The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Goodreads Description: "I had a life anyone would kill for. Then someone did. The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.
Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?
From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.
Let the lying game begin."

My Review: I thought the Lying Game was a pretty good book. It wasn't amazing, I will admit that. The Pretty Little Liars series is more juicy and suspenseful, that much is true. And the TV show of The Lying Game is much better than the book, that much is ALSO true. However, The Lying Game is a nice chick-lit book, a perfect beach read, in my opinion. Shepard tries hard to make it as eerie and suspenseful as Pretty Little Liars, but it just doesn't work: A seems MUCH more mysterious and scary than Sutton's unknown killer. Emma is a slightly pathetic character in that she's always bewildered and upset and confused. I understand her feeling all of that, but honestly, get yourself together a bit! Sutton's character---the ghost watching Emma---is much more interesting to read about, because she has MUCH more personality. Also, the secondary characters are weak, as is the plotline. STILL---despite all that, I did read to the end and I will continue with the series (if just to see who Sutton's killer is; I'm curious that way). This book is light, without much substance, but still a slightly quirky, interesting, girly read. Fans of Pretty Little Liars may not LOVE it, but they will probably appreciate it.

Cover: Okay, I admit: the cover is pretty cool! I just like the whole effect of it, the flipped twins and the swirly words. Shepard is good at making girly-but-eerie covers.

Overall Grade: C+