Dark and Shallow Lies

By: Ginny Myers Sain

Narrated by: Emma Ashton

A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where 17-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World - and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent - and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

©2021 Ginny Myers Sain (P)2021 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"A darkly atmospheric mystery set in the bayous of Louisiana." (School Library Journal)

“Haunting and arresting, this is one stunning debut. Ginny Myers Sain has written a totally engrossing small-town mystery about what happens when you finally dig up long-buried secrets.” (Jessica Goodman, New York Times best-selling author of They'll Never Catch Us)

“Don’t even try to resist - Ginny Myers Sain will lure you into the spellbinding world of the deep Louisiana bayou with this riveting missing girl mystery populated by a bewitching cast of characters; spun to life in lush, atmospheric prose; and teeming with a dark mythology that is part folklore, part psychic mysticism, and entirely compelling.” (Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos)

Fun read

So many twists. What a fun suspense thriller. I enjoyed the magic it brought too.

LOVED!!!!

This book kept me on the edge the entire time! I loved it and have already shared with a friend!

Almost there, but not quite

Generally speaking, the storyline was just fine, but certain aspects of the writing grated on me as I listened. There were more than a few times where the description of a character’s actions seemed bloated and irrelevant to the plot.

Also, the voice actor did a good job with the reading, but it would have been nicer to have a more authentic accent. The characters sounded like they were from Anywhere, USA rather than the Deep South/Creole-influenced areas.

Slow burn

The writer understands the Louisiana life and how it has a pull on you no matter where you go. The book kept my interest I really enjoyed listening to the story.

Great and unique story, loved the characters!

Took a bit getting into at first due to narration, she is a bland and needs to have more emotion especially with this type of story!

Slow story, twist ending

I felt like this book went slower than it needed to. But I do like the back and forth of “who dunnit” I’d have to say I was very surprised at the ending when you figure it all out.

The narrator did good with voices, but paused often in the middle of sentences. That bugged me a lot when there was no need for a pause.

Cocky

Good story, but too raunchy. The sex scenes were unimaginative and repetitive. It could have been approached in a classier way.

It’s so good!

This book is a perfect combination of suspense, supernatural, mystery and thriller. It took me two chapters to really catch on to the story line but once I did I was hooked! I’m pretty good at figuring out mysteries (who did what where) before the end of any book or movie. But this one had me guessing, incorrectly I might add, until the very end. In the end, the story felt complete with all questions answered - doesn’t leave you hanging. But it still had me wanting more and wanting to start the book over again! I highly recommend this book if you love mysteries. Standing ovation to the author and the narrator.

Passion about friendship

I hate that they never found her twin soul sister. no family should not go without closer.

Chilling Mystery

The story drew me in immediately and kept me guessing throughout. The characters and relationships were as complex as real life. What a perfectly wild ride!