Reasons to Lie - by Emily Listfield (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When a private school field trip ends with one student dead, three mothers must face the darkest secrets lurking beneath their lifestyles, their friendships, their children, and themselves.

In the privileged world of Manhattan's elite Dearborn Academy, three mothers--Abby, Kara, and Hollis--form an unlikely bond. Until a student is murdered on a class trip their teenagers attended, and every parent has something to hide.

Artistic single mom Abby and career-challenged Kara have always felt like outsiders among Dearborn's rich, powerful families. When glamorous, enigmatic Hollis arrives with her son and a picture-perfect life, they take her under their wing--despite nagging doubts about her past.

Their friendship only deepens after tragedy strikes on a school retreat. But as a determined detective edges closer to the truth of what happened in the woods that night, cracks begin to show--in their stories, their alliances, and their trust.

Each woman is keeping secrets. And so are their children.

Now, with everything at stake, Abby, Kara, and Hollis must decide how far they'll go to protect their families--even if it means turning on one another.

Because everyone has a reason to lie.

And someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

Review Quotes

"Listfield unspools a delicious web of family secrets and lies that pulls you in and doesn't let go until the very last page." --Tamara L. Miller, author of Into the Fall

"A tragic death on a junior class overnight trip is the catalyst for Emily Listfield's latest propulsive thriller. Was it an accident? A suicide? Or murder? It seems impossible to untangle the truth when the administration, students, and parents all seem to be hiding something. Told from the perspective of three disparate mothers, Reasons to Lie pulls you in on the first page and doesn't let you go." --Greer Hendricks, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Wife Between Us

"I loved this smart, intriguing, captivating mystery! How did Emily Listfield make every character--the good, the imperfect, the suspicious--so true to life and relatable? Who died by whose hand is an absorbing enough question, but for added and delicious tension, Reasons to Lie is set at the kind of snobby Manhattan school I love to hate. Highly enjoyable, flawlessly written, and highly recommended!" --Elinor Lipman, author of Every Tom, Dick & Harry and Ms. Demeanor

"Taut, riveting, and laced with stunning and unsettling revelations, Reasons to Lie explores the complicated, often painful truths about motherhood, privilege, and the fragile bonds between parents and their teens--while asking how well do we really know the people we love, and how much would we risk to protect them?" --Kate White, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Man and Eyes on You