Dark and Shallow Lies
Violent supernatural thriller set deep in a Louisiana bayou.
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Based on 3 reviews
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Ginny Myers Sain's Dark and Shallow Lies is set deep in the Louisiana bayou and unfolds over a few short weeks awash in long-buried secrets and murder. Seventeen-year-old Greycie has returned to the tiny town of La Cachette to spend the summer with her grandmother and, most important, to discover what's happened to her best friend, Elora, who disappeared three months ago. Since La Cachette has deemed itself the Psychic Capital of the World, Greycie finds it inconceivable that no one knows what's happened to Elora. Violence is ever present throughout the story. A fistfight is graphically described; two children are murdered; a house is set on fire, killing a child; and a girl is beaten so badly that her body is unrecognizable. There's a brief sexual encounter between two teens (unbuttoning of shorts, hand under bra, fumbling with buttons on jeans) that doesn't include intercourse. The story includes strong language ("f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," "Jesus"), and a one major teen character regularly drinks and smokes.
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What's the Story?
DARK AND SHALLOW LIES is set in a tiny town (population 106) that calls itself the Psychic Capital of the World. La Cachette is so deep in the Louisiana bayou that it can only be reached by boat, but that doesn't stop streams of tourists coming to town for its psychic services: seances, palm readings, past-life regressions, and psychic love readings. Seventeen-year-old Greycie lives in Little Rock, but she spends summers in La Cachette with her grandmother and her best friend, Elora. But Elora has disappeared, and no one has seen her for almost three months. Greycie is having frightening flashes where she sees Elora running for her life, but she can't see who's running after her. Nor can she understand why, in a town filled with psychics, no one knows what's happened to Elora. When Greycie starts investigating her disappearance, she uncovers long-buried secrets from the past (the kidnapping and murder of identical twin girls, and the part her mother played in a horrific death) that put Greycie in danger in the present. Could the twins' murderer have returned to La Cachette? And what about the mysterious boy with ice blue eyes who's following her? Then, just as Greycie thinks she's discovered what happened to Elora, a deadly hurricane is headed straight for La Cachette.
Is It Any Good?
This novel is just as dark, creepy, and steamy as its setting, and it's spiced up with hints of Southern Gothic and a bit of Louisiana Cajun. The plotlines in Dark and Shallow Lies can sometimes be hard to follow (lots of murders and possible murderers to keep straight), and readers who aren't fans of the supernatural might find some of the story tough going.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what happens in Dark and Shallow Lies when people keep secrets. Is it ever OK to keep a secret if you witnessed something violent or deadly?
What do you think of the idea that some people have the ability to contact the dead, see into the past or future, or even start fires with their mind?
What would it be like to live in a tiny town where everyone was psychic?
Book Details
- Author: Ginny Myers Sain
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Friendship, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Razorbill
- Publication date: August 31, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 18
- Number of pages: 432
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: September 23, 2021
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