Little White Lies

Reviewed by: Mariah Machado - Davis Memorial Library, Limington , Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 14, 2015

Review

Little White Lies by Katie Dale is about Louise "Lou", a university student, and Christian, who is working at a pub in Sheffield England. The first half of the book is about the two getting to know each other. All their interactions are colored by the fact that Lou is using an assumed name because there was a tragedy in her family and they were in the press and now she just wants to be "normal" while in school. What happened isn't explained, it is part of the "mystery" of the book. Christian is obviously hiding something too.

The story is told through Lou's point of view, so it is rather jarring when, half way through the book, she suddenly lets the reader know that she not only knows Christian's real identity, but that she moved to Sheffield with the sole purpose of harassing him.

As the second half of the book progresses Lou pretends to be helping Christian, or she is helping Christian, depending on the chapter. As more and more new information is revealed she waffles back and forth between thinking he is innocent of the crimes she thought he committed, and wanting to turn him into the police. Lou's constant waffling does not generate suspense. The big reveal at the end was painfully predictable.

The book is also full of British-isms that the average American will be unfamiliar with. Most of it can be understood by context, but there are some terms and phrases that can be a bit confusing.

Overall Book Score: fair