Book Review: Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

Publish Date: June 6th, 2017
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 400 pages
Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from publisher in exchange for honest review 

Goodreads Synopsis:

A young, street-savvy runaway looking for a place to call home realizes he might have conned his way into the wrong family in this fast-paced and thrilling novel from award-winning author Cristin Terrill.
When ten-year-old Daniel Tate went missing from one of California's most elite communities, he left no trace. He simply vanished.Six years later, when he resurfaces on a snowy street in Vancouver, he's no longer the same boy. His sandy hair is darker, the freckles are gone, and he's initially too traumatized to speak, but he's alive. His overjoyed family brings him home to a world of luxury and comfort he can barely remember. In time, they assure him, he'll recover his memories; all that matters now is they're together again. It's perfect. A miracle. Except for one thing.He isn't Daniel Tate.He's a petty con artist who accidentally stumbled into the scam of a lifetime, and he soon learns he's not the only one in the Tate household with something to hide. The family has as many secrets as they have millions in the bank, and one of them might be ready to kill to keep the worst one buried. 


My Review:

Unfortunately, it took a while before I felt eager enough to pick this one up. I kept putting it off, I was in a sort of reading funk I guess. But when I started, right through to the end, I was hooked. It starts off with lies, and the narrator straight up says “I’m lying!” WHAT? I didn’t know what to make of this, but with a title like Here LIES Daniel Tate, and a synopsis like this one, it totally makes sense. OR does it?! That right there, is how I felt reading this book (for the most part, except for one obvious and disturbing plot twist).

“Daniel Tate” doesn’t know who he is, or who he has ever been, he floats through life, living in shelters for as long as he can, then runs. Then he stumbles upon a perfect situation, a rich family that he can con into taking him in for a while. The longer he stays, the more complicated and strange it becomes and that’s when he realizes that this situation isn’t quite as it seems on the outside. Secrets are made, secrets are revealed and who really knows the truth in this thrilling novel.

The characters were interesting enough, except for a random love interest thrown in for no apparent reason. We could have easily done without it in my opinion. I loved that the story had my mind racing with each page, one minute I thought I had it figured out, then one minute I questioned everything I thought I knew. The ending will have the reader rushing to finish and leave them with their mouth agape, wondering what the hell just happened (but in a good way!) It’s definitely a book worth reading!