Jacqueline Green
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Hardback: 320 Pages
Publication: May 6, 2014
by Harper Teen
Can you keep a secret?
Tenley Reed and Sydney Morgan have never seen eye to eye — until now. United by a common goal, they are determined to find out who was behind their friend’s murder. Joined by Emerson Cunningham, a gorgeous but troubled teen model, the girls start their own investigation. But in the isolated beach town of Echo Bay, it’s hard to know who’s a friend and who’s an enemy.
Secrets and Lies picks up right where Truth or Dare ended. Tenley, Sydney, and Emerson have been brought together by secrets and by the murder of their mutual friend. It’s pretty apparent from events that the darer / murderer from book one must have an accomplice. This accomplice now continues to send anonymous, threatening messages and even make actual attempts on Tenley’s life. When the girls try to find out the identity of the murderer, they start receiving messages threatening to reveal their deep, dark secrets to the world.
Once again, the plot revolves around the darer with the girls trying to solve the mystery. Suspense is built with the accomplice seeming to know their every move and even their most private conversation and increases with the girls’ decision to confront the murder face to face. The mystery is interesting but, at the same time, seems a bit unrealistic and overly dramatic. These girls are teens with so many secrets that they’re desperate to conceal, so desperate that they continue the lies. Furthermore, even with their lives at stake, they don’t turn to their parents or police and try to resolve things themselves.
I didn’t feel connected to the characters. They only care about designer clothes and fashions, and they go around flirting with guys. There’s nothing substantial to their characters. It didn’t feel like they grew up over the course of the book, and there isn’t really anything for us to learn from them; if anything, it’s to not be like them. Though I don’t think that is too big a problem since I can’t envision many high schoolers being like them.
Overall, Secrets and Lies is a straightforward thriller with a well-plotted suspense and a lot of red herrings mixed in with the clues. You just need to remember not to take it too seriously. Be prepared to suspend disbelief, and this book is a quick, entertaining read.
Note: the casual drinking, sex, and drug use make this book unsuitable for young teens readers.
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Jacqueline Green grew up in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where she devoured books the way other kids did candy. She never stopped loving those books she read as a kid, so after receiving her BA from Cornell University, she went on to get her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She’s since worked in many parts of the children’s publishing field, from marketing to editorial to writing. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their very small dog, who moonlights as her writing companion.
Author: alice
Alice is a stay-at-home mom of two children. Her favorite books are those send icy tingles down her spine, such as a good mystery or thriller, but she also enjoys a good hear-throbbing romance. She enjoys listening to music and drinking a cup of tea while reading and working.
Mary @ BookSwarm says
I definitely like a bit more substance to my characters, too. Sure, you can like fashion and flirting but there's always something *more* to people and I want to read it.