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A review by ruthsic
The Lies They Tell by Gillian French
3.0
Warnings: allusions to domestic abuse, dubious consent
While this is first and foremost a mystery novel, I feel the strength of the story was in the characterization and not the mystery of it. When Pearl infiltrates the group of the summer kids, she does so with the intention of finding out what really happened that unfortunate night when her father was blamed for not preventing the arson and murder of Garrisons. Most of the book goes into the class divide and how the rich kids look down on the townies, how she derides their indulgences and their facades. But Tristan has a quiet intensity to him that draws her, even as she is repelled by his uncaring and manipulative nature, and as she peels one layer after another of these kids and their lives, she learns a little more about what could have led to that tragedy. The author takes care to construct each character, building them into three-dimensional people with secrets of their own, their personal issues that subtly affect the plot of the novel. I loved that aspect of this book a lot. As a mystery, though, it is pretty frustrating - much of the clues and reveals happen in the second half of the book, and the payout is not as much as it is building up to. There is perhaps only a couple of scenes that evoke a 'thriller' like vibe, the danger that you associate with the genre. Overall, it is a decent book but if you are looking for a good mystery, you might be disappointed.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Harper Teen, via Edelweiss.
While this is first and foremost a mystery novel, I feel the strength of the story was in the characterization and not the mystery of it. When Pearl infiltrates the group of the summer kids, she does so with the intention of finding out what really happened that unfortunate night when her father was blamed for not preventing the arson and murder of Garrisons. Most of the book goes into the class divide and how the rich kids look down on the townies, how she derides their indulgences and their facades. But Tristan has a quiet intensity to him that draws her, even as she is repelled by his uncaring and manipulative nature, and as she peels one layer after another of these kids and their lives, she learns a little more about what could have led to that tragedy. The author takes care to construct each character, building them into three-dimensional people with secrets of their own, their personal issues that subtly affect the plot of the novel. I loved that aspect of this book a lot. As a mystery, though, it is pretty frustrating - much of the clues and reveals happen in the second half of the book, and the payout is not as much as it is building up to. There is perhaps only a couple of scenes that evoke a 'thriller' like vibe, the danger that you associate with the genre. Overall, it is a decent book but if you are looking for a good mystery, you might be disappointed.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Harper Teen, via Edelweiss.