Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus
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Web ID: 184969125 reviews
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It's always been Kat and her mom, Jamie. Kat likes it that way even if she sometimes feels like she has to be the parent to her scattered mother. Jamie's ill-advised forty-eight hour marriage in Las Vegas only served to underscore that Kat and Jamie can only really depend on each other. Liam doesn't have anyone to depend on after his mother's death. Sure, he's living with his father but they might as well be strangers. Especially with Liam spending all of his free time undermining his father's efforts to scam wealthy single women. Not much has changed since his father's whirlwind Vegas marriage and divorce. What neither Kat nor Liam know is that their parents are on a collision course--again--when they both wind up at the secluded Sutherland compound for billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party. Jamie has one last jewel heist before she and Kat can go straight. Liam's father is busy wooing his latest victim, Sutherland's youngest daughter. Avoiding each other should be easy. Until a Sutherland turns up dead. Now Kat is desperately trying to clear her mother's name while Liam tries to figure out how far his father would really go for a big payoff. With no one to trust these former step-siblings will have to rely on each other if they want to survive the rest of the weekend in Such Charming Liars (2024) by Karen M. McManus. Such Charming Liars is a standalone mystery. Chapters alternate between Kat and Liam's first person narrations (read by Skyler Gallun and Victoria Villarreal in the audiobook). Most characters are cued as white. The nascent familial bonds between Kat and Liam add dimension to the story with both teens desperately searching for a support system--particularly Liam as he grieves his mother's recent death. The push and pull between Liam and August--the youngest Sutherland at the compound--adds some sweetness as the two boys try to figure out if their mutual attraction can lead anywhere while August has some serious (and valid!) trust issues when it comes to Liam and his former step-sister. Kat, Liam, and August are all authentically drawn teen characters--Kat especially so as she makes things more complicated (and worse) for the trio than she has to while trying to protect her mother with increasingly misguided efforts to obstruct the investigation. Such Charming Liars is another entertaining and tightly plotted mystery from an expert in the genre. Recommended. Possible Pairings: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt, Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis, The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons, Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A very intriguing and mysterious title
I read this book about a week ago and I can't take it off my mind. The plot created by McMannus just makes me speechless. Just when you think everythng is going well she sprews up a new twist in the tale and takes the readers on something that feels like a never-ending story. Her mysteries are so unpredicatble, when Parker died, it was so hard to predict who killed him. All in all, this book is so great and I'm really glad I read it, because in my opinion, it opened up a new perspective to mystery.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Starts out slow
While Such Charming Liars started out very slow, once it got going (75ish pages in), it never let up. I really liked that the reveal was done in phases as more was discovered about what was going on rather than having a big reveal all at once. The lack of an epilogue is an interesting choice. It left me a little disappointed not to know exactly what happened next, but it also was kind of nice not having everything completely wrapped up all pretty. Having two points of view was good as well since it gave a more clear picture of each part of the heist and aftermath.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Strong Build-up -- Enjoyable Read
After completing “Such Charming Liars,” by Karen M. McManus, I would rate the novel a solid four out of five. The book being told in multiple perspectives adds a lot to the storyline. Each chapter flows quite naturally, and adds layers to each of the characters. The story itself is quite fast-paced, however the suspense still feels well-paced. The character flaws that are explored throughout the book are quite relatable and make them more realistic. I enjoyed how the complicated relationships were portrayed. I was engaged the entire time and felt it was well-written. With that being said, I felt the ending was somewhat underwhelming. While it did leave me wanting a bit more, I would still recommend the novel to others as it is an enjoyable read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Fun Heist Story
A family/found family heist novel involving fake jewels, wealthy families, and sooo many con artists! SUCH CHARMING LIARS by Karen M. McManus is such a strong character-driven mystery that was impossible to put down! As per usual, McManus hits us with another great story, and so different from her seven previous books, that really has so much heart built into it. I absolutely loved the “found family” elements between our main POVs Kat and Liam (and Liam was just the most wholesome cinnamon roll of a human omg) and it made the villains just that more menacing. My biggest gripe is the mother-daughter roles between Jamie and Kat (and this is probably because I’m closer to Jamie’s age than Kat’s 😅and this is YA!), but it felt a bit unrealistic at times. Overall though, another super solid and twisty read from McManus!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com