"Stacked with shocking twists, this is the perfect YA summer read for fans of super-tense thrillers."
With a classic closed-room set up (in this case, the setting is a creepy closed motel, and an ever-decreasing circle), Kate Francis’ Circle of Liars is an addictive edge-of-your-seat YA thriller from intriguing start to unexpected end.
A group of high schoolers thrown together in the depths of the Californian desert get a whole lot more than they bargained for when they arrive to discover that Motel Loba is run-down and deserted. They’re here thinking they’ve won the top prize in their annual school raffle, but this dive couldn’t be further from the luxury desert retreat they were expecting. What’s more, the trip coincides with the first anniversary of a fatal fire in their school — a fire that killed the twin brother of one of the seven individuals who find themselves at the motel. There’s no staff, no phone reception, and so the group decide to get the hell away as fast as possible, but it soon emerges that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Hot on the heels of an explosive incident near the start of the story, all seven teenagers receive an ominous text: “I know what you did a year ago. Now it is time to pay the price”. In the wake of this, the group find themselves trapped in a circle, forced to select the guiltiest among them to step outside it at hourly intervals, lest they’ll all be killed. “Happy anniversary”, the message signs off.
Rippling with suspicion, paranoia, and the excruciation of having to make impossible decisions in the name of self-preservation, Circle of Liars is a thrillingly tense and wildly unexpected rollercoaster.
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I loved this book, it was an amazing thriller and I couldn’t put it down.
Circle of Liars is an amazing YA thriller that will keep you coming back for more. It includes 7 teens who have all been involved in a school fire to be left stranded at a motel and forced to play the balloon game. It’s full of plot twists and nail-biting moments that make you keep on turning the pages. I would give this book a 5 star rating and would recommend it to the ages 13 and above.... Read Full Review
I would recommend Circle of Liars to anyone who enjoys dark mysteries, survival stories or thrillers. It’s a fast-paced and intense read that keeps you hooked from the start.
Circle of Liars is a gripping and suspenseful novel that follows the story of seven teenagers who are sent to a remote desert motel after being told they have earned a "reward." However, it quickly becomes clear that this is no reward at all. Each of them has been found guilty of something in their past, and their arrival at the motel is anything but random.
As the story unfolds, the teenagers realise they are being watched constantly. After searching the building, they discover hidden cameras and microphones throughout the motel, and to make matters worse, there is no mobile signal or any way to contact the outside world.
The real horror begins when they are forced to take part in a mysterious game, and after each round, one of them dies.... Read Full Review
This book is incredibly tense and suspense-packed with every page.
This book is incredibly tense and suspense-packed with every page.
When Ana loses her twin brother, Danny in a fire at her high school exactly a year ago, the memories and guilt from the past follow her now more than ever when she’s stuck at a motel for a weekend stay with six other classmates who all have something to hide about that night.
All seems like fun and games and just a coincidentally unlucky situation with no cell reception when a note is left for the adolescents: “I know what you did a year ago. Now it’s time to pay the price. Today at 9:58am. You’re going to play the balloon game. Every hour you must choose who is the guiltiest among you.... Read Full Review
