Review: Dangerous Lies

I hadn't read any of Becca Fitzpatrick's novel before Dangerous Lies ...not any of the Hush, Hush series or Black Ice. I don't know if I would have picked up her newly released novel on my own so I am super thankful Simon & Schuster Canada thought I might enjoy it and sent me an ARC. Enjoy it, I did. I read it in one day while on vacation because I simply could not put it down.

Here's the synopsis:

Stella Gordon is not her real name. Thunder Basin, Nebraska, is not her real home. This is not her real life.
After witnessing a lethal crime, Stella Gordon is sent to the middle of nowhere for her own safety before she testifies against the man she saw kill her mother’s drug dealer.
But Stella was about to start her senior year with the boyfriend she loves. How can she be pulled away from the only life she knows and expected to start a new one in Nebraska? Stella chafes at her protection and is rude to everyone she meets. She’s not planning on staying long, so why be friendly? Then she meets Chet Falconer and it becomes harder to keep her guard up, even as her guilt about having to lie to him grows.
As Stella starts to feel safer, the real threat to her life increases—because her enemies are actually closer than she thinks…

Like I said, I finished Dangerous Lies in one day (multiple sittings even though I would have loved to have sat out in the sun on the cruise ship all day reading it!). I was hooked from the very first page. A teenage girl mentioning how she could be in danger of ending up in a river with cement shoes will do that. Fitzpatrick drew me in with danger - plus a sense that all was not as it seemed - and kept me invested with intriguing characters.

Stella is in an impossibly hard situation. Almost 18 and going into the Witness Protection Program? Not only that but what about what she witnessed that made WITSEC necessary? That's not something anyone should have to deal with.    

I really loved Stella. She was a bit of a... contradiction, shall we say. What we first learn about her - her mom's a drug addict, she witnessed a murder, and more - causes the reader (or maybe just me) to make some assumptions about Stella's background. I liked that Fitzpatrick played with stereotypes a little bit because it was another instance that separated it from similar stories.

There was A LOT of tension in this novel but Fitzpatrick made it work. She knew when to add another roadblock or complication to further heighten the drama. You might think this story would be over the top but it all comes together in a fantastic heart pounding, gut wrenching way.

After I finished the book I figured out another reason I probably enjoyed it so much - it reminded me of a K.A. Tucker novel. This is high praise from me because I absolutely adore her and her books. Tucker's novels are New Adult so I'm thrilled to have found a Young Adult comparison I could recommend to the younger crowd (or those who, for some reason, still won't read New Adult).

Dangerous Lies will definitely be on my recommend list for this year. Becca Fitzpatrick has written a suspenseful novel that is one hell of a mystery. It also has characters that grab hold of your heart and just won't let go. If you like suspense and mystery novels - or even if you don't and you find yourself intrigued by this book - read Dangerous Lies. And PLEASE let me know what you think. I need to talk about it with someone and find out if they figured out the twists or not!

*An ARC of this novel was provided by Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*