Review: Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Stolarz

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria StolarzPub. Date: November 2009
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Series: Touch Series, #2

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, the mysterious new boy at school who turned out to have a very mysterious gift—pyschometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry, and experiencing her own strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her. Can the power of psychometry be transferred?

Even once Ben returns to school, Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Despite the romantic tension between them, Ben remains aloof, avoiding contact. Then when an unexpected kiss leads to a frightening argument, Camelia makes the painful decision to let Ben go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at work, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. Adam is easygoing, and seems to really care about her.

But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events upturns secrets from Ben's past—and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who-before it's too late.

Deadly Little Lies is a suspenseful and thrilling page turner…

I love the whole aspect around psychometry in the Touch Series. It’s unique and spooky, which I guess is why I kept trying to convince myself while reading this book that I was the only one in the house at the time. With Camelia’s strange encounters with premonitions, I couldn’t help but to be psyched while reading this book.

In this installment, Camelia’s trying to grasp the meaning of this ability especially when it seems totally different from what Ben’s ability entailed. Stolarz did a great job at explaining why Camelia kept finding excuses not to tell her parents or authorities about the threats surrounding her. I guess it’s not as easy to explain when one might think she’s crazy. Ben’s also back in town but all’s not well in paradise, there’s a new guy knocking at the door.

I found myself laughing at the humorous dialogue between Camelia’s best friends, Kimmie and Wes. Every time something weird happened with Camelia, these two would put their two cents in whether it’s sound advice or not, but they always managed to get a laugh out of me.

Stolarz once again kept me guessing with the plot. Finally, when I think I've figured out who the perp. is, another wrench is thrown in knocking my guesstimations out the door. All I can say is Poor Ben, can this guy catch a break?

I can’t wait to see what Stolarz has in store for us in Deadly Little Game, the next installment in the Touch Series.

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars