Aleveria / KarenL

**Note: I received a free copy of this book from edelweiss in return for my unbiased review of this book**

The Girl Who Lied takes place in a small town in Ireland. I say this up front because I felt like Rossway was a character in the story. Perhaps not an overt one, but it certainly crafted the lives of the people who grew up and live there.

While the title is deliciously deceptive, it's also true in the extreme. The main character, Erin, is summoned home from London when her father is seriously injured - but it coincides with a summons from a cryptic message she gets that calls back to her tumultuous past.

When she returns to Rossway, she finds her father hanging on to life. While many things were the same, there were also different perspectives Erin could see after growing up away from her small town. Was she hiding by leaving, or was she escaping?

Old ghosts, petty grudges, deep-seated hatreds - they all show up while Erin is trying to resolve her family issues and make sure her past stays firmly in the past. It doesn't help that she keeps getting distracted by Kerry, who just won't stop getting past her defenses.

Shaking my hair over my shoulders, I pull the helmet down over my head. The padding, although soft and spongy, holds my face firmly in place, squeezing the sides of my cheeks against my teeth. There's a funny smell to the inside of it; musty like a charity shop, with a dash of petrol. I struggle with the woven chinstrap, not being able to see the D rings makes it difficult to fasten. I feel Kerry's hand on my wrist as he pulls me towards him and takes over, securing the strap in a matter of seconds. Then, turning the key in the ignition and thumping down on the kickstart with his foot, the vintage Triumph Bonneville erupts into life, the noise rumbles through the exhaust pipes like a purring lion awakening from its slumber. A few flicks of the wrist on the accelerator and the beast roars into life, louder, deeper, faster, now snarling. I flinch and screw my nose up at the fumes emitting from the exhaust. A hot, burning oily smell, once again mixed with a hint of petrol that I can taste as it drifts in the air.

I include that quote because it's so descriptive, I felt like I was part of that scene.

I had questions all the way through, and that's a good thing. Every time I had something figured out, another mystery popped up and turned everything upside down. I give extra points here because nothing is black and white. There are characters you can hate, but even they do things that make them grudgingly okay.

The ending is satisfying, but I would've liked to get more of Kerry's story. I can't imagine fitting it in, so I'll give Ms. Fortin a pass. :-)

Solid four stars.