Cover Image: Five Little Liars

Five Little Liars

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Hmm. I'm afraid I wasn't a fan of this one, mainly because it felt like a very poor imitation of 'One Of Us is Lying'.

'Five Little Liars' tells the story of five teens, who have to deal with the aftermath after their summer school teacher is accidentally killed. The five agree not to tell anyone what happened, but readers soon realise that each of them has an additional secret that they're hiding.

Although YA murder mysteries are quite popular at the moment, the victim and killer are revealed in the first part of the book, so the mystery is gone. Therefore, the drama of this book relies on the twists of the characters' secrets and their lack of trust in each other, which, unfortunately, wasn't enough to keep me interested.

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Amanda K Morgan’s new YA thriller ‘Five Little Liars’ is a twisty, suspense-filled read, perfect to curl up with on a rainy day (which is just what I did today!).

The premise is simple. Five students on a summer Psychology course are involved in the death of their teacher. Not previously acquainted, together they make a pact to keep their involvement secret, with each hoping they can now move on with their lives. 

But of course, things are never that simple!

‘Five Little Liars’ is a gripping page turner that I devoured in one sitting. The characters are skilfully developed through the narrative, which moves forward alternating between their five different perspectives. As the novel progresses, this enables you to get a real feel for all the personalities involved. Not all of them are particularly likeable but all feel genuinely drawn.

After the fatal incident at the start of the book, the story picks up a snappy pace, which mirrors perfectly the pressures and anxieties felt by each character that the truth will out. The tension builds as each of their back stories is revealed and as alliances start to form within the group. Having invested several hours reading ‘Five Little Liars’, I was pleased that the ending truly did not disappoint!

Fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus will enjoy this new addition to a rapidly expanding YA crime genre. I will definitely be buying copies of 'Five Little Liars' for my High School Library and making sure students know it's a great read!

Thanks to @netgalley for a digital advance review copy.

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Five students. One teacher. One fatal incident. Can they keep the pact they set themselves?
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This book really reminded me of Big Little Lies, but a YA version. It started with a fantastic, shocking (and thus gripping) opening. The story is told over time from the perspectives of each of the teenage characters- all of whom are linked by this one class and one incident and are otherwise unlikely companions (think The Breakfast club gone wrong). To start off with, I had to think a bit more to remember who each character was, especially as each of their inputs were short, but as soon as I had, their varying perspectives really helped the narrative flow and build the suspense. However...As much as I enjoyed their views, there were certainly some who I invested in more than others and some whose, I felt, dragged the story out. I got a bit frustrated with their actions and individual scandals; some came across as a bit forced to create shock value rather than build the story, they lost purpose and therefore my interest. But... a little twist would come along to peak my curiosity and desire to know more. With no spoilers...the ending was spot on! All in all I would absolutely recommend this book as it was an easy enough read and had most features that I look for in a thriller.

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Five Little Liars is an incredibly captivating read concerning the mysterious death of a teacher. It was thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat, I enjoyed this book a lot and it gave me A Good Girl's Guide to Murder meets Pretty Little Liars vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I devoured this book in one day!! A really easy, interesting read that has you gripped from the start trying to suss out how it’s all going to pan out! My guesses were wrong!! A very good read

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This was a excellent YA novel, combining the elements of drama and thriller. The characters were depicted in a believable manner, and the story kept me on my toes. Highly recommended.

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‘Five Little Liars’ had me intrigued from the beginning. This book kept me on edge and I finished it all in one day. It was fast-paced and the plot was different from any other YA thrillers that I have read before.

However, even though the plot was so interesting, I didn’t like most of the characters and wasn’t interested in any of their lives. The only character I felt any sort of emotion towards was Mattie and that was only because I felt sorry for him and felt like he didn’t deserve the situation that he was put in.

I also really liked the ending. I’d like to believe that this is stand-alone book and that the ending was an open ending and was meant to be interpreted in any way you wanted. But if this book did end up becoming a series, then the ending was also a good cliffhanger.

This book kept me hooked right until the end.

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I quite enjoyed One of Us is Lying, so went into this expecting a fun, light read.
This follows five characters, who are misfits of sorts taking a summer class with a Mrs Stanford. When she suspiciously dies they cover up her death but they all have something to lose...
This is a fun, mindless read. The characters are your stereotyped American type with a popular one, etc. Overall this is fun albeit campy thriller read. 3/5.

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This book surprised me, had me gripped and left me with chills.
It has all the mystery of Karen McManus, the red herrings of 13 Reasons Why, the dark humour of 90s classic Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Deas and the gut punch of All of This is True.
I was a little thrown by the first half of the book given that it’s not really a whodunit, however it was thanks to the well written characters and the relationships that I kept on going. The pay off is worth it. Trust me.

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I was so excited when I discovered this as I've loved the recent surge of YA murder mysteries, but this felt so forced it was uncomfortable reading. Some parts were so obviously 'inspired' by other novels that I would question whether it was an entirely original novel. It's a shame, as the idea could have been so productive and enjoyable.

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