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bookboxbabe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
no one speak to me for a bit, i’m not well
this book is beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. it’s raw and feels like you’re being ripped open and spilt onto the pages.
i loved the small town dynamics, the mystery that kept me guessing till the very end, and the whiplash of reveals felt like i myself was in the middle of the hurricane
the summer children will forever be in my heart
this book is beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. it’s raw and feels like you’re being ripped open and spilt onto the pages.
i loved the small town dynamics, the mystery that kept me guessing till the very end, and the whiplash of reveals felt like i myself was in the middle of the hurricane
the summer children will forever be in my heart
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
laneysix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
alyssa_s10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I read this book for my ABC reading challenge. I liked the atmosphere of the book. However I feel as if the main character was a bit to naive for my taste. The twist and turns of this book make up for it.
I had a feeling that Hart new more than he led on, but I could have never guessed that it was the youngest kid. One thing I don't like was how they sympathetic the main character is to the killer. This also reminds me of a true crime case I have read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Incest and Self harm
queencariad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Okay, overall? A good read. I absolutely ADORED the setting. The Louisiana weather, the eerie atmosphere, everyone’s specific abilities…
I did wish the cast of characters was more exploited and developed, though! We had some solid basis for an epic, intriguing ensemble cast and they ended up more like side characters— like noise in the background, even.
Except for Hart and Evie, which I didn’t like much. Especially Hart, who was insufferable.
I had rightly guessed the ending around halfway through the book, and when it comes to the twists and explanations, I wished it was more shown that just told. A lot of the book relied on hearsay, and that’s my main criticism.
I still had a very good time, mostly thanks to the vibes and atmosphere of it all. Also, those last 10-15% that makes you think “wow, everyone in this place is really crazy!”
There is just something about small, isolated and twisted towns. And bittersweet endings.
Solid 3.75 stars!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood, Suicide, and Self harm
onceuponabookcase's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I was originally drawn to Deep and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain because of the beautiful cover, but knew I had to read it as soon as I read the blurb. A murder mystery set in a town full of psychics, right on a bayou? How could I not read it? And it was absolutely incredible!
Grey lived in the small town La Cachette - the hidding place - right up until she was eight, and her mother died by suicide. Since then, she's lived with her father, but would return to the bayou, go back home, every summer, to live with her grandmother. Back to where she belongs, back with the other Summer Children, her friends who were all born in the same summer. Only this year is different. Six months ago, her best friend Elora disappeared without a trace. La Cachette is grieving, and Grey especially so. But as Grey tries to piece together what happened that night, she discovers links to La Cachette's past, a past dark and full of secrets, and a stranger who connects them all. La Cachette's lies are slowly rising to the surface.
Dark and Shallow Lies is a slow burner. It's not action packed until quite near the end, but quiet and atmospheric, and utterly gripping. Grey's grief is palpable on every page, but she simply cannot accept that Elora is gone, and that's it. She needs to know what happened, to find out where she is, even as she she slowly comes to accept that Elora is most likely dead, and she's determined to discover the truth. But La Cachette has been looking for Elora for six months, what is Grey likely to find that they missed? So not a massive amount happens in the great scheme of things; Grey works at the Mystic Rose, her grandmother's shop, she hangs out with her friends, and she gets to know the stranger living out on Keller Island, Zale. Her friendships are different, especially with Hart, who was Elora's step-brother. Elora, Hart, and Grey were inseparable, and Hart is struggling just as much as Elora. Their relationship is strained; they're both lost without Elora, and only each other really understands the other's pain, but there is always that missing part. Add the fact that Grey has always been a little bit in love with Hart, an everything gets a little complicated.
As the weeks pass, Grey learns slithers of what happened that night, along with the flashes she's now having. In a town full of psychics, Grey was the only one who didn't have any kind of ability. #hart is an empath, and can feel others' emotions like they're his own; Elora was a water witch; Honey, Grey's grandmother, is a medium and gets messages from the dead; Sera and Sander, twins, get visions that they translate into art; Mackey gets death warnings just before someone dies; Case can bilocate, be in two places at once. But Grey has spent her whole life being the odd one out, until now. Now, she's getting flashes, visions of the moments just before Elora's death. Little glimpses that give her very little information. But with her flashes and the slithers she learns from the people of La Cachette, and about the town's past, she tries to piece things together. And I right along with her.
