The Lying Game

I really enjoyed this novel! I was about to give up on this author after the last couple of books I've read by her but am so glad I didn't. I actually liked the main character in this novel and was very pleased that she was a strong woman and not flaky or whiny.
I loved the settings of this book, the boarding school, the Mill House, the town of Salten. I could almost picture everything in my mind. I have to say, this author does know how to set a scene with detailed descriptions and moods.
Four friends from school who invented and played The Lying Game. The rules of this game still impact their lives and play a big part in the story. These four women remain friends albeit not nearly as close as they were at school. When Kate needs her friends, they drop everything and come running. A body is discovered and, as we soon find out, it is Kate's father. The story takes off from here and doesn't stop. The point of view of this story is all told from Isa's perspective and I liked her a lot. There are twists and turns, plenty of suspense and a moody setting. I love these things is my suspense/thriller novels.

I would definitely recommend this novel to others.

I have read The Woman in Cabin 10, and In a Dark, Dark Wood, and I have to say that this is by far the best of the three.

I felt dark and damp the whole time I was reading this - maybe it was the marsh setting. However, I wouldn't classify this as a psych thriller, as its not really hard to figure out what is happening. It takes a while to get to it, but its not surprising.

Diverse characters, though in like Ruth Ware's other books, there were none that I really cared about.

Ruth Ware is not my favorite author, but I keep wanting to read her books.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Simon & Schuster, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth Ware does it again!

Put four somewhat troubled teenage girls in a second-rate boarding school, and see what happens. Isa Wilde is sent to Salten by her father when her mother is dying. Fatima is sent while her parents are on sabbatical in India. Thea has been expelled from two or three other boarding schools. Kate’s father is the art teacher at Salten. These four girls form a lasting bond. Kate and Thea devise a “game” which is aimed at the more popular girls, and at the “establishment”. The Lying Game has five rules:

1. Tell a Lie
2. Stick to the Lie
3. Don’t Get Caught
4. Never Lie to Each Other
5. Know When to Stop Lying

They enjoy their little game, much to the chagrin of fellow students and faculty.

Then one of their lies becomes deadly, and the effects become lasting. Even after being expelled from the school, the girls keep the secret. No one tells anyone what really happened at Salten. They don’t even tell their future partners. Surprisingly, for such close friends, they don’t keep in touch. One lie haunts them all. But 17 years later, Kate sends each of them a text. “I need you” is all she says. Isa, now an attorney, immediately packs her bag, grabs her 6-month old little girl and tells her husband she has to go away for a few days. She doesn’t look back. Fatima leaves her husband, two children, and doctor’s office and gets in the car. Her medical practice will have to wait. Thea leaves her shift at the Casino as soon as she hears. They all head back to Salten, and to Kate. The final lie is about to burst open, and they have to face facts. All of their lives could be ruined. They could lose everything. They have been dreading this moment for 17 years. Did one of them break a rule?

Told from Isa’s point of view, we learn the girls backgrounds. We are also introduced to Kate’s father Ambrose, and her half-brother Luc, as well as the residents of the town that have no use for the girls. And of course, we hear about what happened, and why they were expelled.

Ruth Ware writes exceptional prose. She created a setting, a coastal town on the salt marshes, which seemed ripe for mystery. She created characters who are deep, who are “real”. Any reader who was once a 15-year old girl knows that the bonds you create at that age can stick like glue. And your stupidity can know no bounds. Ruth Ware knows this, and it comes across in this wonderful book.

Highly recommend it!

Isa Wilde’s life changed when she went to boarding school in Salten when she was fifteen. She met Kate, Thea, and Fatima, and they introduced her to the lying game. They would make up lies and the more convincing they were, the more points they would get. But the four girls drifted apart in the seventeen years since they left the school. That is, until Kate texts all three women saying she needs them. They all race to Kate’s home, with Isa bringing her baby, Freya. A body has been discovered close to Kate’s home, and all their lies are coming back to haunt them.

I liked this thrilling novel. It was very suspenseful. There were so many plot twists throughout the first half, that I didn’t know what was going to happen next.

I really felt for the characters, which is important to me when reading a book. I kept wanting to tell Isa what to do, which was frustrating, but I also felt sympathetic towards her problems.

I had kind of figured out what happened by the end of the book. There was a slight twist at the very end, but I had figured out the gist of it.

I think this thriller will be a big hit this summer.