The Lying Game

TITLE: The Lying Game
AUTHOR: Ruth Ware
PUBLISHER: Gallery/Scout Press
PAGE: 370 pages
RATING: ***** (3/5)

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten, along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...

The next morning, three women in and around London - Fatima, Thea and Isa - receive the text they had always hoped would never come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, "I need you."

The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second-rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four become inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty. But their little game had a consequences, and as the four converge in present-day Salten, they realize their shared past was not as safely buried as they had once hoped,...


The story was told from Isa Wilde's point of view. Through her current experiences and memories of the past events, readers are brought, back and forth, to past and present, which heighten the tensions. I must admit, there are times that the plot was slowed and I got bored. But Ware did a good job to keep me hooked in, by revealing enough, to peak my curiosity and keep me guessing, what had actually happened, what the big secret is. There are plenty of twist and turn throughout the book

The plot, although it's not a thriller, it's interesting enough to be categorized as a mystery. A terrible secret in the past that formed a strong bond between the characters. Kate, Isa, Thea and Fatima are a close-knit friend, that invented a game or contest in which each individual has to trick other people into believing something that absolutely not true. Within 6 months, they became notoriously outcast. After a mysterious disappearance of Kate's dad, Ambrose, the four friends were expelled from boarding school. They went separate ways, except Kate, who chose to stay behind, unable to move on. Now in present day, their biggest lies are back to haunt them and threaten to destroy the life they have built ever since.

I enjoyed the diversity of characters on this book. However, I do think that Ware could have been create a better main character. Yes, I dislike Isa - sorry! She is a selfish, irresponsible, and such a drama queen. Owen, her boyfriend, is the sweetest guy on earth. Isa managed to destroyed her relationship with Owen by lying about the reason of her staying at Kate's in Salten. She also got all defensive and angry when Owen asked about a flower delivery from Kate's brother, Luc. Then, she managed to put her baby in a dangerous situation, not just one time. Seemed like she did her action without thinking of the safety of her baby.

As for the ending, I did guess right. So it wasn't a big surprise for me, although there was an unexpected twist. Having so much tension built up since the beginning of the story, I do wish for a bigger, explosive ending. The one that would make me close the book with a long gasp and thinking about it for days.