Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes Published by Harper Collins on March 24th 2015
Pages: 368
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Edelweiss
For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.
Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?
When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.
Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.
Obviously, books full of secrets (and, as the title suggests, lies) are going to be pretty tough to review. Because, um, you don’t want me to tell you what happens. I mean, maybe you do, but I am not going to do that anyway, so just read the book!
I am not a huge fan of contemporary thrillers, to be honest. I kind of requested it on a whim, because it sounded unique, and I had heard amazing things about Paula Stokes. I am quite happy to report that this book did not disappoint! I don’t know if I will be reading more thrillers because of it, but I sure will be reading more from Paula Stokes because of it!
Max has a big old problem in this book, and that is that Max is accused of killing his best friend Preston. So okay, not the best of days for our pal Max. Oh, and he just turned eighteen, so there’s that extra special “adult charge” thing happening. Bad timing for Max (and Preston!). And to add to the mess Max is facing, he had lied about Preston’s whereabouts (at Preston’s request, so he could meet a girl), so he is just pretty much screwed.
Let’s break things down, since I can’t say much about the rest of the plot!
The Characters:
- Max: Max is… an eighteen year old guy. Basically, that means he destined by biology to make some questionable decisions. That being said, he is a great character. He is very well written, and sympathetic, even when you want to smack him around for some dumb choice he made. Honestly, it made him seem incredibly realistic. You make a bad choice, and keep digging yourself in deeper and deeper until you don’t know how to get out of it. Yeah, that’s Max, in a nutshell. He’s had an incredibly rocky childhood, and you just want the kid to catch a break!
- Parvati: I was always on the fence about her. One minute I liked her, the next I didn’t, and the minute after that I was suspicious of her. And repeat. But her character absolutely worked in the story, even if I was always wary of her. She was written quite well, and she was just the perfect amount of shady for this type of book.
- Preston: I loved that Preston and Max became friends, even if they had some shady side business of charging people for lies and cheats. Of course, then he goes missing and the police find the body so… yeah.
- Everyone else: I loved Max’s family. Loved. They adopted him, and three girls. Max had such a soft spot for one of his sisters, which was really sweet. The family understood that raising Max as an adopted teen would be hard, but they were there for him, and it was pretty great.
The Relationships:
Max and Parvati were a couple from before the start of the book, so there was no courting, or romantic shenanigans. Her parents basically despised Max, and they weren’t allowed to see each other, so of course they took to shady encounters wherever the chance popped up. Preston was friends with them both, and they made quite the fun trio until Preston up and vanished. Preston and Parvati came from a world of success and prestige, and Max… did not. But that never seemed to bother either one of them as they befriended Max. I didn’t always feel a huge connection between Max and Parvati, but they had been in this relationship for quite some time, so it’s safe to assume they were past the “butterflies” phase.
As for Max and his family, the relationships were portrayed very realistically. Obviously, being adopted as a young teen is not the norm, and Max’s relationship with his family were civil, but strained. But it was easy to see that his parents, especially his mom, would move heaven and earth for him, and it was incredibly sweet.
The Plot:
So I cannot say much about this, clearly. Hell, it was hard to say stuff about any of this book without giving stuff away! But it moves at a good pace, even though it isn’t all action (which was great for me, as there was a ton of great character insight along the way) it is never, ever dull. And there were some fun, lighter moments throughout the book that really helped, since the tone of the book was obviously going to be dark with a murder investigation. The witty moments really broke up the tough stuff perfectly, there was just a fantastic balance.
I will say this: I was guessing the entire story, and I was not right ever. Well, I was all pleased with myself because I had a theory, and was sure I’d figured out the plot. Well, color me embarrassed, because nope. I mean, my theory was right, but it was this minor twistlet in a huge plot twist that basically blew my mind. It is simply one of those books that I couldn’t put down because What happens next!? I didn’t know who or what to trust, and it was such fun!
Bottom Line:
Liars, Inc is a perfect book if you are looking for a very well-written mystery that will absolutely satisfy with some fantastic plot twists, and very realistic characters. I am so glad I took a chance with it, as it is fun, witty, and absolutely twisty!
“destined by biology to make some questionable decisions” <– THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS. Okay, I want this book badly. Did I mention I love crime? UM. I MEAN FAKE CRIME. Book crime. Gah. Have I dug a hole of shame?
*ahem*
But really, crimey books just rock and this has exactly the kind of premise I’m longing for. I love my contemporaries with a bit o’ murder. <– That always make me sound psychotic.
I'm just going to end this comment and slink to the darkness and hope you realise I'm STILL A NICE PERSON JUST SORT OF….STRANGE.
