I’ll happily attend your wedding. I just won’t be in it. Blame this book.
This being December (when my students are somehow even crazier than usual) I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to actually sit and read. Survival mode doesn’t leave room for page-turning. So I grabbed an audiobook on Chirp to keep me sane during my drives, hoping it would satisfy my craving for an escape from real life. This one delivered.
I just finished listening to Lies Run Deep by Valerie Brandy, and ... wow. If this book were a roller coaster, I’d be the person in the souvenir photo with my hair straight up and my soul leaving my body. There was so much I didn’t see coming.
The story is told through the alternating viewpoints of Zoe and Cassandra, which was absolutely the right choice. At first, I trusted Zoe more because she seemed like the saner of the two. Cassandra came across as someone who might label her food in a shared fridge with threats. But then I found myself trusting Cassandra too. I mean, who broadcasts their own chaotic lunacy unless they are truly, spectacularly chaotic? Someone over-the-top insane, that’s who. Yet she kept sounding believable.
The dual perspectives added so much depth. There was just enough insight into both sides of the story without giving you the full picture, which meant I spent the entire listen convinced I had it all figured out. Yeah, I did not. Not even once. I was confidently wrong for hours at a time. The only two things I felt sure about were (1) Cassandra was absolutely unwell, and (2) Zoe and Mike genuinely loved each other.
The “whodunit” reveal was completely jaw-dropping. I had my suspicions locked on one person the whole way through and could not have been more wrong.
My feelings about the characters shifted a lot as the story unfolded. Cassandra stayed unhinged, yes, but the more I learned, the more compassion I felt. She went from cringe-worthy with much shuddering and wincing to tragically needing empathy and understanding. I loved Zoe from the start. I liked Mike and then respected his tenacity. Oliver, Alicia, Rick, and Jason I hated them with the fire of a thousand suns. Peak narcissists. Walking red flags. If they were on a wedding seating chart, I’d put theirs in the next county.
The theme that stood out the most for me was loyalty: Who has it, who doesn’t, and how far people will go when they feel betrayed. And that made the wedding setting diabolical. To go from bridal bliss to kidnapping to lights-out terror on an isolated island was enough to make me want the narrator to pick up the pace. And for this to happen on Zoe and Mike’s honeymoon was absolutely unconscionable. I want a safe, boring redo honeymoon for them.
I liked the ending. It wrapped up the story well but left things open for what’s next. I didn’t read the first book in the trilogy, but this one stands on its own just fine. Still…Logan is out there, and something needs to be done about him. I might pick up book three just to make sure he gets what’s coming to him. Hopefully what's coming to him is done Reacher-style.
And as for me? After reading this, I’ve decided one thing with absolute certainty: I’m never being in another wedding party ever again. I’ll send a gift. I’ll smile for pictures. I’ll eat cake. But bridesmaid? Maid of honor? Flower girl? Nope. Not happening. I’m not taking that risk.
