Sutton Mercer watches from the afterlife as her long-lost twin, Emma Paxton, takes over her identity to solve her murder. But after ruling out her early leads, Emma still hasn’t found Sutton’s killer. A lot of people wanted her dead—but one name keeps popping up: Thayer Vega. When the gorgeous and mysterious Thayer returns to town, Emma has to move fast to figure out whether he’s back for revenge…or if he already got it.
Set in a town where friends can turn into dangerous enemies and everyone harbors dark secrets, The Lying Game is a juicy new series that fans of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series—and the hit ABC Family show—will love.
Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She has lived in New York City, Brooklyn, Tucson, Arizona, Philadelphia, and now lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line.
Ethan totally did it.. One: he has a pretty good reason, sutton screwed him Two: he performs at that open mic place, right by the canyon where she was killed Three: he had hiking gloves in his room and hello, canyon? Cliff where you can drop dead bodies and then hike on out of there? And his room is serial killer clean. Four: running away from thayer much? Five: second biggest reason. Ethan hardly ever spoke to sutton, yet somehow realized that emma was emma, when suttons parents, sister, best friends, and thayer, who she has known her whole life, have no clue. He's keeping her close, making her feel comfy domfy having someone know her true identity, so he can keep an eye on her Six: first biggest reason. The books keep focusing on possible suspects who have reason to get revenge on sutton. However, sutton being a goner means that that person ALREADY got their revenge. They wouldn't still be taking out their anger, playing out their revenge, on emma if they knew she was emma. You'd have to look for someone who has a reason to want to kill sutton, yet is super cool and fine with her/emma now. I don't know if this made any sense, so in conclusion... ETHANS A KILLER YO
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I loved this installment in the series! At this point I trust no one and suspect everyone. Anyone could have done it! I'm so excited to continue on with the series.
This review is definitely affected by reading this book immediately after Never Have I Ever. Reading this immediately after finishing the preceding one, there are a lot of pretty large holes in the plot. For the first few chapters, I assumed that the author may just have made a mistake. Instead, all of the plot holes were actually Emma conveniently forgetting things that were relevant to the suspect of the book. Had Emma remembered everything she had conveniently forgotten, the mystery in this book would have been solved a lot faster. Most attentive readers will have solved at least the mystery in Two Truths and a Lie well before it is revealed.
Another big problem is that the plot closely follows the same pattern as the previous books. The first book had the advantage of being about multiple suspects, and the second book was at least the first time that the formula was strictly followed. It is with this book that it really becomes a problem. For most of this book, Emma's life isn't directly in danger, so there is a lot less suspense.
Another big frustration is that Emma is so dull and flat as a character. The only time that she really seems to have a character is when she is channeling Sutton. Instead of developing, the same few facts about her life are repeated instead. She does not necessarily have interests. She just is conveniently skilled in things when relevant to the plot. She is a little more proactive in this book; however, she still spends most of her time just waiting for things to be revealed to her instead of actively investigating.
There are still some good aspects of this book. If this was not the third book in the series, I would consider it much better than the second. Thayer is a much more interesting character than most of the other characters. It is nice that both of Sutton's parents are starting to get a little bit of attention in the plot. I'm fairly optimistic that the last book in the series will return to at least a three. If the mystery continues beyond the fourth book, I will have to do some thinking before continuing to read.
I can no more read the same story told in other words and not for the first time. Shepard did it in her Pretty Little Liars series (I managed through 8 books there and some were even original but still repetitive). This series has the same pattern in ALL books. I started reading it because of the TV show that was closed without any conclusion which I intended to find here. Guess I would have to read spoilers for the rest of the books and be fine.
Might as-well write this review whilst I'm supposed to be studying
Two Truths and a Lie
So i started this book back in 2012, and read 211 pages, which is ridiculous considering the whole book is only 291 pages... why didn't my past self just finish it? hahaha
I spent a while looking at recap blog posts of the book before this, and skimmed over that pages I'd already read in this book, and that worked surprisingly well, i was able to dive right back into the story!
I really don't know what exactly to rate this considering I read it over the span of 3 years... but 4 stars seems accurate enough, haha
I can't wait to continue on with this series, the mystery is just amazing and draws me in every time!
За много години като за начало и да се надявам (сама за себе си), че аз няма да изневеря на новогодишното си обещание да пиша повече през тази година. Определено не съм спряла да чета и да акумулирам книги, съдейки по количеството вкъщи.
Та, шегата на страна – започвам с една от най-пресните поредици в ума ми, която консумирах наведнъж. Не помня да съм чела скоро ей така 6 книги за два дена. Сама се видях в чудо!
