The Last Time I Lied: A Novel
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Beschreibung
Beiträge
2,5 stars Much like the first book I read by this author, I had a hard time connecting to the characters, and thus I didn't really care about the mystery/thriller aspects at first. Whilst I do appreciate how the reveals and the ending were handled, I do think that the book could have been a tad shorter, because there were a lot of scenes I found boring, and they did not really add anything of value to the story imo. Nevertheless, I really liked the way the mystery aspect was executed and I also thoroughl enjoy this authors writing style!
This is my live review of the book. Opening Chapter "This is how it begins." The sounds of nature affecting someone's sleep. An author trying to make things seem murky and mysterious, without explaining basic facts to the reader. A sense of isolation drops onto your shoulders, and for a moment you wonder if the whole camp has cleared out, leaving only you behind.Some girls have gone missing. The former sleeping person is looking for them.So much water. So much land. So many places to disappear.The person searching thinks of every negative reason for the girls absence, and only the negative ones. His/Her negative attitude and perspective has made him/her start screaming out loud. (It says the person searching was wearing boxer shorts which made me think it was a man, but to just pointlessly start screaming doesn't seem very masculine.) Chapter 1 Someone makes paintings the size of a barn door. They are often paintings of the missing girls. So far, this book is not interesting, or going anywhere that is fun to read. It is going into tedious details about the process of painting these paintings of the girls:This process can take days, even weeks, me slightly dizzy from fumes as I glob on more paint, layer upon layer, keeping it thick. This book seems like it is going to be as dull as the book jacket. The jacket says this is a story about a person who goes back to a summer camp years LATER to find out what happened to girls who went missing years BEFORE. Why go back? Wouldn't the janitors have cleaned up any of the clues or evidence by now? No one who was there at that time would be there now to interview. It's a summer camp. People don't live there, they go home at the end. Years later, they won't be there. All I can think is stupid. The chapter ended with the painter talking about her boring paintings and whatever dull stuff is going on in her life. There is no need for me to read chapter 2. The End
I've read romances more thrilling than this
4.5
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is an adequate, mid-tier thriller that delivered on the surprises but was bogged down by a lead character void of any charisma as well as plenty of plot points that didn't make sense. I really responded well to the first third or so of the novel. It really started out absolutely promising. A return to an old stomping ground is a reliable premise. This time around, the stomping ground is marred by a sinister tragedy. I personally like this because I view this akin to returning to a game at level 106 with plenty of experience under my belt to replay an early map I've already memorized. In plenty of ways, the lead character, Emma, was wiser. However, this gained wisdom did not stop her from making a myriad of questionable decisions from withholding information to unaccompanied adventures. She has lingering trauma rooted on her initial experience that seems to explain these away. However, all it did was needlessly bloat the story. This is by no means a throwaway book. The massive reveal at the very end was fantastic. Riley did really well creating a red herring that wasn't. What do you call these? I guess that red herring could be the likely chance of wrongly interpretating the objective of the central quest of the story. I also really like the setting of a summer camp. A place that can be both a prison and a vacation depending on the person. The supporting cast of characters were mostly strong. I really liked the matriarch, Franny and a couple others. The detective here was written poorly though, like he was lifted from a 1940s novel. Also, the secondary villain felt penciled in. An afterthought. I have read this book while listening to the audiobook. I enjoyed the narration. This being my first Riley Sager book, I must say that I was expecting more because of his notoriety. This is obviously not his magnum opus. I will definitely try more of his work inspite of how I felt about this book. Still recommended.
This book is pretty intense. I am still working out what I think, but it was a good mystery, lots of twists and surprises.
Another great book from Riley Sager
this book has really cool plot twists and the setting might be my favorite thing about it. i get why people don't like it, tbh, because i also had complicated feelings after finishing it, BUT... riley sager manages to create a novel so intriguing and build such an intricate plot that you can't help but turn the pages 'til you reach the ending. i actually don't know whether i like the last time i lied or final girls better. they are so different, but both of them are extremely good and i like them for different reasons.
