⭕️🏨 Circle of Liars 🏨⭕️

• Kate Francis @katefrancisauthor

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YA thrillers proving again and again why they are one of my favourite genres! Seven teenagers arrive at a remote motel in the Californian desert for a school residential. At first, the dilapidated motel looks like nothing more than a prank, but soon, it spirals into something far more sinister. The seven all have something in common – they’re all guilty. Exactly a year ago, the school gym burnt down and killed two people. Each of the seven had a hand in it, and by the looks of it, someone else knows it too. Someone who is watching their every move…

By the turn of every hour, one of the seven must be expelled from the motel, where they are shot dead. It’s very Lord of the Flies-esque in the way it pits the teenagers against one another and explores dynamics within the group. I found the character of Ellis so interesting, the way his role as the leader of the group and his struggle for dominance was portrayed. Ana was a great narrator and experiencing the story predominantly through her lens was a fantastic choice. I would’ve liked some of the other characters to be explored more fully – Jax, Jade, and Caden.

This book is so thought-provoking with its central questions – of course, you can’t help but compare the actions of the characters with what you would have done in their situation. Whether you’d be ruthless enough to survive, or whether you’d be picked off early. The ending will probably hit differently for every reader, depending on what you like, but for me personally, I really liked it. It did make me view the entire book in a different light. I was, however, underwhelmed by some of the plot twist, including who the real villain was.

Overall though, a twisty, fast-paced young adult thriller with a killer premise! I’d recommend for fans of Karen M. McManus and We Were Liars.

Thanks to @usborneya for the digital ARC! Circle of Liars published 3rd July so you have no excuse!