Jennifer Lynn – Lies Like Wildfire

‘Lies Like Wildfire’ by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez is a young adult thriller with a cover and synopsis that makes it stand out from the crowd. A story I hoped would match the promise of both cover and synopsis… well I found it a stand out book for 2021.
We are introduced to Hannah, eighteen years old and a sheriff’s daughter who is looking to become an FBI Agent. She lives in Gap Mountain, California, where fires are prevalent and deadly.

Hannah and her friends who are nicknamed ‘the monsters’ are revelling in their last summer before they all go college and out into the outside world until one mistake alters the course of their lives forever. As a wildfire incinerates their home town, Hannah and the monsters decide to lie about the fire. Events seem to spin out of control and Hannah has to make her mind up how much of the line she is willing to cross to protect the monsters.

A thriller that is relentless, the pacing is fast the tension is definitely there and racked up by being given the date, time and finally the percentage of fire containment as the story unfolded. A sure-fire way to make the reader feel as anxious as a member of the town. It did it for me.

The author has very cleverly created a story that has you hanging on to read ‘one more page’ so in the end you really have to tear yourself away or you would be sat all day. Her characters are perfectly created, right down to ‘the monsters’. No teen group is without the selfishness of most of the kids anyway but this group reminded me of teens I knew when I was that age. A great depiction of a group who are still young enough to make the wrong decisions due to the transition from child to adult. I could picture these characters they were presented that well. On the one hand, I really felt for them and on the other one, it was like “Why? Just Why?” Their decisions did leave room for improvement but that’s kids. I felt for Hannah, a girl who just wanted not to let her dad down. I could totally understand her wanting not to admit she helped start the fire. A character that is truly believable and relatable. The flaws of her character are what you could expect from a teen. This makes the story even better for me.

A compelling and addictive read that was right up my street. I was immersed in this story and felt like I was right by these kids sides as they made errors of judgement along the way. The ending was satisfying too. After reading this book, I think I am going to have to check out this authors work and add any to my tbr list as well.

Thanks to The Write Reads for inviting me on this fabulous tour and the publisher and netgalley for my gifted copy of the book.