Review: The Lying Game

Title: The Lying Game
Author: Ruth Ware
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Recommended If You Like: Ware's previous books, secrets from the past, explorations of female friendship

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

When Isa gets a text from Kate, simply saying I need you, it takes her right back to her painful past. Isa and Kate, along with Fatima and Thea, were a clique of four at a boarding school, playing a game that seemed to be all for fun. But the Lying Game had consequences, consequences that are still reverberating in the present, threatening to blow apart their lives.

What I Liked:

This was such a suspenseful book! I couldn't put it down once I picked it up.

Ware is the master of the slow build. You know something is coming, as you watch the characters try to pretend everything will be fine--but there is always something (or someone) lurking around the corner, another shoe just waiting to drop. She plays that skill up once again in this book. You can't help but keep turning pages.

The reveals in this book almost entirely caught me completely by surprise. A few times I had inklings of what could be coming, but I was never able to figure out the full picture.

Ware also does a great job of examining what friendships are like between teenage girls. She perfectly captures the intensity of those bonds that can make you do anything for each other, that can linger even into adult lives.

Anything I Didn't Like?

It's really hard to find anything not to like about Ware's books. I don't think either this book or the previous one are as strong as her first book, but that doesn't mean I don't still really enjoy them.

So...?

I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone who loves a great book full of suspense and lots of twists and turns.