(Loved this review!!)
You really do love crime. I think your biggest problem is that you DO have morals but you know, wish you didn’t. Or something like that. Anyway, I don’t think you’d actually kill anyone, because there is all this proof on the internet that you love murder, and frankly, you are too smart not to think of that. But, I bet you will write some EPIC murders, of which I will be giddy to read.
I am somehow always missing out on the big buzz books, and this is the latest one. I love twisted tales, and no I hardly ever see them coming. I am a bad judge of character, and that bleeds into my reading I guess. I am especially intrigued that you can’t say anything about the book. Makes me really want to get this book. Thanks for the spoiler free review!
Oh, I am a terrible judge of character! The WORST! But sometimes, I just get a “feeling” that I think I know what is happening in a book, and sadly, I am often right (trust me, I do NOT want to be!) but this book… NOPE! Never saw a thing coming! Hope you enjoy it if you read it!
I loved Max, he seemed very realistic, especially to his situation, okay he made bad decisions (but really, you don’t know what you’d do in his situation either, but I wanted him to be nicer to his adoptive family, be he wasn’t mean, so it wasn’t a huge issue)
I did guess the major twist pretty early on, because of some of Preston’s actions, and what he asked Max to do, buuuuut, I didn’t guess the why or how, so basically it was more of a niggling suspicion (was that the same for you?). BUT DAMN GOOD, and I loved how the why was involved with Max and not Parvati.
I Hunt Killers first and second book is honestly one of the first books that I HAVE NO CLUE AND WAS WRONG on both. Which was awesome, I mean, since I read a lot of crime/thrillers/psychological ones I usually pick up on things pretty quickly, so I was like YES BOOK, YOU WIN. I guessed the third in the series though, because obviously I have a twisted mind.
I wanted him to be nicer to them too, but I mean, I guess I understand it. I know things could have been a LOT worse with adoption, so I liked that he at least started to grow up a little about it. And YES that was exactly how it was for me! I guessed the VERY first part of the reveal, but not the WHOLE thing. I love when books win!
I think I need to check out this book! I do like my thrillers and this one sounds good. Great review.
Thanks! It was VERY good, I hope you enjoy it if you read it!
I love to be surprised by twists in a book! I’ve been meaning to read a mystery and this one sounds perfect! Witty lines really make a book like this for me. I hate it when the main character makes stupid decisions, (and I feel the need to yell at them) but I can excuse it since he is a teenage boy.
This really is a good mystery book if you are looking for something that is both lighthearted AND serious. It just works well, IMO. And yes, teenage boys make ALL the bad decisions! So glad we weren’t teenage boys! 😉
I do love thrillers, especially when they’re not based exclusively on action, but also on good character portraying – great review !
Thanks! I agree with you, I can’t do ALL action, it just isn’t for me (I think that may be why I was wary at first!) but this one is SUCH a good blend!
I WANT THIS BOOK I WANT IT SO BAD. Gah I’m glad you really loved it though, I was afraid I would start seeing negative reviews but nope, I have not so far 😀
AWESOME REVIEW SHANNON. Reading this definitely is making me more and more excited 🙂
No, there are like, NO negative reviews. Which is how it should be, because the book is fantastic! Hope you LOVE it!
LOL! Haha…that was exactly what I thought about him. He was a great character, but some of his decisions were a bit on the questionable side. I must say though that his relationship with Parvati was absolutely amazing. I was on the fence about her throughout the story, but by the 2nd half of the story she ended up really warming up to me. I think it’s so great that their relationship is so diverse!
Thanks for sharing Sharon and, as always, hilarious review! ♥ So glad you loved this piece book of twists and turns as much as I did!
I agree about her the second half, even with the….. stuff. But I couldn’t really talk about it without being ridiculously vague, I guess 😉 I loved the diversity too! I am glad you enjoyed it, and thanks!! 🙂
I think I might like this one – I love that it’s not a predictable book and it actually has many good twists. I’m glad you could enjoy it though, wonderful review Shannon x
Thanks! It was definitely not predictable 🙂
I keep hearing that the twist in this book is pretty much impossible to guess, which I think is fantastic for a YA mystery. I don’t really like what I’ve been hearing about Parvarti, but I think I should give the book a try. Great review!
Yes, I haven’t come across a book with such a twist in a LONG time. Maybe ever? And thanks!
This is one of those books that didn’t seem to really be for me, but now I’m reading all of these awesome reviews and thinking that I need to pick it up. Sounds like you took a chance and it paid off!
Yep, it definitely paid off! Hope you enjoy it if you decide to take the plunge 😉