Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
Summary:
Publishing Date: August 31, 2021
A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.
La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.
This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World–and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey’s best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can’t believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something – her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou – a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town’s bloody history – Grey realizes that La Cachette’s past is far more present and dangerous than she’d ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn’t know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent–and La Cachette’s dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56913189-dark-and-shallow-lies
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-and-shallow-lies-ginny-myers-sain/1138688767?ean=9780593403969
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Dark-Shallow-Lies-Ginny-Myers-Sain/9780593403969?ref=grid-view&qid=1625514606229&sr=1-2
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/dark-and-shallow-lies/9780593403969-item.html
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593403969
About the Author:
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, her debut YA novel available 8-31-21 from Razorbill/Penguin. Although she comes from a long line of writers, her first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. Ginny currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her teenage son and a very cowardly doberman named Shipley. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you’re likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, or planning a trip to Walt Disney World.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.ginnymyerssain.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stageandpage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginnymyerssain/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21109906.Ginny_Myers_Sain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stageandpage
Review: 5 Stars
“What do you feel?” he asks me. “It’s like you said,” I tell him. “Nothing but fear.” Run and hide.
Hide and run. I’ll count from ten, then join the fun. Say a prayer and bow your head. If my light finds you, you’ll be dead. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Ready or not, here I come. I’m Dempsey Fontenot. You better run.
Dark and Shallow Lies is the type of book that tears through you as you tear through it. While I typically just read fantasy novels I couldn’t help but be drawn to this one. I love books with southern gothic vibes and this book is filled with them. Ever since I read Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea I’ve sought out books with southern gothic vibes and this book reminded me of that duology in all the best ways. Dark and Shallow Lies is a vivid and eerie mystery set in Louisiana that I ripped through in a day.
“There are things out here in the dark, Greycie.” He finally releases me, and I stagger backward a step or two. He’s still got ahold of me with his eyes, though. “Dangerous things.”
The writing is lyrical and captivating. I found it incredibly easy to sink into the humid Louisiana summer setting and follow Grey as she hunted for clues to what happened to Elora. The writing was so vivid and atmospheric, but managed to keep a fast pace. I loved the setting and felt like I was watching every minute of the book play out in my head. I really loved the dialogue as it helped show each of the character’s personalities. The writing had me captivated and highlighting so many quotes.
“Knowing is hard,” he says, “but it’s a thing you can survive. The not knowing will kill you in the end. It’s the secrets that fester.”
I loved the characters so much, they were all so well done. Grey was a fantastic main character to follow and I really connected with her. The writing really showed all of her emotions and I could feel her guilt, her grief and her desperation as she searched for answers. Hart was another character who I really liked. He was so broken and there were times here my heart just ached because I could feel his pain. Zane was a favorite of mine as well and I loved all of the scenes with him and Grey. All of the characters were so well developed and their reactions to events made this story come to life.
Because if she were really dead, surely I would be, too. How do you go on living with only half a heart? Suddenly I can’t get enough air. I’m panicking. Gasping for breath. My vision is blurry. I’m trembling. Zale reaches over to take my hand, and I feel the electric shock of his skin against mine. My whole arm tingles. I pull my eyes away from Elora’s ring. Zale’s hand on mine. And I find myself in the blue of his eyes.
I picked up a copy of Dark and Shallow Lies because I saw it on my friend Brithanie’s Instagram and it looked right up my alley. I was hoping for some southern gothic vibes, but I didn’t expect this book to leave me feeling so gutted. I was so emotionally invested in this story. I am so grateful for the recommendation and I really loved this book. If you have this one on your radar do yourself a favor and read it now.
“Lots of people fall in love with monsters,” he tells me. “Only they don’t realize it until it’s too late.”
More Favorite Quotes
“You know what’s awful, Grey?” Evie wipes at her face, then she wraps her skinny arms around her chest and shivers hard. “The dead? They lie. Just like the rest of us.”
“This place is a riptide. And we’re all caught in it. Nobody ever gets outta here.” He looks down at me. “Well, nobody but you. The rest of us, we’re stuck here. For good.”
My heart aches. I should have been there. I should have been the one to save Elora. To sit with her in the darkest part of the night.
I think about something Honey always says when she does a tarot reading. It may not be what you were expecting, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t what you need.
Zale turns those ice-blue eyes on me, and for the first time, I notice the deep sadness in them.
“How do you keep a secret in a town full of psychics?” I ask him, and light flashes bright inside those ice-fire eyes. “You tell the truth,” he answers. “At least part of it.”
“Dat ol’ rougarou? He’s a shape-shifter, sure enough. So you be careful, Grey. He may come right up on ya. Might sit down real close. Maybe even hold your hand. And you won’t ever know it till you see dem teeth.” Wrynn turns and disappears into the night, but her words float back to me like the sound of wind chimes. “And by den, it’s too late. You’re already dead.”
And it feels so good to talk to someone. Really talk to someone. About things that don’t hurt. And about things that do. Night after night, we sit out there until the sky goes inky and the owls start to call and I know I’m late for supper. And then some. But I never want to go in. Because being with Zale makes me feel like maybe I’ll be okay. And the whole time I’m with him, I drink up that peaceful, slightly fuzzy feeling like it’s cold, fresh water. And I’m dying of thirst.
And it feels so good to talk to someone. Really talk to someone. About things that don’t hurt. And about things that do. Night after night, we sit out there until the sky goes inky and the owls start to call and I know I’m late for supper. And then some. But I never want to go in. Because being with Zale makes me feel like maybe I’ll be okay. And the whole time I’m with him, I drink up that peaceful, slightly fuzzy feeling like it’s cold, fresh water. And I’m dying of thirst.
Had I let him soothe and charm me with magic eyes and an ocean-deep voice and a touch that took my breath away?
And the world is perfectly calm when he kisses me.
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August 31st
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