Summary

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 seventeen-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.

My Review + Mood Board

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen/Razorbill and Netgalley for providing an e-arc copy. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I’ve read a lot of paranormal thrillers lately and was a little worried going into this one that it would get lost in the mass. But I knew from the very first chapter that this book was going to blow me away. Ginny Myers Sain’s writing is so captivating and dreamy. I was sucked straight into this haunted bayou town. 

And the beautiful writing led to a setting that completely transported me. I felt the heat and rain. I felt the character’s pain and grief and every emotion in between. Everything about this story held me captive until the last page.

This also perfectly executed unlikeable characters. Everyone in here is dealing with deep grief as well as personal secrets and the every day struggles of being a teenager. And because of that they make some not-so-wise choices are act irrationally. But I loved them all anyways. Every character felt individual and realistic and I was rooting for them even through the bad. 

I also loved that the lush world and characters held my attention so fully that I completely missed the final reveal. I love reveals that you don’t guess but seem so obvious once they happen. I 100% should have seen this coming, but I was too wrapped up in the story to spend a second building plausible conclusions. And I love that feeling in thrillers!

Overall I’m just obsessed with this magical, haunted story and I can’t wait to read more from this author as soon as possible!

Journal Spread

Tour Schedule

August 30th
Shelf Love – Review
Jena Brown Writes – Review & Favourite Quotes
Rajiv’s Reviews – Review
Paperbacks and Planners – Review, Mood Board & Journal Spread

August 31st
The Fictional Journal – Interview
Nine Bookish Lives – Review
Always, Bookish Lovers – Top 5 Reasons to Read Dark and Shallow Lies

September 1st
The Book Dutchesses – Review
dinipandareads – Review & Journal Spread
Stuck in the Stacks – Review
RobinleaBookBird – Favourite Quotes & Top 5 Reasons to Read Dark and Shallow Lies

September 2nd
AndOnSheReads – Interview & Top 5 Reasons to Read Dark and Shallow Lies
Gwendalyn’s Books – Review
Reading Stewardess – Review & Playlist
Devouring Books – Review & Favourite Quotes

September 3rd
Stuck in Fiction – Promo Post
JD’s Book Journal – Review & Favourite Quotes
The Blind Scribe – Review
DJREADSBOOKS – Playlist & TikTok

September 4th
Kait Plus Books – Interview
Quirkybooklover – Book Aesthetic
Lit Lemon Books – Review

September 5th
teatimelit -Review
Avni Reads – Review
The Ink Slinger – Top 5 Reasons to Read Dark and Shallow Lies & 15 Reactions While Reading Dark and Shallow Lies
Phannie the ginger bookworm – Top 5 Reasons to Read Dark and Shallow Lies & 15 Reactions While Reading Dark and Shallow Lies