Book Review - The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

 

The girls at Camp Nightingale play a game called "Two Truths and a Lie". Vivian, Natalie, and Allison are all veterans at the camp and Emma Davis is a first time camper and the youngest of the group. All the fun and games end when Emma awakes in the middle of the night to see the others sneak out of the cabin under the cloak of darkness. The last time any of the girls were seen was when Emma saw Vivian closing the door behind her and signalling Emma to keep it a secret.

Few years later, Emma is huge on the art scene. Her massive canvases portray the wilderness covering up ghostly shapes in white dresses. One of her painting catches the attention of Francesca Harris-White, who is the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale.  Franny asks Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as their painting instructor. Emma is hesitant to return but, she sees this as an opportunity to find out more about her friends and seek closure.

When Emma returns to camp again, she feels like she's transported to the past as she is assigned to the same cabin. She notices that the only security camera on the property is pointed directly at her door. She finds cryptic clues that Vivian had left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs into the past, she finds herself confronted by threats in the present. 

I thought the novel was an interesting read but, I felt like it was moving a bit slower than I would have liked. The reader is taken on a drawn out ride and was given small nuggets at a time to keep you reading. The ending was a surprise but, it left me with a few questions and I am questioning how plausible the plot was. However, I would still be interested in reading other books by the author.

Book Review - Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty

Photo Credit - Amazon

Mary Wade Kimball was looking for a quiet retreat from the demands of her everyday life. While picking up supplies and returning home, she sees a kitten stuck in a thorny bush in front of an abandoned house. She decides to help the kitten when she is taken hostage by two criminals.  Mary  Wade is worried when a third criminal returns with supplies for the storm.  However, the third criminal is actually an undercover agent, Brett Davis. Deciding the woman's safety was more important than his three month investigation, he risks his mission to help Mary Wade escape. Will Mary Wade and Brett be able to escape the criminals?

The novel had an interesting premise, but it failed to keep me interested. I found myself glazing over portions of the book because the plot was predictable and the dialogue felt stilted. I found bits of the story on the topic and quite silly, like Brett who managed to calmly think through things to rush into a known ambush and Mary Wade seducing one of the criminals. The mini story about Brett's stalker was also very predictable and could have been left out. It didn't really add anything to the story other than making the book longer.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble

Photo Source - Amazon

Dana Newell works as a 911 dispatcher and sees her fair share of people in trouble and in need. She is known for remaining calm under pressure and seeing the best in everyone. However, when she meets her brother's friend, Garrett, she falls head over heels in love only to find out he has an abusive streak. Determined to leave him and to start new, she moves to her hometown, Rock Harbor to stay with her brother, Chris. While Rock Harbor seems like a small idyllic town, it harbors more deadly secrets and danger than Dana accounts for. Will Dana be able to escape her abusive fiance? Will Dana be able to love again?

This was the second book I have read by the author and I like this novel better over her earlier work, Mermaid Moon. Both of her novels are filled with mystery, thrills and deception while being fun and interesting to read. The characters were well developed and realistic. However, I found some parts of the author's writing to be confusing especially when it came to describing the death of Dana's parents, first it was described as a fire and then it was described as drowning. Since, she had two sets of parents, it would have been easier for the reader if there was a way to differentiate the two parents. Later in the book, it makes more sense but you still needed to utilize some deduction. Overall, an enjoyable book but the confusion with the parents was annoying and made me enjoy the book less.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**