Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Cover Source: GoodReads.com

Title: The Last Time I Lied
Author: Riley Sager
Version Reviewed: eBook, ARC
Website: www.rileysagerbooks.com

I received this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

GoodReads Synopsis:

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. 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. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.
Yet it's immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.
And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

Review:
 So, I just finished this book... and holy cow. Between this one and Final Girls, Riley Sager is now one of my favorite authors. If his writing continues to impress me the way that these two have, that won't be changing any time soon.

As soon as I realized that the author of Final Girls was releasing a new book, I knew that I HAD to have it. Not reading it wasn't an option and, after reading the synopsis for it, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The Last Time I Lied promises a story full of suspense and intrigue, mystery and thrill. It definitely delivers.

I was sucked into the story from the very beginning and it never let up. This was definitely one of those books that kept my attention from cover to cover and, when I wasn't reading it, had me dying to get back to it.

The story itself is simply addicting. The idea of a summer camp has been used in slasher and horror movies so many times for a reason. It just works. It's a setting that offers up the possibility of so many things going wrong but also holds the intensity of first time romance, summer sun, wet skin, and secret rendevouz. It's the perfect setting for a thriller involving teens and, as a past summer camp kid, it's easy for me to imagine how easily things could go from fun in the sun to nightmare material.

The characters of The Last Time I Lied are brilliant. The personalities and actions of each person are so well developed and attuned to their specific role in the story that it insanely easy picture them as real people.  They each have a darker side to them, a mental illness, secrets, mistakes, lies.

Camp Nightingale and it's surrounding Lake Midnight are perfect characters all their own. Rich in folklore, secrets, a hidden past, and the mystery of not only the girls that have gone missing there, but also what lies beneath the water itself.

I just couldn't get get enough of this mystery and if you're a fan stories like this, or just love a good thrill, I highly suggest you check it out.

Rating: 5 Stars