[Diane’s Review]: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

Dark and Shallow Lies
by Ginny Myers Sain
Pages: 432
Published by Razorbill Books
Release Date: September 7, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, YA
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC
Goodreads

A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Gripping mystery against an eerie backdrop.

Dark and Shallow LIes took my on quite the ride. Ginny’s vivid description of life in a remote bayou town paints the perfect backing for this twisted tale.

Normally I’m not one to read YA mysteries as I don’t find them overly compelling, but this one sucked me right in like the thick and heavy swamp water that plays home to this story.

I found myself attempting to guess the ending from the first few pages, all of the morbid possibilities fighting for the number one spot in my thoughts. When I put this book down for breaks I still found myself pondering over the outcome and how the characters behaved.

Ginny also does an incredible job of adding elements of magic, but not having them stick out. They have been woven in so perfectly to the story that it’s just a secondary aspect to these characters.

As I closed the book one final time I felt myself yearning for my own mysterious experience in a remote town. Ginny is nothing short of captivating with her writing and I’m so excited to see what she writes next.