What They Say
“The mother I knew would never do those things.
But maybe I never knew her after all.”
Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.
As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…
But maybe I never knew her after all.”
Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.
As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…
My Review
The Darkest Lie was a book I was really looking forward to reading, and let me tell you, this is one heck of a whodunit. Confession: I figured out who it was waaaaaayyyyy early, but I didn't make the connections that put it all together, so yay for Pintip Dunn for tripping me up on that! It was interesting to see Cece's reactions to her moms death, I mea n you go through something like your mom being accused of having sex with a minor, then on top of that, she kills herself? That's hard to take, harder still because Cece thinks of her mom as her hero, basically, and she can't imagine her mother ever doing anything like that, ever. So when things start to not add up, she starts to investigate, which might just land her in the same sitch as her mom.
This was one of those books that frustrated me, because Cece was quite hard to like. She distrusts everyone around her - the new boy, Sam; the lad at the counselling place, Liam; and she has her reasons too, but I kinda felt like she needed to let SOMEBODY in, because you can't bottle up all of that emotion and be okay. It's just not possible. It felt like she was ready to explode at any moment, Cece was like an unexploded bomb sometimes. I have no idea how she hadn't exploded before now.
I really enjoyed The Darkest Lie. It was thrilling, and I did like Cece, I just wanted her to be a bit more open, a bit less paranoid, because not everyone was out to get her (just one person was, in the end...) and Sam was like a new puppy, and they just clicked and I wanted them to be this perfect match, but Cece made it quite difficult for him! I love that he persevered. He's a guy after anyone's heart, that one. This was a read that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page.
This was one of those books that frustrated me, because Cece was quite hard to like. She distrusts everyone around her - the new boy, Sam; the lad at the counselling place, Liam; and she has her reasons too, but I kinda felt like she needed to let SOMEBODY in, because you can't bottle up all of that emotion and be okay. It's just not possible. It felt like she was ready to explode at any moment, Cece was like an unexploded bomb sometimes. I have no idea how she hadn't exploded before now.
I really enjoyed The Darkest Lie. It was thrilling, and I did like Cece, I just wanted her to be a bit more open, a bit less paranoid, because not everyone was out to get her (just one person was, in the end...) and Sam was like a new puppy, and they just clicked and I wanted them to be this perfect match, but Cece made it quite difficult for him! I love that he persevered. He's a guy after anyone's heart, that one. This was a read that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page.