The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

e-ARC, 179 pages

Release Date: May 13, 2014
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Stand-alone
Source: Edelweiss
For fans of: Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Romance


     With the intrigue of Pretty Little Liars and plenty of romance, bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer weaves a story of secrets and lies—set in a funeral parlor.

Growing up in a house of female morticians, Lily Graves knows all about buried secrets. She knows that perfect senior-class president Erin Donohue isn’t what she seems. She knows why Erin’s ex-boyfriend, hot football player Matt Houser, broke up with her. And she also knows that, even though she says she and Matt are just friends, there is something brewing between them—something Erin definitely did not like.
     But secrets, even ones that are long buried, have a way of returning to haunt their keeper.
     So when Erin is found dead the day after attacking Lily in a jealous rage, Lily’s and Matt’s safe little lives, and the lives of everyone in their town of Potsdam, begin to unravel. And their relationship—which grew from innocent after-school tutoring sessions to late-night clandestine rendezvous—makes them both suspects.
     As her world crumbles around her, Lily must figure out the difference between truth and deception, genuine love and a web of lies. And she must do it quickly, before the killer claims another victim.

 

*MY THOUGHTS*

     Any thriller that sounds remotely unique will find its way to my TBR pile. And this one was no different. And then I found out that it was set in a funeral parlor and I bumped it to the very top because I had to read it! And although I figured out who the killer was, I did really enjoy it.

“‘Soup based casseroles were so synonymous with death.
29% (e-ARC)

     The characters were one of my favorite things about this story. I loved Lily! She really was hilarious. But then her mom really seemed like she really didn’t know her daughter. But she definitely surprised me in the end. The coolest of them all was Aunt Boo. She had tattoos and her name was Boo. And she worked in a funeral parlor lol I just thought that was a pretty cool connection. As for Matt, he was ok too. There were some moments I really liked him, but there were other times I really wanted to hit him. But that’s with any dude lol

“‘…it was better to know how to avoid danger than to avoid dangerous places.
39% (e-ARC)

     As for the writing style, that was another one of my favorite things. There were times my heart was racing because of what Lily was doing or even what her best friend Sarah was doing. I found myself putting the book down because somethings I had to stop and think about. Any book that makes me think is automatically good in my opinion.

“‘This you Lily Graves?’ Yup. I’m in my Halloween costume today.” […] “What are you supposed to be?” “The scariest thing I could think of,” I said. “Normal.
49% (e-ARC)

     The only thing I didn’t like about it, was the fact that I was able to guess the killer. If it wouldn’t cause spoilers, I would take a picture of my notebook where I wrote my “Final verdict” on who it was. I only guessed it because I know it’s always the person you least expect. And because I’m sure I wouldn’t have guessed it if I didn’t watch so much CSI and Criminal Minds lol But I will say that I wasn’t completely sure until the very last few pages. It took until the end, but I was still able to guess it.

“‘Death ages a person. Murder, even faster.
56% (e-ARC)

     The characters and the writing style were both really great. There wasn’t really anything wrong with this one besides me being able to guess whodunit. Its a thriller that will keep yon on your toes. It will literally keep you guess until the last few pages are turned. And when you find out who it was, you will have to read over it again to make sure you read it right!

Overall, I give this 

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