Title: The Last Time I Lied
Author: Riley Sager
Publisher: Dutton
Published: 3 July 2018
Pages: 384
Content Warnings: mental illness, death, child death
Emma Davis went to camp as a young girl where she was bunked in with 3 older girls. One night the 3 of leave with Vivian, the leader, closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips. That’s the last time anyone sees the 3 girls.
Adult Emma is a rising star in the art scene and has serious PTSD. She turns her past into paintings, making 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 owner of Camp Nightingale, and she implores Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor. Of course, as I do in horror movies, I was yelling at Emma not to go, but did she listen to me? Nooooo. They never listen.
Once at the camp, Emma is placed in the same cabin that she stayed in 15 years ago and the girls that she’s the counselor for remind her of Vivian, Natalie, and Allison. Soon strange occurrences begin happening around the camp, a way to destabilize Emma, and she’s soon thrust back into another mystery and the past begins to repeat itself.
I thought this book was so well done! The writing was great and the characters felt so real. I was a little annoyed at Emma at times, but considering what happened, it’s a little understandable. I thought the mirroring of the disappearance was so well-done and interesting (of course this time Emma figures it out and the 3 girls are safe, in case you were worried). I was not expecting the conclusion that happened and the twist at the end. I do love Emma’s arc through the story and by the end, the confidence and assurance she’s gained in herself was nice to see.
Happy Reading Darlings!
I love Riley Sager’s writing! He does such a good job setting up a creepy mystery that draws you in and leaves you twisting and guessing.