Little white lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

When Sawyer Taft finishes her shift as an auto mechanic in her small town’s car garage, the last person she expects to see is the grandmother she has never met and has never heard a positive word about.

Lillian Taft, the matriarch of a powerful and immensely wealthy Southern family, has an offer – and a contract – which Sawyer finds hard to refuse. All Sawyer must do is live with Lillian for nine months and participate in a debutante season. Afterwards, she will be half a million dollars richer. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Sawyer has barely come to terms with her new wardrobe, living quarters, makeover, and family before she is unwittingly drawn into an environment of deceit, backstabbing and blackmail that could only be perpetuated by teenage girls. Along with her cousin Lily and new friend Sadie-Grace, Sawyer must navigate a world in which money is no object, rules are meant to be broken and public scandal is the greatest sin of all.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes, author of the bestselling The Inheritance Games series, is excellent at bringing to life ‘fish out of water’ stories. Sawyer is a sassy, clever and no nonsense heroine who manages, despite increasingly trying circumstances, to take everything in her stride. Her calm and pragmatic narration is the ideal foil to the more dramatic characters and situations around her. At its heart, Little White Lies is a mystery story with just enough romance, friendship and danger to keep it interesting.

Themes: Mystery, Romance, Family, Friendship, Secrets, Blackmail.

Rose Tabeni