Book Review: ‘The Last Time I Lied’ by Riley Sager

Hey there, book lovers!

Well, he’s only gone and done it again: Riley Sager has given me another superb, edge-of-your-seat horror novel that I could not put down! This time, it comes in the form of his bestseller ‘The Last Time I Lied’ – a novel recommended to me by none other than New York’s infamous Mysterious Bookshop. So, this creepy thriller travelled across the Atlantic with me, I held off until spooky season when I knew the time would be just right, and I devoured it in 3 days flat – spending my lunchbreaks in the office kitchen being completely anti-social because I simply couldn’t wait to read just one more chapter!

Allow me to set Sager’s scene for you… One night, three teenage girls go missing at Camp Nightingale. There is no trace of them and the only ‘witness’ to their disappearance is Emma, a younger camper, whose memory of the girls leaving the dormitory seems less than reliable. Fifteen years later, Emma – now a successful painter, haunted by the memory of her missing dorm-mates – is asked to return to Camp Nightingale as it re-opens for the summer. Thinking she can finally obtain closure, possibly solve the mystery and defeat her own demons, Emma agrees. However, when she’s placed in the very same dormitory her friends disappeared from, and realises there’s a camera pointed directly at its front door, Emma begins to suspect all is not as it seems at Camp Nightingale.

If you’ve read any of my earlier reviews of Riley Sager books (‘Final Girls’ or ‘Lock Every Door’), you’ll know I love his shady characters and shocking plot twists. With this novel, I’d go as far as to say he even exceeded my expectations. Firstly, I think the setting did it for me. My boyfriend’s response when I told him about the missing-girls-at-summer-camp premise was “Oh, how original” but you know what? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! This throwback to classic horror worked so well and had me sitting scared and regretting reading it at nighttime before I’d barely gotten twenty pages in.

The other aspect of Sager’s books that I love is his unreliable narrators. I’m never quite sure whether I trust them and Emma appears just crazy enough right from the outset. I wanted to trust her and root for her so badly, because she’s a troubled soul, but Sager’s subtle hints that she might not be being 100% honest with herself kept me second guessing right until the end.

Now, let’s talk about that end – although, don’t worry, we’re a spoiler-free zone here! All I will say is that the reveal took me by surprise, it scared me, and it had me flicking pages so fast I had to consciously slow myself down and savour the brilliant moments. And in true Sager-style, plot twists aplenty graced many parts of this book. In fact, prepare yourself for the moment right before you enter ‘Part 2’: I audibly gasped in the office kitchen and sat for longer than is socially acceptable with my mouth gaping open. It was worth the embarrassment though!

All in all, a masterclass in creepy thrillers with a classic horror premise but its own superb twists!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back soon!

Bookish Blonde x