Сара Шепърд стана доста популярна поради поредицата си за „Малките сладки лъжкини“ (която не съм чела, но сериала беше супер) и поредицата ѝ „Перфекциониста“, която е дуология и ми допадна. „Игри на лъжи“ е много стара нейна поредица, която на шега намерих в магазин Т-Маркет всяка за по 5лв – намерих само 4, а другите 2 прочетох на английски.
Идеята и сюжета на абсолютно всички книги на Сара е, че се въртят около мистериозно убийство, което главната героиня трябва да разреши.
В тази поредица Ема „по случайност“ разбира, че има сестра близначка (двете се оказват осиновени от различни семейства) и опитвайки се да се види с нея, всъщност се оказва в капан – близначката ѝ Сътън е била убита, а убиеца я кара да живее живота на Сътън, иначе и Ема ще я последва същата участ.
Можете да си представите в цели 6 книги, какви лукуми са били разтягани. Ах, имаше и любимото ми клише – любовен триъгълник. Но честно казано, като за тийн драма тип книги, бяха много добре изпипани. Определено имаше много елементи, които ми допаднаха в тях, за да ги изчета така бързо. Разбира се – да разбера кой е убиеца – беше главен мотивиращ фактор.
Поредицата си имаше всичко – мистерия, любов, динамика. Минах през всички спрекри на емоциите с всяка една част!
Мога само да ги опиша като кнкги, които трябва да се изживеят. Проблема е, че като знаеш вече края, надали би ги отгърнал повече. Може и да греша, кой знае.
Оценявам читателското си преживяване като 4/5 звезди.
I love the Lying Game series and was eagerly awaiting this book. I like how the story unfolds here and we get to see even further into Sutton's memories. Although I'd wish the next books brings even more answers and flashbacks. What I really like is how dimensional all these characters are, specially Thayer. This is by far my favorite Lying Game book till now. However, in this book I feel there was something really off about Ethan. I know how it's being shown towards the end that Laurel might've been behind Sutton's death and if that's true then it's horrible for Emma because she'd let Laurel off the hook before because of her alibi. Yes, sure she had motive but then there just is something about Ethan, I can't explain it but he seems guilty of something. Won't it be so like Sara Shephard to make Ethan the real perpetrator? The one that Emma trusted oh so easily? How could he be the only one to catch on to Emma when her family, friends and even her dog believed she was Sutton? He's not even showed to be that close to Sutton and the fact that he was pranked by Sutton and her friends further makes him more suspicious. Also, there seems to something fishy going on with Mr. Mercer as well, specially with whatever it is between Thayer and him and when towards the end he just immediately leaves like that. I'm guessing the next book could just might include Emma's dilemma between Thayer and Ethan considering the end of this book. I absolutely love the ending I must add. Cannot wait for Lying Games # 4.
“And that, I thought, was how you make a dramatic exit.”
I read Two Truths and a Lie in August of 2012, so I’m not going to review. I’m just adding books to my read shelf that never made it there when I first read them (thanks, child Kayleigh, for deciding to keep a list of all the books you’ve read, their dates, and their rating since early 2007).
Definitiv spannender als Teil 2. Ich konnte das Buch wieder nicht zur Seite legen und habe noch eine Theorie mehr. Es macht einfach Spaß! Dann jetzt geht's jetzt wohl weiter mit Teil 4!!
The series was still heating up at this stage, although pretty far-fetched with some awkward plot holes.
Three books in, Emma's ridiculous assumptions are starting to get a bit annoying, but we have new characters to keep things interesting.
It's easy reading and all the drama makes it pretty addictive, but mind the inconsistencies as you go. It's easier (and more enjoyable) if you just pretend they're not there.
OHMY! I absolutely loved The Lying Game and Never Have I Ever. I don't know but I noticed that this series is just like Pretty Little Liars. Someone was killed, Suspects, Secrets and stuffs...
So far I liked what I read so I'd like to watch this series (if it even becomes one (; )....
