Thursday, July 12, 2018

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager-- Summer Camp is One Creepy Setting!

The Last Time I Lied

13 year old Emma finds out she's spending her summer at Camp Nightengale, aka "Camp Rich Bitch", and she can't be more thrilled.  What she doesn't know is that she's going to be bunked up with much older girls and bad things are going to happen.  When everyone in her cabin goes missing (and are never found) except for her, the camp shuts down....

Until 15 years later when the owner invites Emma back to camp to teach students painting during their reopening season.  Emma doesn't want to go, but the need for closure is too great.  As memories and mysteries resurface, Emma has to face some hard truths about herself and wonder if she'll ever know what became of her friends all those years ago.









You know where a bomb-ass place to set a horror novel is? A creepy summer camp.  As if Jason Vorhees and The Blair Witch didn't already make me scared enough of summer camp and the woods, this book comes along and now I will never camp again (not that I was going to anyway because ewww, bugs).

This book centers on Emma, who was living with 3 girls in a cabin at summer camp when they all mysteriously went missing.  Emma was the youngest (only 13) when it happened, and 15 years later it still haunts her.  She spends her time painting the missing/presumed dead girls, and in order (she thinks) to get past it she heads back to camp for the reopening.  Of course, her real intention is to solve the mystery, but any kind of closure to be had, she'll take.

While there Emma has to look into Franny, the billionaire owner, her 2 adopted sons-- one who she accused years ago of being involved, former campers who have returned to help out, and the surfacing of long-buried memories of her former friends.

The scariest part about this book was the unknown.  It's scary when you know people are dead, but when people simply vanish... that is so much scarier.  Your mind just runs wild imagining what could have happened.  Forget reason and what is most probable-- you are going to imagine the worst of the worst.

I fell into this book.  It totally engulfed me.  There is the mystery of the missing girls, but there is so much more.  It's like I read 3 mystery books in one.  The only thing that I was a little MEH about was the mental health aspect.  Emma has a diagnosed mental illness, but I didn't really think that added part was necessary.  I don't know if this is true, but it felt a little like it was used to add the layer of "is this really happening or is she just crazy?" and I just don't think it needed to be that way.

I really liked Final Girls when I read it last year, and I enjoyed this one even more, so I can't wait to see what this author has in store for us next!!

OVERALL: Riley Sager's second thriller is a hit!!  I totally loved this book-- I thought the setting, the mystery, and the twists were A+.  I completely recommend.

Date Published: July 3, 2018
Publisher: Dutton Books
How I got this book: Thanks to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy to read and honestly review


Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 5/5 









Character: Vivian
Book: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

  • This book is one of the off-the-wall books I've read and is PERFECT for a girl like Vivian.





10 comments:

  1. I never got around to reading Final Girls but I do keep hearing this one is even BETTER, so I'll probably read this first. hah I find myself more interested in this one anyway, and I'm glad to hear you loved it!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I thought this one was WAY better!! I hope you like it!

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  2. Wonderful review! I've been curious about this book because I think summer camp is a really cool setting for a thriller, though I do not read that many thrillers. I'm glad to see you really enjoyed this one! You said it felt like reading 3 different mysteries so now I am really intrigued!!

    Thanks for the review!
    - Lefty @ The Left-Handed Book Lover

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    1. I don't read a lot of Adult thrillers usually (recently I have been, but that's not something I've ever really done before). This has major YA crossover appeal. I never wanted to put it down!

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  3. Oooh I hadn't heard of this one, but I may have to check it out! I love a really good horror/thriller. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. This was definitely a good one. Really interesting ending-- twists and turns. I totally recommend!

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  4. I'm always on the lookout for a good thriller, and the creepy camp setting on this intrigues me!

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    1. This was an awesome setting!! Summer camp always sounded fun to me as a kid, but as an adult I'm starting to think they're just creepy!

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  5. I loved Final Girls last year, so you saying this is even better made me push this up on my TBR. I totally agree - summer camps are such a freaking scary setting, also what you said about "3 mystery books in one"? Wow, that sounds exceptional. Can't wait! :)

    Veronika @ The Regal Critiques

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    1. I found this one to be way more intriguing than FINAL GIRLS. I really really liked FINAL GIRLS, but there were some slow parts for me-- this one I had NONE of that!!

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