01 Mar Book Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

I’ve always been a sucker for a good mystery set in a creepy, isolated location, and The Last Time I Lied delivers exactly that. With its eerie summer camp setting, tangled web of secrets, and twists that keep coming until the very last page, this book is the kind of thriller that demands to be read in one sitting. If you’re looking for a spine-tingling story that keeps you guessing, this one’s a must-read.

What’s it about?

The story begins with Emma Davis, an up-and-coming artist haunted by a tragedy that occurred fifteen years ago at Camp Nightingale, an exclusive girls’ summer camp nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. When Emma was thirteen, she spent one fateful summer at the camp, sharing a cabin with three older girls: Vivian, Allison, and Natalie. They were beautiful, charismatic, and a little bit wild—the kind of girls Emma idolized and desperately wanted to befriend.

Vivian, the unofficial leader of the group, took Emma under her wing, showing her the ropes of Camp Nightingale and sharing secrets that were thrilling and a little dangerous. But Vivian also had a dark side, one that made Emma feel both fascinated and uneasy. Vivian was a master manipulator, a skilled liar who played mind games with everyone around her.

Then, one night, everything changed. Emma woke up to find Vivian, Allison, and Natalie gone without a trace. They vanished into the night, leaving behind no clues, no goodbyes, and no bodies. Despite a massive search, the girls were never found, and Camp Nightingale closed its doors in the aftermath of the scandal.

Fifteen years later, Emma is still haunted by the disappearance of her friends. She’s channeled her trauma into her art, becoming known for her hauntingly beautiful paintings of forests. But beneath the surface, she’s hiding a secret—if you look closely at her paintings, you’ll see that she’s been painting the missing girls into every canvas, hidden among the trees, staring out with eyes that seem to accuse her of knowing more than she’s letting on.

When Francesca Harris-White, the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale, invites Emma to return as an art instructor for the camp’s reopening, she reluctantly agrees, hoping to find closure and finally discover what happened to her friends. But returning to the place where it all began brings back memories Emma has tried to bury, and she quickly realizes that the past isn’t as dead as she thought.

Back at Camp Nightingale, Emma is assigned to the same cabin she stayed in fifteen years ago—Dogwood Cabin, the very place from which Vivian, Allison, and Natalie disappeared. Her new campers, three teenage girls named Miranda, Krystal, and Sasha, remind her eerily of her old friends, and she finds herself slipping into old patterns, desperate to protect them from the fate that befell Vivian’s group.

But as Emma starts digging into the past, she realizes that Camp Nightingale is filled with secrets. She learns about the camp’s dark history, including the disappearance of Theo Harris-White’s brother, which was covered up by his influential family. She also discovers that Vivian was investigating these secrets before she disappeared, piecing together clues that suggest the camp was involved in something sinister.

Emma becomes convinced that someone at Camp Nightingale knows what happened to Vivian, Allison, and Natalie—and that they’ll do anything to keep the truth buried. She starts finding ominous messages, hidden clues, and even glimpses of what seems to be the ghost of Vivian herself, watching her from the woods.

Her paranoia grows as she realizes that she can’t trust anyone—not even herself. Her memories of that summer are fragmented and unreliable, distorted by guilt and fear. She’s haunted by the last thing Vivian said to her before disappearing: “Two can keep a secret if one is dead.”

The deeper Emma digs, the more the lines between past and present blur. She uncovers shocking revelations about the Harris-White family, the missing girls, and even herself. The truth is more twisted than she ever imagined, and as the danger closes in, Emma must confront the lies she’s been telling herself for fifteen years.

The novel races towards a nail-biting conclusion as the past and present collide. Emma finds herself in a deadly game of cat and mouse, hunted by someone who knows exactly what happened that summer—and who will stop at nothing to keep it buried. In the end, she must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the truth, even if it means risking her life.

What This Chick Thinks

A brilliant blend of mystery, thriller, and ghost story

The Last Time I Lied is one of those books that keeps you on edge from start to finish. Riley Sager masterfully weaves together multiple timelines, slowly revealing the events of that fateful summer while building tension in the present. The eerie atmosphere of Camp Nightingale is beautifully crafted, making the setting feel like a character in its own right.

The story plays with the idea of memory and perception, making you question what’s real and what’s imagined. Is Emma an unreliable narrator, haunted by guilt and grief? Or is someone deliberately gaslighting her, trying to make her doubt her sanity? The ambiguity keeps you guessing, adding a layer of psychological depth to the mystery.

Emma is a flawed, relatable, and complex protagonist

Emma is a wonderfully complicated character. She’s not the typical plucky heroine or fearless investigator—in fact, she’s deeply damaged, haunted by her past and riddled with self-doubt. Her trauma is palpable, and her struggle to distinguish memory from reality makes her incredibly human.

I loved how Sager portrayed her desperation to find closure, even if it meant facing her darkest fears. Her guilt over what happened to Vivian, Allison, and Natalie is both heartbreaking and compelling, driving her obsession with the past. You feel her paranoia, her fear, and her loneliness, making her a protagonist you can’t help but root for.

Twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end

This book is packed with twists, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, another revelation hits you like a ton of bricks. Sager expertly plants red herrings, leading you down one path only to pull the rug out from under you. The pacing is spot-on, with the tension ratcheting up to an explosive climax.

The ending is brilliant—satisfying yet haunting, tying up the mystery while leaving just enough ambiguity to keep you thinking about it long after you’ve turned the last page.

Final Thoughts

The Last Time I Lied is a haunting, atmospheric thriller that blends mystery, psychological suspense, and a touch of the supernatural. It’s beautifully written, intricately plotted, and filled with characters who feel real and deeply human. The setting of Camp Nightingale is both nostalgic and nightmarish, a place where the past refuses to stay buried.

If you’re looking for a twisty, spine-chilling read that keeps you up all night, this one’s a winner. It’s creepy, emotional, and utterly addictive—a perfect blend of ghost story and psychological thriller.

Rating: 9/10

Try it if you like

• The Broken Girls by Simone St. James – Another eerie, dual-timeline mystery set at a haunted boarding school.
• The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay – A psychological thriller that plays with perception and fear in an isolated setting.
• Final Girls by Riley Sager – If you love Sager’s writing style, this earlier novel delivers the same tense atmosphere and shocking twists.