Pine Reads Review's Reviews > Such Charming Liars

“It’s nice to know, when the world feels so entirely upside down, that good things can happen to good people.”

Kat and her mother, Jamie, have gotten by for the past sixteen years on their own, moving from place to place as Jamie takes on jobs as a jewel thief. Jamie hopes to take on one final job before wiping her hands of this criminal role: staging a heist at the famous Sutherland compound, home to one of Maine’s wealthiest families. However, things go awry when Kat decides to join Jamie on this journey. The mother-daughter duo encounter figures from their past: Jamie’s ex-husband, Luke, and his son, Liam, arrive at the compound. The plan continues to unravel as a shocking murder derails the festivities at the compound. As Kat gets drawn into this chaos, she must team up with her “stepbrother” Liam and the defiant Augustus Sutherland to save Kat’s mother, finish the job, and uncover the secrets haunting the Sutherland family. However, with the teen protagonists all being raised in families full of lies, it becomes clear that trusting one another may be their most challenging task yet.

With a cast of compelling characters and a plot that keeps readers guessing, Karen McManus once again proves her aptitude for crafting epic YA mysteries. One of my favorite elements of the novel was the character dynamics, especially between Kat, Augustus, and Liam. These teens come from drastically different backgrounds, but they all deal with familial conflict and tension, which is why their ability to come together and build a “found family” for themselves was especially beautiful to me. Narrated alternatingly by Liam and Kat, the book is driven by the voices of these teenage
protagonists. While I loved gaining their perspectives, some of their decisions and the thought processes behind them were incredibly frustrating (but, granted, they are teenagers, so their reactions to high-stakes scenarios being imperfect was understandable). Though the book got off to a semi-slow start, after the initial fifty pages I became completely engaged with the plot and its many twists. McManus does a great job of getting readers invested in the characters and the worlds she creates, and this book is no exception; the story was at separate points thrilling and sentimental, making it an emotional and transfixing narrative. I could see this book playing out like an enthralling movie in my head, a sure sign of a vividly and intricately crafted narrative.

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