I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Random House Children’s UK in exchange for an honest review.

Liar's Beach is the story of Linden, a poor college boy who gets invited to his rich friend's beach house for the summer. Things are going reasonably well when one night, after a party, the local bully is found with his head cracked in on the side of the pool. Linden's childhood friend Holiday happens to be there and she seems to think that it wasn't an accident, so they start investigating together.

There was a lot to like about this book. It was light, entertaining without needing to pay too much attention to it and full of some interesting characters. As is too often the case for YA thrillers, the thriller aspect lets it down though. It was incredibly obvious to me who the culprit was from the start, and there were almost no surprises along the way to keep that side of it interesting.

Having said that, this is an enjoyable beach/holiday read. The characters are a step above some YA ones and this kept things ticking along nicely. The writing style is decent enough and it kept me entertained whilst waiting for an incredibly delayed flight, so I can't complain too much. It didn't blow me away but it was good summer fun.

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley for a sneak peek at this novel. I have enjoyed Katie Cotugno's romance novels and was eager to read her mystery.
Linden, a scholarship kid at a fancy boarding school, goes to spend the last week of summer with his wealthy friends at their beach house in Matha's Vineyard. He is hoping to keep his financial situation secret and hide other information that could jeopardize his scholarship.
As soon as he arrives at August House, Linden starts to see cracks in what he assumed was an idyllic life for this family and their friends. And when the kids find the body of Greg, a former friend turned enemy, floating in the pool, Linden enlists the help of his old friend Holiday to help him unravel the mystery of who might have hurt Greg.
This novel is an enjoyable read. I liked some characters and wanted to smack others. Cotugno includes enough red herrings to keep readers guessing and the final "solution" is believable. There are still some loose ends and the final pages indicate a continuation of Linden's story at least.
I loved Holiday and would like to see her get a book of her own! If the story continues, I hope Linden will call on her to help with his next dilemma.

This was a quick and engrossing read! I always enjoy Katie Cotugno’s writing, so I was excited to read a mystery by her. The characters were all three-dimensional and interesting, and I really enjoyed seeing them all through Linden’s eyes. Excited to read the next one!

This was a good quick thriller read but it failed to ever get me fully invested. I don’t think I ever felt on the edge of my seat because nothing ever really felt at stake and I never grew to care for any of the characters very much.

Did it for the summer vibes