Holy Moly, I absolutely enjoyed this book!
If there was ever a picture of what defined toxic relationships, then these characters would be it!
The main story takes place during 9/11 in NYC and you the reader go back and forth a couple years, from the main characters being in college to present day 9/11 in NYC. The dynamics between all of them, can only make you the reader sit back and watch carefully how everything plays out.
You one main character though is Anna, and I felt for her because, she is lonely and has some self esteem issues which play a big role in the story. Anna though meets Willow, and they end up becoming best friends. Willow is the opposite from Anna and ends up helping Anna break out of her shy and self-conscious shell.
The plot was great, and I don’t want to spoil the twist but, oh my gosh it was great!!! Also, while some of the characters are horrible, it makes the book that much more interesting.

Thank you for NetGalley for the copy to read and review!

Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler has absolutely blown me away! I am floored! This is, dare I say, a masterpiece— a work of art! Where do I begin? Let’s get into it!
Firstly, if you adore, appreciate, or study art, this is an interesting book for you. I never considered the dark underbelly of the art world until reading Tell Them You Lied. It’s realistic fiction, meets thriller, meets who done it? I happily lapped up every single page and couldn’t get enough!
If you’re a fan of true characterization, this book is for you! Laura Leffler truly explores the complexity of individuals, their decisions, their desires, their jealousy, and their possible inner evils. She hones in on that fact that realistically, no one is perfect, but everyone will do what it takes to succeed.
Without giving too much away, I recommended this incredible book! It is beautifully and honestly written, and I couldn’t guess the ending! If I could give Tell Them You Lied more than five stars, I certainly would!

I enjoyed the story and the twist at the end! I had difficulty empathizing with the MC, her motives from the get-go were slightly off.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I had fun reading it until it got near the end. It seemed like everyone was jealous of one another and hated their so called “friends.” This ultimately made every character unlikeable by the end of the book. This read more like a drama than a thriller.

I did really like the two different timeframes used. I felt like it worked well going between the “before” and “after.” I also thought it was a unique plot having it take place during 9/11.

I’m not mad I read it, it just wasn’t my favorite. 3.5 ⭐️s rounded down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an ARC of this novel.

Each chapter of Laura Leffler's debut novel is told alternating between the past and the present. How things started and how they ended up. In the present, Willow is missing. The chaos of September 11th being used as the background, Anna's decision to have Willow "mugged", and the ultimate mystery - "Where is Willow?" - converge to create a compelling narrative that propelled my curiosity through this cast of dislikable characters.

Anna and Willow meet freshman year of college. They are both determined to be artists and make their mark on this world. Anna is desperate for attention and gullible, this makes her easily manipulated by her supposed best friend. Throughout flashbacks, we see Anna's almost Godlike worship of Willow, the formation of their friend group, and the different ways Willow used the people around her - puppets on strings. The unraveling of how Anna came to envy Willow so much that she concocted a fake mugging to "soften her up". It's bizarre, it's twisted, but so are both Anna and Willow's psyches.

In present day, Anna doesn't know who or what to believe. The same day she planned to hatch her scheme, NYC was attacked. The Twin Towers fell. But no one has seen or heard from Willow. Was she close enough to be killed when the buildings collapsed? When things start coming up missing from their shared apartment, Anna is convinced Willow is just up to another one of her larks. But she hasn't made contact with anyone in their friend group. She hasn't made contact with her dad.

Police believe that Willow may have been having breakfast on top of the World Trade Center with a coworker and artist friend on the day she disappeared. Is Willow dead? Anna uses this as an opportunity. She curates an exhibit of Willow's photographs with an acquaintance from college. Willow's family co-opts the piece and calls it Vanishing Act. Is this a performance piece? Is Anna crazy and the whole art world in on it? Or is there something even more sinister afoot?

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC of Tell Them You Lied for my honest review. Looking forward to seeing more of Leffler's work.

Having the privilege to read this before its publication was an honor! The book is thrilling and filled with amazing twists at every turn. Despite the challenge of following the shifting timelines, it was a rewarding experience to keep pace with the narrative. This book delivers a journey of friendships, hardships, and much more right to our doorsteps!

