Don’t Lie

By: Sarah Jules

Narrated by: Flick Khouri

Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A young adult horror novel for fans of Karen M. McManus, Holly Jackson, Stephen Graham Jones, and Adam Cesare.

It was a prank. Nobody was supposed to die.

Five university housemates go on a final blowout to The Cabin before they all go their separate ways. The trip is a cover for a vindictive prank. When the prank goes wrong and one of the housemates dies, the final four find themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere, tormented by an 80s-style horror villain, complete with machete and mask.

All he wants is the truth.

But some secrets are worth dying for. And others are worth killing for.

©2023 Sarah Mosley (P)2024 Sarah Mosley

Prank gone wrong!

A group of college housemates decide to go on one last trip together to a "cabin" in the woods. Only thing is, 4 of the group have decided to pull a mean prank on one girl, Quinn. The prank involves the use of a Michael Meyers costume, complete with mask. What the group isn't expecting is that someone else in the woods is out to outprank the whole bunch!

This book is full of snarky digs between the "friends", complete with games like truth or dare and other humiliations. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the group and I will admit that I had a hard time following whose mind we were in sometimes. I think this would be easier to follow with reading the book instead of listening since you could go back to the start of the chapter to see who was talking.

The book is reminiscent of '80's slasher films and had a lot of the same types of vibes. Creepy messages, weird sightings, no phone signal and lack of transportation added to creepiness of the story. I thought that I had the guilty part figured out early in the book (and I was partially right), but there were several twists along the way. There were some things mentioned that I would have like to know more about, but all in all, this was an enjoyable YA book.

The narrator did a pretty good job, but her voice was a bit hard to take at times. i don't know if it was her accent or what, but I found myself loosing focus several times.

Tense and exciting thriller

Five university housemates take their last hurrah together at a remote cabin before going their separate ways. An elaborate prank is in place, but is that all that’s going on?

I remember people like these characters from when I was younger. Publicly close friends, but all they do is spend their time resenting each other and throwing jabs. As soon as I started this one, I couldn’t stop and blazed through it in one sitting. I HAD to know what was going on. Sarah Jules expertly weaves the story along and keeps you on your toes until the very end. This is definitely a must-read for the year!!

My only warning is that I listened to the audiobook and it sounds like the narrator is reading in an airplane hangar — there’s a slight echo the entire time. 🥲

They're not alone in the woods...

What starts off as an incredibly mean prank ends up turning into a night of absolute bloodshed.
Don't Lie follows a group of university friends who decide to take one last cabin trip before everyone ends up going their separate ways; however, unbeknownst to one of the friends, the rest of the group has planned an elaborate prank to terrify her.

As the night goes on, the pranksters quickly realize that they aren't the only ones in the woods. And this stranger is out for something more than vindictive payback - it's out for blood.

I thought it was a little confusing to read at times. Every chapter is told in first person from one of the friends of the group. The narrator didn't change the voice for any of the characters. Sometimes I forgot whose POV it was and I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to find out.

It did have me incredibly hooked, though. I wanted to find out everyone's true intentions and find out why they were all going to such incredible lengths for a prank. And I truly wasn't expecting that ending!

I believe this is her second book, and now I've read both of them. I look forward to reading any future releases!