With an armful of flawed teens, an abandoned motel, and an anniversary ticking towards their doom, Circle of Liars ratchets up the tension and high emotion, even if the conceit is far from fresh. A couple of audacious twists mostly stick the landing and Circle of Liars closes as a mostly satisfying YA thriller about grief, regret, and amends.

With a name like ‘Circle of liars’, I followed the intriguing title into a tale of deception, betrayal and a deadly game of survival.

It was such a good story and I’m a big fan of teenage ‘you know what you did, here are the consequences’ kind of drama. Exactly a year ago to the day marks the anniversary of a fire which proved fatal. Was it an accident? Arson? Premeditated suicide? All is not as as it seems..

The group of 7 get lured to an old run down motel and find that they can’t leave.. propelled into a deadly game, they must find a way out or die. With a plot like that, how could it not be addicting from the start?

I always looked forward to going back to the book whenever I had to Velcro myself away. I easily read whole chunks of this book in one sitting and towards the end, was rapidly eating up pages to find out what was going to happen. So entertaining! I loved it.

Circle of Liars by Kate Francis is a heart-pounding psychological thriller that grips you from the very first page. Seven teenagers, each carrying a dark secret about a tragic school fire, are invited to a seemingly innocent school retreat. However, when they arrive at an abandoned motel, the fun quickly turns into a nightmare as a sinister text message reveals someone knows the truth about their past.

The group is thrust into a chilling game of survival where they must each face their guilt and decide who among them deserves to live. The rules are simple: each hour, they must choose the “guiltiest” of the group to cross a white line, a line that marks their death. If they fail to make a choice, they will all die. But with each passing moment, their secrets begin to unravel, and the true question becomes not just who deserves to die, but who can be trusted.

The tension in Circle of Liars builds relentlessly as the teens’ complicated relationships, fears, and lies come to light. The suspense is masterfully crafted, and the twists are sharp and unexpected, keeping you guessing until the very end. The psychological depth of the characters makes the story all the more gripping as you are drawn into their individual battles with guilt, morality, and survival.

A fast-paced, gripping, and twisty thriller, Circle of Liars is a captivating read that will have you questioning every character’s motives and wondering how far you would go to save yourself. With a premise that is equal parts thrilling and unsettling, this book is guaranteed to keep you up late into the night. If you're looking for a dark, suspenseful mystery with high stakes and unexpected twists, Circle of Liars is not to be missed.

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