Liars, Inc.

by Paula Stokes

Seventeen-year-old Max, his girlfriend Parvati, and best friend Pres form Liars, Inc., expecting that forging notes and lying for their peers will lead to easy cash, but when Pres asks Max to cover for him, it may be a fatal mistake.

• ISBN10: 0062323288
• ISBN13: 9780062323286
• Publish Date: 24 March 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 stars

Oh what a tangled web we weave! Max and his friends develop a business of selling lies to their classmates, and when Max's best friend, Preston, asks for a cover story, Max has no problem helping him out. One lie leads to another, until Max is the prime suspect in Preston's murder.

I loved all the twists and turns! Every time I thought I had it figured out, there was another plot twist. This book gave me exactly what I love about thrillers: the fun of trying to figure out what happens next. I also liked some of the idea that it's never too late to forgive or to give someone a chance.

Definitely not my last Paula Stokes book.

[meowstina]

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I figured this would be a good suspense novel, and it is. There are many twists, some of which aren’t the greatest, but I like the book overall. It gets a lot darker and delves deep more than I expected, but I think everything is approached well.

For the most part, the story doesn’t really focus on Liars Inc. It’s definitely an aspect and the liars theme does tie into the rest of the events, but the main focus is on the relationship between Max, Preston, and Parvati. And Max trying to solve Preston’s disappearance before he himself is thrown in jail. Max uncovers a lot, and it puts the relationship between the three in precarious positions. The more Max discovers, the more he questions everything.

There is suspense, deceit, and betrayal in this well-paced and well-written novel. For some reason I can’t quite place (characters?) I didn’t fully connect with it, but I definitely think it’s a good book and worth a read.

[boghunden]

3,25 stars.

The beginning of this book was okay, but I felt like it was rushing a bit. I would've liked to know more about the friendship between Parvatti, Preston and Max. I also missed knowing more about Liars Inc., like some of their cases and what they told people to gian customers.

The middle was amazingly fast paced. It was breathtaking and I was fangirling so hard at some points that I needed breakes just to catch my breath. I've been waiting for this book in such a long time and the middle was so worth it! I came up with three different suspects, so I think Paula Stokes did an amazing job at plotting this one.

The end was very disappointing to me, mostly because I wasn't surprised. I'm not saying that I know who did it, but I wasn't surprised like I thought I'd be. That was a little disappointing to me.

As for the writing, I really think the author did a good job writing this from a male's POV. It was refreshing to read and it felt very true. I'm glad I got to know Max like this - his thoughts, not just his actions.

All in all I'd say that Paula knows how to plot a mystery novel, but the comparison to [b:Gone Girl|21480930|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406511734s/21480930.jpg|13306276] took something away from my experience with this book. Is it fair to blame that on the book/author? No, it probably isn't. I just don't know how I would've liked this book if the comparison wasn't there.

You should definitely read this book if you're into mysteries and thrillers on TV, because the middle makes this book so great!

[whisperingchapters]

First off, was I intrigued when I read the title and read the synopsis? Hell, yes! Was it enough to make me request it? Mmm, no, not really. And I've been mentally shooting myself ever since. I saw that Marianne from Boricuan Bookworms had an eARC and I asked where she got it from. She said Edelweiss and I immediately searched for it and requested it without a second thought. Now, the wait. I was dying while waiting to get approved. I had seen great reviews, those being from Novel Ink and One Less Lonely Blog.

I was HOOKED on 8%, just starting the book. I had no idea what the hell was going on. When I read it was for fans of Gone Girl, I thought it would be a slow book, like Gone Girl is. And noooo! It is so much fun! So many things happening! When you think you know something, it deviates from your thought and you are left confused. I loved this mind-twisting story. I wasn't expecting it, especially for a YA book but Paula really brought it!

So many clues are thrown in the book that had me going crazy...seriously. This is a story that actually makes you think about who you trust or how well do you really know the people that surround you. It was a great adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I used to not come up with theories of what would happen in a book until I read Nocte and Verum by Courtney Cole. Those books made me want to think about every single detail, doubt every character until I was 110% they were innocent. So, I put those thoughts to use with Liars, INC. At first, I was guessing and guessing and my mind was going insane. It got to a point where I sat down and just stared at the cover and replayed scenes of the book in my head. A couple of ideas started forming...very horrible ones but there were two that stayed. One of them was right! I finally guessed something of a book but it took me a while to actually think it through and guess it.

If you are not a fan of mystery and thriller, you should still read this book. It is entertaining and you can actually connect with the characters and it is kind of hard to do so with these types of books. I loved Max so much! I messaged Melanie from One Less Lonely Blog and asked her if it was bad that I wanted a sequel. A sequel where Preston escapes or Claudia gets revenge for having her "son" and husband taken away from her.

You guys will love this a lot. I loved it and I cannot say it enough. I wanted more for the ending. I really did, but overall, great story with amazing characters.

[shannonmiz]

4.5*

Obviously, books full of secrets (and, as the title suggests, lies) are going to be pretty tough to review. Because, um, you don't want me to tell you what happens. I mean, maybe you do, but I am not going to do that anyway, so just read the book!

I am not a huge fan of contemporary thrillers, to be honest. I kind of requested it on a whim, because it sounded unique, and I had heard amazing things about Paula Stokes. I am quite happy to report that this book did not disappoint! I don't know if I will be reading more thrillers because of it, but I sure will be reading more from Paula Stokes because of it!

Max has a big old problem in this book, and that is that Max is accused of killing his best friend Preston. So okay, not the best of days for our pal Max. Oh, and he just turned eighteen, so there's that extra special "adult charge" thing happening. Bad timing for Max (and Preston!). And to add to the mess Max is facing, he had lied about Preston's whereabouts (at Preston's request, so he could meet a girl), so he is just pretty much screwed.