I cannot tell you how many times my theories changed. I stuck with two most of the time, and kept switching between them as I read. I would be so sure about who the murderer was, but then we'd learn something that would make me doubt it, make me think is was something else, and become so sure again, only to end up doubting again. Back and forth I went throughout the whole story. I never knew who to trust, and Myers Sain kept me guessing right up until the very end. And I was completely wrong! We start to get some answers throughout the last 30% of the story, several reveals, and even as we got answer after answer, I still wasn't entirely sure who the murderer was, still going back of forth, to the point where I was at a complete loss as to who bloody killed her! But the reveals kept coming, and it just blew my mind. Dark and Shallow Lies might be a quiet slow burner, but my god, is it intricately plotted! When the pieces finally start to full into place, it was shock after shock. Each reveal just bowled me over, and I am just in such complete awe of how Myers Sain created such a story! Looking back over the whole thing, all those tiny slithers, all those subtle hints, and the red herrings! Dark and Shallow Lies is a goddamned masterpiece!
I also need to comment on the amazing symbolism. La Cachette is white all over, all of the buildings, the boardwalk the town is built on to raise it above the water level, everything. But underneath the white paint, the wood is starting to rot, and the wood is crumbling away - to the point where it collapses underneath Grey's feet at one point. While it looks so clean and pristine, underneath, La Cachette is rotting. Literally and figuratively. The secrets of the past are eating away at the town, and it was just so apt that the floor is literally crumbling away beneath them.
I can't not talk about the setting itself either, which is a character in itself. The Mississippi River, the bayou, Li'l Pass, the wetlands of Keller Island. Grey's love for the town, and where the town is located is just as strong as her love for Elora, and it breathes with it's own life. It's knows La Cachette's secrets, it knows them in it's bones, and I couldn't help but think that it had it's own opinion about what had been going on there. The hurricane that starts up and heads La Cachette's way over a number of days is no coincidence, not when the water turns on the town.
I stayed up late to finish Dark and Shallow Lies, because I couldn't put it down as things were revealed, and I just had to know. And then I lay in bed for ages just thinking about it. Not just about how intricate and clever the plotting was, but just how incredibly heartbreaking this story is. I absolutely could not help but hurt for the characters. It's so overwhelmingly sad; what happened in the past, what happened six months ago, and what is happening right now. While the reveals were all completely shocking, they were also unbelievably tragic, and I was just so overcome. This book really hit me like a ton of bricks.
Dark and Shallow Lies is such an incredible story. Expertly crafted, keeping you guessing until the very, very end, and but also absolutely agonising. I completely adore this book, and cannot recommend it enough. Ginny Myers Sain is not an author to miss, and I will look forward to whatever she writes next.
Grey lived in the small town La Cachette - the hidding place - right up until she was eight, and her mother died by suicide. Since then, she's lived with her father, but would return to the bayou, go back home, every summer, to live with her grandmother. Back to where she belongs, back with the other Summer Children, her friends who were all born in the same summer. Only this year is different. Six months ago, her best friend Elora disappeared without a trace. La Cachette is grieving, and Grey especially so. But as Grey tries to piece together what happened that night, she discovers links to La Cachette's past, a past dark and full of secrets, and a stranger who connects them all. La Cachette's lies are slowly rising to the surface.
Dark and Shallow Lies is a slow burner. It's not action packed until quite near the end, but quiet and atmospheric, and utterly gripping. Grey's grief is palpable on every page, but she simply cannot accept that Elora is gone, and that's it. She needs to know what happened, to find out where she is, even as she she slowly comes to accept that Elora is most likely dead, and she's determined to discover the truth. But La Cachette has been looking for Elora for six months, what is Grey likely to find that they missed? So not a massive amount happens in the great scheme of things; Grey works at the Mystic Rose, her grandmother's shop, she hangs out with her friends, and she gets to know the stranger living out on Keller Island, Zale. Her friendships are different, especially with Hart, who was Elora's step-brother. Elora, Hart, and Grey were inseparable, and Hart is struggling just as much as Elora. Their relationship is strained; they're both lost without Elora, and only each other really understands the other's pain, but there is always that missing part. Add the fact that Grey has always been a little bit in love with Hart, an everything gets a little complicated.
