The Last Time I Lied: A Novel

by Riley Sager

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
From the author of Survive the Night and Final Girls comes a tense and twisty thriller about a summer camp that’s impossible to forget—no matter how hard you try.

Two Truths and a Lie. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and Emma played it all the time in their cabin at Camp Nightingale. But the games ended the night Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out into the darkness. The last she—or anyone—saw of the teenagers was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips....

Fifteen years later, Emma is a rising star in the New York art scene, turning her past into paintings—massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches over ghostly shapes in white dresses. When the paintings catch the attention of the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale, she implores Emma to come back to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor.

Despite her guilt and anxiety—or maybe because of them—Emma agrees to revisit her past. Nightingale looks the same as it did all those years ago, haunted by a midnight-dark lake and familiar faces. Emma is even assigned to the same cabin she slept in as a teenager, although the security camera pointed at her door is a disturbing new addition.
 
As cryptic clues about the camp's origins begin to surface, Emma attempts to find out what really happened to her friends. But her closure could come at a deadly price.

• ISBN10: 1524743097
• ISBN13: 9781524743093
• Publish Date: 2 April 2019 (first published 3 July 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Dutton
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524743093

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

3.5/5 stars.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. It's my second Riley Sager book, however, it is the one I would rate the lowest.

Knowing this is the author's second book, a big comparison comes to mind: Paula Hawkins. Which is a name that keeps appearing in my reviews. But the truth is, after the smash hit that was The Girl on The Train, Riley Sager himself had to follow-up Final Girls, which I've heard was very well received as a debut novel.

My problem with this book is that it's very clearly a slow-burn but then when its time to get through a lot of layers to the plot, I must admit I became a little exhausted. This book has twists upon twists upon twists, all concentrated from 60-70% onward. While with Lock Every Door I predicted a twist that felt like was put there to be predictable and I was ultimately surprised about the rest, here I predicted a few twists and was ultimately underwhelmed. This book wasn't nearly as dramatic as I hoped it would be, but it somehow was melodramatic - too much going around, the characters moved too much and it felt like it was just to get a few more pages worth of reading.

At the same time, I don't feel the big twists (mostly, THE final twist) didn't have as much heft as I hoped for. People hyped this book up a lot, and make no mistake, I enjoyed this! Just not as much as the first book by the author I read. I feel like some of my theories maybe would've been predictable but could've been worth it in execution. I feel like the twists themselves don't hold themselves as solid in this one because they weren't as well executed. Either way, I do intend to read as many Riley Sager books as I can. I'm thinking of reading Home Before Dark next.

[Bianca]

It feels like a bad dream. The kind you dread the most when you close your eyes at night. Only this nightmare has come true.

Wow. I was prepared to be disappointed about more than halfway through the book, only to be blown away by the ending. What a well-written and riveting mystery thriller

[maggiefan]

Riley Sager did THAT!

[leahrosereads]

Oh boy did this book take me for a ride! I loved how unreliable the MC was and how suspicious I was of EVERYONE, EVERYTHING, just all of it! I was on edge at times but unfortunately completely bored other times. This would have been easily a 5 star book fore, if it wasn't for the pacing.

[mitabird]

2.5 stars

[boghunden]

I've now read two books by Riley Sager, and although none of them have been more than three star reads for me, I'll definitely read more by him. I just have this feeling that one day, he's gonna write my new favorite thriller. I thought this one was too much like [b:Final Girls|32796253|Final Girls|Riley Sager|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496658340l/32796253._SY75_.jpg|50669966] with all the flashbacks. I didn't really like the alternate storylines, but I do see why it's such an important part of the book. It's kind of the plot, really...

Let's talk about the plot twist of the book. I think I fall into the middle category of people here. I wasn't too surprised, but I also didn't see it coming. I just kept it as a possibility, you know? I don't even know if that makes sense to you...

I loved Vivianne and Theo's characters, they were definitely my favorites. The main character, Emma, was fine, but I never really connected with her. What I did like about her though, was how she used art as a form of therapy and how the girls always showed up in her paintings.

As I said, I want to read more of Sager's books. There's something intriguing about the writing style that leaves me wanting to read more. I do hope he picks up the pace of the next book though, because it wasn't until near the middle of this one that things started to finally happen.

Wow, this was an amazingly intense book! The story unfolds gradually between past and present dialogue which helps build up it’s gripping suspense. The thrilling twists were even better!

This is the first Riley Sager book I’ve read but certainly won’t be the last. If you enjoy thrillers than this book is for you.

[kalventure]

Two truths and a lie, ladies. I'll start.

Friends, this book was exactly what my reading/fantasy slump needed! This was a fantastically plotted thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. This is the summer camp thriller you've been waiting for!

Fifteen years ago, Emma was 13 and spending her first summer at Camp Nightingale. Two weeks later her cabinmates disappeared, never to be seen again. Unless you consider the fact that she's haunted by what happened that night and secretly paints them into each of her paintings. Now Camp Nightingale is set to reopen for the first time since that summer and Emma is among a handful of prior campers returning as instructors. She is determined to figure out what happened to her friends that night, and it is almost immediately apparent that Emma didn't tell all that she knew about that night. The Last Time I Lied is told in Emma's perspective, alternating between the present and fifteen years ago: her experiences during those two weeks at camp before their disappearance and Emma digging to uncover the clues about what happened. Sager navigates the dual timelines device perfectly to slowly build the suspense in both.

Emma's an unreliable narrator that holds back critical information from the reader. We know that she lied fifteen years ago but despite the narration being in first person she doesn't think about those lies in detail. I really enjoyed the way the mystery grew and the plot developed slowly, and knowing from the beginning that Emma has a big secret had me on edge wanting to figure it all out - I love when the unreliable narrator is executed well, and it is here!

But the past clings to the present. All those mistakes and humiliations following us as we march inevitably forward. There's no ignoring them.

I will admit that I struggled a bit with the first part of the book and wasn't completely sold on the book. I really did not like Vivian as a character and the flashbacks reminded me of Regina George and Alison DiLaurentis. The fat shaming and control that Vivian exerts over her friends is lowkey gross and it made me angry. However by the end of the first part I was hooked and swept away into the story, devouring the rest of the book in one sitting.

Overall this is a thriller that definitely deserves the hype it has received, but it is best to go in as blind as possible. Know that as more information becomes available to the reader you will have a bunch of theories develop. This is in intricately plotted story and so well done that I was impressed when I got to the end. I really enjoyed The Last Time I Lied, and if I were to base my rating on the second part of the book it would have easily been a 4.5-5 star read but my reading experience in the beginning was closer to a 3.5. I definitely recommend this to everyone that loves thrillers and if you enjoyed [b:Jar of Hearts|36315374|Jar of Hearts|Jennifer Hillier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508949170s/36315374.jpg|57988547] this one is up your alley!

This was my July 2018 selection. For a limited time can can get a free book when you join by entering 'HEATWAVE'!

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