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It is the summer after senior year and 18-year-old Matilda is flying from California to Martha’s Vineyard at the invitation of the father she has never known. Kingsley Cello is a famous artist who once painted Matilda’s absentee mother, Isadora, and that is all she knows about him. Still, she is curious and eager to get to know him. However, when she arrives at Kingsley’s castle at Hidden Beach, she finds three boys around her age, one of whom is her half brother, Meer, along with Meer’s mother, June. The castle is barely held together, and Kingsley is away with no firm return date. As the days go by with no word from Kingsley, Matilda becomes closer to the boys, especially (and surprisingly) Tatum, who was originally apprehensive of Matilda’s arrival, but she soon learns that her visit is predicated on an unsustainable web of lies that eventually collapses. Matilda shines as the central character, bringing out the best in most of the other characters and breaking the cycle of lies by telling the truth, an action that allows everyone to breathe and move on. Lockhart’s third novel in the We Were Liars universe is lucidly written and builds on the story of the Sinclair family in a subtle and realistic way.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lockhart’s return to Martha’s Vineyard is steeped with mystery, intrigue, and familial tension, and her new fans, following the recently released TV adaptation of We Were Liars, will revel in this new chapter.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

At her father’s secluded Martha’s Vineyard home, an 18-year-old becomes entangled in his messy world in this stand-alone novel set in the world ofWe Were Liars (2014) and its prequel,Family of Liars (2022). Smart, serious gamer Matilda’s flighty mother has left her behind in Los Angeles and followed her newest boyfriend to Mexico City. Matilda, hurt, vulnerable, and somewhat emotionally adrift, is surprised to receive an email from Kingsley Cello, the father whose name she’s never even known. He’s a reclusive, world-famous artist, and he’s inviting her to stay with him in Massachusetts. Though Kingsley is away when Matilda arrives, she’s drawn in by her queer half brother, Meer, and the other residents. Two other young men live at the sprawling estate with Meer and his mother, June, a Japanese American textile artist and herbalist: former child actor Brock and gorgeous but mean Tatum. Though Matilda is uneasy about the unconventional situation and the rambling, decrepit house and frustrated that her father asked her to come, only to disappear, the three boys’ exuberant strangeness and the bonds she forms with them keep her there. Through her nuanced characters, who are both smart and vulnerable, Lockhart explores art, responsibility, and feminism. She also weaves an appealing romance and gothic, fairy-tale, and classical references into the worldbuilding that’s stylish and detailed but handled with a light touch. Other than June and Meer, most characters present white. Atmospheric and emotionally rich. (map, series note, family tree, author’s note)(Fiction. 13-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.