Dare You To Lie (ARC) by Amber Lynn Natusch

Set to release in North America on September 4, 2018, Dare You To Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch features a quick-witted heroine, a fast-paced plot, and a twisty whodunit mystery will certainly keep readers on their toes. I was lucky enough to receive and Advance Review Copy of Dare You To Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch from Raincoast Books as part of their Teens Read Feed Fall Preview Package – you can check out the entirety of the goodie bag at the end of this review!

When her FBI agent father is framed for murder, Kylene is forced to move back to the small town that turned its back on her, and the boy who betrayed her. All Ky cares about is clearing her father’s name, but her reappearance comes with its own consequences. Someone won’t let her forget the photo scandal that drove her away two years ago. With threats against her mounting, the FBI sends a rookie agent to tail her. More determined than ever to expose the town’s hidden skeletons, Ky unwittingly thrusts herself into a much bigger plot. Everyone thought she’d forgive and forget. They’re about to learn they messed with the wrong girl.

I was hesitant about this book – to be honest, I don’t know that I’ve ever read a good Young Adult Mystery novel. They’re always far too straight-forward, far too melodramatic, and far too focused on anything but the mystery. But Dare You To Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch is not like those other Young Adult Mystery novels I’ve read – it is better, by far. Natusch delivered on the promise quick-witted heroine, a fast-paced plot, and a twisty whodunit mystery that was the primary focus of the novel.

I immediately loved Kylene, both for her “act first, think later” attitude and for her grit and propulsive drive to get to the bottom of the highly personal scandal haunting her return to her Ohio hometown – and her father’s unjust conviction. Kylene Danners is certainly the quick-witted, gutsy, without-filter heroine that readers of the genre will fall in love with – from the moment she steps onto the page, she is uncompromising in her values – and her search for the truth about both her father’s conviction, and the photo scandal that overshadows her life. Her decisions – and her deductions – make sense (if one is a vengeful teenage girl with very little parental supervision and a plentiful amount of motivation to find justice). Kylene Danners didn’t return to Jasperville, Ohio searching for her happily ever after. She came back to right a wrong—two wrongs—one that will set her father free from an unjust prison sentence, and the other to clear her name as the town liar. Amber Lynn Natusch’s brilliant and fast-paced storytelling really shines through in her strong, good-girl-turned-raw heroine, Kylene Danners.

Furthermore, from the moment I started reading Dare You To Lie, I was caught up in the fast-paced, well-written story that refused to relax its grip – and I can guarantee that other readers will be as well. A large part of this can be attributed to the twisty whodunit mystery that just got more and more complex the further Kylene, her friends, and others investigated it. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, Natusch through me for a loop, and I found myself even more engrossed as I tried to solve the mystery alongside Kylene.

Overall, compelling characters, witty dialogue, and non-stop action will keep readers flipping pages to find out what happens in Natusch’s Dare You to Lie. From the power and conviction that Kylene Danners exudes, to the complexity of the mystery behind Kylene’s photo scandal and her father’s imprisonment. I simply can’t wait for the next installment in Kylene Danner’s story (5/5)!