The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Have you read Ruth Ware?  A few of my colleagues raved about her debut novel, In a Dark, Dark Wood.  Give them a slot on the Staff Picks shelf and In a Dark, Dark Wood is always out.  How about The Woman in Cabin 10?  That psychological thriller is still usually on the HOLD shelf, and the audio version was just recommended to me by a book group member.  It really is a keep driving around the block audio book!

But,  The Lying Game.  Ware’s third novel has a subtly building tension throughout.  Here is the premise:  Kate, Isa, Thea and Fatima attend Salten, an exclusive boarding school that caters to wealthy families with children who have already been to a few schools.   Isa and Fatima are new, but are soon indoctrinated into “the lying game.”  I am not immune to games and the commraderie they may develop; my colleagues and I have a few games we play at the library.  Who will be on the cover of People Magazine this week?  By what time do you think the Book Calendar ‘Book of the Day’ will be checked out?  But never the Lying Game.  Though the girls swear to never lie to each other, they become infamous among the other Salten students and faculty for their game, and most steer clear of them.

Flash forward and Kate, who still lives just a few minutes from the school, texts the other three:  “I need you.”  Though it has been 17 years since they have been together, and an equal amount of time since they have been to Salten, they all immediately drop everything and go to Kate.  The mystery of the body that is found on the beach and its ties to each of the girls will have ramifications to their present day lives.  How will they handle their past lies, especially when they have moved on?  Will they continue to lie?  You will have to read this twisty, chilly thriller and find out!