»Sutton ist tot. Sag es niemandem. Spiel weiter mit … Oder du bist als Nächste dran.«
Nur äußerst knapp hat Emma Paxton zwei Mordanschläge überlebt. Außer ihrem Freund Ethan weiß keiner, dass sie in die Rolle ihrer ermordeten Zwillingsschwester Sutton geschlüpft ist, um deren Mörder zu überführen. Bei den Ermittlungen stellt Emma fest, dass Suttons Herz alles andere als rein war: Die Zahl der Verdächtigen, die Sutton umgebracht haben könnten, ist astronomisch. Und ganz oben auf der Hitliste steht Suttons Ex Thayer: gutaussehend, sexy, gefährlich. Seit Monaten wurde Thayer vermisst – jetzt ist er wieder da. In der Hoffnung, mehr über Sutton zu erfahren, geht Emma mit Thayer auf Tuchfühlung … Quelle: randomhouse.de
Meinung:
Fangen wir mal mit der Sprache an. Wie immer es das Buch sehr flüssig und schnell zu lesen, was sicher darin liegt, dass die Autorin ihre Sätze eher einfach hält und nicht zu verschachtelt schreibt. Dennoch hatte ich nicht das Gefühl, dass das Buch für Jüngere geschrieben wurde.
Was mich etwas gestört hat, waren die vielen Wiederholungen von Gedanken oder Phrasen. Nach etwas 100 Seiten habe ich mich aber wieder daran gewöhnt und es ignoriert. Ansonsten hat die Autorin einen sehr angenehmen Schreibstil.
Die ganze Reihe wird aus Suttons Sicht erzählt, die als "Geist" immer neben Emma ist und alles sieht bzw. hört was diese hört. Das hat mich zu Beginn etwas irritiert, aber in diesem dritten Band empfand ich es als normal.
Die Geschichte selbst geht da weiter, wo Band 2 aufgehört hat. Wieder einmal begleiten wir Emma und Sutton auf der Suche nach Suttons Mörder. Der Handlungsgang ist ziemlich gleich wie in Band 1 und 2: Emma verdächtigt jemanden, Emma hat ein Gespräch mit dieser Person und ist sich danach sicher, dass diese Person Sutton getötet hat, Sutton hat Flashbacks von dieser Person und ist ebenfalls davon überzeugt, Emma stellt Nachforschungen an, Emma und Sutton kommen dahinter, dass diese Person unschuldig ist. Man könnte meinen, dass das mit der Zeit langweilig wird, aber ich empfinde das nicht so. In jedem Buch wird eine andere Person verdächtigt, in diesem war es Thayer Vega, der wieder in die Stadt gekommen ist. Ich mochte Thayer von Anfang an, er ist eine sehr interessante Figur und hat sicher noch viel Potential. Man erfährt zusammen mit Emma auch mehr über Suttons Vergangenheit und was sie am Tag ihres Todes getan hat, diese Stellen finde ich persönlich am interessantesten.
Emma möchte in diesem Band auch die Beziehung zu ihren Freunden und ihrer Familie verbessern und die Fehler die Sutton machte ausbessern. Die Mercers haben hier mehr Auftritte als sonst und auch einige schönen Familienszenen sind dabei. Emma möchte eine bessere Sutton sein, dies gelingt ihr auch sehr gut, außer bei Laurel, da diese immer noch böse auf Emma ist.
In Bezug auf Emma wirkt es aber auch so, als hätte sie keine eigenen Eigenschaften. Sie macht das, was Sutton auch gemacht hat (ist ja logisch) aber in ihrer Freizeit hat sie irgendwie keine eigenen Hobbies und ist in nichts selber gut. Da würde ich mir wünschen, dass die Figur von Emma noch etwas ausgebaut wird.
Wieder erfährt man am Ende des Buches nicht, wer Sutton nun getötet hat (das wird sich auch in Band 4 und 5 nicht ändern), daher wird man als neugieriger Leser fast gezwungen weiter zu lesen. Dass eine Reihe unnötig in die Länge gezogen wird, kann man nun als gut oder nicht gut empfinden *hust*Geldmacherei*hust*. Ich gehöre zu jenen die es gut finden, weil ich die Geschichte um Sutton und Emma wirklich mag und gerne die drei restlichen Bücher auch lese.
Wer ist nun der Mörder? Hier kommt meine Vermutung: Ethan. Nachdem ich gestern einige Rezensionen zu dem Buch gelesen habe, bin ich wie viele andere davon überzeugt, dass er Sutton getötet hat. Warum? 1. Er wusste gleich, dass Emma nicht Sutton ist. Wie kann er Sutton so gut kennen, wenn er doch angeblich nichts mit ihr zu tun gehabt hat. 2. Er wollte Emma sofort helfen Suttons Mörder zu finden. Komisch, da er sie erst kurz kannte, Sutton ihm angeblich nichts bedeutet hat. Will er von sich selber ablenken? 3. Sobald Emma Thayer erwähnt wird er zornig oder rennt weg. Warum? Hatte Ethan etwa eine heimliche Beziehung mit Sutton (könnte man annehmen, da er meinte, dass Thayer Sutton vielleicht getötet hat, weil ihm die Geheimnistuerei um ihre Beziehung gestört hat. Hat er etwa sich selber gemeint?). Oder hat Ethan Thayer in jener Nacht angefahren und Thayer hat in gesehen? Das könnte erklären warum er nicht will, dass Emma etwas mit Thayer zu tun hat. Suttons Freundinnen konnte der Leser schon in band 2 ausschließen, da alle ein Alibi hatten. Natürlich kommen noch mehr Leute in Frage, daher bleibt es bis zum Ende wohl sehr spannend.
