Book Review: Reasons to Lie

Reasons to Lie is a suspenseful psychological thriller. If you like multiple POV thrillers set at elite private schools with drama and intrigue among the moms and teenagers, and rich people using money and power to bend the rules (and laws and morals and ethics), then you will likely enjoy Reasons to Lie.

The novel has multiple points of view, following three mothers (Abby, Hollis, and Kara) of children at the exclusive, elite private school (fictionalized but clearly based on a real school) Dearborn Academy in New York City. The moms felt realistic even if I didn’t really fully relate to any of them.

Abby is keeping a big secret about the identify of her daughter’s father and dating the new English teacher. Her daughter Rachel is a quiet student who succeeds and academically, but struggles socially. For awhile, I related to Abby’s character, until I really, really didn’t. Yet all of the characters truly live up to the title—they lied and had reasons to lie.

Kara is navigating her marriage to her college sweetheart and her two daughters, along with starting a new business, an app that gives advice to women, with Abby. I thought the B-story about their app, Jyst, which gives advice anonymously to women, was intriguing.

Hollis is new at school and she has fears about her son’s potential for violence, and he might have a mental illness inherited from her side of the family. Hints at his dark past at a previous school are dropped, and her husband seems like an awful person.

The events revolve around a student death while they were away at a school retreat at a camp in a mountainous area called Forest Valley. While this information is revealed at the beginning of the novel, the book then moves from August and back to school night until the retreat. As the plot moves closer to the retreat, the book becomes more fast-paced and the tension tightens.

For me, as a parent of a not-yet teen, this was a hard read. A lot of the teen characters were mean and ruthless, rude to the parents, and almost constantly lying. In that way, I do see how some readers could compare this book to the Gossip Girl TV show. The multiple POV element and the way it was told reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. If you like those, you will enjoy Reasons to Lie.

I really wish the book had some trigger warnings included at the beginning. I have included some below. 

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: mention of cutting; mention of grooming and sexual abuse of minors (off-page)