The Secrets of Lily Graves
Paperback, 298 pages
Published May 13th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
Rating: 3/5 stars
With the intrigue of Pretty Little Liars and plenty of romance, bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer weaves a story of secrets and lies—set in a funeral parlor.
Growing up in a house of female morticians, Lily Graves knows all about buried secrets. She knows that perfect senior-class president Erin Donohue isn’t what she seems. She knows why Erin’s ex-boyfriend, hot football player Matt Houser, broke up with her. And she also knows that, even though she says she and Matt are just friends, there is something brewing between them—something Erin definitely did not like.
But secrets, even ones that are long buried, have a way of returning to haunt their keeper.
So when Erin is found dead the day after attacking Lily in a jealous rage, Lily's and Matt’s safe little lives, and the lives of everyone in their town of Potsdam, begin to unravel. And their relationship—which grew from innocent after-school tutoring sessions to late-night clandestine rendezvous—makes them both suspects.
As her world crumbles around her, Lily must figure out the difference between truth and deception, genuine love and a web of lies. And she must do it quickly, before the killer claims another victim.
***
THE SECRETS OF LILY GRAVES will mystify you.
The Secrets of Lily Graves tells about the story of Lily, who grew up with a family of embalmers and who lives in a funeral parlor. She has dealt with death her whole life but is now forced to deal with the death of her classmate, Erin, the ex-girlfriend of the boy she always had her eyes on (and who's also her bestfriend), Matt. Lily gets in the middle of this as she's one of the most obvious suspects--or is she?
And then there's Matt who broke up with Erin. Did he actually do it so he could get together with Lily? That's what you'll find out.
I gotta admit, the "intrigue of Pretty Little Liars" line was what caught my attention since I'm a big fan of the series (both the books and television show). Well, this book had so much premise but did it deliver? I'd say half and half.
You will enjoy this book, for sure. It has just the right amount of mystery + romance but somehow, it lacks the power to hold you down. I did read this in one sitting though, as I do with most mysteries, but I think what made me not like it as much as I should've was the fact that I instantly knew who killed who. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it's been obvious since the beginning and since those lines that made me think about this certain suspect, but once that happens, it makes me wish I didn't know so that I'd enjoy the book even more.
BUT the writing was well-done. The author sure made use of puns and had the power to spin this story into something that's still readable even if you kind of already know what's going to happen. The characters kind of lacked depth, though, but they're still believable (although some instances aren't) so it would still be good for you to read this book. And there's that cliffhanger chapter that will leave you saying all expletives and maybe break you apart but you have to read through to the ending of course, to get the whole thing.
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