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The Lying Game: A Novel Hardcover – July 25, 2017
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From the instant New York Times bestselling author of blockbuster thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10 comes Ruth Ware’s chilling new novel, The Lying Game.
On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...
The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”
The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).
Atmospheric, twisty, and with just the right amount of chill that will keep you wrong-footed—which has now become Ruth Ware’s signature style—The Lying Game is sure to be her next big bestseller. Another unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
Review
“Ware masterfully harnesses the millhouse’s decrepit menace to create a slow-rising sense of foreboding, darkening Isa’s recollections of the weeks leading to Ambrose’s disappearance… with arguably her most complex, fully realized characters yet, this one may become her biggest hit yet.” ― Booklist, Starred Review
"[An] engrossing psychological thriller... Ware builds up a rock-solid cast of intriguing characters and spins a mystery that will keep readers turning pages to the end.” ― Publishers Weekly
"New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware and her new thriller The Lying Game will have you full of anticipation." ― Library Journal
"From the author of the hit novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, comes another edge-of-your-seat thriller you don't want to miss."
― Bustle
“Ware has become a household name in psychological suspense, and her third release is highly anticipated…[The Lying Game is] sure to be her next summer hit.”
― Elite Daily
“Readers who've devoured Ware's bestsellers The Woman in Cabin 10 and In a Dark, Dark Wood won't need much encouragement to pick up a copy of her latest thriller. This story…is as gripping and atmospheric as Ware's previous books, with unexpected twists around every corner.” ― Bookpage
"Perhaps one of the most twisty and suspenseful titles of 2017." ― Mystery Tribune
"The Lying Game is tense, addictive, and not to be missed." ― Crime by the Book
"Fans of the mystery author who just won't quit will recognize Ware's singular ability to bait and switch in this wholly original story about four friends who conceive, innocently at first, a game of lies with dire repercussions." ― Marie Claire
"Missing Big Little Lies? Dig into this psychological thriller about whether you can really trust your nearest and dearest." ― Cosmopolitan
"The author of The Woman in Cabin 10 delivers a thoughtful thriller about four friends whose shared childhood secret threatens them now. A gripping whodunnit." ― Good Housekeeping
"So many questions... Until the very last page! Needless to say, I could not put this book down!" -- Reese Witherspoon
"A single cryptic text, ‘I need you,’ reunites four friends in the stippled light of an English seaside village just as surely as it signals readers that they’re in the hands of a pro…The Lying Game makes good on its premise that tall tales have consequences, especially when they’re exposed to the glare of truth." ― New York Times Book Review
"I was eager for Ruth Ware's The Lying Game to come out this year and it did not disappoint. As the eerie and atmospheric story cleverly unfolds, the suspense builds. This intriguing thriller is so much more than a whodunit. Ware reveals the characters’ stories and has the reader wondering why 'it' happened. Excellent read." ― Bookish
“Ware masterfully combines gothic atmosphere with a chilling contemporary story of psychological suspense.” ― Booklist
About the Author
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGallery/Scout Press
- Publication dateJuly 25, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-109781501156007
- ISBN-13978-1501156007
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Product details
- ASIN : 1501156004
- Publisher : Gallery/Scout Press; First American Edition (July 25, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781501156007
- ISBN-13 : 978-1501156007
- Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #530,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,038 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #25,627 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #26,112 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key, One by One and The It Girl have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and she is published in more than 40 languages. She lives on the south coast of England, with her family.
Visit www.ruthware.com to find out more, or find her on facebook or twitter as @RuthWareWriter
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The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”
The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).
My Thoughts: There is something disturbing about a group of young girls, drawn together by circumstances, who find amusement in a game that involves lying. Especially when the goal of the lying is to hurt others, to put them in their place.
They must know that the practice of lying will come back to bite them, if not now, later in life. Or perhaps, in their immaturity, they do not care.
Kate is really at the heart of the lying game, in my opinion, and as much as I could see her need to control her friends through this game, since she has had much sadness in her life, I wished that the girls could have found a way to tell her no.
Isa, whose narrative voice draws us into The Lying Game: A Novel , has a lot to lose by going along with Kate’s games…and so does Fatima.
Perhaps they did not foresee the consequences when they started the game. But surely they could have stopped at some point, before it all turned dangerous and horrific. Why is Kate able to crook her little finger and bring them all to her side? Ultimately, why does she have so much control over them, and what is she keeping from them? Is she breaking their one rule not to lie to each other?
I thought I knew how the story would unfold, so there were some stunning surprises that I realize, in retrospect, were hiding out in dark corners, waiting to be revealed in the most tragic way possible. 4.5 stars.
In THE LYING GAME, British writer Ruth Ware flashes between the current lives of four thirty-something young women and their shared past at a second-rate boarding school where something bad happened.
Isa, Fatima and Thea receive a text message from former schoolmate Kate saying, “I need you.”
Dropping everything (and that means for new mother, Isa, dragging infant Freya along) the three women and baby Freya arrive at Kate’s mysterious, run-down home, The Mill.
Set mostly in the coastal village of Salten, The Mill is set by a tidal estuary. The boarding school is not too far away from Kate’s home. The rest of Salten is certainly no Martha’s Vineyard. More like a creepy town out of a Stephen King novel.
And what’s a creepy story without a decomposing body washing up on the beach?
I loved the Gothic elements of the story–it’s what attracted me to plunking down the clams for this book. But I found the Isa’s story-line in London to be a bit tedious.
And speaking of tedious, baby Freya was either attached to Isa’s nipple, asleep, soiled, or in mortal danger. I could have done without her and would have enjoyed more character development between foursome Kate, Isa, Thea, and Fatima.
And don’t even get me started on Kate’s enigmatic step-brother, Luc. He changed from Jane Eyre’s Mr. Rochester into the madwoman in the attic, with a little Hotty McBody and Lester the Molester thrown in for good measure.
As far as pacing goes, this reader was not really sure what that BAD thing really was until about halfway through the book. (I later checked out some Amazon reviews and found I wasn’t alone.)
Of course, by then, even when I started to figure out the dead man’s secrets, I was so bogged down by the tedious lives of the women’s thirty-something counterpart-characters that I didn’t really care.
This book took me awhile to finish. And that’s not my normal reading M.O.
Toward the end, the book picked up steam and I started to enjoy it more, but Isa’s repetitive travels home to London and back to Salten slowed the narrative.
If you’ve read Ruth Ware’s other acclaimed titles THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 and IN A DARK, DARK WOOD, then you may totally love her latest.
As for me, THE LYING GAME didn’t deliver as compelling a story as I had hoped.
Kate should have been better developed (as well as her family dynamic with Luc and her father.)
Thea was a tiresome, wooden drunk.
Baby Freya was about as fun as dragging a screaming baby along–well, anywhere.
Isa’s relationship with her Baby Daddy didn’t ring true for me.
And there was a lot more potential for an engaging narrative with the Salten Boarding School flashback story-line than the writer delivered.
All in all, I give this story a Three Star Rating. Not exactly a memorable read, but not a waste of time and money either. (This review will also be published on foxywriterchick.com on November 13, 2017.)
Top reviews from other countries
How Thea, Isabel, Fatima, and Isabel’s bond remained strong despite their distance is something that I could one hundred percent relate to. I moved away many years ago, and even when I don’t talk to my best friends for ages, we pick up from where we left. Our friendship never wavered. If any of them sent a message saying they needed me, I would also drop everything and go - no questions asked. I bet my life they would do the same. The relationship between the four women was my favourite thing in the book and portraited accurately.