The Last Time I Lied

A Novel

By: Riley Sager

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the latest thriller from the best-selling author of Final Girls, a young woman returns to her childhood summer camp to uncover the truth about a tragedy that happened there 15 years ago.

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. But the games ended the night Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin into the darkness. The last she - or anyone - saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings - massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. When the paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale, she implores Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor. Seeing an opportunity to find out what really happened to her friends all those years ago, Emma agrees.

Familiar faces, unchanged cabins, and the same dark lake haunt Nightingale, even though the camp is opening its doors for the first time since the disappearances. Emma is even assigned to the same cabin she slept in as a teenager, but soon discovers a security camera - the only one on the property - pointed directly at its door. Then cryptic clues that Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins begin surfacing. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing mysterious threats in the present. And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale and what really happened to those girls, the more she realizes that closure could come at a deadly price.  

©2018 Riley Sager (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Nicol Zanzarella depicts Emma's thoughts gently and in character. Her slow, almost eerie, delivery echoes the suspense of the story. An intimate tone in her voice enhances the listening experience and adds suspense." (AudioFile)

“The author delivers the kind of unpredictable conclusion that all thriller readers crave - utterly shocking yet craftily foreshadowed.” (The New York Times Book Review) 

“Sager’s second thriller is as tense and twisty as [his] best-selling Final Girls (2017), but this one is even more polished, with gut-wrenching plot surprises skillfully camouflaged by Emma’s paranoia and confusion, the increasingly creepy setting, and a cast of intriguingly secretive characters.” (Booklist - starred review)

Couldn't finish it...

Sigh... well, I really tried to listen to the whole thing. I always try to give a book a chance. I got to chapter 13 before I got fed up by the slow beginning and jumped ten chapters ahead. I could hardly tell for another few chapters. Things finally started to pick up and I became interested again, kind of, until the romance b.s. kicked in.

I hate romance novels and this started to become a schmaltzy, sappy, ridiculous, romance novel. I ignored it as much as I could but this is how silly the writing is: the main character (I can't even remember her name) at 13 years old falsely accused an older male friend, 19 years old at the time, of being involved in the disappearance of 3 young teens at a summer camp. This ruins his life (supposedly, although he still is able to go to med school). A couple of decades later and she has an opportunity to be with him alone and he says he has a question for her.

What would you ask in this scenario? I would ask WHY. Why did you do what you did. This guy asks her if her 13 year old kiss was sincere. WTF??? Really???

No. That was the final straw. I jumped to the last chapter just to find out what the mystery was but it wasn't even worth it.

With all that out, the narrator was decent. She read in a bit of a overly dramatic way and a bit too slow for me but I could forgive that. I just couldn't forgive the writing.

save yourself the grief

You see the positive reviews.. You want to believe the negative ones are from malcontents... They're not. They are from intelligent "thinking" people who expect a plot you can't see through a mile away and a protagonist you wish would simply disappear in the next chapter; Bye-bye! Thanks anyway! Save your credit. Use it on something more worthy your time... and your interest.

loved it

a little slow at times but definitely kept me guessing! would recommend if you like suspense

Good enough but looonnnggg

This was a good enough mystery; 3 girls, roomies at camp, go missing at a summer camp. The fourth roomie of theirs suffers all her like from the unsolved mystery of her missing friends. She returns as an adult to teach painting, ends up in the same cabin with three younger roomies, who, end up disappearing. Ow both mysteries are solved is the story but, it’s long and drawn out and very wordy. Thongs fall in to place very conveniently...until the surprise ending. Narrator was good, story was pretty good, but, it could have done without a lot of the endless details that are described on and on..

Juvenile

Should be considered young adult fiction. Save your money, unless you're a fifteen year old girl who enjoys corny gossip.

Kept me guessing...

The Last Time I Lied was a fantastic read/listen. The story itself was thrilling, and while I thought many times throughout the story I knew what had happened, I realized I was learning and discovering truths and theories in the same way that Emma was. This is definitely my vote for book of the summer for 2018.

I did feel the narration was a bit flat, and often times lacked emotion, but it didn't at all pull me away from the story, which again, was incredible. Everyone should read or listen to this thrilling mystery from Riley Sager.

Disappointed

I really liked the first book by this author however this one fell flat. Unbelievable characters and motives, the story dragged and failed to keep my attention.

Unfortunately Very Disappointed....

I am confused on how this book recieved such good reviews.

I read the authors other book, Final Girls, and was in love with it. This book on the other hand.... I honestly feel like nothing happened. I didn't connect with the character and feel like she was very bland and didn't have a personality. This book just seemed like it was overly detailed and it had nothing to do with anything.

I can't tell you what happened in this book that made it as long as it did. Nothing happened! There weren't any twists and turns or shocking moments until the very last chapter which left you handing in an annoying and inconclusive way. You can actually skip the entirely of this book and not miss anything important. So disappointed.

best of the best

I loved the story, the narration and the twists and turns and foreshadowing.
Kept me listening almost non stop.
Best!

Why all the great reviews?

I was so excited to listen to this one... but it was just a little to slow of a build for me, the narrator was a little too mono-toned and the shock was wayyyyy too far at the end. Not to mention it was unrealistic! I swear, there were about 8 minutes left and I was like, ummmmm when is this shock coming? It came.. and then it went and I was left unimpressed. Skip this one.. I wish I did....