The Lying Game #5: Cross My Heart, Hope to Die

The search for Sutton’s killer continues in this fifth title in the suspenseful and twisted Lying Game series by Sara Shepard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series.

Ever since Sutton Mercer's murderer tricked her long-lost twin, Emma, into coming to Tucson, Emma has been trying to solve the mystery of Sutton's death. And now someone else is back in town—Becky, Sutton and Emma's birth mother.

As Emma gets closer to discovering what exactly happened the night Sutton was killed, she learns that Becky isn't all that she seems. Turns out Sutton wasn't the only Mercer girl with dark secrets. . . .

• A High-Stakes Impersonation: Emma must navigate Sutton’s privileged and dangerous world, where one wrong move could expose her secret—and make her the killer’s next target.
• Psychological Suspense: Their birth mother, Becky, is back, but her erratic behavior and dark past make her the prime suspect. Can Emma trust the woman who abandoned her, or is she playing a deadly game?
• A Complicated Love Triangle: While pretending to be Sutton, Emma finds herself torn between her own feelings for the intense Ethan and the undeniable pull of Sutton’s old flame, the charming Thayer Vega.
• Long-Lost Twin Mystery: The deeper Emma digs, the more she realizes Sutton wasn’t the girl everyone thought she was. Solving this murder means unraveling the lies of the sister she never knew.

It's not easy being me. But my twin sister has no choice.

After I died, my killer forced my twin sister to take my place—or else. Now Emma is an expert at being me. She tosses her hair with the signature Sutton Mercer flip and can lead a Lying Game prank with the best of them. She's even repairing my relationship with my adoptive family. The only thing she hasn't done is solve my murder.

Then our birth mother, the woman who abandoned us, shows up in Tucson. Emma hasn't seen Becky in twelve years, but Becky recognizes Emma immediately—as Emma. Is it a mother's intuition . . . or does Becky know I'm already gone?

Praise for The Lying Game: “The Lying Game is a stay–up–past–your–bedtime type of thriller…full of amazingly believable plot twists and turns.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

“A fun and fast–moving mystery…[readers] will race through the pages as Emma pieces together clues and will have plenty to ponder as they anticipate the next installment.” - Publishers Weekly

“A thrilling mystery with just the right doses of romance and danger.” - School Library Journal