The Darkest Lie

Is it better to live with a lie, or risk everything for the truth?

"Heartbreaking and heroic. You won't be able to turn the pages fast enough!" --Romily Bernard, author of the Find Me trilogy

In Pintip Dunn's gripping and timely novel, a young woman whose life unravels in the wake of her mother's alleged suicide sets out to clear her name.

"The mother I knew would never do those things. But maybe I never knew her after all."

Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe's been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she's volunteering at the school's crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.

As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe's lingering suspicions about her mom's death resurface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn't just a matter of restoring her mother's reputation, it's about saving lives—including CeCe's own…

"Atwisty, fast-paced thriller that kept me guessing to the end."—Shannon Grogan, author of From Where I Watch You

"This one will tug your heart and leave you breathless!"--Natalie D. Richards, author of Six Months Later

"A headlong rush into the shadows of secrets that should not be kept." –Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters