Two Truths and a Lie by Sara Shepard

The Lying Game #3. HarperTeen (Jan. 2012) Own
My killer is out there. And my sister might be next. 

Two months before I died, my best friend's brother disappeared. I have no idea where Thayer went or why he left, but I know it's my fault. I did a lot of horrible things while I was alive, things that made people hate me, maybe even enough to kill me.

Desperate to solve my murder, my long-lost twin, Emma, is pretending to be me and unraveling the many mysteries I left behind - my cryptic journal, my tangled love life, the dangerous Lying Game pranks I played. She's uncovered my friends' darkest secrets, but she's never had the chance to dig into Thayer's past - until now. 

Thayer's back and Emma has to move fast to figure out of he's after revenge... or if he's already gotten it. 

A Small Note:

I've read this book before so this review will have thoughts on what I thought before and after rereading this book again. I wasn't able to write a review before so I'm making up for it with this one. If you haven't read the first two books you might get some new details ruined for you naturally.

My Thoughts:

Two Truths and a Lie picks up with Emma discovering Thayer in her bedroom. Thayer has become a new prime suspect with Sutton's friends and sister being cleared so she's terrified when he suddenly appears looking menacing. Thayer, clearly has a history with Emma's dead twin sister Sutton and Sutton's sister Laurel. Whenever they interact you can feel the tension between them. He's angry and the way he talks to her makes her suspicion arise against him even more. Like his father he is known to be pretty volatile so there's another thing stacked against him. He doesn't seem like the type to beat up a woman because I'm sure he doesn't like that his sister was when he was at home. He does act very hostile towards Emma though. You don't really know where he's been but, you do get hints with Sutton's flashbacks about what type of person he was before she died. I have always liked her flashbacks because you never know what they are going to reveal. It can also be a trap because Sutton doesn't remember everything right away.

Shepard is very good at filling in the details of what's happened so far in the story. My reason for rereading this story was because I wanted to read the fourth book so it came in handy to have all that information from the past two books laid out for me. It feels very much like a Lemony Snicket move to do that. I felt like I was getting a second chance to glimpse at who could be the killer and there are still plenty of suspects left. 

Laurel plays a more prominent role in this one than I remember from the past books. I know she's always had a crush on Thayer and they were best friends but can she be any icier towards Emma? I vaguely remember them being nice with each other for a while. When Thayer comes rolling into town everything changes. She talks like Sutton would as if Emma was her enemy which is not good for Emma. What could be more terrifying than having your sister's killer sleeping in the room next to you?

Emma and Ethan are an item in this book. I like how Emma always tries to be nice and protective towards his feelings. Ethan acted really weird with Thayer like he is frightened with him which also gets me thinking he might still be a suspect. For all I know everyone could still be a suspect except one person is definitely ruled out in the end. Also, I'm pretty sure her parents didn't do anything to her either. Actually I'm positive. They each had interactions with Emma. They were both very sweet with her which gets me thinking how unaffectionate Sutton was towards them. However, I feel like I got to see a whole new side to Sutton this time around. I feel like she was always overcompensating because she was adopted. Other things that came to light about her and some of her friends make me like them more. Although, they've all gone too far on their Lying Games which happens to be the cause of Sutton's death... I probably wouldn't forgive what they would do to me because every prank that they do seems to end up humiliating or ruining someone's life not to mention that one time where they almost got Sutton killed. So it could really be anyone. Maybe someone we haven't even met yet.

I know that I didn't like this book as much as the others. I mean I liked it more this time because I anticipated the one thing that bothered me last time - not much Thayer time. He was supposed to be the center of the whole thing in this book. I did get glimpses of his life in the flashbacks but there wasn't much face to face talk with him and Emma. That being the only thing I didn't like about this book I would say it isn't that big of a deal even though it felt like a filler book.

I know this was more like an examination of possible suspects although I basically said it could really still be anyone. I mean there have been some crazy twists before so I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone I never suspected. I hope for the next book and for the rest of the series it becomes even more action packed and suspenseful like it was with the two previous books. I also really want Alex, Emma's best friend, to come along. Wouldn't it be a shock when she starts calling her Emma in front of everyone? I would like to see how Shepard spins that! I really want to see more of Thayer. Mainly, I don't want Emma to die. I'm really sure she won't because it's not that type of series but I do worry. She didn't deserve all of this. She's such a nice person and I wish she's happy in the end. I can't believe it's been a month in Emma's world with half of the book series over. Please be good Hide and Seek!

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