Book Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  The deadly campground. It has been the basis for many of the 1980s' most iconic horror classics. There is something about the innocence of a camp being used to house an evil killer or demonic force that strikes fear in the hearts of movie-goers. What if this actually happened? What would I do?

 Ch ch ch ch...ha ha ha..

  This is a fun time at the theater that I have loved since I was that too-young movie goer sneaking into R-Rated films. That awkward feeling that through the hard times of growing up, Jason Vorhees, not acne, is what you should be worrying about. But what happens when an author writes a novel that is a mix of Friday the 13th, Mean Girls, with a hint of the Hills Have Eyes? You get Riley Sager's latest thriller. If you liked Final Girls, you will love his latest.

  The Last Time I Lied is written by Riley Sager (a pseudonym for crime fiction writer, Todd Ritter), and it is published by Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. In it we are introduced to thirteen year old Emma Davis. Emma is the product of a neglectful father and alcoholic mother. All she wants to do is spend the Summer with her friends. Her mother surprises Emma with the news that she will be attending Camp Nightingale. This exclusive camp for the more wealthy set of society is known as Camp Rich Bitch among the kids in her school. She is furious, but relents and arrives late on the first day. Francesca Harris-White, the heir to a real estate empire, owns the camp and all of the land. Her land also includes Lake Midnight, a man-made body of water that is said to house the corpses and ghosts of residents of a small village that perished when their valley was flooded to make the lake. Rumors even hint at descendants of villagers that escaped that may live in the mountains, spying on unsuspecting campers and hikers. Emma's arrival puts Francesca (Franny, as she prefers to be called) in a problem. All cabins are filled in Emma's age range. The decision is made to add her to Dogwood Cabin. There she meets popular girl Vivian, and her bunk mates, Allison, and Natalie. The older girls are friendly enough, and their age differences keep them a little distant. 

  Life at the camp is eye-opening for Emma, who soon becomes Vivian's shadow. The calculating and often cold teenager has her enemies and followers. She takes a liking to Emma, calling her her little sister (Vivian's own sister drowned recently). Franny's sons, ten year old Chet and nineteen year old Theo, add to the under twenty crowd at the camp. Things begin to settle into a routine and Emma is doing well. But one evening Vivian, Allison, and Natalie leave Dogwood in the cover of night. When morning arrives the trio has vanished without a trace. With Theo as the only suspect the camp is closed, leaving the Harris-White reputation in tatters.

   Fifteen years later Emma Davis is an up and coming artist, who has earned her first gallery showing. At the gallery she is approached by Francesca Harris-White. The woman buys her largest painting, and requests for Emma to have lunch with her. After their lunch the next day Emma finds herself headed back to Camp Nightingale to serve at the Franny's art instructor for the newly reopened establishment. Many of the camp's former residents return, including Theo and brother, Chet. It seems like old times, and Emma makes friends with the three teenage girls she shares her old cabin, Dogwood, with. But Emma has never let go of that night when Vivian, Allison, and Natalie left Dogwood, never to return. Emma plans to play detective and solve this mystery once and for all. But someone is on to her, and they have their own plan to stop the fifteen year old mystery from being solved. 

  Who is watching Emma's every move? Why has Franny reopened Camp Nightingale? And what truly lies beneath Lake Midnight? It's time for Emma to play her last game of Two Truths and a Lie. But what is more dangerous? The lie or the truth?

  The Last Time I Lied entranced me into the world of Emma Davis and her history with the doomed Camp Nightingale. I felt like I was reading something so secret that I would be caught at any moment and be in trouble. The twists are diabolical. The snarky teen drama delicious. While the feeling of being watched presenting itself on every page. This book was also very cinematic (with Amazon already planning a limited television series), and gravitated towards the macabre with an unexpected storyline that side-swiped me completely. Riley Sager drove us down the road to Camp Nightingale like a demented hearse driver making room for us in the coffin in back. No one was safe in this book, and everyone was suspect. And just when I believed that I had finally figured it out I was told in brutal fashion that I was wrong. 

  I read The Last Time I Lied in part with the narration of actress, Nicol Zanzarella. Her steady reading style was knife-sharp, with her ability to transition between characters flawless. Her voice added a wonderful depth to Sager's narrative. I look forward to reading more books performed by Zanzarella.

  Riley Sager has become one of my favorite authors. I admit that it was torture waiting a year for this book after reading Final Girls. The Last Time I Lied was a five star read for me. I was dazzled, terrified, and enjoyed this thriller. This book should be in every reader's beach bag. Just don't forget the sun block, because the world will disappear around you as you delve into this mind-bending mystery. Enjoy, readers! It was worth the wait.     

  Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

 
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  Because there is always time to read,
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