By: Sara Shepard
When I was alive, my family seemed picture perfect. My adoptive parents adored me, and my little sister, Laurel, copied my every move. But now that my long-lost twin, Emma, has taken my place to solve my murder, we're both learning just how flawed my family really is.
Laurel is shooting Emma nasty looks and sneaking around with my ex-boyfriend. And it turns out my parents were keeping a huge secret-could it be the reason I'm dead?
How far would they go to keep the truth buried? No one can harm me now, but Emma is still fair game. And if she's not careful, she'll end up buried, too...
summary from book
My Rating: 3/5
This is the forth installment in The Lying Game series. I was hopeful that a little more would be revealed in this book and while there was some newly disclosed information that was quite shocking (mainly in the last few chapters of this book), I found that not a whole lot took place. Shepard always introduces a new "suspect" each novel yet it's always just a distraction, a falsity. I don't want to give too much away but the formula for each book in The Lying Game series has become a little excessive and redundant. Will i continue to read on? Of course, I need to know who killed Sutton! At the end of the day, these books are a fun read with a mystery that secures that the reader will keep interested and read on.
The plot of this book was like that of its predecessors, very familiar and as I mentioned above, slightly redundant. This can be a positive attribute however if as a reader you appreciate familiarity in writing. Often what keeps us going back to a particular author is that we know and have come to understand the ways in which said author writes. Familiarity is not always a bad thing. For me however, with this series, I've come to want something more. What worked in the beginning is no longer as mysterious and intense as it once was. I recently stumbled upon the news that this series will be comprised of six books in total. With that in mind, I assume and hope that books number five and six will provide me with the insight and revelations that I am searching for. I finally want to know who killed Sutton and more so than that, I want to know what happens when everyone finds out about Emma and also what will happen when everyone realizes that she's been pretending to be Sutton for a little while.
Character wise everyone in this series is just okay for me. I don't feel a large pull towards most of them. If anything, the only character I truly have any attachment towards is Emma which makes sense given that she's the protagonist. Thayer is also pretty interesting to me although not much is known about him. Many of the other characters are just foils or underdeveloped. I don't know if this is done on purpose seeing as the main focus of this series is the mystery that courses through it. I find that when this is the case it often results in characters taking the supporting role. This isn't a coming of age story or one that focuses heavily on the development of characters to make a point or to further develop the plot. This series is fun and mystery filled, a quick read with little character development strewn into the mix. I don't read this series however for the characters. Like I mentioned before, it's the mystery that keeps me loyal and intrigued. That doesn't mean however that I would mind some further development. If anything, I welcome all fully developed characters with open arms and feel that a well developed cast of characters can always strengthen a novel. But hey, that's just me. Characters are always my favourite part of any novel so I tend to be extra expectant and needy in that department.
Overall: The Lying Game series is a fun series to read. There's twins, murder, someone living the identity of another, suspects at every turn. As a reader, you cannot trust anyone. These are all exciting elements that warrant an entertaining read. If you're looking for a YA novel or a series to keep you entertained then this could likely be it. I mean who doesn't like a good fun read every now and then?
