
Two Truths and a Lie
Reviews

Nell has always wanted to be an actor, but doubts her ability. As a member of her school’s theater program, she prefers working backstage. On the way to a contest, an unexpected blizzard strands her acting troupe in a creepy motel. Soon they meet a group of strangers from another high school… including the mysterious and handsome Knox, who insists they play the game Two Truths and a Lie. When it’s Nell’s turn, she draws a slip of paper inked in unfamiliar handwriting: “I like to watch people die. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” Suddenly a night of harmless fun turns into a matter of life and death. As guests go missing, it becomes clear that a murderer is hiding in their midst ready to strike again. In a room full of liars and performers, the truth is never quite what it seems. Nell is going to have to act like her life depends on it, because it does. I immediately liked the premise of this book and imagined how I would navigate a situation like this. Snowed in at a creepy motel with the knowledge that someone among a group of trained actors and liars is a killer. I usually prefer adult novels to young adult ones, but this premise sounded like a great premise for a teen slasher movie. While there were many characters introduced right away, I never felt like it was overstuffed or hard to follow. Even during times where I forgot who was who, the story easily tells itself in a way that the reader feels like they can keep up despite not having all the pieces together right away. I liked the diverse cast and how all these characters felt like characters and not caricatures, which is rare from a young adult horror novel. I did have criticisms about this book concerning the mixing of brief supernatural elements in a “natural” horror setting, but that was more of a personal preference than a genuine gripe; I’ve never been a huge fan of mixing supernatural elements in a previously “natural” horror setting, much like when Pretty Little Liars mixed in some supernatural elements in its fourth season. I much prefer when a story is either supernatural since the beginning or completely set in the natural world from beginning to end. While I do think the premise of this book makes for an excellent story, I do feel the execution wasn’t as impactful as it should have been. While I did like the fast pacing, I do feel like we sped through the deaths and plot twists and jumped towards the climax in the last 30 minutes. While I do prefer fast-paced horror/thriller stories, I felt like this one would have done better with a slightly slower pacing and a more stretched out climax. Ultimately, I wasn’t effected by any of the plot twists and I felt disconnected from the characters by the end. Some of the character motivations felt contrived. I do feel like this story would have worked better in a movie format. This book had a decent start and initial concept, but I do feel like it fell apart towards the end, leaving me feeling like this was just another young adult horror novel that missed the mark for me.

The number of times two truths and a lie was explained was criminal. The second half wasn't too terrible, but overall it was not compelling or entertaining.


