The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Published: July 3, 2018
Publisher: Dutton
384 Pages
5/5 Stars
Vivian, Natalie, Alison, and first-time camper Emma Davis are at Camp Nightingale. The girls decide to play Two Truths and a Lie game which ended when Emma, half asleep, watched the other sneak out of the cabin in the middle of the night. That was the last anyone saw them. The last thing Vivian did was put a finger to her lips and hushed Emma.
Now, Emma is a rising star in the New York art scene. She turns her past into paintings- massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca asks Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends. But soon Emma realizes that something is wrong at Camp Nightingale.
Emma finds a security camera pointed at her cabin door, mounting mistrust from Francesca and cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present. The closer she gets to the truth about the camp, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.
I am kicking myself because I waited so long to read it. From the first few pages I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down. The main character Emma, makes you question if she’s crazy or if somebody is out to get her. But you can’t help but root for her and for her to finally get the peace she craves so deeply. The camp and the surrounding forest are also main characters, both helping create the overall eerie feeling you get while reading.
Another aspect that added depth was the different timelines. I love when novels go back and forth and in this case, it added so much more to the story and the suspense. I would love if this novel was turned into a movie!
I definitely recommend reading this creepy book, just make sure to keep a light on!
-Ashley
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is available for purchase on Amazon here!Â
