The Last Time I Lied: A Novel (Unabridged)
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4.1 • 174 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
In the latest thriller from the bestselling author of Final Girls, a young woman returns to her childhood summer camp to uncover the truth about a tragedy that happened there fifteen years ago.
Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. But the games ended the night Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin into the darkness. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.
Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. When the paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale, she implores Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor. Seeing an opportunity to find out what really happened to her friends all those years ago, Emma agrees.
Familiar faces, unchanged cabins, and the same dark lake haunt Nightingale, even though the camp is opening its doors for the first time since the disappearances. Emma is even assigned to the same cabin she slept in as a teenager, but soon discovers a security camera--the only one on the property--pointed directly at its door. Then cryptic clues that Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins begin surfacing. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing mysterious threats in the present. And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale and what really happened to those girls, the more she realizes that closure could come at a deadly price.
Customer Reviews
One of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a while!
I just finished this one less than 5 minutes ago. To be honest, I'm a bundle of emotions: awe, respect, shock - but the one word I just keep repeating over and over....WHAT?!
<blockquote>"I could finally change that. Just one small hint about what happened could make a difference. It won't erase my sins. But there is a chance it could make them more bearable."</blockquote>
Camp Nightingale has reopened after fifteen years. Emma Davis finds the reopening very surprising, considering the reason the Camp closed its doors all those years ago. Even more surprising - the owner personally travels to Manhattan to ask Emma to return for the reopening as an art instructor for the summer. After mulling it over, Emma decides to accept - after all, what better way to gain closure than to investigate the campground for clues to the tragedy that occurred all those years ago? The night that three girls vanished forever, no trace to be found, with Emma being the last person to see them alive?
THE LAST TIME I LIED is my first book by Riley Sager and it absolutely feels like the start of a beautiful relationship. I *love* unpredictable thrillers! Even more than that, I loved that the author provided logical explanations for character behavior - oftentimes I feel characters make odd decisions and no explanation is really given because it's just there as a red herring or some other plot device. There were a couple times that I was really proud of my Nancy Drew detective skills because I just knew I had figured out what was really going on. (I was so, so wrong, lol!)
Riley Sager was phenomenal with building the atmosphere - I could picture Camp Nightingale so clearly in my mind. I loved the suspense and mystery that was the heart of the story, but oh my goodness those moments where the author factored in suspense and dread was just the icing on the cake.
Riley Sager, you genius you, I can't wait to read more of your work if this is what I can expect from you!!!
Mystery and Thriller lovers - I think you would have a great time with this one!
Disappointed
It was far too long for such a disappointing ending. Also, the way the adults treated the main character for the way she reacted to a traumatic event as a 13 year old child was ridiculous. Finally, the parallel between the girls camp and the former asylum for women was an opportunity that was wasted by the author.
A Fun Read
Really enjoyed this book. I finished it in two nights. Highly recommend this spooky summer camp murder/missing girls story. I loved it...