Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain is a paranormal mystery thriller. It is a debut novel by the author. It took me some time to get into the rhythm and the slow build of the story but when I did I was flying. I can’t believe this is a debut novel because of the fact that from the absolute first page I was hooked and couldn’t quit reading. The setting is the thing that truly had me hooked, Ginny Myers Sains wrote such clear depictions of La Cachette, Louisiana that it seemed like I was there and could picture precisely what this town of 106 living people looked like.
Grey is an interesting character. I liked her in general, however I had a few issues with specific character attributes and parts of her as a person. No spoilers, however she’s not good when it comes to decision-making. And furthermore turns out to be excessively trusting. As she’s attempting to sort out what happened to Elora, it is obvious the town doesn’t actually mind. They care enough to be sad that she’s gone, however they’ve all quite accepted that she’s no more, and totally continue on with their personal business.
The people who really care are Gray and Hart, Elora’s step brother, however even Hart begins to surrender and accept whatever they think occurred. What I mean is, you would think somebody knows what occurred. Until! they’re attempting to cover it up.
The Mystery part of this novel was really cool. I like how the happenings of the past are tied in to the happenings of the present and it just made the mystery more dark and intriguing. Furthermore, we get Gray’s flash backs of what happened to Elora, which I liked, and I liked the formatting for.
The other characters were interesting as well, however it made me cringe to ponder about a few of the things that these teens do or done to them. One person was a chain smoker. A young girl was abused by her uncle. Another person was a possessive boyfriend. One of the person was also abusive to his wife and kid. While I realize that these things happen to people or they learn these things, it actually was heartbreaking to think this even happening fictionally.
Overall, I liked Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain. It was engaging and very well-written in the manner in which the plot was arranged. If you like mysteries, I will for sure recommend this one.
Also Read: White Smoke By Tiffany D Jackson
