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    The Lying Game #3: Two Truths and a Lie
    The Lying Game #3: Two Truths and a Lie
    The Lying Game #3: Two Truths and a Lie
    Ebook250 pages3 hours

    The Lying Game #3: Two Truths and a Lie

    By Sara Shepard

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars, comes another riveting addition to her twisted Lying Games series, about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

    Foster child Emma Paxton is finally starting to get the hang of walking in her dead twin sister’s fabulous shoes, even as she tries to track down Sutton’s murderer.

    But Sutton was no angel, and the pranks she and her friends pulled leave Emma with a long list of suspects. The most mysterious of them is Thayer Vega, who’s currently missing—a fact which many of Sutton’s friends blame on her. Emma has no idea what Sutton did that could have driven Thayer away. Until Thayer himself shows up on her doorstep.

    Is he here to get revenge? Or is it possible he already has?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperTeen
    Release dateFeb 7, 2012
    ISBN9780062084149
    The Lying Game #3: Two Truths and a Lie
    Author

    Sara Shepard

    Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She currently lives in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line. All the Things We Didn’t Say is her first novel for adults.

    Read more from Sara Shepard

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    Reviews for The Lying Game #3

    3.5/5

    57 ratings15 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I really liked the first book and determined that this was another must buy series. I didn't mind book "Never Have I Ever", the second book either. But this one was just a complete rehash of the second one with the name of the main suspect changed around a little. This time the focus is on Theyer, a boy who has a past with Sutton. I know we wont' learn all the mysteries until the final book. This is a series after all. But when the last page was read, I felt we had gone nowhere at all with the story. When the character thinks, "Back to Square One"...I was ready to throw the book.I like the unique storyline. I like Emma as a character a lot and I even enjoy Sutton's ghostly flashbacks. The book is a very quick read, not that that is exactly a plus when it costs about $12 in hardback. Still its an enjoyable time waster. I think there is a way for this talented author to write the books as a series and still give us some unique twists with each book. I will try the next book and hope it gives us some kind of payout and satisfaction. The thing about this series is that you have to read each book and in order to follow the mystery of Sutton's murder as it is unraveled.
    • 4/5
      In book three the reader revisits familiar characters, but they become more developed as they become suspects in the murder of Sutton. All of these characters are only considered suspect by Emma; aside from Ethan, no other person knows Sutton is dead. Emma knows because she is the identical twin of Sutton and she has seen a snuff film in which Sutton was killed. Even Emma does not know that Sutton is a continuing ghostly presence. The ghost also wants to know why she was killed, but she cannot offer any material help to Emma, she has no memories of what happened on the night she died. She only has memory flashes when Emma has experiences, but the memories are fleeting and not definitive or long lasting enough.Unlike books one and two, Ghost Sutton’s observations have become difficult to separate from Emma’s. For example, Emma might say “I went to visit my friend Charlotte…” The very next line, in a new paragraph, might be “I remembered the way Charlotte helped…” The second quote, however, might be from Ghost Sutton. A fast reader will find the need to go back and clarify who is saying what. I did not find this to be true in the first two books of the series.The writing remains highly engaging, although I found no surprises in this book. All of Emma’s friend, and