[Review] Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

ABOUT

Title: Liars, Inc. 

Author: Paula Stokes

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: March 24th 2015 

Get it Here: Indigo Amazon B&N BookDepository 

Goodreads page

Source: ARC via the publisher

Synopsis:

For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This fact in no shape or form affects my review. Except for the existence of the review itself. I received no compensation for this review in any way.

Oh my freaking gosh. Oh holy crap. This book. This book. Liars, Inc is so fantastic.

Y'all know how I like to watch crime shows and thrillers and I love to read them too. I have a pretty good sense of the usual plotlines and conspiracies that are used to put together one of the mysteries. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I started reading Liars Inc and I had no freaking clue what was going to happen next. It was hard to put the book down when I wanted to know what's going to happen next.

Paula Stokes did a fantastic job of crafting the mystery and creating a motive that I totally did not guess. And in order to create a great mystery, there must be great characters. The main characters are the trio of Liars, Inc: Max, Parvati and Preston.

Max is an adoptee with a background of running away and getting into some trouble. He's the odd one out in the trio, as his girlfriend, Parvati, and Preston are both popular. He's devoted to his friends and he is still a little rough around the edges from his time as a homeless kid.

Parvati is the daughter of a Colonel and a defense attorney. She's always dreamed of joining the CIA and is pretty much a badass. There's something suspicious about her straight away from the beginning and I could tell that she was hiding something.

Preston is the son of Senator DeWitt and he is the football star of the school. Nobody hates him, except for the local bookie, since Preston has a gambling addiction. He's always filming moments and taking pictures. You can pretty much immediately tell that he has "rich white boy problems." He's bored and there's nothing material that he wants and doesn't already have.

Liars, Inc starts out with a bang as the first scene is right in the middle of the action with guns being pointed at Max. I was like "whoa", because at that point we don't really know what's happening since there is no back story to the scene. I really liked that since we can see just how much danger Max is in.

The outcome of the book was definitely nothing that I imagined. I had my suspicions, but I didn't arrive at them until the truth was revealed.

Liars Inc is the perfect blend of stuff that I love in stories: conspiracies, criminals evading the authorities, solving a crime and danger! It's a page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat to find out who exactly killed Preston and why Max is in so much danger.

You can also check out the interview I did with Paula Stokes here!

Happy Reading!