Title: Liars Inc.
Author: Paula Stokes
Series: Standalone
Genre:YA Mystery/Thriller
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: March 24th 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.  


Paula Stokes has quickly become one of my favorite contempoaray authors, every since I read The Art of Lainey last year. So when I leanred that she was going to be writing a YA Mystery I was very excited and knew I had to read it. And I am so glad that I did because this book was a page turner!

What I think I liked the most about this book was its characters. They were so real and interesting to read. They were also very hard to like which is a very different reading experience for me. We first meet Max, a young man who is a very interesting character. He is snarky, untrustworthy and niave. I actually really liked that Max was our narrator because he was interesting. He saw things from a very interesting perspective. I loved his relationhsips with his girlfriend Pavarti and his best friend Preston. I loved them because they were complicated. I knew right off  the batt that I didnt particularly like Pavarti or Preston. There was just something that was off for me. And I wanted desperately for Max to see it, but if he did we wouldnt have had this mytery would we?

The whole premise of this book is that Preston goes missing, police then find his body and it links Max to the murder. Intriguing right? And you would be right. This mystery kept me reading from beginning to end. It is a page turner that makes you want to find out what happened and why is Max being framed. But I will say that the outcome was a bit obvious...to me at least. I am a sucker for anything mystery and my husband gets mad at me when we watch those types of shows and i figure out who the killer is before it is revealed. So it is no suprise to me that I figured it out. But what makes this a great book was that the fact that I figured out the end did not hinder my reading experience. I still really enjoyed the book.

The only thing that I did not like that much was Pavarti and Prestons relationhip and what it meant for the story. Overall it was a bit creepy and although it makes for more conflict, it just made for extra drama that did not need to be there. But overall I really liked this mystery and you will be reading from beginning to end on the edge of your seat. Such a great new mystery to add to your shelves!