The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

From description: 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.

I love that little excerpt from the description. I did have trouble swallowing some of the circumstances, but The Last Time I Lied certainly had a creepy vibe, plenty of twists, and a boatload of red herrings. Maybe it was trying a bit too hard, but I was OK until the ending which was implausible.

According to reviews on Goodreads, most people loved the book, so take my opinion with a couple of grains of salt. Despite wanting to like it, I mostly felt the author was manipulating too many circumstances.

NetGalley/Penguin Group
Mystery/Suspense. July, 2018. Print Length: 384 pages.

The Last Time I Lied is Riley Sager's second novel, and it did not disappoint. (Side note.....if you have not yet read Final Girls, get on it. That was another amazing one).

As the story begins, we meet Emma. She is an up-and-coming artist on the NYC scene. Her main subjects? A series of haunting paintings featuring a group of girls. To the casual observer, it might seem like nothing more than a fixation on painting creepy pictures of young girls. However, these paintings tell a story. A story that began long ago, when Emma was a child at summer camp.......

where her three roommates vanished, never to be discovered, one warm summer night.

The last thing Emma saw was the three girls sneaking out of the door, lead by the group leader, Vivian. Their whereabouts have been unknown for over fifteen years.

To Emma's surprise, she reconnects with the owner of the old camp, who has plans to reopen the facility. Emma is invited back to teach art. Hesitant at first, Emma acquiesces, believing this could be a good opportunity to find out what happened to her three friends. When she returns though, all is not as it seems. Emma senses a sinister vibe from those around her, including the camp owner and her fellow counselors. As Emma begins to dig deeper into the mysterious disappearance of the girls, she realizes that many secrets have been covered up. And perhaps those secrets are better left alone.

This book was a solid read for me. While it didn't have the ghastly thrill of Final Girls, I was definitely curious to see how everything was going to play out. The twists and turns kept me intrigued, and the potential suspect list was not so long as to get confusing. The ending was also completely unexpected, which I appreciated. Great read. This will have you looking forward to curling up at night!

There were things I liked a lot about this book. I was surprised by the final twist in the story for sure! I will hand it to readers who are looking for a fun mystery to read.
However, I was a little disappointed with the writing and some holes in the plot. I may not hand it to readers that I know are die-hard mystery fans and like their stories to be resolved fully.

I was a little skeptical about reading this book because I really didn't like The Final Girls. I'm glad I decided to read this one because I loved it. It is worth reading if you love thrillers and books that surprise you.

When I got approved for this ARC, I was at work and literally screamed, scaring a few coworkers.

One of my favorite books last year was Final Girls by Riley Sager & I was really looking forward to their next book, The Last Time I Lied. It was hands down my most anticipated read of 2018 and it did not disappoint.

The story centers around Emma Davis, who watched her bunk mates at summer camp leave in the middle of the night. Vivian, Natalie, & Allison were never seen again. Now Emma is an adult who paints haunting images hiding the figures of the 3 missing girls. The owner of the camp asks Emma to return as a painting instructor for the summer and she uses this as an opportunity to find out what really happened to her friends.

This books was so spooky. I felt some Camp Crystal Lake vibes for sure. I don’t think you can have a book set at a summer camp without those vibes. Plus the mystery of the family who owns the camp and what happened to Emma’s friends. I enjoyed the alternating views, from present day to the past, all leading up to finding out what happened that night the girls disappeared.

I read this book in one day. I literally could not put it down. I do think Final Girls hit more on the horror themes I enjoy and this one was more in the mystery/thriller genre, but it was still a solid spooky read that was obviously inspired by the horror genre. Riley Sager has cemented themselves as a must buy for me now. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager was such a great story! Suspenseful, dramatic, and thrilling throughout.

I was granted access by netgalley.com to an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was hooked my in the first few pages, and I had a tough time putting it down! An eerie, murder mystery that I'll recommend to all lovers of psychological thrillers!

A good followup to her first novel. I thought the characters were well drawn and the setting was atmospheric and compelling.

This started out as a very promising suspense novel, it then took a turn into a Sweet Valley High mystery novel. BUT it's a very enjoyable Sweet Valley High mystery novel. This is a fun read for when you want a quick not too heavy murder/suspense story. (ARC giveaway)

I really wanted to like this book. It had all the vibes of a classic 80's horror flick but it fell a little flat for me. I did like the twist at the end and that bumped up my rating of this title. I wasn't thrilled about the Final Girls either so I'm not sure I'll continue reading this author.

Part of me is mad I waited so long to read this one and the other part of me is glad I saved it for October.

Let’s play two truths and lie. One: This was my first Riley Sager read, but I own both books. Two: I’m mad at myself for putting off reading this book. Three: I knew where every twist and turn this book took was going.

