A review by eniahreads
Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 Once again a favorite from Karen M. McManus.

I feel like this is the darkest backstory-wise among all the characters from all of the author's books, as here we talk about domestic violence, attempted femicide, trauma from these violences, parental abandonment, etc.

However there's still some part of lightness through the relationships between all 3 characters: Kat, Liam and Augustus (of who we don't have a POV). Even tho they're going through hell! It's all action packed, but it's still growing crescendo, asking what will happen next, what's going to be worse than that. We start with a little heist to end on a life or death situation.

This one is, along with "The Cousins", a book where I couldn't guess all of the plot twists, and there were so many! Some I guessed quickly, others got me thinking with the hints and guessed right, some were a "hey what if that's what happened", agreeing with the characters, etc. So I was proud to guess lots of them, but others got me surprised and that was the best! It was well done.

I like all characters with their own bagages. I loved the brotherly relationship between Kat and Liam, and there were no quiproquo at all concerning Augustus as a love interest, so there's no stress regarding a potential love triangle!
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