Let's break things down, since I can't say much about the rest of the plot!

The Characters:

Max: Max is... an eighteen year old guy. Basically, that means he destined by biology to make some questionable decisions. That being said, he is a great character. He is very well written, and sympathetic, even when you want to smack him around for some dumb choice he made. Honestly, it made him seem incredibly realistic. You make a bad choice, and keep digging yourself in deeper and deeper until you don't know how to get out of it. Yeah, that's Max, in a nutshell. He's had an incredibly rocky childhood, filled with foster homes and orphanages, and you just want the kid to catch a break!
Parvati: I was always on the fence about her. One minute I liked her, the next I didn't, and the minute after that I was suspicious of her. And repeat. But her character absolutely worked in the story, even if I was always wary of her. She was written quite well, and she was just the perfect amount of shady for this type of book.
Preston: I loved that Preston and Max became friends, even if they had some shady side business of charging people for lies and cheats. Of course, then he goes missing and the police find the body so... yeah.
Everyone else: I loved Max's family. Loved. They adopted him as a teen, and he has three younger sisters. Max had such a soft spot for his younger sister, which was really sweet. The family understood that raising Max as an adopted teen would be hard, but they were there for him, and it was pretty great.
The Relationships:

Max and Parvati were a couple from before the start of the book, so there was no courting, or romantic shenanigans. Her parents basically despised Max, and they weren't allowed to see each other, so of course they took to shady encounters wherever the chance popped up. Preston was friends with them both, and they made quite the fun trio until Preston up and vanished. Preston and Parvati came from a world of success and prestige, and Max... did not. But that never seemed to bother either one of them as they befriended Max. I didn't always feel a huge connection between Max and Parvati, but they had been in this relationship for quite some time, so it's safe to assume they were past the "butterflies" phase.

As for Max and his family, the relationships were portrayed very realistically. Obviously, being adopted as a young teen is not the norm, and Max's relationship with his family were civil, but strained. But it was easy to see that his parents, especially his mom, would move heaven and earth for him, and it was incredibly sweet.

The Plot:

So I cannot say much about this, clearly. Hell, it was hard to say stuff about any of this book without giving stuff away! But it moves at a good pace, even though it isn't all action (which was great for me, as there was a ton of great character insight along the way) it is never, ever dull. And there were some fun, lighter moments throughout the book that really helped, since the tone of the book was obviously going to be dark with a murder investigation. The witty moments really broke up the tough stuff perfectly, there was just a fantastic balance.

I will say this: I was guessing the entire story, and I was not right ever. Well, I was all pleased with myself because I had a theory, and was sure I'd figured out the plot. Well, color me embarrassed, because nope. I mean, my theory was right, but it was this minor twistlet in a huge plot twist that basically blew my mind. It is simply one of those books that I couldn't put down because What happens next!? I didn't know who or what to trust, and it was such fun!

Bottom Line:

Liars, Inc is a perfect book if you are looking for a very well-written mystery that will absolutely satisfy with some fantastic plot twists, and very realistic characters. I am so glad I took a chance with it, as it is fun, witty, and absolutely twisty!

*I received a copy of this book for review*

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight

[Amber]

I read Liars Inc. months ago, but I’m only writing my review in February so you’ll have to excuse me if I seem like I’m being a bit vague. Luckily, my past-self was clever enough to note down some bullet points after finishing the book, so all is not lost.

Liars Inc. is my second read from Ms. Paula Stokes, and I have to say I think Stokes does thrillers a lot better than she does fluffy contemporary. Liars Inc. is a truly thrilling read and I was absolutely captivated from the start.


The main character, Max, was a bit dim, I’m not gonna lie. He frustrated me at times because he did many things that made me roll my eyes. You know how in horror movies you’re screaming at the teenagers “DO NONE OF YOU WATCH HORROR MOVIES”? That’s how I felt towards Max. He really could have done with some CSI or Criminal Minds type research. Other than those moments, though, I did really like him and I felt a bit sorry for him after everything he was put through.

A character that I really did love, however, was Parvarti. Parvarti was a complicated character; I started off feeling meh towards her and then I loved her by the end. She reminds me a little bit of Raven Reyes? When I think of Parvarti now, I also think of Raven. A bit. I don’t know why. Probably because they are both AWESOME.

I really enjoyed the complex plot of Liars Inc., with the whole mystery of where Preston had disappeared to, and if anyone would have killed him. Everything came together really well in the end, which was fantastic because Stokes planted some really good clues throughout. However, there were a few things that didn’t really work for me, which I can’t spoil you about. Just keep in mind that a couple of aspects are unrealistic. But, hey, it’s fiction!

I managed to figure out the twist and who the bad guys were, but that’s only because I was suspicious of absolutely everyone. It’s the best way to be, in my opinion!

You should definitely pick this book up when you’re in the mood for an intense thriller, because you will fly through it from the edge of your seat!

[Ashley]

4.5 Stars

Oh man this book was awesome! Super addicting; full of conspiracies, murders, cover ups, and lies; and things just kept building and building. It was REALLY hard to put this book down. I JUST HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!!!

The only thing I didn't like was how Max was kind of a major idiot for half the book. He made the dumbest decisions. For a guy so innocent, he sure did try so hard to make himself look as guilty as possible. He lied to the FBI, ran from the FBI, put his fingers all over the evidence, pointed guns at the FBI.. I mean, geeze man. What the hell do you think you're doing?

But other than that, this was a really fantastic book! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!