As the weeks pass, Grey learns slithers of what happened that night, along with the flashes she's now having. In a town full of psychics, Grey was the only one who didn't have any kind of ability. #hart is an empath, and can feel others' emotions like they're his own; Elora was a water witch; Honey, Grey's grandmother, is a medium and gets messages from the dead; Sera and Sander, twins, get visions that they translate into art; Mackey gets death warnings just before someone dies; Case can bilocate, be in two places at once. But Grey has spent her whole life being the odd one out, until now. Now, she's getting flashes, visions of the moments just before Elora's death. Little glimpses that give her very little information. But with her flashes and the slithers she learns from the people of La Cachette, and about the town's past, she tries to piece things together. And I right along with her.
I cannot tell you how many times my theories changed. I stuck with two most of the time, and kept switching between them as I read. I would be so sure about who the murderer was, but then we'd learn something that would make me doubt it, make me think is was something else, and become so sure again, only to end up doubting again. Back and forth I went throughout the whole story. I never knew who to trust, and Myers Sain kept me guessing right up until the very end. And I was completely wrong! We start to get some answers throughout the last 30% of the story, several reveals, and even as we got answer after answer, I still wasn't entirely sure who the murderer was, still going back of forth, to the point where I was at a complete loss as to who bloody killed her! But the reveals kept coming, and it just blew my mind. Dark and Shallow Lies might be a quiet slow burner, but my god, is it intricately plotted! When the pieces finally start to full into place, it was shock after shock. Each reveal just bowled me over, and I am just in such complete awe of how Myers Sain created such a story! Looking back over the whole thing, all those tiny slithers, all those subtle hints, and the red herrings! Dark and Shallow Lies is a goddamned masterpiece!
I also need to comment on the amazing symbolism. La Cachette is white all over, all of the buildings, the boardwalk the town is built on to raise it above the water level, everything. But underneath the white paint, the wood is starting to rot, and the wood is crumbling away - to the point where it collapses underneath Grey's feet at one point. While it looks so clean and pristine, underneath, La Cachette is rotting. Literally and figuratively. The secrets of the past are eating away at the town, and it was just so apt that the floor is literally crumbling away beneath them.
I can't not talk about the setting itself either, which is a character in itself. The Mississippi River, the bayou, Li'l Pass, the wetlands of Keller Island. Grey's love for the town, and where the town is located is just as strong as her love for Elora, and it breathes with it's own life. It's knows La Cachette's secrets, it knows them in it's bones, and I couldn't help but think that it had it's own opinion about what had been going on there. The hurricane that starts up and heads La Cachette's way over a number of days is no coincidence, not when the water turns on the town.
I stayed up late to finish Dark and Shallow Lies, because I couldn't put it down as things were revealed, and I just had to know. And then I lay in bed for ages just thinking about it. Not just about how intricate and clever the plotting was, but just how incredibly heartbreaking this story is. I absolutely could not help but hurt for the characters. It's so overwhelmingly sad; what happened in the past, what happened six months ago, and what is happening right now. While the reveals were all completely shocking, they were also unbelievably tragic, and I was just so overcome. This book really hit me like a ton of bricks.
Dark and Shallow Lies is such an incredible story. Expertly crafted, keeping you guessing until the very, very end, and but also absolutely agonising. I completely adore this book, and cannot recommend it enough. Ginny Myers Sain is not an author to miss, and I will look forward to whatever she writes next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Blood, Self harm, and Vomit
sofiatea32's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautiful cover and a very tense and sad, but well written mysterious story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm and Suicide
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Thank you to Razorbill and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
Dark and Shallow Lies is an interesting dark mystery about a small community hidden away in the bayou. That can only mean one thing: twisted people.
We follow 17 year old Grey as she returns to her place of birth, La Chachette for that Summer. A place hidden away in the bayou where she grew up with 10 other children all born in the same year. They are a tight knit group. Unlike the others however Grey is the only one that seems to want to stay.
