The Lying Game

Isa Wilde receives a text from her long-time friend Kate. 'I need you', and immediately rushes down to the coast to meet Kate and her other close friends. The four of them had been at boarding school together but a series of scandals had led to them being asked to leave. When a body is discovered in the Reach, a local tidal inlet, the past comes back to haunt the friends. They had always promised to be true to each other but Isa becomes more and more convinced that there is more to the events that summer than Kate is willing to admit. If the truth comes out Isa stands to lose her comfortable London life and her baby.

At its best this is a cracking read. Ware certainly knows how to twist a tale and her plotting is pacy. Although I found show more all the protagonists deeply unlikable people I did enjoy the story and twist was great. I did feel the ending was a little contrived but am willing to forgive that. This is a book written to appeal to the masses and it appears ready for the beach read season - it's a more intelligent option in this genre! show less

Unfortunately, this novel was a disappointment to me. The premise sounds interesting: Four women, who were best friends at boarding school, gather years later because one of them sends a particular text message. Apparently they were an unpopular and even feared group back then, because they were lying and spinning elaborate stories, trying to convince other people that they were true and doing harm in the process. Of course, there is a very dark secret that is about to come out now and putting them in danger.
What I liked about this story was the setting. It is similar to the setting of the Ruth Galloway novels: A lonely, wooden house on a wide, tidal beach. I loved the descriptions of this. I also enjoyed the writing style, and yes, I show more did find it gripping and kept guessing until the end.
Apart from that, though, there was not much that I liked. I only warmed to one of the four main characters - Fatima, a Muslim doctor who has become more religious in recent years and constantly receives comments regarding her hijab and her choice not to drink alcohol. To me, she is the only character in the novel who sees clearly and who suggests sensible and constructive ideas on how to deal with the situation.
The worst character to me is the narrator, who is unsufferable, because of her stupid actions, her inconsistencies, and how terrible she treats her boyfriend. The addition of her baby to the novel is not a win and just made it more repetitive (because of course the baby cries, needs attention and is another stake in dangerous situations - every time).
While I liked the plot in the beginning, I did not enjoy how it developed. Maybe I am also getting a little tired of thrillers about dark secrets and events from someone's childhood.
I will still seek out other novels by Ruth Ware because as said above, I like her style, but this one is not her best. show less

I really enjoy Ware's style and her books suck me in quickly. This one had a great atmosphere even if some plot points were a bit of a stretch. I wasn't a huge fan of The Woman in Cabin 10, but I loved her first book, In a Dark, Dark Wood. That one remains my favorite of hers so far.

This one relied a little heavily on the gimmick of "the lying game" which felt like the weakest point of the plot to me. It's part boarding school friendship story and part mystery. It takes place in a secluded spot on the coast of England in a dilapidated house that's only reachable at certain times of the tides, similar to The Woman in Black (which I loved).

Four girls, Isa, Fatima, Thea, and Kate have a shared secret from their past that has come back to show more haunt their lives. I really loved the character of Fatima. Even when some of the other's would grate on my nerves, I always enjoyed her. At the same time, she always seemed a little above the struggles of her friends and didn't quite fit with the group. Kate's father Ambrose was also a complex character that never felt like a cliche to me. The little town of Salten felt like a character as well. From the small houses covered in fishing nets to the nosy neighbors, it was alive in every way.

I also just left the stage of having an infant and so I love her descriptions of the the struggles and joys of new motherhood. The main character, Isa, has a six-month-old baby and the book talks about nursing, losing yourself in motherhood, the strain on a relationship, etc. It all felt so accurate and recent to me.

BOTTOM LINE: A quick read that's hard to put down. It doesn't quite measure up to her other's, but she has an undeniable talent for portraying characters and creating tense situations. show less

Trite. Ruth Ware's buzzy novels have been on my tbr for awhile. When this one became available at my library, I grabbed it. This was my first Ware, which turned out to be a mistake. It's bad.

Without rehashing the plot, here's what irked me the most:

Hated the character through whose perspective the story is told. She's insipid and actually a pretty lame excuse of a person. Her entire adult life is unraveled by poor decisions she made in high school, which by the way ruined the lives of other people then and has the potential to negatively impact the life of her current partner and father of their six month daughter.

No matter though. When her high school girlfriends text her out of the blue 17 years after she'd last seen them, she upends show more her life. When her partner questions her behavior, which he is given reasons to do, he is the bad guy and she the affronted and wounded party.

And therein lies the biggest issue with the book. It one thing to have even an unsympathetic and unreliable narrator (like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train...all the girls) and another thing to be stuck with a character I didn't like, didn't respect, and thought a simpering fool.

There are lots of side plots introduced that go nowhere and have no purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to a gutted sheep with a threatening note that is fretted about briefly and then ignored, numerous accounts of breastfeeding and leaky breasts, which have no bearing on the story, considerable anxiety about secrets from the past haunting the future (whiffff), a tense high school reunion during which nothing happens and more.

Based on the good reviews of her other books, this may be the novelist's equivalent of phoning it in. Save your time and your money. show less

Another killer read from Ruth Ware!

When a text comes through to Isa Wilde in the middle of the night, three simple words, her entire life is turned upside-down.

“ I need you”

A human body was discovered on the marsh and with it, long ago buried truths are coming to light. With these words, Isa is whisked, both literally and figuratively, back to the idyllic town of her youth where she spent one fateful semester at a boarding school. Something terrible happened, leaving Isa and her three friends to pick up the pieces. This twisty turny thriller leaves you wondering who is lying, who is telling the truth, and unsure of who can be trusted.

