I love a well-written, twisty YA thriller and I really don’t read enough of them. In fact, I especially love them when they centre toxic female friendships and murder, which is what this rather eye-catching cover promised.

Syd, Brie and Rain grew up together on the poor side of a town in the middle of the Californian desert. By the time they’re at the end of high school, a fire has ignited and all three girls have escaped their hometown and upbringing in different ways. But what really happened that night will stay with them forever.

With an intro like the one in this book, how could I not be glued to the pages until all had been revealed? The desert itself seeps through the book and I couldn’t get away from the stifling heat and general stickiness of both the town and its people. Something (or many things) are undeniably wrong and bad about this environment and it’s the ideal setting for a very dark thriller.

Female friendship can be uniquely intense, especially during the teenage years. Attachments are formed that feel unbreakable and you can be genuinely unsure of what you’d do without your girls. These strong ties are central to why the events of this book happen. Any woman who has ever experienced friendships like that of Brie, Rain and Syd will understand the power they can have and Kahaney illustrates it brilliantly.

Syd’s relationship with her brother Spider is lovely and I fully believed that they were each other’s ride-or-die. Spider has recently been released from prison for drug possession but is keen to get back on the social scene. Although he runs in very dodgy crowds, I got the feeling that he wouldn’t ever want his sister to follow the same path. He isn’t a fan of Brie, who reportedly has got into similar situations, and he does his best to warn Syd off her.

The resolution was slow to unravel and I didn’t see the final twist coming. Brie is a shady character throughout the book and I knew that she had some secrets, which was pointing me to look at her closely. However, I still didn’t see the whole picture until it was revealed and I’m pretty sure I literally gasped, when I realised the terrible truth.

There are some graphic descriptions of the aftermath of house fires, so please be aware of that before picking up this book.

All The Best Liars is a page-turning mystery with some very untrustworthy characters. I loved discovering all the secrets hidden within this town and getting caught up in the themes of obsession and dangerously smart manipulation. Very dark and shocking, it’s a cracking YA thriller that you’ll fly through.

A book about messy, teenage, female friendship. With a murder who done it. This was a fast read for me. Multiple points of view. Several timelines. But it was easy to keep track of who or where you were in the story.