While vacationing on her grandfather's private island, Cadence Sinclair Eastman struggles to remember the circumstances leading up to an injury she sustained two summers previous. Cadence Sinclair Eastman spends memorable summers visiting her grandfather's private island near Cape Cod, where she has come of age with her cousins Johnny and Mirren, as well as Gat, her aunt's husband's nephew, with whom she has become romantically involved. Collectively, Cadence refers to her cousins, Gat, and herself as the liars. After spending one summer away with her father in Europe, Cadence is back at Beechwood, trying to piece together how she came to hurt her head and lose her memory two years before. With the help of the liars, she remembers how her mother and aunts had bitterly feuded over placement in their father's will, particularly over who would inherit the largest house on the island using the children as pawns to earn their father's favor. At a climactic moment, Cadence faces the truth of what occurred that summer: she, Gat, and her cousins set fire to the big house to end the rivalry within the family. But Cadence inadvertently trapped Johnny, Mirren, and Gat in the house, the three of them burning to death. The other three liars are ghosts who have been waiting for Cadence to accept the reality of the tragedy. Once she does, she says goodbye to Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, who leave her by jumping into the ocean and swimming away.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
Best part of story, including ending:
Lockhart skillfully unveils information in this suspenseful, beautifully told story; the conclusion is painful, unexpected, and disarming.
Best scene in story:
At the end of the book, Cadence is hit with a rush of recognition: the other liars--Mirren, Johnny, and Gat--are dead and she killed them. The surprise hits with such unanticipated force that readers may feel utterly blind-sided. This is a mark of a brilliant storyteller.
Opinion about the main character:
Cadence is entirely unreliable and her circumstances, bleary. Despite this--or perhaps because of these characteristics--her voice is consistently captivating.