I’ve been enjoying summer, but I’m already looking forward to autumn. Since I can’t have the cozy weather just yet, the next best thing is diving into an immersive book that transports me somewhere else. This week, Emily Listfield’s Reasons to Lie was exactly what I was looking for.

Dearborn Academy is an elite private school in Manhattan filled with privileged families who all seem to have something to hide. The story follows the perspectives of three school moms.

Abby is a single mother who had her introverted, outcast daughter, Rachel, at just twenty-two. Giving birth meant giving up the art career she dreamed of, so she instead built a life as a freelance graphic designer. Her best friend is fellow school mom Kara, whose daughter Olivia couldn’t be more different from Rachel. Olivia is popular, charismatic, and constantly finding trouble. Together, Abby and Kara befriend Hollis, a newcomer whose son Daniel has transferred from an elite boarding school – after being expelled.

All three teenagers are juniors, and that October their class heads out on a weekend camping trip for an outdoor education program. During a stormy night, one student meets an untimely end, and the investigation quickly points to murder. Suspicion falls on five students known to have snuck out that night, including Rachel, Olivia, and Daniel.

There are several twists throughout the novel, and I managed to predict one of them. The biggest reveal, however – the identity of the killer – completely caught me off guard. The final reveal is actually a double twist, delivered at exactly the right moment. There are so many interconnected threads running through this story, and Listfield ties them all together in a deeply satisfying way.

I also love a fresh take on the classic psychological thriller idea that you never really know what happens behind closed doors, especially within wealthy, seemingly perfect communities. What begins as the kind of gossip exchanged between parents at school pickup gradually becomes something much darker, more suspenseful, and genuinely fun to unravel.

If you’re looking for an atmospheric autumn mystery that lets you play Sherlock Holmes alongside the characters, this is one worth picking up. Available on Kindle Unlimited and Amazon, Reasons to Lie is a thoroughly entertaining read that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.