Wie man im Prolog erfährt, verschwanden an einem Morgen vor 15 Jahren im Campinglager Nightingale Emma Davis´ drei Freundinnen Vivian, Allison und Natalie spurlos. In der Gegenwart verarbeitet die nun 28-jährige Emma, nach einem Kunststudium, diesen Verlust immer noch und immer wieder in ihren Gemälden. Allerdings ist das außer ihrem Freund, der ihr Geheimnis kennt, niemandem bewusst, da sie die Figuren der Mädchen jedes Mal unter dicken grünen und blauen Farbschichten, die den Wald und den See symbolisieren, verschwinden lässt. Auf ihrer ersten großen Vernissage trifft sie überraschend auf die damalige Verantwortliche Camp-Leiterin, die schwerreiche Erbin Franny. Sie ist inzwischen eine Mittsiebzigerin und will Emma ein Angebot machen. Franny will das Camp nun nach 15 Jahren wieder aufmachen. Es war schon immer für die Töchter der Reichen und Bekannten. Jetzt soll es kostenfrei sein und Emma soll den Mädchen das Malen beibringen. Sie ist von dem Angebot perplex, denn nach all den Jahren lässt sie das Verschwinden und die folgenden Ereignisse noch immer nicht los. Aber vielleicht könnte sie ein Aufenthalt weiterbringen, denn sie steckt auch künstlerisch fest. Sie lässt sich auf diese sechs Wochen Aufenthalt ein, denn sie will nach Spuren und Hinweisen suchen. Emma fühlt sich immer noch schuldig, da sie nachts das Fehlen der Freundinnen bemerkte und sich dann aber wieder schlafen gelegt hat. Halb freiwillig, halb unabsichtlich landet sie in derselben Hütte wie damals, zusammen mit drei jugendlichen Mädchen. Erste verschüttete Erinnerungen werden wach. Emma findet ein geheimnisvolles verstecktes Foto einer Frau und eine Skizze des Camps, beides muss noch von Vivian sein... Man kommt sehr schnell in die flüssig erzählte Geschichte rein. Sie wechselt immer wieder zwischen der Gegenwart und Rückblicken auf den ersten Aufenthalt vor 15 Jahren. Es gelingt der Autorin eine leicht schaurige Atmosphäre zu schaffen, auch durch die Legenden um den See Lake Midnight und seine Entstehung. Man folgt der Protagonistin Emma gespannt von Lösung zu Lösung und neuem Rätsel zu neuem Rätsel. Das Thema Lüge zieht sich überzeugend durchs ganze Buch. Man rätselt mit und kommt zu manch falscher Verdächtigung, das hat die Autorin gut entwickelt. Emma und viele der Nebenfiguren sind sehr sympathisch und nachvollziehbar. Emmas Probleme werden sehr begreiflich und eingängig beschrieben. Zur Mitte hat es dem Buch ein wenig an Spannung gefehlt, was das letzte Drittel völlig wett macht. Die Erzählung steigert sich sehr spannend zum Ende hin und birgt einige Überraschungen. Zum Schluss wird alles aufgelöst und man bleibt zufrieden mit diesem tollen Thriller zurück. 4,5 von 5 Punkten
on the one hand, 'the last time i lied' was an atmospheric, very well-crafted, well-written thriller. on the other hand, i felt like reading 'pretty little liars' for adults sometimes. i feel so bad saying this but even though i was in the mood for a typical juicy mystery thriller, while reading i often thought "okayy this is so cliché and predictable" :/ it's about an artist who returns to the summer camp where three girls disappeared when she was 13. then three girls disappear again - i actually got this book because it sounded like a safe bet, nothing super crazy but it's a nice thriller. maybe that's the problem: i got exactly what i expected! or maybe my problem was that i could predict two major plot points (the mystery about peaceful valley & part of who did it!) however! the very very ending took me by surprise and i thought it was great! while emma was a main character like many i've read before, i enjoyed her voice and i had fun exploring the story through her eyes. i liked the style & the translation, and had a good reading experience overall. the book took me two weeks to read so i wasn't always excited to pick it up. as sager's novels are so hyped in general, i'm definitely trying another one from him.