I really liked the way this one started. It's entirely possible that 9/11 is still too difficult a topic for me to read about, given personal experiences. The idea of someone using the tragedy as an excuse to seek revenge did not sit well with me. I thought I would find it to be an interesting coincidence, but instead it felt manipulative.

I also think I'm over reading about toxic friendships and personalities. I found myself worn down by all of the passive aggression and manipulation and really struggled to keep reading. The characters were pretty much odious to a man, and I just had a rock in the pit of my stomach the entire time I was reading... I suspect that all of my negative feelings were, more or less, what the author was going for here in capturing difficult personalities . So in that sense it is successful, but it was not at all a good fit for me.

What worked for me:
This was my first ARC via Netgalley, so I wasn’t sure what to expect! I was drawn by the description because there’s nothing like bad decisions that lead to consequences. I enjoyed that it was told in two timelines, culminating on the date everything transpired. It was also the first book I’ve read where 9/11 played a large role, and it was done respectfully. Also, I did not figure out the ending, which rarely happens.

What didn’t:
Unfortunately, that was all I really enjoyed. The main character is an artist, which is the foundation of who she is, but you REALLY need to like art to get into the story. So much of the narrative revolves around art—techniques, methods, artists, inside art references & jargon. I found myself getting bored. I wanted less art and more suspense! I also hated the main characters. The girl who goes missing is a horrible human being, and despite her screwing over the MC multiple times, she can’t help this obsession for her approval. It was very toxic.

Straight to the point:
If you’re looking for a book with art references, toxic relationships, and a touch of American tragedy, then this is for you.

OOOOO Giiiirrrrlll this was so good. I love a duel timeline. Thank you netgalley. I can't wait to put this on my shelf.

3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4.

This book was... odd. It follows a dual timeline. In the present, Anna's friend Willow vanishes on 9/11/2001. The flashback scenes are Anna's life when she meets Willow at college and how their friendship develops over their college years. They're art students and there are definitely a lot of art references and terms I didn't get!

I thought the author was going to go with a clever twist: Willow faked her own death to get recognition for her photography. Unfortunately, the author ends up going with a cliche: Mean Gross Art Professor from their college murders her because she blackmailed him about an affair they had.

I was honestly super disappointed in this book. I almost DNF'd at around 150 pages, but since this was an early copy, I decided to stick it out. My biggest complaint is that it's about 100 pages longer than it needed to be. There were so many anecdotes that didn't drive the plotline that would take up chapters on chapters. The major "plot twist" was insanely predictable and I found myself thinking "that's really it?" once I finished the book. I also hated all of the characters and wasn't routing for any of them at all. With all that being said, I HAD to know about Willow and what happened, even if I guessed it. Every time I wanted to set the book aside, I couldn't stop thinking about where Willow could be. The writing was also really great and easy to binge!

I enjoyed this book! I received it from NetGalley as an ARC and I’m so glad I did. It takes place in 2001 during 9/11 and was very nostalgic for me because I was a senior in high school that year.

Anna has a frienemy relationship with her college friend, Willow. While in college, Anna couldn’t get enough of Willow. She was fun, mysterious and full of life. But now that they both live in New York City, Anna is so jealous of Willow’s success and relationships she can barely function. She and a friend decide to teach Willow a lesson by paying a mutual acquaintance to mug her. But it isn’t just any day, it’s the day the planes hit the Twin Towers. As the hours and then days pass, Willow doesn’t return home. Anna looks for her everywhere but can’t find her. She worries her prank went too far. As she continues to scour New York for Willow, Anna is convinced Willow is playing mind games with her.

The book flashes back to the girls time in art school and the “present day” (which is September 2001). This was a fascinating read I thoroughly enjoyed. Anna and Willow’s relationship is contentious and also very common for women in their late teens and early twenties. While I never would have had a friend mugged, I could relate with how hard female friendships can be. Especially in the early 2000’s when women were taught to see each other as enemies.