This book is one you can dive into deep. I only came up for air at the end of it. Once you are in you are swept along the dark vibe and feel of the bayou and the mystery of the dissapearance of a young girl. I think that is what I liked best about this whole book. The setting of the bayou and this small community. The bayou being the best place to hide away. The author manages to weave the feel of the bayou and the south throughout the entire book.
Having said that I think that the plot in itself wasn't that surprising. I called the plot twists pretty early on in the book. While I was in the book I was swept in by the writing itself and the bayou feel, but as soon as I was finished that was it. I had no reall attachment to it or the characters. The middle also dragged in places. It is almost 500 pages and looking back, it certainly could have been cut back here and there.
Regardless I do think this is a fun book to read on a stormy night to get swept up in. Just for that one evening and moment. That can be good enough too.
Dark and Shallow Lies is an interesting dark mystery about a small community hidden away in the bayou. That can only mean one thing: twisted people.
We follow 17 year old Grey as she returns to her place of birth, La Chachette for that Summer. A place hidden away in the bayou where she grew up with 10 other children all born in the same year. They are a tight knit group. Unlike the others however Grey is the only one that seems to want to stay.
This book is one you can dive into deep. I only came up for air at the end of it. Once you are in you are swept along the dark vibe and feel of the bayou and the mystery of the dissapearance of a young girl. I think that is what I liked best about this whole book. The setting of the bayou and this small community. The bayou being the best place to hide away. The author manages to weave the feel of the bayou and the south throughout the entire book.
Having said that I think that the plot in itself wasn't that surprising. I called the plot twists pretty early on in the book. While I was in the book I was swept in by the writing itself and the bayou feel, but as soon as I was finished that was it. I had no reall attachment to it or the characters. The middle also dragged in places. It is almost 500 pages and looking back, it certainly could have been cut back here and there.
Regardless I do think this is a fun book to read on a stormy night to get swept up in. Just for that one evening and moment. That can be good enough too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Murder
Minor: Self harm
hannahadamson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. It was very atmospheric and the mystery aspect was really interesting. I absolutely loved the small town setting and I didn't know who to trust the whole time which kept things exciting.
I've been really enjoying dark, mystery books recently and this book gave exactly that.
However, the plot was very slow to unravel. Looking back on this, not a lot really happened. Therefore, I think this book could have been 100 pages shorter. I spent most chapters wanting more from it. For example, a lot of chapters would end on an exciting cliffhanger, but then the next chapter didn't resolve any of it.
Also, I really didn't like the scenes between Grey and a certain character. (Hart) It just felt like the same conversation was repeated over and over again
Also I found that the ending wrapped everything up a little too quickly for me. The whole book was quite slow paced but then the big reveal at the end was over in a flash! And thats the best part of a mystery book, so I wish we'd spent a little more time there.
In addition to this, I didn't really like any of the characters and I don't think them being psychics added much to the story, I think i'd have preferred this book if the supernatural elements of the book weren't there.
Having said all that, I did read it really quickly and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing and the reveal at the end did genuinely surprise me! Overall, if you're looking for a supernatural, small town mystery with a really dark and atmospheric setting I think you would enjoy this and I will definitely be picking up Ginny Myers Sain's books in the future!
make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one!
I've been really enjoying dark, mystery books recently and this book gave exactly that.
However, the plot was very slow to unravel. Looking back on this, not a lot really happened. Therefore, I think this book could have been 100 pages shorter. I spent most chapters wanting more from it. For example, a lot of chapters would end on an exciting cliffhanger, but then the next chapter didn't resolve any of it.
Also, I really didn't like the scenes between Grey and a certain character.
Also I found that the ending wrapped everything up a little too quickly for me. The whole book was quite slow paced but then the big reveal at the end was over in a flash! And thats the best part of a mystery book, so I wish we'd spent a little more time there.
In addition to this, I didn't really like any of the characters and I don't think them being psychics added much to the story, I think i'd have preferred this book if the supernatural elements of the book weren't there.
Having said all that, I did read it really quickly and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing and the reveal at the end did genuinely surprise me! Overall, if you're looking for a supernatural, small town mystery with a really dark and atmospheric setting I think you would enjoy this and I will definitely be picking up Ginny Myers Sain's books in the future!
make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, and Death of parent
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