Review of The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda
My Review of The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda looks at this YA thriller about a woman and her mother who are living a secretive life. Then an accident puts one of them in the hospital … and both of them in danger.
The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda
Published on May 24, 2016 by Crown Books for Young Readers. Library read. I read this book in 2016.
Review of The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda
I’ve enjoyed Megan Miranda’s books before, especially Soulprint, so I really wanted to read this. I really like the way Miranda weaves scientific and psychological theory into her stories.
The main character of The Safest Lies, Kelsey, has grown up in an environment of fear – Kelsey’s mom was abducted as a teenager and then later found, four months pregnant with Kelsey.
Now the two of them live in a fortified house with a panic room.
Kelsey’s mom is afraid to leave the house, and she manages this, until Kelsey is involved in an accident that sends her to the hospital. When the accident is written up in the local paper, Kelsey’s mom suddenly disappears and Kelsey is left to figure out what to do.
There was something about this book that didn’t quite work for me and I’m not sure I’ve yet put my finger on exactly what it was. I’ll try.
What I Liked About The Safest Lies
the suspense that The Safest Lies is able to generate and the way it kept me guessing. I had some theories about what was actually going on with Kelsey and her mom … but I wasn’t right.
I also liked that the story poses the question as to whether fear can be inherited – an interesting idea, given Kelsey’s history.
I kept thinking this idea was going to be used to make the reader wonder if Kelsey is rational or just having a huge irrational panic attack caused by her inherited fear. But that didn’t feel like the case to me – I felt that Kelsey came off as a pretty levelheaded character. So I ended up feeling like the inherited fear thing didn’t really go anywhere.
What I Liked Less
I had more issue with the fact that, for me, this book didn’t connect all the dots by the end.
Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that a) I assumed that the inciting incident of the book would tie in better to the story. Also b) I’m not sure that certain things about Kelsey’s mom’s past were entirely credible. And, finally, d) though the romance in this was promising, it didn’t really come together for me. I liked Ryan (the love interest) until this big revelation toward the end that seemed kind of disturbing.
Even though this was a bit of a miss for me, a lot of people in my Goodreads feed really enjoyed it, so don’t let my opinion dissuade you.
I remain a fan of this author — I bought All the Missing Girls, her recently released adult book and you can read my review of All The Missing Girls.
I also have reviews of most of Megan Miranda’s other adult books on my adult mystery and thriller blog.
Have you read this? If so, let me know what you thought!
I've been eyeing this one for some time now! It sounds like a good mystery and now I'm really curious what was disturbing about the love interest lol..
I've struggled a lot with her books in the past, but I was curious about this one. I don't think I'll pick it up though after reading your review, because I definitely need to feel more fear and hmmm a disturbing revelation about the love interest doesn't sound good to me.
I knew the author's name looked familiar – I just finished All the Missing Girls. I really loved that one and wanted to check her other stuff. The concept here sounds interesting but I hate when dots aren't connected by the end.
Sad to hear that this was a miss for you but I haven't read it and probably won't because it doesn't seem like my cup of tea, but I'm super interested to see what was so weird about the love interest, haha! 😀
Hmm… I don't think I would do too well with the fact that there are still some things left pretty open by the end of the book. Especially when it comes to thriller-ish dark reads like this. I need my closure. So I think I will be skipping over this one…
Hmm, this sounds interesting. I like the premise of it but it's too bad it doesn't all come together quite right towards the end… especially the part about the mom's past. I imagine with the history there that there's a twist of some kind, and of course sometimes those work and sometimes not. I'm glad I saw your review, if I see this one at a good price or at library maybe I'll get it. 🙂
Although the suspense kept you guessing throughout, I can definitely sense that this was a bit lacklustre for you. Lovely review Jen!