Fazit:
Band 3 hatte ein paar Schwächen gegenüber Band 1 und 2, allein schon weil Emma im Prinzip immer nur das gleiche macht. Jedoch ging nicht wirklich an Spannung verloren, da man als Leser auf jedes Detail achtet und so den Mörder vielleicht schon früher herausfinden kann. Eine klare Leseempfehlung für alle, die gerne einen spannenden Thriller zwischendurch lesen. Das Buch bekommt von mir 3 von 5 Sternen.
I am a huge fan of murder mystery/ psychological thriller novels, and I have been a fan of this series ever since I picked up The Lying Game #1 back when it first came out. Sara Shepard knows how to create this creepy, mysterious environment where everyone becomes a suspect and the chase for the truth becomes more like a game of hide and seek. This is not a newsflash since Sara Shepard is already famous for her "Pretty Little Liars" series, and while I did not read the books, the show is one of my favorites! Now that I am done with my rambling, I'm going to try and review this book and try to be as unbiased as I can be (you'll find out why if you keep reading). I was super excited to finally get my hands on the third installment in this series. I actually jumped up and down from happiness! The story continues from where it left off at the end of book two. A new character, and suspect is introduced, and it is Thayer Vega. Thayer is Madeline's brother and his disappearance has always been a mystery to Emma, and his relationship with Sutton was always a target for gossip. The book begins with a new suspect and a new trail to follow to either prove he is the killer, or he is innocent. I had one problem with this book and it is that it was basically a carbon copy of book number two! In book number two it was the Twitter Twins, and in this book it is Thayer. I felt restless throughout the book, I knew that Thayer would be proven innocent because that is how the first and second books ended. The Lying Game book Cycle New suspect -> investigations, following trails -> suspect proven innocent. To be honest I couldn't get past the repetitiveness of the book. The writing is superb and Sara Shepard is an amazing author but I can't help but wonder If this series would have been better off as a trilogy, or even a duo. Especially when it comes to murder mystery novels, there is a limit to how long an audience can wait, especially if nothing NEW ever really happens. Another problem I had was with the show The Lying Game. I am NOT a fan, and I felt that some of the negativity I feel for the show rubbed off on the books, which is why I tried erasing the show from my mind and just concentrate solely on my feelings about the book. While this review might not be all that positive, I must say that I did enjoy the book, it was a disappointment, but I always liked Sara Shepard's writing, I just wish she would end this series and begin a new one that is bound to be exciting!
Ummmmm THAYER!!!! I'M TEAM THAYER!!!! Like don't get me wrong I love Ethan because TV Show but this Ethan is just hella sus and I don't understand how he's not on the suspect list. All the notes fall under the times he's upset/ wasn't with Emma. Also Garrett hasn't been on the suspect list??? So many suspects and we keep focusing on the wrong people!!!
I'm a bit underwhelmed here. I just can't help but feel like the book series has lost pizzazz since the TV series has started.
In Two Truths and a Lie, Emma Paxton is living the life of her twin sister, Sutton, and trying to figure out who murdered Sutton. The book is narrated by Sutton watching over Emma, so it's in third person and first person at the same time. It still weirds me out. Sutton doesn't comment on things much, so it reads like third person limited from Emma's point of view, and when Sutton does comment on something, sometimes I don't even realize it and I feel like it's Emma. You would think I would be used to the narration after three books, but it still gets kind of confusing.
I'm also kind of bored with the who-dun-it game we have going on. I feel like I solved the murder a long time ago. I hope the murderer isn't as predictable as I feel it is, but also not as completely abstract as in Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series. I think each individual book doesn't have a detailed enough arc.
I think there are maybe two plots in this entire book, the plot of the murder and the plot of the Lying Games. Just having two plots isn't substantial enough to satisfy readers -- we want multiple things going on. In Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series, there are four narrators, and each narrator has two or more subplots in and of themselves. That's over eight overall plots arcing throughout the series. The Lying Game books have three total, one for the overall series and two for each individual book. I feel like Shepard needs to add some more beef to this series to show its true potential.
