With chapters that alternate between two troubled, seemingly unconnected girls, Amanda Searcy’s debut novel packs an intense punch.
Sixteen-year-old Kayla wants to get far away from her life, which includes her unstable mother, government housing and a lifeless job at a grocery store. Falling in love could change everything—or so she believes. Betsy is on the run as well, but it’s from the voice on the other end of the burner phone that keeps ringing in her room. She has no choice but to answer it immediately, or she won’t live to see another day. The alternating first-person chapters gradually introduce the girls, and although their individual tragedies take a while to unfold, the urgent pace and danger around every corner make for riveting reading—especially when the girls’ lives finally intersect.
Searcy weaves an intricate and twisty-turny thriller in The Truth Beneath the Lies. Teens will be gripped, but they’ll have to be prepared for some harsh realizations and situations. This is page-turning intensity at its best, but ultimately—no spoiler here—only one girl will survive.
This article was originally published in the January 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