You can get your copy May 27, 2025.

This book was wild. The extent that Willow was willing to go for her art and also have it touch on a serious issue is one thing that made this book so entertaining. You also get to experience the shift in timelines between present-day September 2001 with the chaos of 9/11 and their previous years in college. Laura Leffler mentioned a lot of difficult topics in this, and she handled it well. It primarily focuses on their toxic friendship that seems to borderline obsession with Anna. I think the main reason this isn't five stars for me is because it got very repetitive with Anna freaking out, but I mean, with her resilience, she was able to uncover the truth at the end so 🤷‍♀️. I will definitely read this again when it comes up in 2025. Thank you for the ARC through Netgelly!

"Tell Them You Lied" is a haunting and unsettling read, crafted with the clear intention of disturbing the audience. The author masterfully immerses the reader into the gritty atmosphere, evoking emotions that range from disgust to a lingering sense of regret. At its core, the story revolves around a toxic friendship that spirals into even more destructive relationships and situations. The characters aren’t meant to be liked, but instead, you're drawn into the whirlwind of obsession, isolation, jealousy, and unbridled ambition.
Anna, the protagonist, anchors the narrative. The story alternates between present-day New York City, in the wake of the September 11th attacks, and flashbacks to Anna’s time in college, when she aspired to be a successful artist. During her college years, she met Willow, a photographer, and their relationship developed into a complex mix of love, influence, and betrayal. In the present, Anna and Willow are roommates, but a sinister plot unfolds as Anna arranges for Willow to be mugged, a punishment of sorts. As the story progresses, the reason for this 'lesson' is gradually revealed through flashbacks, exposing Willow’s past wrongdoings. Meanwhile, Anna grapples with the possibility that Willow has turned the tables, either toying with her mind or, perhaps, falling victim to the 9/11 tragedy herself.
The story is both captivating and unsettling, filled with flawed characters in dire circumstances, creating a compelling but uncomfortable experience. While certain parts may linger longer than necessary, the sheer intensity of the narrative makes it impossible to set the book aside.

Ambition, toxic friendships, murder - what was not to love. Devoured this book while on vacation. An absolute page-turning thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Tell Them You Lied was dark and upsetting but written incredibly well in that I believe the author means to upset the readers, to write so vividly she places you in the setting and evokes emotions of disgust and shades of regret. Focused on a toxic friendship that begets equally toxic relationships and circumstances, you’re not meant to like any character, but rather follow the wave on obsession, loneliness, jealousy, and ambition.

Anna is our main character here and throughout our reading of present day, which just happens to be September 11th and its aftermath in NYC, we are taken back alternatively to Anna’s start in college as a yearning to be successful artist. Anna meets Willow, a photographer, in school and grows up with her, influenced, in love, and betrayed in equal measure. In the present day Anna and Willow are roommates, but Anna is involved in a plan to have Willow mugged and taught a lesson. Why the lesson? We find out as the story continues, visiting the past for Willow’s transgressions while in the present Anna tries to figure out if Willow has turned the tables on her and is teasing her sanity or if she could, somehow, have gotten caught in the terrorist attack that killed so many.

This is fascinating, with terrible people and terrible circumstances but the type you can appreciate in a work of fiction. There’s a lot going on, and parts do go on for a bit longer than I found a good balance, but I could not bear to put this down.

3.5 stars, rounded up for this one.

Willow was amazing and Anna had never met anyone like her. They met at art school and Willow was the epitome of cool.

But five years later Anna has grown tired of the cutthroat NYC art scene and equally tired of Willow’s selfishness and constant cruelties, so she decides to stage a mugging to knock Willow down a peg and to restore Anna’s power. I’m a little bit hazy on how this is supposed to work, exactly, but, okay.

Only Anna schedules this prank for the morning of September 11, 2001. And Willow never comes home. What has happened to Willow?

The story is told in alternating times between Willow and Anna’s time at art school and 2001 NYC.

I quite enjoyed this story of toxic friendship and an examination of a woman as muse. It probably could have been a bit shorter, but, still, entertaining.