I am a sucker for toxic women (in writing...) & this book did not disappoint. I could guess where this was going due to the Gone Girl-esque description but I was still surprised by the twists.
I found the setting of 9/11 New York interesting & the pretentious art friends while unlikable, still understandable. Definitely worth a read if it sounds like something you'd enjoy!
Thank you Hyperion Avenue for the arc.

Thank you so much for this ARC NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue. Loved the concept of this thriller! Kept me interested at the whole time!

I really enjoyed Tell them you lied by Laura Leffler. I actually finished it in 1 rainy day.
The story mainly takes place during 9/11 in NYC. It goes back and forth a few years ago while the group was in college to present day during 9/11. The main character is Anna and I really feel for her. Her feelings of loneliness and lack of self esteem are very apparent. Then she meets her new best friend, Willow. Willow definitely helps Anna break out of her shell.
I don’t want to say more cause it will spoil it for other readers.
Good book, great twist. A great story about a girl finding herself.

Thank you for NetGalley for the copy to read and review

Grungy and gritty, this thriller does not disappoint on keeping your attention. Told in two points of view with reversed timelines (first person for some of the novel from the perspective of Anna in the present then when explaining past events), this novel dives into the collegiate art world and the things that desperate, hungry artists will do to make it in New York. The novel opens with this: Anna’s roommate, former classmate, and close friend is no where to be found after a failed revenge prank meant to teach her a lesson. Set during the horrific events of 9/11, Anna to faced with her the idea that her friend is another causality, or worse, her “harmless prank” has gone all too wrong and she is to blame for her friend’s disappearance. Thank got so much to Hyperion Avenue and Net Galley for the advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Fans of Ashley Winstead will eat this up! 4/5⭐️

This was such a great read. It’s not your typical thriller book but that’s what made it great. EVERYTIME you think you have it figured out, there’s a twist. There’s a little historical fiction in the mix as well. I wish I could read it for the first time again!

This book is phenomenal! The author does a great job of creating the characters and I was so invested in them. I was sad to finish this book!

This was a great read! I love the art-world and the mystery and thriller aspects with it! I was hoping for a little bit more from the ending, it was a bit lack-luster. I thought it was good overall because it kept me wanting to finish the read and see what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

3.5/5

I was so excited for this book, it sounded like so much fun! An art-world (specifically art school) mystery, filled with drama? That sounds so fun and so up my alley, but I was left wanting more.

I think maybe this genre is just very hit or miss for me. I need to be captivated by the story and plotlines immediately in a more mystery-based book. And I am such a character-centered reader that I need characters to also immediately drag me into the story. I need to want to be there, seeing what these characters are going through or have gone through. That wasn't here. And I have noticed that is a thing in this genre. The secrets are more important than the characters being three-dimensional. Although the characters in this book weren't really two-dimensional, I couldn't get myself to care about them or to feel for them. I wasn't rooting for anyone in this book and I think that's an issue.

I did enjoy the atmosphere of art school and how the characters met in art school, that felt really realistic to me (I have also gone to art school, so I am qualified to judge this portrayal). You do make friends by seeing someone who looks cool or that makes cool art and it intrigues you. You make friends in art school in the most random of ways sometimes.

Since this is a more mysterious and eerie book, I do feel like I have to be vague in this review (I am a spoiler hater, forever and always). So overall, I think this book just needed a bit more umph. This could've been so dramatic and entertaining, but the drama felt so flat and not as original or interesting as it could've been. Such an amazing premise though!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is up on Goodreads and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I was engaged with what was happening in this universe, it uses everything that I wanted when someone goes missing. It had that tension that I was wanting and was invested in what was happening overall. The characters worked well together and glad I was able to read this. Laura Leffler weaves a great tale and glad the characters worked overall in this story.