Dare You to Lie

August 1, 2018
A teen girl aims to prove her father's innocence and resolve a very personal scandal in Natusch's (Dead Zone, 2018, etc.) YA debut.Kylene "Ky" Danners' FBI detective father was convicted of murder, and Ky has moved in with her grandfather in the small town of Jasperville, Ohio, where two and a half years prior, topless photos of her passed out were plastered all over social media--but no one was held responsible. Despite the stares and whispers, Ky picks up where she left off with childhood friend Garrett and makes a new one in delightfully awkward Canadian immigrant Tabby. Ky wants to make the boys responsible for her humiliation (including her then-boyfriend) pay. However, Donovan, a menacing football star and possible prescription drug addict, proves a genuine danger to Ky, and the local police don't seem to care. As Ky snoops, with the reluctant help of an FBI agent who thinks her father is guilty, she discovers something big is going down in Jasperville--and it might get her killed. Natusch tackles #MeToo topics such as sexual assault and domestic violence, never talking down to her readers or offering easy answers. The terrifying finale is a doozy, and Ky is a capable (can you say muay thai?), whip-smart, snarky joy. Readers will follow her anywhere, no matter how dangerous. All main characters are white, and there are two Mexican-American siblings.Dark and thrilling. (Thriller. 14-adult)

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