review: the lying game by sara shepard

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Sara Shepard’s new series starts off brilliantly with The Lying Game. From the very beginning I was hooked by the story of a murdered teen whose previously unknown identical twin infiltrates her life, discovers the murder, and works to figure out who killed Sutton. It doesn’t take Emma long to figure out that while Sutton had every advantage (especially compared to Emma who just fled foster care), her life was far from ideal. In fact, Sutton’s killer is likely one of the people she was closest to…one of her best friends or even her adoptive sister.

Told from both Emma’s and a slightly amnesiac Sutton’s perspective, The Lying Game creates an intense mystery mixed with plenty of “mean girl” high school moments that horrify and amuse. The best scenes are between Emma as Sutton and Ethan, the boy Emma would probably date if she wasn’t having to pretend she’s with Sutton’s boyfriend Garrett. When the two shared a Sylvia Plath moment, I was deliriously happy.

The next book, Never Have I Ever, is an absolute must-read as The Lying Game ended with quite the cliff-hanger!
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, HarperTeen.