Another thing about Two Truths and a Lie that bugged me is how short it is. I feel like the ending was rushed really badly, and I also felt like there wasn't a climax. If the climax is what I think it is, I don't think a memory of Sutton's can count as a climax since technically it's just a flashback and not necessarily a current plot event. It didn't seem to wrap the book up for me, and I felt like it just sort of ended mid-paragraph. That being said, I'm still moderately excited for the fourth -- and hopefully final -- book in the series, because Shepard writes really explosive series endings. Hopefully, I'll enjoy that one more than I did this one.
With Two Truths and a Lie, I was expecting an eruptive ending like the one we had in Never Have I Ever, the second book in the Lying Game quartet. That book literally had my heart pounding and my pulse racing and I couldn't wait until Two Truths and a Lie was out just to see what Shepard would do next. But when I turned the final page of this book, I felt disappointed, like Shepard didn't step her game up. I do commend her, however, for having the stamina to write and edit so many books a year. She has a rigorous schedule, and I think it's fantastic how she can keep up.
Let's move on to things I liked about the book, shall we?
I really liked how Emma was trying to change Sutton's character and make her nicer. She was mending friendships and acting respectful toward adults, and since Sutton's watching over everything she does, Sutton might have a revelation and realize that it's not okay to treat people the way she has been for seventeen years. I appreciate those improve-yourself aspects. Shepard usually isn't too good with character development, but she's putting Emma on a path to really change who Sutton is. This is a major improvement over previous books of hers.
I also enjoy, still, how Shepard plots. Her plotting is tight, and you can tell there aren't any extraneous scenes. Unlike some authors, she doesn't put random sexy times or kissy times to please the fans that like that kind of stuff. She does things that are necessary only; she doesn't write filler books, which makes me glad.
There's nothing I dislike more than an author who adds books on to a series just for length and fan appeal and money *coughcough* BECCA FITZPATRICK *cough* (C'mon! You ALL know Silence wasn't necessary.)
Besides Emma and Sutton, the characters thrive. I can't help but compare them to the TV show. I'm really glad the TV show didn't make everything the same. In the books, Ethan is a total dweeb/nerd/dork and Thayer is the ultimate bad-boy eye candy. In the TV show, it's reversed, which might seem odd to some, but it works.
There's also another key aspect of the TV show that's different. Sutton's actually alive in the TV show. They're not trying to find out who killed Sutton, since Sutton isn't dead, but rather trying to find out who their birth mother is. The TV show is filled with so many wicked cliffhangers at the end of episodes, but unlike with the books, you only have to wait a week, as opposed to a half of a year, or more.
I enjoyed the book immensely, even though it didn't get the normal five-star Shepard rating because of the few flaws I found while reading.
Well, we got some answers in this one and finally got to know about Thayer! I feel bad for that guy, he's been through a lot of crap. I wish a few more people knew that Emma wasn't Sutton, but I understand that it would be hard to prove who she is and that someone is still watching her. It just kills me that Emma is keeping this secret and as much as I like Ethan, I'm not sure about completely trusting him.
I'm still holding out hope that Sutton is in a coma somewhere and not actually dead. There's no evidence of this, but there also isn't much evidence that she's dead so...
I thought that this was a good book. The characters are interesting, and the perspective is really neat.
BUT... Is everybody stupid? It is ridiculously obvious that Mr.Mercer murdered Sutton, or at the very least hit Thayer with the car.
1. His fingerprints are on the car. Yes, he is technically a co-owner... But why would he ever actually need to use Sutton's car? Also, the girls all carpool together often, but none of their fingerprints were on the car. This means that Mr. Mercer had touched it more recently (THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER).
2. He hates Thayer. Even though Emma doesn't know why, it is clear that the hate is strong... Which is why he has a motive to kill or critically injure Thayer.
3. It would have been super easy for him to lure Emma to Tucson... After all, he lives with Sutton and could easily get access to her Facebook.
4. He is always looking at Emma weirdly, as if he knows something is different. It isn't because Emma's a bad actress, it's because he knows that Sutton isn't alive.
5. Epilogue: "And Emma needed answers, fast. Because it looked like my killer could be closer than either of us realized—maybe even under the very same roof." It wasn't Laurel, I don't believe she knows about Emma. This is Sara Shepard's way of foreshadowing - yes, it is someone under the same roof, it is Mr. Mercer.
Also, the main characters seem to be analytical of everybody - except for Mr. Mercer, who they never even consider. Of course it's him, she just doesn't want to give it away until the very end.
I can't wait to read the next installment in the series to see if I'm right!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.