What a wild ride! First of all, I want to highlight the fact that I listened to his one on show more audiobook and the reader, Imogene Church was, in a word, phenomenal. She brought so much life and feeling into Ware words it just added that extra layer of personality and suspense to the story. And speaking of words, Ware is a master with them. Rich with imagery, her words paint such a robust and full scene from beginning to end. Every detail, feeling, nuance is captured so perfectly and vividly. In true thriller fashion, Ware has a way of parceling out her information to the readers just enough to fill our heads will all sorts of theories, only to have them dashed and second guessed with the next chapter.

Solid read, one I highly recommend to all my fans of a good thriller. Ware has secured her place on my auto buy list and will gladly gobble up anything she puts out! show less

Warning: this is LONG!

Books about boarding school have sucked me in before, so much so that they led me to attend one (I actually asked); we were living in Hong Kong at the time and I went to school in Sussex, just as in Ruth Ware's 'The Lying Game'.
I couldn't resist making this one of my picks for the month in a book subscription box, and although it waited on my shelf for a few weeks ( I have massive TBR list, thanks to my recent rash of book-buying), as soon as I started Ware's 'Game', I couldn't put it down.
I was immediately transported back to England and my boarding school days. I felt all the nervousness and anxiety emanating off the pages right away, and you can feel it all the way through. The anxiety of trying to make peace show more with the past is what gave me short nights of sleep (I was staying up late reading), and it's what keeps the characters up late too, their pasts coming back to haunt them. I have always envied friendships that last for decades, like the ones in this story but there are many secrets that are hidden within these tight bonds. These bonds may seem unrealistic to some readers, but when you spend your time literally LIVING with each other through your formative years, you form unbreakable bonds, much like family. Okay, maybe not to the point where you help cover up crimes (right?), but I'm talking about my school mates. I can see where this may not strike a chord with some readers though.

I really enjoyed Ware's writing and never felt confused when she pulled the reader back to look at the girls' past. I was also fully imagining the Sussex coast, the train going back and forth from London, even the windy staircases to the dormitories, the long walks when you just don't have a car...frighteningly close to my own experience (a bit spooky, Ruth!). I kept coming back to the book for more.
I can possibly see how an American reader would maybe struggle with a imagining a long walk pushing a pram across marshy land at night. Being a Brit who walked a long way home from a train station every day, I didn't. The old Mill was also a force to be reckoned with, within the story, and a character of its own, and I could 'see' it falling into the water gradually. And the fever dreams of a body being discovered? Who hasn't had that nightmare, that dread? (Tell me have...right?) I felt it intensely.
Also an aside: since I had to leave my own boarding school in a hurry, not because of bad behavior (I promise) - my parents split - I never got to say goodbye to friends at my school either. I STILL haven't been back for a Founder's Day. Ware writing in a Salten School dinner was a clever touch to bring the past and present together. These sorts of reunions either have people filled with dread (like in this case, and for special reason), and then some 'old girls' can't wait for them.

I loved this story so much, I really did, and while it won't be sitting alongside jovial boarding school stories by Enid Blyton, being transported to the Sussex countryside for this mystery was all-absorbing. Having the past come back to bite you is something we ALL dread and this is a classic tale of that. I feel a little unsure of how I feel about the ending; sad, maybe it's too convenient, but somehow so appropriate, but I liked the imagery - maybe I just didn't want it to end, and for the mystery to be solved. show less

If you love psychological suspense, you're going to love Ruth Ware's novels. Her third book, The Lying Game has just released and yes, I loved it!

Isa, Kate, Thea and Fatima all attended the same seaside boarding school. While there, they played what they called The Lying Game. They lied to everyone but adhered to the one rule they laid down - never lie to each other. But their game and their time together abruptly comes to an end when something tragic occurs. Expelled and split up, they go their own ways, except Kate, who stays in Salten. Now grown with careers and families, they only sporadically stay in touch. But, when Kate sends a text with the words 'I need you' to the other three, they immediately come back to Salten. You see, the show more past can only stay buried so long - and an omission is as good as a lie....

I am a huge fan of 'unreliable narrator' tales - I love trying to suss out what is actually the truth. This time we have multiples - four self proclaimed liars. Isa is our lead character. We see both the present and the past through her eyes and memories. More of what I love - that back and forth only heightens the tension of a book. We know something has happened in the past - unclear references hint at something terrible, but it is never completely spelled out. (And is only finally revealed in the last few chapters.) I need to know what the secret is! The book then switches back to the present - another sure fire technique for keeping me up late reading.

The Lying Game has a mystery at its core, but it is also an exploration of female friendship and familial relationships. These four wouldn't seem to be drawn together as friends - they're all very different in personality and temperament. Ware does a wonderful job portraying and exploring the bonds of friendship, loyalty and time. The same goes for the family piece - what defines a family and where does loyalty lie?

The setting is perfect - a remote coastal town, an isolated school, a ruin of a building that has housed family, friends and secrets for many years, as well as a surrounding village filled with distinctly contentious inhabitants. All of this just adds a great atmospheric backdrop for the all the possibilities, scenarios and questions I came up with.

The Lying Game is a character driven novel with a secret at the heart of it. A secret that changes the course of many lives. It's an addictive read - one I didn't want to put down - and one I finished far too fast again. This reader will be waiting for book number four. show less