Two Truths and a Lie Review

Title: Two Truths and a Lie (Book 3 in the Lying Game Series)

Author: Sara Shepard

Release date: 29^th May 2012

Publisher: Harper

MY KILLER IS STILL OUT THERE.

AND MY SISTER MIGHT BE NEXT.

Two months before I died, my best friend’s brother disappeared. I have no idea where Thayer went or why he left, but I know that it is my fault. I did a lot of horrible things while I was alive, things that made people hate me, maybe even enough to kill me.

Desperate to solve my murder, my long-lost twin, Emma, is pretending to be me and unravelling the many mysteries I left behind – my cryptic journal, my tangled love life, the dangerous Lying Game pranks I played. She’s uncovered my friends’ darkest secrets, but she’s never had the chance to dig into Thayer’s past – until now.

Thayer’s back and Emma has to move fast to figure out if he’s after revenge… or if he’s already taken it.

SECRETS, LIES AND KILLER CONSEQUENCES.

Still pretending to be her twin sister after Sutton was mysteriously murdered, Emma is no closer to finding out the truth. Emma has heard the rumours about Sutton and the mysterious Thayer Vega but up until now, Thayer has been missing. When he arrives with no warning in Sutton’s bedroom, Emma becomes convinced that he is Sutton’s killer. Can she discover the truth before she ends up like her twin?

I’ll be honest, I’ve been really neglectful with this book. After writing my review for ‘Never Have I Ever’ (Book 2 in the Lying Game series), I had ‘Two Truths and a Lie’ waiting on my bookshelf, put to the bottom of the ‘to read’ pile… that was in 2013! That is no reflection of the series – just my own disorganisation! So I was a bit apprehensive about jumping straight back into the series without rereading the previous two novels. I didn’t have to worry. Despite a little bit of struggling in the earlier books to get to grips with who the characters are and how they fit in to Sutton’s life (just like Emma has to), I found that I didn’t really have this problem this time round. Emma is becoming more familiar with the characters and so am I as a reader.  Not only this but for the first time in the series, we get to see Emma publically being Emma whilst also pretending to be Sutton. What I mean is that Emma’s kind nature and also love interest, Ethan, play a big part of Sutton’s life whereas in the first two novels, Emma has been scared of merging her personality with Sutton’s character for fear that she would be found out.  

What was also different about this book was the increase in insight from Sutton, who narrates the story from beyond the grave, attached to her sister’s life presumably until the killer is found. Sutton has more flashbacks that actually lead somewhere, meaning the reader has more (quite important) knowledge than Emma about what has happened leading up to Sutton’s death, though this isn’t for long as Emma’s detective skills are becoming more honed.

As always, with Sara Shepard’s novels, the reader is offered romance, family, friends and a huge handful of danger thrown in to engage us and keep us hooked. Once again, we end up asking more questions than we get answers for but this is part of the charm of the series as we are learning about Sutton’s past alongside Emma’s investigating and Sutton’s remembering.

I think this novel could stand on it’s own as Sara Shepard is really good at reminding us what has happened, through a brilliant blurb and killer prologue. However, for me, it has to be read as a series (you definitely couldn’t not read book 4 after this!) and I would have missed out on so much of the mystery if I hadn’t read the previous 2 novels. I enjoyed this book and it is another great addition to the series.

4.5/5 If you haven’t started reading the Lying Game series already then you should!!!!

The Lying Game Review

Title: The Lying Game

Author: Sara Shepard

Release Date: 31^st March 2011

Publisher: Harper Collins

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does – an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me – to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

Let the Lying Game begin.

The first time Emma finds out she has a long lost twin sister is seeing a weird online video. After tracking down her sister, Sutton, on Facebook, they arrange to meet.

However, Sutton never shows and then her friends appear and Emma is swept up in a case of mistaken identity. Where exactly is Sutton and how long can Emma pretend to be her?

Written from the point of view of the deceased Sutton, with a style that reminds me slightly of The Time of The Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones (a really amazing book and author), The Lying Game is really interestingly written.

Emma has to take over Sutton’s life in an attempt to track down the killer and the novel includes the ingredients every great teen novel should. Sutton’s boyfriend, Garrett provides the love interest however, there is also chemistry between Emma and Ethan. Although this is complicated by the fact that Ethan thinks Emma is Sutton and something has clearly jeopardised their relationship! Despite the confusion here, the novel is really clear cut (just remember everyone thinks Emma is Sutton!). Family relationships also play a part, comparing Emma’s dysfunctional one with Sutton’s loving parents. In fact, the novel explores a lot of polar opposites as shy Emma takes on her new life as confident and popular Sutton.

There are a lot of secrets in this novel and not much is revealed by the ever-present ghost of Sutton who doesn’t seem to remember much of what has happened in her life. As a reader we are placed in the position of Emma, slowly introduced to each character and their relationship with Sutton, which makes it difficult to discover who might have a motive for murder. Similarly, the ending does not reveal the killer, making Never Have I Ever, the next book in the series, a must read! 

Overall, a really compelling read and one that I would definitely recommend. The story is not as complicated as I have suggested and it is actually a really easy read with a nicely structured plot. I look forward to the next one!

5/5 Unexpected, unusual and really brilliant!