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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Some violence connected to the past secret; the thriller escalates effectively
Language
Some
Adult language in Ware's psychological thriller register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Some drinking across the school reunion
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological weight of a secret that connects four very different people across decades — and the dread of what will happen when it surfaces — is the novel's sustained and effective register
What this book is about
Ruth Ware's psychological thriller follows Isa, who receives a message that sends her back to her old school on the Salten Marsh, where she and three friends played the Lying Game — a competition to see who could tell the most convincing lies. The secret they've kept for seventeen years is now threatening to break. Ware builds effective atmosphere; the coastal setting is vivid and the revelation lands with impact. For adult readers of psychological thrillers.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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