As soon as I heard the concept for Circle of Liars by Kate Francis, I was hooked but how did it stack up?
Thank you to Usborne for running the giveaway at YALC that allowed me to pick up an early proof.
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
Seven teens arrive for a school retreat – only to find an abandoned motel and a sinister text message waiting for them: I know what you did a year ago.
Each of the seven buried a guilty secret about their tragic school fire. And now someone is out for revenge.
Every hour they must choose the guiltiest one among them to cross over the white line that circles the motel and be killed. Otherwise, they all die.
But who deserves to live, and who to die? Because only one of them can survive…
Do you dare enter the circle of liars?
Publication Date: 3rd July
CW: death, murder, grief, traumatic flashbacks, transphobia, fire, arson, injury, self-harm, suicidal ideation, manipulation, blackmail
My Thoughts:
Circle of Liars was a wonderfully paced, challenging and layered YA mystery with a terrible, thought-provoking dilemma at its heart.
This is a strong and assured debut with grit under its nails. It’s not afraid to delve head-first into the murky morality at play here and spill some blood. I read this early searching for something to fill the void left by the ending of The Traitors and found it here. It was addictive reading with plenty of backstabbing and betrayal. You never really feel like you can fully trust anyone here and they certainly cannot depend on one another. The mystery is well-constructed with stakes that feel like they are always escalating. You are in for one hell of a ride here. Francis has some fantastic twists and turns in store, moving this story into unexpected territory from the intriguing set-up.
At its heart, this is a great ensemble cast novel, all of whom are fleshed-out and feel believable. The two that really stuck out for me though were centred around Ana and Ellis, who have fiery and intense clashes that start smouldering from the start. Both of them have very different approaches, informed by the way they navigate the world. The opposing philosophies set off fireworks and have definite and deadly consequences at times. You get to understand them and peel back some of the layers for the pretence they present to the world, even though you may love or hate them.
This takes a really interesting ethical conundrum and plays it out in this slightly ragtag group of teenagers. Each of them has a different take on this nightmare scenario and of course their entangled relationships come into play. They are all implicated in the tragic events of the previous year and have secrets they’d be willing to go to any lengths to protect. All of this makes for explosive reading as the clock keeps ticking down. Francis includes this throughline about revenge and the arguments around where the line is between justice and vengeance. There is also the conundrum of what we might to do to survive and protect those we love which is on full display here. It quickly shows how quickly we can descend into darkness. The pressure is immense and it is near impossible to put this book down. Francis keeps this unbearable tension but also finds inventive ways to throw new challenges their way.
The isolated setting adds to that claustrophobia, as does the baking sun beating down on them all. They are alone and there is no way out of this. At the same time, they are under constant surveillance with their every move being scrutinised. That contrast is so wonderful and really heightens the already sky-high tension. Also, I loved the horror references Francis weaves into the book, adding to the atmosphere and rich textural feel. It helped to subvert tropes and expectations at certain points as everything suddenly veers in a new direction.
It feels overwhelming and they cannot help but give into the game, especially as the threat is not just for show. We have a great sequence that quickly dissuades that notion from your mind. However there is a constant battle amongst the group about what they believe is happening. It adds to the confusion to have these different theories flying around and Francis makes the smart narrative decision to let us headhop between these characters. We learn a little more about them, what they might be hiding and the relationships they have within the group. It is no mistake that these specific people have ended up in this twisted game.
Circle of Liars is a barnstormer of a book and a brilliant debut certain to keep you reading until the early hours of the morning.
A Short Book Lover 
2 thoughts on “Review: Circle of Liars”