Review: The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Expected Publication: July 25, 2017

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...

The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”

The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).

Atmospheric, twisty, and with just the right amount of chill that will keep you wrong-footed—which has now become Ruth Ware’s signature style—The Lying Game is sure to be her next big bestseller. Another unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

My Thoughts

This was my first Ruth Ware book and after hearing so many amazing things about her previous novels I had to read her new one. The Lying Game is a story about four friends who met in school and soon make up this game named The Lying Game. They did this to pass the time and just have some fun but soon this game might take on a life of its own.

After years of not seeing each other one day, they receive a text message and know exactly what it means and soon all make their way back to the town where they went school and to see what exactly their friend Kate as summoned them back for. Each girl has their own thing going on but the book focuses on Isa who has just had a baby and is living with her boyfriend who sees she is changing since she received the message. Isa doesn’t want to drag him into her long ago problems but by protecting him she might lose him in the process.

Once the gang is back together we find out that a body has been found and its Kate’s father. We also find out all four girls had a hand in burying the body though why they did it and what really happened are two different things and they are just finding out the truth decades later. We also met Luc, Kate’s step-brother and someone Isa has always loved, who has secrets of his own that might or might not play into all this.

This was more of a mystery than thriller to me. It’s more like a who done it as to why and how Kate’s father was murdered. This was a compelling story with lots of twists and turns and you never can figure out the truth until the very end. And speaking of ending…wow, it’s really amazing! This is one read that I found addicting and it definitely made me want to read Ruth Ware’s previous reads.