Lying Game Audiobook By Ruth Ware cover art

Lying Game

A Novel

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Lying Game

By: Ruth Ware
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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Praise for Ruth Ware’s instant New York Times, USA TODAY, and Los Angeles Times bestseller:

“So many questions....Until the very last page! Needless to say, I could not put this book down!” —Reese Witherspoon

“Once again the author of The Woman in Cabin 10 delivers mega-chills.” —People

“Missing Big Little Lies? Dig into this psychological thriller about whether you can really trust your nearest and dearest.” —Cosmopolitan

From the instant New York Times bestselling author of blockbuster thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10 comes a chilling new novel of friendship, secrets, and the dangerous games teenaged girls play.

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten, along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister…

The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isa—receive the text they had always hoped would never come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”

The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second-rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty. But their little game had consequences, and as the four converge in present-day Salten, they realize their shared past was not as safely buried as they had once hoped…

Atmospheric, twisty, and with just the right amount of chill to keep you wrong-footed, The Lying Game is told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, lending itself to becoming another unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time. Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary
Unexpected Twists • Compelling Mystery • Excellent Narration • Layered Storytelling • Atmospheric Setting

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Of all Ruth Ware’s books this was my least favorite. The whole thing kind of felt like a weird repurposed early draft of In A Dark Dark Wood, but not as engaging and with caricatures instead of characters. One thing Ware does well in all her books is create a central axis around which her protagonists’ life spins. In In A Dark Dark Wood, she was a runner, huge parts of the plot relied on that fact. In The Woman in Cabin 10 she was a victim of recent burglary. In the Lying Game, she is a mother. That is THE central part of the protagonists character and the plot leans heavily on it, but unlike her other novels where this is executed beautifully, the decision use Isa’s status as a mother as her central identifying characteristic is... boring and a little trite.

Not Ruth Ware’s Best

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First off the narrator is amazing and brings the story to life, although at points I did speed her reading up because it was too slow. The story is just neutral for me ... the suspense never really happened, the twists were easy to figure out and the main character is very unlikeable IMO - the drop everything in my life including my partner of 10 years and put my baby in repeated situations of danger to stay loyal to friends I was only close to for six months 17 years ago is just a weak story baseline. Anyway, if you want a mindless read this will do it. If you are looking for scary/suspenseful/surprising twists in a novel this is not it unfortunately.

The suspense never came

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Ruth Ware and Imogen Church should always work together. I have enjoyed all three of their audiobooks.

Ruth Ware does an amazing job of building up and developing the characters so you really get a feel for what they are thinking and feeling. I read some criticisms of the main character in this book for putting her daughter in intentional danger, but didn’t get that impression myself. It was an interesting story with some intense moments and big revelations.

Once again Imogen Church brings the story to life with her narration. I’m incredibly impressed with the various ways she changes tone and voice mechanics in order to differentiate between characters. You won’t be disappointed!

I love the writing style and love the narration!

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The overwrought & melodramatic response of the characters was puzzling considering the weakness of the original premise. When the plot is finally clarified, it turns out to be trite - at least in fiction terms. The entire book was exhaustingly fraught with overripe emotions, and the vast majority of words were obvious padding. It was probably an okay short story & should have stayed short.

So disappointing after The Woman in Cabin 10 & In a Dark Wood

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I usually love Ruth Ware novels, but I felt like this story was very predictable. Also, I became frustrated with the characters as I felt they were just a bit dense. The character of the baby was driving me crazy. She just screamed and ate and slept. I understand her role in the story, but ugh how many times do we have to hear about her screaming and eating and sleeping?

Not My Favorite Ruth Ware Story

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