The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

This is my second Ruth Ware novel. Last September, I read The Woman in Cabin 10 and absolutely loved it! I haven't read In a Dark, Dark Way yet, but fully intend to, and later this year, she is releasing a new book, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, which looks like it will be just as exciting and thrilling as the others! I picked this book as my Book of the Month a few months back after I saw Reese Witherspoon say amazing things about it on Instagram, and I always trust Reese.

Rule One: Tell a lie.
Rule Two: Stick to your story.
Rule Three: Don't get caught.
Rule Four: Never lie to each other.
Rule Five: Know when to stop lying.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

The rules are simple, the points don't matter; just make sure they believe you and you don't get caught. When Isa, Fatima, Thea, and Kate attending Salten boarding school, they bond over this game. They don't lie to just anyone. Thea started it when she was tired of being the new girl at boarding schools because the new girls were always tricked. Instead, they lie "to the ones in charge-the teachers, the popular girls. The ones who think they're above it all." (p. 55) But when the lies are taken too far, the girls are given the opportunity to leave quietly or be suspended.

Now it is fifteen years later, and they have all moved on. Fatima is married and has children; Thea has a job working in a casino; Isa just had a baby and is learning the difficulties of motherhood. Kate, however, still lives in Salten, with the cloud of her immediate departure and fathers disappearance hanging like a cloud over her head. When Kate sends a text one night saying that she needs them, Isa, Famita, and Thea drop everything and return to Salten. A body has been found in the Reach, and old rumors are surfacing as well. The lies they told are coming back to haunt them, and the truth will come out, or at least, their version of the truth will. Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead...or both of them.

(Source: Giphy)

So, part of me just wanted to yell at the girls the entire time for lying. Lying is my largest pet peeve. I understood their logic. When you can make the popular girl look like an ass, you win.

"Looking for a seat?" Thea said sweetly as the girl reached her. I'd later come to know her as Helen Fitzpatrick, and she was cheerful and gossipy, but now she laughed, disbelieving and bitter.

"Thanks, but I'd rather sit by the toilets. Why the hell did you tell me Miss Weatherby was pregnant? I sent her a congratulations card, and she went completely mental. I've been gated for six weeks."

Thea said nothing, but I could see she was trying not to laugh, and Kate, who was sitting with her back to Helen, mouthed Ten points and help up her fingers to Thea, grinning.

"Well?" Helen demanded.

"My mistake. I mush have misheard."

"Don't bullshit me! You're a filthy liar."

"It was a joke," Thea said. "I never told you it was definite-I said I'd heard through the grapevine. Next time, check your facts." (p. 49)

See, I understand the logic there. But sometimes, it leads to more horrible things. Like when Kate texts the girls while they're still in school saying she needs them. This time, they find Ambrose, Kate's father, lying on the floor, dead, supposedly by his own hand. But Kate cannot tell the police what happened; she isn't 16 yet and cannot be sent to a home. So they bury the body in the Reach. Now, all these years later, a dog has uncovered the body and people are itching to find out the truth. This is where the lie is too much. I was internally yelling at her for how immature she was being. 

Of course, there's another piece of the puzzle: Luc. Luc is Kate's ex-stepbrother who unofficially lives with Ambrose. His mother sent him there when Luc was constantly getting in trouble, and he loves his life there. But Ambrose's untimely death sends Luc back to his mother and his troubles. So when Isa is reunited with Luc after all this time, he is angry with her. Beyond angry. He yells and berates her in the post office. He's very hot and cold the entire story, and I decided that I didn't like him.

(Source: Giphy)

The plot was interesting, but all of the lying made it difficult to follow. I'm still undecided at what actually happened the night Ambrose killed/didn't kill himself. And I hate that it led to Isa becoming a liar again. Now, she finds herself constantly lying to Owen, her boyfriend. I'm sure Thea and Fatima find themselves lying more as well.

While I didn't enjoy it as much as Cabin 10, it was still a good read and hasn't turned me off of Ware's writing.

Rating: 6/10

Author: Ruth Ware

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller