Book Review: "A Lovely Lie" by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

I used to read more thrillers and crime novels than any other genre. But I grew disillusioned because so many thrillers seemed fairly similar, with common themes and tropes. However, since so many of my Bookstagram buddies love thrillers, I’ve waded back in this year. While they all haven’t been great, I’ve found some fantastic thrillers so far in 2024, and Jaime Lynn Hendricks’ new book is on that list! (This is also the fourth thriller I've loved that has "Lie" in the title.)

Pepper and Scarlett were best friends in high school. Pepper was the star, the leader, and Scarlett was her follower. In 1999, the two were involved in a car accident that killed two of their classmates. They coordinated their alibis and lied to the police, and the next morning, Pepper disappeared, never to be heard from again.

More than 20 years later, Scarlett lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband Vince and their teenage son. She is shocked when Zoey, Pepper’s daughter, shows up, telling Scarlett that Pepper is dead. Zoey knows that Scarlett kept Pepper’s secrets; she demands to know who her father is and what happened the night of the senior picnic, as she found a letter Pepper wrote to Scarlett mentioning an accident.

Zoey’s arrival turns Scarlett’s life upside down. She is determined to keep digging into what happened that night 22 years ago, to find out who her father is and what secrets and lies have been kept hidden. But even Scarlett doesn’t know what she thinks she does…

This was an excellent thriller that definitely surprised me. Hendricks threw in lots of twists and turns, and I didn’t know which characters to trust and which to despise. The book shifts back and forth between 1999 and the present, and is narrated by several of the characters.

This was my first book by Hendricks; it will absolutely not be my last!!