Tell Me No Lies

Distant sisters Nora and Sophie Linden collaborate to find Sophie’s disappeared boyfriend in this gripping mystery by Contos (Out of the Fire). After the school administration accuses academically inclined Nora of plagiarizing an essay submitted by Sophie’s popular boyfriend, Garrett Packard, Nora confronts him and demands he confess to cheating off her. Garrett can’t risk his reputation, and worries what Sophie will think of him if he comes clean, so he and Nora strike a deal: Garrett will write a new essay if Nora swears she won’t tell Sophie that he cheated. Sophie nevertheless becomes mistrustful of Garrett and Nora when she sees them leaving a party together. The sisters’ relationship becomes even more strained after Garrett suddenly goes missing and Nora becomes the prime suspect—until Sophie finds a disturbing note in her backpack, seemingly from Garrett, spurring the duo into a begrudging truce to investigate his disappearance. While occasionally disorienting, the sisters’ dual perspectives—Nora’s reads as a confessional, detailing the events leading up to Garrett’s disappearance, while Sophie’s portrays her investigation into the mysterious message—provide intrigue and urgency that culminate in a gratifying resolution. Most characters are white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Chelsea Eberly, Greenhouse Literary. (Nov.)