Beschreibung
Beiträge
2,5 stars Much like the first book I read by this author, I had a hard time connecting to the characters, and thus I didn't really care about the mystery/thriller aspects at first. Whilst I do appreciate how the reveals and the ending were handled, I do think that the book could have been a tad shorter, because there were a lot of scenes I found boring, and they did not really add anything of value to the story imo. Nevertheless, I really liked the way the mystery aspect was executed and I also thoroughl enjoy this authors writing style!
This is my live review of the book. Opening Chapter "This is how it begins." The sounds of nature affecting someone's sleep. An author trying to make things seem murky and mysterious, without explaining basic facts to the reader. A sense of isolation drops onto your shoulders, and for a moment you wonder if the whole camp has cleared out, leaving only you behind.Some girls have gone missing. The former sleeping person is looking for them.So much water. So much land. So many places to disappear.The person searching thinks of every negative reason for the girls absence, and only the negative ones. His/Her negative attitude and perspective has made him/her start screaming out loud. (It says the person searching was wearing boxer shorts which made me think it was a man, but to just pointlessly start screaming doesn't seem very masculine.) Chapter 1 Someone makes paintings the size of a barn door. They are often paintings of the missing girls. So far, this book is not interesting, or going anywhere that is fun to read. It is going into tedious details about the process of painting these paintings of the girls:This process can take days, even weeks, me slightly dizzy from fumes as I glob on more paint, layer upon layer, keeping it thick. This book seems like it is going to be as dull as the book jacket. The jacket says this is a story about a person who goes back to a summer camp years LATER to find out what happened to girls who went missing years BEFORE. Why go back? Wouldn't the janitors have cleaned up any of the clues or evidence by now? No one who was there at that time would be there now to interview. It's a summer camp. People don't live there, they go home at the end. Years later, they won't be there. All I can think is stupid. The chapter ended with the painter talking about her boring paintings and whatever dull stuff is going on in her life. There is no need for me to read chapter 2. The End
I've read romances more thrilling than this
4.5
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is an adequate, mid-tier thriller that delivered on the surprises but was bogged down by a lead character void of any charisma as well as plenty of plot points that didn't make sense. I really responded well to the first third or so of the novel. It really started out absolutely promising. A return to an old stomping ground is a reliable premise. This time around, the stomping ground is marred by a sinister tragedy. I personally like this because I view this akin to returning to a game at level 106 with plenty of experience under my belt to replay an early map I've already memorized. In plenty of ways, the lead character, Emma, was wiser. However, this gained wisdom did not stop her from making a myriad of questionable decisions from withholding information to unaccompanied adventures. She has lingering trauma rooted on her initial experience that seems to explain these away. However, all it did was needlessly bloat the story. This is by no means a throwaway book. The massive reveal at the very end was fantastic. Riley did really well creating a red herring that wasn't. What do you call these? I guess that red herring could be the likely chance of wrongly interpretating the objective of the central quest of the story. I also really like the setting of a summer camp. A place that can be both a prison and a vacation depending on the person. The supporting cast of characters were mostly strong. I really liked the matriarch, Franny and a couple others. The detective here was written poorly though, like he was lifted from a 1940s novel. Also, the secondary villain felt penciled in. An afterthought. I have read this book while listening to the audiobook. I enjoyed the narration. This being my first Riley Sager book, I must say that I was expecting more because of his notoriety. This is obviously not his magnum opus. I will definitely try more of his work inspite of how I felt about this book. Still recommended.
This book is pretty intense. I am still working out what I think, but it was a good mystery, lots of twists and surprises.
Another great book from Riley Sager
this book has really cool plot twists and the setting might be my favorite thing about it. i get why people don't like it, tbh, because i also had complicated feelings after finishing it, BUT... riley sager manages to create a novel so intriguing and build such an intricate plot that you can't help but turn the pages 'til you reach the ending. i actually don't know whether i like the last time i lied or final girls better. they are so different, but both of them are extremely good and i like them for different reasons.
