LITTLE WHITE LIES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: Debutantes #1
Published by Freeform on November 6 2018
Genres: Young adult, Thriller
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A delectable mystery with Southern charm, interesting characters and plenty of twists makes this an unexpectedly fun read.

This book completely caught me off guard. It was so good, and now I understand the hype surrounding Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She is a slick and polished writer. Her dialogue is full of snark, sarcasm, and punchy one-liners. Her characters are smart, sassy and at times, scary. There were so many twist and turns, lies, betrayals, set-ups, put-downs and secrets in the plot that I could barely keep up. And I had a blast every step of the way! I’ve seen this book compared to Pretty Little Liars, but I think Veronica Mars is a better comparison. In fact, the main character Sawyer reminded me of Veronica in more ways than one. If you’re looking for an excellent mystery with a cast of completely unreliable characters and a rip-roaring plot, then look no further.

Eighteen-year-old Sawyer Taft lives an unassuming life in a small town with her single mom and spends her free time working as an auto mechanic. But all that changes one day when a stranger named Lillian Taft invades her home and offers her a hell of a deal. Lillian just happens to be Sawyer’s maternal grandmother—a grandmother she’s never met or heard of—and she wants Sawyer to live with her for the next nine months as a debutante, learning Southern manners, getting manicures and dress fittings, and attending parties. And at the end of that nine months, Lillian will give Sawyer access to a trust fund worth five hundred thousand dollars. Lillian also makes a tantalizing suggestion: Sawyer will be knee-deep in the members of her “real” family, and she might just be able to discover who her birth father is.

Sawyer isn’t stupid and she takes the deal. But once she arrives at Lillian’s house and begins to meet the people in her grandmother’s high society social circle, she realizes that she’s not the only one with a secret. The other debutantes in her group aren’t happy to see her, the daughter of the spurned Eleanor Taft, who became pregnant during her own debutante season eighteen years earlier and was kicked out of the house by Lillian. As Sawyer tries to fit in, she begins the search for clues that will reveal who among her grandmother’s relatives is her father.

But getting to know Campbell, Lily, Sadie-Grace and the eligible young men known as “squires” is like navigating a minefield. Sawyer might not know the rules of the world she’s been thrust into, but she can smell a lie a mile away.

There are actually three mysteries in Little White Lies. In the first half of the story, the chapters are interspersed with photos of an unidentified girl with “secrets” written somewhere on her body, like “I lied.” or “I paid him to kiss me.” (Note: in my ARC, these photos were not included, but I’m assuming they are in the finished edition.) We later find out what this means, and there is a blackmail plot tied to it that I found completely absorbing. But at some point, this subplot sort of fizzles out because the mystery is solved, and while there is another, bigger mystery ready to take its place, I guess I would have liked it to turn out differently than it did.

The other mystery is a bit juicier and much more dangerous, and revolves around not only the teens in the story, but some of the grownups. While it may have been a little on the unbelievable side, I still had fun with it, and it certainly kept me turning the pages.

And finally, there is the mystery of the identity of Sawyer’s father, and for that reveal, Barnes keeps the reader guessing up until almost the end. She does a bang-up job with plot twists, and I’ll admit I was stumped, right along with the characters.

The story is told in first person from Sawyer’s POV which was a great choice. As the outsider, I loved seeing Sawyer adjust to her new life and hear her inner thoughts about everything that’s going on. Not only has she been lied to by her mother, but she’s just discovered that she has an entire family—aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings (possibly?)—that she knew nothing about. Despite her prickly personality and reluctance to trust anyone (who can blame her?), she soon warms up to Lily and Sadie-Grace, but keeps the unpredictable Campbell at arm’s length as much as possible. Sawyer has always thought that her mother was her only family, and now with the prospect of having actual siblings and cousins, she’s even more tempted by her new life. I loved her conflicting feelings about wanting to go back home to her mother, but being mad at her for keeping so many secrets.

According to the author notes, Barnes was a debutante herself, and I can see why the mannerisms, dialog and actions of the characters felt so natural. The story is full of Southern charm, but these Southern belles have claws hiding under their beautifully manicured fingers. Watching Sawyer navigate the muddy waters of high society while trying to hold on to her own sense of self was truly entertaining.

I had no idea this was the first in a series, but when I got to the last page, I thought, hey, it sounds like there’s more to the story! So when I got around to doing a little research, I was thrilled to see that this was, indeed, not the end. Barnes leaves us with a clue as to where the story might go next, and I’m completely on board for the next installment. I hadn’t realized how much I needed a good contemporary mystery in my life, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read this.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.