The Lies They Tell

March 1, 2018
After the murder of a wealthy family, a girl is determined to find the killer and exonerate her father.Pearl Haskins lives with her father in the tourist town of Tenney's Harbor, Maine, where she works as a country-club waitress alongside her best friend and unrequited crush, Reese. Rich summer tourists descend upon the town, treating the locals as servants--but this summer is different. Six months earlier, all but one member of the wealthy Garrison family were murdered while they slept. Pearl's father had been the substitute night watchman on duty, and, with the murders remaining unsolved, people blame him for the tragedy. Now her father's business has dried up, the debt collectors are calling, and he's turned to drink. When sole survivor Tristan Garrison and his friends show an interest in Pearl, she lets herself be swept into the world of the summer people, aiming to find out the truth and clear her father's name--but getting too close may cost her everything. A lush summer atmosphere, class tensions, and complex romantic feelings all hit pitch-perfect notes in this slow-burning mystery. The final reveal may not be very shocking, but immersion in the world of small-town Maine and Pearl's dangerous game of chess compensate. One tourist family is Indian; all other major characters are white.An eerie, well-drawn mystery. (Fiction 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Eighteen-year-old Pearl Haskins is one of the locals in Tenney's Harbor, ME, which is a popular summer destination for the wealthy. Tenney's Harbor is also known for the mysterious fire that swept through the Garrison mansion, taking the lives of four out of five family members. Pearl works at the local country club as a waitress, serving all of the upscale townspeople, while her father is a caregiver for different estates in town, including the infamous Garrison home. The town gossip now points to Pearl's father, who was on the estate the night the deadly fire happened. He is unable to get work because the summer crowd is now wary of his role in the suspicious fire, and Pearl needs answers. Tristan Garrison is the last surviving member of the Garrison family. Pearl is befriended by his friends and soon finds herself being invited to ritzy parties and events. She thinks these friendships could be a way to get some answers to her questions. What she begins uncovering was not was she expected; lies, deceit, and betrayal. This is a leisurely paced YA mystery. With intriguing characters and unexpected twists and turns, French keeps her readers guessing until the very end. Fans of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars and Allan Wolff's Who Killed Christopher Goodman? should add this title to their must-read lists. VERDICT A valuable addition to thriller shelves.-Amanda LeMay, Neptune Township Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 18, 2018
In this thoughtful mystery from French (Grit), 18-year-old Pearl Haskins was one of the last people to see the Garrison family alive the night their house burned to the ground. Pearl’s father was the gatekeeper at the Garrison house; blamed for the tragedy, he has since lost most of his caretaking jobs on Mount Desert Island, a Maine summer retreat. Pearl’s job as a waitress at the local club brings her into contact with the island’s elite, including the enigmatic Tristan Garrison, the lone surviving family member, who has returned for the summer. Pearl is determined to clear her father’s name and get to the bottom of what happened to the Garrisons, despite the warnings from her fellow townies. But what will learning the truth cost her? Pearl is an empathetic character, and French does an excellent job of highlighting the tension between social classes in this slow-burning mystery, as well as the difficulties of navigating family drama. Ages 14–up.