In September, “Dark and Shallow Lies” by Ginny Myers Sain officially released from Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Since March 2021, when the cover of “Dark and Shallow Lies” was first revealed, Penguin Teen had been promoting the novel with little sneak peeks of the first chapter and character blurbs. They also sent out advance reader copies (ARCs) of the book to give reviewers and bloggers a chance to read it in hopes of receiving great feedback before publishing. 

ARC copies are paperback and normally have a permanent sticker that states it is such. They are for reviewing and promotional purposes and are very popular when an author traditionally publishes with big companies. When the ARCs are sent out a month or two before the book’s release, it is already getting the buzz it needs to grab reader’s attention. 

“Dark and Shallow Lies” is Sain’s debut novel that left readers with high expectations for her future releases. The book is a Young Adult Thriller which follows 17-year-old Grey, who returns to La Cachette, Louisiana, six months after hearing about her best friend, Elora Pellerin’s, disappearance. 

La Cachette has been known for its mysterious nature. However, Grey had hoped to find people who could explain exactly what happened the night of Pellerin’s disappearance. When she is given no answers to her continuous questions, she starts to wonder why no one has any clue of her whereabouts, especially since the town is full of psychics. As she tries to uncover what happened, Grey  realizes that even the people closest to her are hiding something and begins to slowly lose trust in them. Then one night, a stranger appears from the bayou, with connections to Pellerin and the town’s deepest secrets. In desperation for answers, she must put her trust in someone she does not know while having to hide secrets of her own in the process. 

“Dark and Shallow Lies” is considered a Young Adult book which normally targets audiences of 12 to 18 but is, however, attracting attention from slightly older audiences. For a standalone novel, Sain does a fabulous job of keeping the focus on the mysterious elements that make it a great thriller, while also adding a magic component, which brings in fans of supernatural settings. 

Like many thrillers, this one offers a dark twisted story with the goal to give readers the chills. It is the perfect read for the fall season especially since it is drawing near to the spooky season. 

The overall plot is pretty fast paced and hooks readers with an intriguing opening sentence, “The last time I saw my best friend, she called me a pathetic liar and then she punched me in the mouth.” Many reviewers commented on this hook about how well it makes people curious enough to think about why her friend would punch her if they were best friends, and what had them in the dispute in the first place. Now that is what makes for a good thriller. That and the impressive writing throughout with a great world structure. 

Image from Caitlin Alicea via Instagram