The premise behind ‘Three Truths and a Lie’ is fairly straightforward – four teenagers head off to a cabin in the woods where they play a game, get spooked by things outside and then end up in serious trouble. Not all make it back alive.
In spite of the links with so many teen horror movies, I have to say I found myself gripped by this novel.
When we first meet Rob he is with his boyfriend, Liam, Liam’s best friend, Mia, and her boyfriend, Galen. They are desperate to do something a little different – something fun – and when Mia suggests a visit to her family’s woodland cabin it seems like the perfect suggestion. The dynamics between the group are intriguing, and there is a very real sense of Rob’s detachment from the group.
From the moment the group arrive in the cabin it seems that someone is out to cause trouble. The question is, who? Strange things happen, with no obvious explanation, and the way Hartinger describes this experience completely plays on the reader’s fears. On occasion the writing becomes a little more graphic than I really wanted, but I found myself finding it increasingly hard to tear myself away from this as I was desperate to find out just what was going on.
There are clues to the ending, though I think I’d benefit from re-reading the novel to see which of these clues I missed first time around.