The Lying Game - Ruth Ware

There are five rules in the Lying Game:

1: Tell a Lie - looks like there is a big lie lurking at the center of this book. Like every Ware novel, this secret is teased out over the course of backflashes as we learn how the four main characters, Isa, Thea, Kate and Fatima get to know each other at an English boarding school in the town of Salten where they make up this silly game which makes everyone hate them.

2: Stick to Your Story - they're pretty good at this one since it's 17 years later and only a dog and the unstoppable reach of water has uncovered the secret they thought they buried in the marsh.

3: Don't Get Caught - Pretty clear someone is going to get caught here so when Kate sends a text simply saying "I need You", the other three drop everything to be at their side. Their cover story of attending a reunion at a school that Fatima and Isa attended for less than a year and never graduated from is just weird, but I chalked this up to never having attended boarding school myself.

4: Never Lie to Each Other - whoops, well what do you expect for rules set down by 15 year olds who haven't spoken to each other in years but somehow remain the best of friends. This rule gets broken a lot, and mostly within the first few chapters.

5: Know When to Stop Lying - this rule had me yelling at my dashboard listening to the audio. A lot of things could have been cleared up if the characters had stopped lying to each other (see Rule 4), partway through the book.

Other points:
- Ware knows how to draw up a spooky scene. Kate is still living in the ramshackle tide mill her father owned during their school years. It's falling apart and slowly sinking into the sea. But Kate, who has become an artist like her father, has refused to leave and has lived a life near the poverty line as a result.

ruthware.com Setting for the Lying Game

- The men in this book take a backseat to the female characters, but they are the biggest proponents of plot. Kate's father Ambrose draws pictures of the girls. Kate's brother Luc is the subject of Isa's teenage crush and when he shows up partway through the book, yells at Isa, who is holding a baby and seems sinister until, poof, off goes his shirt and all is forgiven. (Yeah I REALLY didn't understand what was happening here). And then there is Owen, Isa's partner who seems like a pretty decent guy, until Isa starts yelling at him and lying to him about... whatever, it's not important and she easily could have smoothed things over with him at any point in the book.
- All this baby does is breastfeed and nap. And Isa is obsessed with the baby until, whoops, (view spoiler)
- And (view spoiler)

So this book ended up a little uneven for me. But it was MUCH better than Woman in Cabin 10. Isa is a stronger character and is a good narrator even if she is a little slow-witted sometimes. And the big reveal of the secret is perplexing because the choices were sort of idiotic. But not a bad read and I liked the narration by Imogene Church.

3/5 Stars.