That's Not My Name and No Place Left to Hide

 By: Megan Lally  

Location: FIC LAL

Genre: Thriller

Megan Lally writes twisted young adult novels about murder, mayhem, and heartbreak. When she’s not writing, you might find her barefoot at the ocean or drinking too many lavender lattes

Some secrets just won't stay hidden in this twisty new thriller from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Megan Lally!

To Brooke, image is everything. She works hard to maintain perfect grades, perfect looks, a perfect life—especially after "the incident" that threatened it all. Getting into her dream university puts her that much closer to a fresh start. How can she say no to celebrating with all her classmates?

Hanging out with her crush by the bonfire is the perfect end to the night. Except it isn't the end. An old truck starts aggressively tailing Brooke and her best friend on the isolated road toward home. Someone thinks they know the truth about "the incident," and they won't stop until it's all out in the open. This terrifying drive is about to bring out Brooke's worst fears…if she survives it.

✧ High-Stakes Drama 🔥
✧ Secrets & Lies 🤫
✧ Twisted Revenge 😈
✧ Suspense That Won't Quit ⏳
✧ Heart-Stopping Chase Scenes 🏃‍♀️
✧ Unreliable Narrators 🤥

NILUFER REVIEW

I'm torn between love and hate feelings for this heart-throbbing thriller!

The tempo is incredibly high! The mind-blowing pacing between past and present, escalating pressure, climax, shocking revelations, and WTH ending are highly enjoyable, almost making me want to give this book five stars. However, this book contains some of the most hateable characters I've encountered in a long time. Of course, the culprit is despicable - you want to punch them in the face - but even the victim and supporting characters are extremely dislikable, which makes their motives seem a little far-fetched.

Without giving too much away, there are plot holes that don't make sense, and I found it nonsensical that only one person would be caught while others walk away. I'll stop here to avoid revealing too much. Just go in blind and form your own theories and opinions!

The story revolves around golden girl Brooke Goodwin, who always maintains great looks, perfect grades, and an intense extracurricular program, appearing to be the perfect student, daughter, and friend until her world is shaken to the core by an incident six months ago. A tragic boat accident during a party she secretly organized at her parents' summer house takes the lives of one of her old classmates and her arch-nemesis, Claire.

Claire's brother blames Brooke, threatening her in public places in front of her friends. On top of that, an unknown number keeps calling her daily, slashing her car tires, and sticking newspaper clippings about the accident to her car.

Brooke doesn't mention these threats to anyone, including her close friends and family, dealing with them alone. All she wants is to leave the tragedy behind by starting college and driving out of town. For six months, she's been lying low, living in social shadows. But when her best friend Jen insists on attending a beach party, bribing her with the news that her longtime crush Logan (Claire's ex-boyfriend) will be there, she decides to give it a go. Jen promises they'll be home before curfew and won't drink or get into trouble. What harm could come from having a little fun to celebrate graduation?

However, after the party, when a Bronco tailgates their car and the unknown caller escalates their threats, Brooke realizes she must do everything in her power to survive and beat her tormentor at their own game!

I'm giving this 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 because of the heart-throbbing pace and tension-building that pushed me to finish this book in just a few hours in one sitting. While I'm not entirely satisfied with some of the explanations and unexpected turns of events, it's a very fast, easy, and unputdownable read that I recommend to YA thriller lovers!