* I was given an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. *
Originally the title of this book is what drew me to it. I've also been really into books about missing teenage girls as of late (which sounds really creepy now that I put it down on paper), so it was a no brainer that I would pick this one up. As of today, Beautiful Liars was published eight days ago, so if my opinion isn't enough, be sure to check it out yourself. Also, this is the second book of Ashdown's that I have read.
The back story to this novel involves three teenage girls who go out one night, but only two of them return. No one knows what happened to the third friend, or who her secret relationship was with, though it was assumed an older man had something to do with it, but he is gone as well. So technically we don't even know if the friend is dead. Years later, Martha, one of the original three friends is preparing to host a crime show, and their first case is going to be her missing friend Juliet. (This show reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's series with the same premise-- not a bad thing just a similarity.
I won't go into too much detail for fear of spoiling the story. I will say though that I figured out the secret relationship pretty early on, and while the twist at the end threw me for a minute, I can't necessarily say that Ashdown didn't sort of give it away-- and whether or not you catch it is up to the reader. I was a little unsure about how the same sex relationship in this book was handled. For the time period it was written in, I understood the premise, but I still don't necessarily feel like the whole "if you don't come out to your friends you'll die" message was the best one to send. I have however seen it handled way worse though.
All in all this was a pretty good book that I can see being a hit among the thrill lovers in our library.
3 out of 5 stars!
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