Loved the time frame and general premise of this one, but ALL of the characters were just so unlikeable. They weren't even unlikeable in that charming rogue sort of way - no, they were all just bad people, and I really didn't want anyone to come out on top. Kind of unfortunate, because the premise was really intriguing, and I felt like the author could have done a lot more with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I wanted to love this book but as someone who has a disability, I do not appreciate the use of the R word -- even in fiction. I am bummed.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t resonate with me. Oddly enough, this isn’t the first mystery/thriller book set in the art world during 9/11 that publishes this year (The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli). In terms of setup, use of setting/atmosphere, and payoff, the other book is much stronger. This book feels like many elements are there just for the sake of it. For instance, it could have been told without the use of 9/11 or one of our main characters having a sibling with a mental disability (I love disability rep, but this was not that). I also didn’t like that the R-word was included, even though its use was appropriate for the time.

Furthermore, on the topic of the artist's muse, I believe Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang (also published this year) handles this subject much better.

Reading the authors note, I think she thought this book was much deeper than it is.

Overall, this was a huge miss for me, especially as an art historian who almost always loves books set in the world I live and breathe.

This book just sounded interesting from the description. I believe it is a debut novel.

Description:
Anna had never met anyone like Willow. Entering art school with lofty ideas about Art and her role in it, Anna was wholly unprepared for someone as mysterious, moody—and cool—as Willow. Here was Anna’s muse and collaborator all in one, ready to bring her in on Art’s great secrets.

Now, five years later, Anna is weary. Where art school was boundless creativity and collaboration, the New York art scene is all about survival. Worse: Willow’s true nature as a muse only to herself has become nakedly apparent, as has her cruelty.

So the mugging Anna has staged for Willow this morning? It’s supposed to send Willow running back to her true friend. The knife is supposed to be a mirror in which this ‘artist’ can finally see the monster she’s become. It’s supposed to give Anna her power back.

But this morning isn’t just any Tuesday. It’s September 11, 2001. And as the city reels from the seismic events of that day, Willow never returns home. Anna keeps quiet about the prank and her growing panic that she’s to blame for Willow’s disappearance. But as the hours and days tick by, Anna begins to question whether she’s the mastermind she thought she was, or the pawn.

Alternating between the friends' art school tenure and their lives in 2001 New York, Tell Them You Lied reveals how difficult the search for answers is when you'd rather have anything but the truth.

My Thoughts:
Anna and Willow have never come across as equals to me. Anna was always the dependent, needy one and Willow the bold, outrageous type. This ends up breeding resentment, thus the plan to stage the mugging. I was surprised when 9/11 came up as the mugging was suppose to happen on that day. Both girls had flaws in their characters, although very different. I wasn't sure I liked either of them. Well=written and fast-paced which kept me turning pages. I liked the way the story ended, it felt right.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue through Netgalley for an advance copy.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

There are plenty of things I liked about this: the writing style, the pace, and most of the characters. I do not like how the author used 9/11 as a plot device for this story to even work, as it felt exploitative of a very sad and scary time just for a cheap plot twist. I am also not a huge fan of using SA as a plot device either, and this story does that. The writing itself was easy to read and I'd be interested in what more Leffler has to offer, but I hope that I don't see a pattern in their plots, or they just might not be the author for me.

I had a hard time getting into the e-book so I requested an audiobook which I was approved for and ended up enjoying! Will leave my full review for my audiobook :)

I am not the right audience for this. I really didn't enjoy the characters, the time it was set in, and the art world (in this case) setting. Thank you, NetGalley.

This was such a great read and I was completely hooked and raced through this in only 2 sittings ....I just couldn't stop!

Appropriate for high school and up, the novel features a dark academia vibe, with lush imagery and a just-right pace. The transitions between present and past reinforce the suspense and the overall themes of trust/betrayal, role of women in art, and desire/envy are appealing, especially those who have familiarity with the role of women as muses in art and the allusions to the seven deadly sins.

Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler is a dark, twisty thriller about toxic friendship and obsession. Set around 9/11, it explores secrets, manipulation, and the blurred line between truth and lies. Gripping and unsettling.

Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler is an unsettling, atmospheric debut that blends the haunting backdrop of 9/11 with the twisted intimacy of a toxic friendship and the manipulative underbelly of the art world. Told in dual timelines, the novel follows Anna and Willow—two women bound by ambition, obsession, and secrets—as their relationship spirals from muse and admirer to something far darker.