even sister Laurel are suspects at one time or other in the death of Sutton. And almost all of them are also eliminated as potential suspects. All factors leading to proof of guilt or innocence are only in the mind of Emma with a little help from discussions with Ethan, the only person who knows that he is talking with Emma. Which leads me to suspect Ethan, but there is no reason to suspect that in this book.There are a few unresolved issues in this book, though. It seems that Dad Mercer, a doctor, has discovered a new, faint scar, on Emma’s/Sutton’s chin. Something to keep in mind during the read. Then there is the continuing mystery of Thayer. Where has he been? Why won’t he tell anyone where he has been? Why does Dr. Mercer hate Thayer so much?This is book three in a series of six. There is continuing character development that sustains reader interest enough to buy the next book.
    • 4/5
      I have a soft spot for The Lying Game. I anxiously await the next release starting a maximum of three days after the previous one is released, and so there’s quite a lot I love about the series. An avid reader, as well as viewer of the TV show, I just cannot get enough of Emma and Sutton! True to form, Two Truths and A Lie had my attention from the first line up to the cliff-hanger ending. One thing Sara Shepard is really excellent at is playing with the reader’s head and emotion, using what the reader already knows against them, and Two Truths and A Lie does this several times throughout the book.I am hoping that it’s just personal tastes and that the next Lying Game book will be as enthralling as ever. True, there were still take-my-breath-away tense moments in Two Truths and A Lie, but it just didn’t enthrall me as it usually does. Harry Potter had Goblet of Fire and The Lying Game now has Two Truths and A Lie. Niether are bad, per say, they just don’t meet expectations. Hopefully, this is just a one-book stall, and Shepard is able to pick up the story again in Hide and Go Seek.
    • 4/5
      Emma and Sutton are back for round three, tangled up in clues and red herrings as usual. This time, their friend Madeline’s runaway brother and town bad boy, Thayer, is the prime suspect. He’s been gone longer than Sutton and rumor has it, the two were involved in some pretty risky behavior before either one went MIA. Now, Thayer has resurfaced, alive if not quite shiny and new, and Emma has to figure out if he’s a lover in mourning or an ex-lover, licking his savagely cut wounds, before he outs her secret, or ends her whole game, for good.This latest chapter in the Lying Game series was far and away my favorite. We’re getting to the deep bottom of Sutton’s memory and Emma is wrapped up more than ever in the drama of Hollier , for better or for worse. Thayer is not my typical lit crush (I’m not one for the bad boy but he’s a total soccer playing hottie!) but his character is by far the best drawn out player we’ve seen so far. He’s a hottie to hate, though, in this installment and I can’t say much more. Just know that the series is picking up rather than falling into a slump, thank goodness.The only gripe I have with the books as a whole collection is that sometimes Sutton and Emma get a bit tangled in terms of voice, perspective and tense. As a general concept, it works well, over all; I just have to stop and reread occasionally when Sutton starts adding in her thoughts over Emma’s third person visuals.I can not believe I have to wait until this summer to finish out the case. Once again, this is why I can’t handle a series until every last piece has been published; if it’s worth reading, I want to read it in one big gulp, not wait around for it! I know; I’m a brat. I’ll sit back and wait but you must know that I don’t want to.
    • 3/5
      All signs point to Thayer in Two Truths and a Lie, the third installment in The Lying Game series. After Thayer's surprise "attack" and subsequent arrest, Emma tries to gather evidence against him to prove he killed Sutton. But did he? Or is it someone closer to Sutton who did the deed? Maybe her sister Laurel?

