The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

24th August 2018 Uncategorised

THE BLURB

Have you ever played two truths and a lie?

It was Emma’s first summer away from home. She made friends. She played games. And she learned how to lie.

Then three of her new friends went into the woods and never returned. . .

Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime.

Because Emma’s innocence might be the biggest lie of all. . .

THE LAST TIME I LIED – MY THOUGHTS

This is one of my most anticipated reads this year as I just loved Final Girls so much, that is has capitulated Sager into my ‘must read’ author list. I have to admit though….I kind of expected more from The Last Time I Lied.

Now, I admit that this may be completely unfair to Sager. I loved Final Girls so much that I expected to this one to be bigger and better, and unfortunately it just wasn’t. That’s not to say it’s not good, far from it. More that he is a victim of his own success when it comes to how amazing Final Girls was.

However, enough about the old and on to the new. I loved how the pace opened with The Last Time I Lied. We learn that Emma – an up and coming New York artist – is still haunted by the disappearance of her three friends at summer camp 15 years before. When the opportunity arises to go back, she decides it’s time to lie ghosts to rest and find out what really happened all those years before. So far so good! The book opens with amazing pace and Emma is such a great combination of strength, guilt and vulnerability that you are with her every step of the way.

The narrative flows between the present and the past with such ease and fluidity, it really is a credit to Sager’s style that you are simply swept along with the story. Full of twists and turns, you question everything about the camp, the family and wonder what really happened 15 years before. Everyone is a suspect at one time or another – including Emma herself – and The Last Time I Lied takes the twists up until the final pages which really keeps you guessing.

Many people won’t like the way The Last Time I Lied ends as it certainly opens up more questions than it answers, but I loved it and thought it suited the book and Emma’s story perfectly. However, don’t worry. No spoilers here.

Now, you may be wondering why on earth I expected more as it all sounds great, and I promise it really is. For me though it kind of loses pace in the middle. There is a lot of repetition of guilt and a lot of detail when it comes to Emma in the present trying to retrace the actions of her friends in the past. It’s all good stuff and certainly adds to the tale, but it feels like it’s at the cost of the storys pace. For me, it just loses momentum.  Other than that, I thought The Last Time I Lied is a brilliant read and anyone who likes a good thriller I’m sure will love this. Especially as it soon picks back up and before you know you are turning page after page as everything comes together.

The Last Time I Lied is available on Amazon (affiliate link) for just 99p! Which I think is just an amazing deal. A fantastic price for a great summer read.