Brief synopsis: When Emma was 13, she got the chance to go to Camp Nightingale, or "Camp Rich Bitch" as many called it, and room with three older girls who took her under their wing. Then they went missing, all of them in Dogwood cabin except her. The girls were never found. Now, 15 years later, Emma paints them hidden in dark forests. She just can't seem to escape her past, especially once Franny - owner of Camp Nightingale - invites Emma back to the camp for a re-opening, where she can teach the campers how to paint. She goes back, because perhaps returning will help her find closure, or maybe help her figure out what happened to her cabin-mates. But something weird's going on at Camp Nightingale, and she wants to find out what before it's too late.





I was hooked by The Last Time I Lied almost instantly. I really enjoyed Sager's last novel, Final Girls, which had a very campy 90s slasher film feel to it. I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading The Last Time I Lied and noticed it also had a very similar feel. Sager definitely has a particular writing style and story style, and it's something I'm digging.

I definitely enjoyed the setting of the novel - I never went to summer camp, but something about them feel so 80s/90s horror and I truly love that as the setting for this novel. While this novel isn't a switched perspective style novel (my favorite!), it is set between current day and 15 years ago, which is also highly favorable. I really loved getting bits and pieces of the story by switching the perspective or the time period, and this one did not disappoint.





Honestly, once I got to part two and a major twist was revealed, I audibly gasped and had to flip back pages to make sure there wasn't something I had missed. But I hadn't missed anything. It was so shocking, and done so well. Oh geez! Wow. Seriously.

There was one part I didn't particularly love - the ending. It just wrapped up quickly, but also a little unbelievably. But it wasn't the entire ending. It was almost an epilogue, that I almost could've done without. But it wasn't a deal-breaker. In fact, I really enjoyed the novel and would highly recommend.