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Title: The Lying Game

Author: Ruth Ware

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 458

Rating 4/5

The Lying Game is probably my favourite of Ruth Ware’s books, but perhaps that’s just because I’ve read a few of them now and so I’ve started to develop a taste for her. It could also be that this is her most recent, which I believe is the case, although I could also be wrong.

Then there’s the fact that this doesn’t really feel like a thriller, even though that’s technically what this is. That’s because while there is a backstory with a death in it, so much of it takes place in the present day that really the book is all about the relationships between the main characters and the way that their shared experience has changed each and every one of them.

I also liked the idea of the lying game, which was played between the girls when they were students and in which you scored points for lying to people and getting them to believe things that weren’t true. You scored bonus points if it was someone particularly odious or an unusually implausible lie, and while I myself wouldn’t have played it (because I don’t like lying and I suck at it), it was the kind of thing I could imagine teen girls playing.

One of the problems that I often have with books like these is that I’m able to guess who committed the crime and why they did it, but it’s not as simple as that here because it’s not even clear whether a crime has been committed, at least to begin with. I also liked how Ware was able to capture the whole small town vibe, to the point at which the locals and their gossip played a pretty important role in the story line.

All in all, I’m happy that I read this one, and I’m particularly glad that I enjoyed it because it was picked out by my cat, and so I’m relieved to find that he does in fact have good taste. This is the third of the four books that he picked that I’ve read, and I’ve given each of them four stars. That bodes well for The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, which was his fourth choice.

So if you’re new to Ruth Ware, consider giving this one a go, and if you’re not new to her and you’re looking to read more then definitely pick it up. I didn’t really find any faults with it and I can be pretty picky, so that should say a lot. I just hope you like it as much as I did. Go read it!

Click here to buy The Lying Game.

David Young – Stasi Wolf | Review

Title: Stasi Wolf

Author: David Young

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 404

Rating: 4*/5

David Young – Stasi Wolf

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

Stasi Wolf is the second book so far in David Young’s Karin Müller series of detective novels, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Stasi Child – the first book in the series, which I’ve also reviewed – I did still think it was a cracking little read. It’s definitely not suffering from the dreaded second book syndrome.

The interesting thing about these books is that Young is a master at evoking a sense of place and time, and while he does occasionally use German words – particularly when talking about police ranks or place names – it isn’t difficult to understand and does a great job of making you feel like you’re really there. He also captures something of the vague sense of menace that surrounded socialist Germany in the 1970s, when the book is set.

Here, Müller investigates the abduction of two children, and she finds that it has some chilling connections with the past – both with previous crimes and with her own personal life. In fact, this book gives you a much more intense look at the lives of the main characters, and Müller herself finds herself starting a new life, and a new relationship, while she’s investigating the case.

From time to time, it got difficult to understand what was happening when you were jumping backwards and forwards, and the ending itself left me a little bemused because I found it hard to remember who some of the characters were, and what they’d done throughout the book. That said, that’s not really a problem with Young’s writing – it’s a problem with my attention span, and I think I’d find it much clearer if I went back and re-read it.

Overall then, this was a decent enough read, but I would recommend reading Stasi Child first – I thought it was a better book, and also, as the first book in the series, it’s also the better introduction. Then, if you enjoy Young’s interesting twist on crime and historical fiction, you’ll know that this is the perfect book to keep you going. His writing is fantastic and his story lines hook you in and keep you entertained. I also think they could work as a television series!