Unfortunately, this book was a huge miss for me. I wish I'd DNFd it but I just can't do that to Lucinda. I always hold out hope. This book was just a mess. The twists were pretty ludicrous. Maybe it was supposed to be a wow factor but it didn't work for me. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure it out. Then, the ending.... it's not that it left you hanging so much as it was just plain bad. I guess I'll just hope for the next one to be better.

🪵🔥liar, liar, truths on fire🔥🪵 If You Tell A Lie By: Lucinda Berry Genre: Thriller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🔥Lucinda did NOT disappoint with her new book, yall! Ive been super busy in clinic with back to school so Ive procrastinated on this review, but you should NOT! RUN and get this one if you love her past books or if you love a good thriller filled with secrets, manipulation, and murder! This is fast-paced story following a group of girls who reunite 20 years after a note surfaces that ultimately reconnects them after being sworn to secrecy following a murder back when they were teenagers and best friends for life. I cant say anything else! Just make sure you read this one before the summer is up! 🏕️ twists you wont see coming 🤭 best friends for life ( or not? ) 🔥 MC4R gene mutation rep 🪵 triggers: binge eating, OCD, child abuse, affairs QUOTABLES: “Blakely had just given us another secret to eat. But guess what? I was full.” “Sometimes there were wounds you just couldn’t heal from, even after they became scars.” “Social contagion is a real thing. Or maybe I’m just grasping at straws because I so desperately want an explanation for our incomprehensible behavior.” @schmorireads

If You Tell a Lie Firstly. Why? Why do I do this to myself? I know how I feel about every Lucinda Brrry book I've read. But I keep going back for more. 🙄 I loved the book. Just like every other book I've read of hers. The twist I was NOT expecting. I knew that a specific person was bad news, but I didn't realize the extent of how bad they were until the end. I love the duel time line. I love the craziness. I loved every single minute of this book. Until...the end. I HATE the ending of every Lucinda Berry's books. This one was no exception. It just ends. You don't get answers. It's open ended. You don't find out what happens after the bomb is dropped. I hate that. I want to know. I need every detail and I hate that you're left hanging. Maybe some people like to make up the ending in their head, but I don't. I need definitive answers. I always go to read her books because I know I enjoy them, but I always forget that I HATE how they end. Ugh. Rant over.

This is my first book my this author and although I had it figured out in the first 10 chapters I did enjoy the idea of the book. However the deeper I got into it the more it felt rushed and just not realistic. I remember being a teenager and never once did I not ask questions. I just can't see blindly trusting someone you only see for 6 weeks out of the year. The main characters didn't have enough character building and they seemed slightly unhinged. I enjoyed reading this but spend more time yelling at the characters in my head than actually reading it.

This story is like nothing I've ever read before. The twists and unexpected scenarios are amazing. I never know what to expect from one page to the next. The characters too, are highly usual and how their lives turned are like I said, unbelievable. I've read other books by Lucinda but I think this is the best so far. Does a person need to be a psychologist to come up with this? Maybe that helps, I don't know. But the imagination put into the story is incredible, unbelievable! Excellent!

I usually devour LB’s books in a few hours bc I can’t put them down. This one took me days. Too much filler - I actually skipped parts. Back stories that didn’t matter got way too much time and ones that did matter didn’t get enough. Ending fell flat. Only reason I gave 3 stars bc the story overall was good just could’ve been so much more.

‘24 - 263 PGS - 4 STARS DESCRIPTION : They never considered how his wife might react, or that by the end of the summer a man would be dead. But Blakely always got her way, and the others followed her lead—even when they knew it was dead wrong. The girls had been friends from day one at Camp Pendleton, a haven for gifted children. But their senior summer was different. When Mr. Crosby, the handsome tennis coach, wound up murdered after a reckless lie, Blakely, Grace, Meg, and Thera swore themselves to secrecy. And never spoke to each other again. Until now. Twenty years later a sinister note claiming to know what they did brings them back together. And once again Blakely is pulling the strings. Unfolding in a dual timeline, If You Tell a Lie is a disturbing journey into the dangerous, sometimes deadly consequences of peer pressure—with a bone-chilling twist you’ll never see coming. REVIEW : Previous books by this author for me were Keep Your Friends Close (‘23 - Read ‘24 - 2 Stars), Off the Deep End (‘23 - 4 Stars), Saving Noah (‘17 - Read ‘23 - 4 Stars), The Secrets of Us (‘22 - 4 Stars), Under Her Care (‘22 - 3 Stars), The Best of Friends (‘20 - 4 Stars) and The Perfect Child (‘19 - 4 Stars). Earned Double Kindle Reward Points with this purchase. Dark and twisty thriller that kept me shocked at every unexpected turn. I had a hard time pushing the “pause” button when life or bedtime got in the way. One simple lie can cause such horror even many many years later. This book kept getting better and better with each chapter. Don’t think you can call any of the characters likable, but what a story! I don’t want to say too much so I don’t ruin it for anyone else.