Review: The Lies They Tell by Gillian French

Title: The Lies They Tell 

Author:  Gillian French
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date:  May 1st, 2018

Pages: 304
Genre: YA Thriller/Mystery

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  ARC

 

Everyone in Tenney’s Harbor, Maine, has heard of the Garrison tragedy. A mysterious fire. A family of five reduced to one. For people like Pearl Haskins—whose dad was the caretaker of the Garrison property when the house went up in flames—the whispers about that night are more than upsetting. They hurt. With her disgraced father now trying to find steady work in between booze benders, Pearl is stuck waiting tables at the town’s country club where the rich townspeople come in the summer to flaunt their money and gossip about one another.

This year, a group of privileged boys has made a point of sitting in Pearl’s section—throwing careless insults her way while also attempting to flirt. Though she’s repulsed by everything they stand for, she’s drawn to the quiet leader of the pack, Tristan—the last surviving Garrison. He wasn’t home the night a blaze took his entire family, and the sadness coming off him in waves is hard to ignore. Befriending the summer boys might irk her to her core, but inside their fold of elite parties and reckless whims could be answers to what happened the night of the fire. And that’s just what she finds.

Hidden beneath the glittering façade of wealth and luxury, Pearl discovers a dark and twisted web of lies and betrayals that, once untangled, will leave no life in Tenney’s Harbor unchanged. That is…if it doesn’t take Pearl’s first.

I was very excited for this book. I read Grit a while back and very much enjoyed it. I was up for another book by this author. I did enjoy this novel, not as much as Grit but it was good. I was looking for more Thriller suspense and got more of a drama with a bit of mystery. IT was good just not what I longed for at the moment. The story was interesting and the writing was good. It was a pretty quick read. 

Pearl lives in a small town where tragedy stuck just last year. Tristan, a rich summer house vacation boy, lost his family in a fire. His parents, sister, and little brother all perished. The town things he did it and they think it's Pearl's father's fault. When Bridges, a boy from Tristan's elite group of friends, shows interest in Pearl, she decides to do some digging. She wants to find out the truth and get the town's eyes and talk off of her father. During her investigation secrets are revealed and no one is who she thought they were. 

So by the premise, I really thought this would be a thriller suspense and was really in the mood for a good thrill and chill. I didn't get that. I think this book was probably meant to be more of a mystery with drama and that is what I got. There is a lot of drama around this small town and the rich families. Like secret burying type of secrets. There is a mystery about who killed Tristan's family and that part was interesting. It really was predictable though. Which doesn't always bother me and it really didn't with this book but I felt it was too predictable at times and I had the entire thing pretty much guessed.

Even though the mystery was predictable, I feel the story was more about the troubled kids in this town and Pearl's struggles. I enjoyed reading about the issues these kids had and their families had. I also wanted to know the truth how the family died. I guess who did it but not why and how. (besides there was a fire) this is what kept me interested. They secrets and the deeper issues. 

The characters were okay.  I didn't dislike them but I did have a bit of a hard time connecting with them. They were all kind of on a screwed up on a level that I didn't really approve of. Some of the choices they made were just so wrong. I did like Pearl for the most part. She wasn't real touch feeling and warm but she had a good head on her shoulders. She was responsible and she cared for her best friend and her father deeply.

There was a touch of romance but not really. The story doesn't focus on any real romance.  I did enjoy the friendship relationships and the family relationships that were built into the story. The relationship between Pearl and her best friend I liked. They had some issues to work out but they stuck together pretty good. I also enjoyed reading about Pearls background and current situation. 

I did enjoy this read, I wanted more but I still enjoyed it.  The mystery was the main focus of this book and not only was it a bit predictable it was still good. I do feel the ending was wrapped up a little quickly and could have been a tad more intense. 

All in all, it was a solid read. There were some issues, but none that kept me from quickly getting through this read and enjoying it. 

Gillian French is the author of three novels for teens: GRIT (HarperTeen, THE DOOR TO JANUARY, and THE LIES THEY TELL (HarperTeen, 5/1/2018). Her short fiction has appeared in Odd Tree Press Quarterly, EMP Publishing's anthology Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups): Tales of Extreme Horror, Sanitarium Magazine, and The Realm Beyond. She holds a BA in English from the University of Maine, and lives in her native state of Maine with her husband and sons, where she's perpetually at work on her next novel.