The Lying Game #6: Seven Minutes in Heaven
In this presumably final book in the Lying Game series, which is dedicated to solving the murder of Sutton Mercer, Shepard does a fine job of building tension and laying believable red herrings along Emma’s route to identifying her twin’s killer. Teenage boys in this cycle continue to receive dramatic but well-earned reputations as violent and jealous (and jealously violent), but the family issues featuring the twins’ grandparents and Emma’s detective work are credibly and engagingly played out. There seems to be little of the Lying Game itself here, except when its notoriety leads authorities to dismiss a witness. This one can stand alone. Grades 8-10. --Francisca Goldsmith