The art school setting is perfectly realized, dripping with Y2K nostalgia and the quiet elitism of inherited privilege. Willow, both charismatic and cruel, exists to be seen, to be wanted, and to be remembered—no matter the cost. Anna, desperate to belong, clings to her, even when the dynamic becomes unbearable. Their relationship, equal parts Girl, Interrupted and My Dark Vanessa, is written with claustrophobic tension.

Leffler’s decision to set a major turning point on the morning of 9/11 adds a layer of surreal realism. The tragedy hangs in the background, warping memory and perception. But what truly drives the novel is its critique of how women—especially young women—are used, idolized, and discarded, particularly in artistic spaces dominated by male authority.

While some readers may find the characters insufferable or the ending rushed, the novel’s allure is in its discomfort. It’s not about liking the characters—it’s about watching them unravel. This isn’t a straightforward thriller. It’s a slow-burn psychological portrait of ambition, power, and the legacy of being seen.

Unsettling, messy, and hard to look away from—Tell Them You Lied dares to ask what art is worth when it’s made from someone else’s ruin.

OKAY.

Things I thought this book did well:
-I loved the art school setting at a smaller college. Especially having a nepo baby in the program with them completely unaware that she is only there because of her name. The arts are so full of that.
-The opening few chapters with realizing Willow was missing on the morning of 9/11 was really something. I haven't read many books about 9/11 that aren't explicitly about 9/11. I liked the way that this book gave the average person in Brooklyn's observations about that day and the months that followed.
-I HATED Willow halfway through the book. I didn't like any of the characters but I lowkey didn't care if she was alive or not. And that's the goal of the book I think?
-Making it seem like Willow had <spoiler> actually died when the towers collapsed when she had been murdered by their professor for whatever reason </spoiler> was a fun bait and switch. Both <spoiler> deaths are tragic but one is tragic in a national way whereas the other is tragic in a gross way. Going from the glamorous funeral in Chicago where there was no body to bury to finding her body decomposing in a nasty patch of grass was wild. I do like the detail of the photographed corpse as well. Her body never stopped being art in a way. She turned from an ingénue subject of her own self portraits to a corpse decomposing being used as a way to make money. </spoiler>
-All the discussions of female artists navigating the world which caters largely to men and ignores the women who they use and destroy was great. I will never not love a book about women artists.

However, I sincerely hated every single character. Anna, bless her, was a horrible black hole of need and validation. Her tragic backstory was heartbreaking as we've all known how quickly something like that can happen, but it doesn't excuse her following Willow around like a puppy just waiting for the next scrap.
Willow was a nightmare monster person. The mental illness discussion was brought up and then not really discussed at all. She was a manipulative bitch and I wasn't sad she was dead. I'm just sad she still got what she wanted in death.

I don't know. I found myself reading this quickly because the mystery was compelling. It was juicy and fast-paced. It was just full of the most insufferable people making insufferable decisions. I enjoyed it quite a bit. A really fun and suspenseful read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the eARC!

<i>That had always been Willow’s goal—to be a muse, a flattened, perfected image</i>

Art is meant to make you feel something. To make you think. To make you uncomfortable and make you ask questions. That’s exactly what Tell Them You Lied did.

Willow and Anna’s story is told in perfect balance over two timelines, slowly coming together to a perfect merging point. Over and over again, Leffler leads the reader down one path only to take a sharp turn at the end, and doing it in such a way that you feel that this was the only path that could have been taken.

<i>I only meant something to him when you could see.</i>

The energy of Anna and Willow’s relationship was so reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted - uncomfortable and beautiful and tender and tense all in one mishmashed ball of connection and understanding. The writing is beautiful, and Leffler keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the very end.

<i>You got everything you wanted, Willow. But it’s okay. I promise not to tell.</i>

Ooooo what a debut!

I’ll always have such a connection to books that take place on or around 9/11 since I was growing up in New York when it happened. It was such a unique time in history and Laura Leffler captured the feel of it to a T.

This felt like such a unique twist on the thriller genre. Flashing back to the way Anna and Willows friendship started to the state of it currently was fascinating to watch the way it unraveled.

I truly loved this book - the twists, the Y2K vibes, the writing, the New York setting. Truly so good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I DNF’d this one at around 20%. That said, I want to acknowledge that my experience might be more about timing and personal preference than the actual quality of the book. I’m definitely a mood reader, and sometimes that impacts how a story lands for me.
The premise initially caught my attention, but once I got into it, the pacing felt much slower than I anticipated. I found myself skimming through some sections, which is usually a sign that I'm not fully connecting. While the writing is solid and I can see what the story is aiming for, I just didn’t feel pulled in enough to continue.
This might work well for readers who enjoy a more gradual build and quiet tension, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me at this moment.