Wie man im Prolog erfährt, verschwanden an einem Morgen vor 15 Jahren im Campinglager Nightingale Emma Davis´ drei Freundinnen Vivian, Allison und Natalie spurlos. In der Gegenwart verarbeitet die nun 28-jährige Emma, nach einem Kunststudium, diesen Verlust immer noch und immer wieder in ihren Gemälden. Allerdings ist das außer ihrem Freund, der ihr Geheimnis kennt, niemandem bewusst, da sie die Figuren der Mädchen jedes Mal unter dicken grünen und blauen Farbschichten, die den Wald und den See symbolisieren, verschwinden lässt. Auf ihrer ersten großen Vernissage trifft sie überraschend auf die damalige Verantwortliche Camp-Leiterin, die schwerreiche Erbin Franny. Sie ist inzwischen eine Mittsiebzigerin und will Emma ein Angebot machen. Franny will das Camp nun nach 15 Jahren wieder aufmachen. Es war schon immer für die Töchter der Reichen und Bekannten. Jetzt soll es kostenfrei sein und Emma soll den Mädchen das Malen beibringen. Sie ist von dem Angebot perplex, denn nach all den Jahren lässt sie das Verschwinden und die folgenden Ereignisse noch immer nicht los. Aber vielleicht könnte sie ein Aufenthalt weiterbringen, denn sie steckt auch künstlerisch fest. Sie lässt sich auf diese sechs Wochen Aufenthalt ein, denn sie will nach Spuren und Hinweisen suchen. Emma fühlt sich immer noch schuldig, da sie nachts das Fehlen der Freundinnen bemerkte und sich dann aber wieder schlafen gelegt hat. Halb freiwillig, halb unabsichtlich landet sie in derselben Hütte wie damals, zusammen mit drei jugendlichen Mädchen. Erste verschüttete Erinnerungen werden wach. Emma findet ein geheimnisvolles verstecktes Foto einer Frau und eine Skizze des Camps, beides muss noch von Vivian sein... Man kommt sehr schnell in die flüssig erzählte Geschichte rein. Sie wechselt immer wieder zwischen der Gegenwart und Rückblicken auf den ersten Aufenthalt vor 15 Jahren. Es gelingt der Autorin eine leicht schaurige Atmosphäre zu schaffen, auch durch die Legenden um den See Lake Midnight und seine Entstehung. Man folgt der Protagonistin Emma gespannt von Lösung zu Lösung und neuem Rätsel zu neuem Rätsel. Das Thema Lüge zieht sich überzeugend durchs ganze Buch. Man rätselt mit und kommt zu manch falscher Verdächtigung, das hat die Autorin gut entwickelt. Emma und viele der Nebenfiguren sind sehr sympathisch und nachvollziehbar. Emmas Probleme werden sehr begreiflich und eingängig beschrieben. Zur Mitte hat es dem Buch ein wenig an Spannung gefehlt, was das letzte Drittel völlig wett macht. Die Erzählung steigert sich sehr spannend zum Ende hin und birgt einige Überraschungen. Zum Schluss wird alles aufgelöst und man bleibt zufrieden mit diesem tollen Thriller zurück. 4,5 von 5 Punkten
on the one hand, 'the last time i lied' was an atmospheric, very well-crafted, well-written thriller. on the other hand, i felt like reading 'pretty little liars' for adults sometimes. i feel so bad saying this but even though i was in the mood for a typical juicy mystery thriller, while reading i often thought "okayy this is so cliché and predictable" :/ it's about an artist who returns to the summer camp where three girls disappeared when she was 13. then three girls disappear again - i actually got this book because it sounded like a safe bet, nothing super crazy but it's a nice thriller. maybe that's the problem: i got exactly what i expected! or maybe my problem was that i could predict two major plot points (the mystery about peaceful valley & part of who did it!) however! the very very ending took me by surprise and i thought it was great! while emma was a main character like many i've read before, i enjoyed her voice and i had fun exploring the story through her eyes. i liked the style & the translation, and had a good reading experience overall. the book took me two weeks to read so i wasn't always excited to pick it up. as sager's novels are so hyped in general, i'm definitely trying another one from him.