A Dream Within A Dream: Trust Me, I'm Lying Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Trust Me, I'm Lying
Author: Mary Elizabeth Summer
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis:

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.

But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

“A sexy love triangle and madcap mystery . . . I loved this book.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret

“Buckle up! You’re in for a wild and funny ride. I fell in love with the fresh and snarky voice of 16-year-old con artist Julep Dupree. This book has it all: homework and hit men, prom drama and silencers.” —April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen

“Summer creates a standout character in Julep. She lies and cheats with so much confidence and skill that readers will cheer her on, but she also adheres to her own strict moral code. The nature of the crime her father is caught up in, when revealed, just ratchets up the suspense. A memorable debut; here’s hoping for a lot more from Summer.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Julep’s investigations and quick escapes keep the high-stakes story entertaining and readers guessing…” – Publisher’s Weekly

Trust Me, I'm Lying is a captivating and thrilling young adult mystery novel. The story follows our main character, Julep, as she goes about normal teenage life - along with her life as a "fixer" or grifter. She's the best at what she does and everyone at St. Agatha's, the rich prep school Julep attends, knows it - and they're willing to pay a high price for what they want done. Things are going according to Julep's plan - suffer through St. Agatha's with great grades in order to get a full-ride scholarship to Yale after she graduates. Until the day that Julep comes home to an empty apartment and a missing father. Determined to find him, Julep uses all of her resources and tricks to track down her father and get to the bottom of things. She has no idea the places her search will take her - weird stalkers, hit attempts and buried family secrets. Will Julep be able to use her grifter skills to find her dad before things go from bad to worse?

I'm a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers, so I was immediately drawn to this book. I didn't know what to expect - I haven't really read about grifters or con artists - so I kept an open mind. The book was spectacular and better than I ever could have hoped for. Julep is an intriguing main character for the story. She's almost an anti-hero; on the one hand being a con artist and criminal and on the other she's a desperate daughter trying to find her dad. The novel is told from Julep's point of view - which was the perfect way to tell the story. Since it's first person, the narrative is conversational in tone - which makes it incredibly easy to slip into the story and feel like you know the character on a personal level. I loved Julep's snarky attitude. Her inner dialogue, thoughts, and conversations with others throughout the book are dead on for what I imagined. What do you expect from a teenage girl who's scamming people for money? She's not completely heartless though - she's a smart, talented girl who knows how to get results. It might not always be pretty (or legal), but that's life. The love triangle in the book didn't bother me at all. It didn't take away from the main story line in any way - in fact, it may have added a new layer to it all. Some readers hate love triangles in books, but I didn't feel like the one here played a significant part to the main plot. The book was incredibly well written with a really quick pace and tons of twists and turns that you don't see coming. I love trying to figure out the mystery before the characters do, but this one had me stumped for quite a long time, which doesn't usually happen. There was so much going on at a fast pace - it definitely kept me eagerly reading to see what was going to happen next. This is by far one of the best YA thriller/mysteries that I've read this year and I very highly recommend it to fans of the genre. You need to read this book. NOW. You won't be disappointed. This is definitely an author to watch, and I can't wait to see what she will come out with next!

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Mary Elizabeth Summer is an instructional designer, a mom, a champion of the serial comma, and a pie junkie. Oh, and she sometimes writes books about teenage delinquents saving the day. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her daughter, her partner, and her evil overlor–er, cat. TRUST ME, I'M LYING, a YA mystery, will be released by Delacorte in Fall 2014.