Tell Them You Lied sets the stage for a twisty thriller, but somewhere along the way, it tripped over its own red herrings.

I spent most of the book not knowing who to believe — which can be great — but also not really liking anyone, which made it hard to stay invested. The characters felt more like familiar archetypes than fresh faces, and some of the plot points felt a bit recycled from thrillers past. Cue the mysterious past, the shady husband, the conveniently lost memory… you know the drill.

It’s not bad — the pacing kept me going, and I did want to know how it ended — but it didn’t offer much I hadn’t seen before. If you’re new to the genre, you might enjoy the ride more. If you’re a seasoned thriller reader, this one might feel a little déjà vu.

Thanks to NetGalley & Hyperion Avenue for the chance to read this book

This book was decently interesting, I think the 9/11 plot took everyone by surprise and took this book in a very different route than it was suppose to be going, I understood the point of putting that in the book but I personally think it was a very distracting topic to just throw in a book and act like it was a side subject in a story, I think the author might have took a brave chance on throwing that in but I think it would have been a better story with something else, not as distracting and bringing up a real life tragedy an throwing it into the mix. The dynamic between characters was what kept me reading trying to find out why this girl was so horrible they decided to play such a horrible prank on her, but at the end of the day I really don't think i liked any of them or cared enough to see what happened to the them in the end, I felt like it dragged on a bit and I was just reading as fast as i could to get it over with. I think the author should have focused on putting more in to the ending subject of the story, it all felt so rushed by the time we found out what actually happened, I get it was supposed to be a completely plot twist/surprise but by the time it showed up it just felt like a quick rushed ending and it could have been bettter.

Thank you to Hyperion avenue via Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Anna meets Willow in Art school, she has never met anyone like her and she becomes best friends with her even uses her as her muse. 5 years later living in New York things drastically change she realizes that Willow is not such a nice person and the New York Art scene is all about survival of the fittest. Anna tries to make Willow see what a monster she has become, but instead she isn’t sure if she sent her friend running into the events of September 11th 2001 instead.

I loved this book, I found the description of the events of 9/11 from the perspective of those blocks away very fascinating. Willow was not a likable character, but I can see why someone like Anna would be attracted to her as a friend. Anna however is also a unlikable character as well. Overall the backstories really help to explain why the girls are the way they are and the book itself is really good. The twists were well placed and I definitely did not think anything close to what happened. Loved the authors writing style as well. Well worth the read.

I can’t even lie when I say the gorgeous cover drew me in on this one. Super dope. I’ve kind of hopped off the thriller train lately due to the overwhelming hype on “unBELIEVEable twists!!!” so I was a bit apprehensive going into this one. It’s definitely a slow burn, maybe even more of a dark character study, than a thriller. There are some twists thrown in there but they’re well executed.

Tell Them You Lied follows the friendship of Anna and Willow. Anna’s a wallflower ready to come out swinging in the art world, whereas Willow has always been a force of nature. Their friendship runs deep but the blade cuts both ways. We follow their story for four years, starting their freshman year of art school until 09.11.2001 when a mean prank is interrupted by the horrific events of September 11th. The story alternates timelines with Anna narrating current events while the past is in third person.

I’ve definitely known a Willow or two. Someone’s who’s been hurt badly and feels the need to dish out little bits of pain here and there, even to those their closest with. TTYL (even the initials are 2k 😬) nails this portrayal. The millennial nostalgia is there and it’s a solid read. I was hooked right up until the last page. I liked the ending but there were bits of it that I could’ve done without as they seemed a bit forced. All in all a solid read. If you appreciate dark academia reads with heavy character building, I’d recommend TTYL.

Tell them you lied is a novel of frenemies, art, and obsession. When Anna meets Willow, she is instantly taken in. She had never met anyone like her and is enthralled with her wild nature and charisma. However, willow begins to show sides to Anna that Anna isn’t a fan of-controlling, risk taking and attention seeking behaviors, etc. Anna decides to finally give her a taste of her own medicine and plays a prank on her-on 9/11. With the towers burning around her, Anna has no idea if willow is dead or alive and has no where to turn or who to trust-she has to piece together the past four years of their friendship to understand who her friend is and where she may be. If everything she knew was really true..

The comps to bunny and luckiest girl alive do track..and I can say the rating are the same. Those were all middle of the road reads, so maybe these type of twisted female friendship reads don’t do it for me? I always like the concept more than the execution and all are middle of the road reads for me!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.