I know it is obvious which is the lie because who could see those twist and turns coming?! I flew through these pages because I had to know what was going to happen. It was hard to tell who to trust and what was the truth during most of the book. If you are a fan of thrillers, this book is a must read.
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Wow! This book was incredible and had me guessing till the very end! I read Final Girls a few months ago by the same author and really enjoyed it but this one left me speechless. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

i was going to give this 2 stars and then the last seven minutes happened and I bumped it up a star but this is a disappointing fall from how much I enjoyed Final Girls. The story spends the entire time pointing in so many different directions that it feels the end result will be anti-climatic and then the ending takes place but the reward is only so slight.

I really enjoyed this book. I will suggest it to my customers for a thrilling read. I look forward to reading His next novel.

This is my very first Riley Sager book and I’ve been wanting to read some of the others for awhile, but I’m pleased this was my first foiree into these novels. This was definitely a dark and complicated psychological thriller that had me wanting to not put it down from the very beginning. This book has a divided rather than solitary focus that really engages the reader and challenges you to try to figure out what could be next, as well as the final outcome. I’d change the ending around just a bit to better suit the outcome to my liking, but overall 4.5 Stars! Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for another good ARC to enjoy!

Sager’s second title was superior in every way to his first. A winding tale of deception and intrigue, I guess half of the mystery but was still a bit stunned by the ride and all the twists and turns to get there.

Would have liked some more resolutions with character plot lines and development, but that didn’t stop this from being the absolute perfect weekend page-turner.

Thank you Netgalley and Riley Sager for allowing me to read and review this riveting book!

Fifteen years ago, Emma Davis was the last to see her cabin mates: Vivian, Allison, and Natalie as they slipped out of the cabin into the night. After the trio vanished from the camp, Camp Nightingale was closed down.

Present day, Camp Nightingale is reopening, and Emma has been invited to return as an art instructor. At the urging of her best friend, Marc, Emma reluctantly agrees to go with the intention of finding closure...and maybe clues to what happened. The more Emma digs into the past, the more secrets she reveals about the camp, about Vivian, and about herself.

Why was she invited back to Camp Nightingale? Someone doesn't want her there...but who?

Finished #thelasttimeilied By @riley.sager ! Thank you so much @duttonbooks for sending me the free ebook.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars for this book. I was really confused on the rating because i did not like it SO much for all 5stars but I didn’t dislike it so much either for 3stars. So i settled on 4.
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‼️Mini Review‼️
This is a mystery thriller about a three girls who disappear into thin air during their summer camp. Only one of their closest friend Emma, who shared the same room as them has no idea where they are. 15 years pass with no sign of the girls but they never slip Emmas mind for a minute. Then suddenly one day she is invited to the re-opening of the camp and she unhesitatingly takes the chance. She needs closure. She needs to know the girls are okay. She need to know it wasn’t her fault that night 15 years ago. But will she get what she came for? Or was this camp a huge mistake to begin with.
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Let me tell you that the book had me in its grip till the very end. The big bad reveal is saved for the last 50 or so pages. They keep unraveling bits and pieces of what happened 15 years ago and along the way you’ll have several different theories. I bet none of them are gona be true 😅
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A perfect summer because its about summer... and summer camp... and thriller.. so you know perfect for summer! 😅❤️
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‼️Have you read his books? Do you think thrillers are perfect for summer? If not, whats your fav summer genre? Telll meee 💕
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#bibliophile #thriller #mystery #fun #cute #love #happy #qotd #epicreads #denim #jeans #fashion #lifestyle #ebook

This book!! I have read a lot of "psychological thriller" type books and I think I can be hard to please with them. I tend to find them way too gruesome or pretty predictable. The Last Time I Lied ended up being the perfect balance of suspense and darkness and while I thought I knew what happened several times I was totally shocked by the ending. I loved that it was based at a girls summer camp and the scene was set so perfectly. I loved the writing style and how it jumped back and forth with dual timelines of 15 years ago and today. The narrative worked perfectly to portray the stories of a group of teenage girls at a summer camp where things go terribly wrong. I like that it was an easy read and that it was fast paced enough to keep in interested as there were some twists and turns but not enough to be totally confusing. I know some people might say that the ending was just too unbelievable and it that it would never happen, but I think that's the best part about these types of books. Totally engrossing and the perfect type of easy and addicting ready to fly through on the weekend or take on a relaxing vacation.

Camp Nightingale isn't for chumps... This book started off a little slow for me. I almost put it down and put it into my DNF pile, but I'm glad I kept reading. 20% of the way through, you really start to pick up on the story, where the whole mystery becomes more real and the character is having to relive her past. There is layer upon layer within this story that it makes for an intriguing journey. A must read for all mystery fans.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.