      All dissenters beware! I actually like this series. Honestly, it isn't like Pretty Little Liars at all. It might actually be more simpler, albeit Shepard's thing with twins aside. I like how spirit Sutton knows absolutely nothing and the fragments she does get are meant to tease the audiences, to make us go full throttle in the wrong direction after the wrong person based on what we read.

      I would love it if it turned out Laurel killed Sutton and knew all the time who Emma was. That would be so intense! But what is going on with Ethan? What is his story? What if he couldn't let go of losing his science scholarship and snapped? Then why save her during the snuff prank? Was it because he actually felt bad or he saw the great and powerful Sutton Mercer can be taken down?

      I know in the next book all signs will point to Laurel. However, it won't make sense because who hit Thayer with the car? Laurel loves him and there was nothing to indicate from the flashback that the car was trying to hit Sutton and Thayer just got in the way. That is assuming that the same person who hit Thayer also killed Sutton. It could two separate incidents. Two separate people.

      Damn you, Shepard, you've done it again! More questions and like one answer.
    • 4/5
      I've read some reviews where people thought this was just a filler until the next book comes out, but I enjoyed it. The readers learn more about Thayer and his relationship with Sutton in this one. I'm ready for the next one.
    • 4/5
      Ok, I really like this series, but I can't believe I have to wait until the next book comes out to probably focus on another suspect that probably didn't do it. I'm a little frustrated but totally sucked in. My predictions for the next book: (I know I could be waaaay off) -Emma will focus on Laurel and her Mr. Mercer as suspects. -Ethan's not going to understand why she feels like she has to sort of play the part of being interested in Thayer. -She's actually going to be a little interested in Thayer. Who do I think did it? I've thought from the beginning of the first book that it was Char's dad. Not sure why, but I always have. Who knows though. I can't wait to see who else didn't kill Sutton.
    • 3/5
      3 stars is being insanely generous!
      Imagine a book like Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty, but without so many twists, turn, and surprises.
      Now imagine you wrote just such a book, someone with presumably no talent for writing a novel. Got it?
      You now have Two Truths and a Lie.
      The first 50 pages are good, and the last 50 pages are good. The 300 pages in between are just plain boring.
      The Mom Squad a group of vacant moms who are bored and so they drink all the time and pretend to give a shit about their kids, spend their summer at the beach in Massachusetts.
      Throw in some teen girl drama, preteen drama, and lots of made up mom drama, and bam you have a four hundred page snooze fest.
    • 3/5
      Blah. Beach read.
    • 4/5
      When Sherri and her daughter Katie moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts, little did the "Mom-Squad" know they were hiding a secret that couldn't be told. As the story unfolds, the readers are allowed more and more tidbits about the nightmare that Sherri has gone thru with her husband. Her daughter Katie still has nightmares and wakes up screaming; believing the bad men are coming to get her now.I loved the friendship that developed between Sherry and Rebecca and their daughters. I was pulling for Rebecca and Daniel the entire time! Their friendship helped combat the cattiness of the Mom-Squad and made them both strong and independent women!This story intrigued me and I couldn't wait to flip the pages and see what was going to happen next!This was the first book I've read by Meg Mitchell Moore, but it won't be the last.I won this book from goodreads and my honest opinion is....I really enjoyed it! I have a Little Free Library and I can't wait to see this book fly off of the shelves.
    • 4/5
      My Review: Good book; lots of suspenseful build-up, but didn’t lead to much
    • 4/5
      The alternating voices enhances the question of truth and lies - what do things look like? what is really happening? where is the truth amid the lies? There is the mom & daughter running from danger, living a lie literally to save their lives. But then there is the widow and her daughter, each hiding their true selves from their friends and each other. Interestingly enough, it is the teenager that comes to the realization that honesty can be nuanced. The best part of this story is the relationships and how they develop.
    • 4/5
      Newburyport is a beautiful seaside town. A group of women, the Mom Squad, and their 11 year old daughters have been friends for years. Now, a new woman, Sherri Griffin, and her daughter, Katie, have moved to town. The mom squad isn’t as welcoming as they could be. Sherry is hiding something about her past life. One of the moms, Rebecca, has been pulling back from the group. She lost her husband suddenly about 18 months earlier, and is still grieving. Her 17-year old daughter, Alexa, is starting to become independent. She is grieving the loss of Peter, too, but isn’t as open about it. Alexa’s sister, Morgan, becomes friendly with Katie, and soon, Alexa is involved in the Griffin’s lives, too. Additionally, Alexa is pulling away from her boyfriend, Tyler, and becoming involved with a sweet, kind college student, Cam.Alexa finds out a secret about Sherri and Katie, and this secret changes a lot of things. She tells the secret to Cam.This story is told primarily in the 3 months of summer, and builds to a somewhat tragic, but ultimately triumphant ending. I was emotionally involved with this book and the characters. I liked the way the book moved between the characters and the snarky comments of the mom squad. #TwoTruthsAndALie #MegMitchellMoore
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book but because it was compared in some reviews comparable to Liane Moriaty's books I kept waiting for the great twist and turn and it never came. The writing was great and characters I loved, so lacking suspense was the only thing that kept it from being a 5 star in my eyes.
    • 4/5
      Another fun if slightly wicked book to read this summer. There’s some mystery, a perfect setting and interesting characters. And those moms---I wanted to slap them. They are mean catty and judgmental. Lots of secrets come out in this book, and like many summer books, it had a predictable but enjoyable ending.

    Book preview

    The Lying Game #3 - Sara Shepard

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