Book Review: The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she’s not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Cameron.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder... (From Goodreads)

When I think of mysteries taking place in a boarding school I think of a pretty formulaic story. Girl goes to boarding school, mystery presents itself, bad guy is introduced, and the ending is easily predictable. Either that, or the mystery gets dragged out for 5+ books. So, I was happy to find that neither category applied to The Liar Society.

Things haven't been easy for Kate since her best friend Grace died, and her other friend, Maddie, deserted her. So, when she receives the email from Grace, she throws herself into solving the mystery of what really happened the night that she died. She makes some unwise decisions (confronting Grace's ex, sneaking onto school grounds at night, ignoring threatening messages), but solving the mystery seemed to become a way for Kate to deal with Grace's death. Luckily, she's got her conspiracy-loving neighbor Seth to help her. There's also Liam, he found his way to Pemberly Brown after getting kicked out of public school, and he's interested in Kate. The characters were a major part of the reason that I couldn't set this one down. I genuinely cared about what happened to them, and was worried that someone close to Kate was responsible for her best friend's death.

The book kept me on the edge of my seat, and constantly guessing. I failed horribly at predicting who was behind what happened to Kate, and my guesses at motives were way off base (I'm being vague here to avoid spoilers). The ending was quite a surprise, and it both tied up the loose ends, and left enough open for more books in the series. Overall, it left me hoping that we might get to see more of Pemberly Brown Academy, and the secrets it houses.

The Liar Society
By Lisa & Laura Roecker
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Received for Review
Rating: B