Looking for an irresistible collection of books you’d devour if you liked We were Liars by E. Lockhart? As an award-winning author and longtime blogger, I know the magic of a novel so engrossing it keeps you up at night.
You’ll find detailed reviews of a dozen of my favorites in the roundup below. Discover your next great read for National Reading Month in this list. What all of the books in this list share is mystery. One or more characters has a secret or is an outright liar. Love has gone astray, or maybe, it has been discovered—but at a cost. If you liked We Were Liars, I’m confident you’ll enjoy these twisty novels.
The Delinquent Hero by Khristina Chess
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Amateur sleuth, sisterhood, trauma
What it’s about
A grieving teen investigates the mystery surrounding her anorexic sister's suspicious and tragic accident.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess from The Delinquent Hero
Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never let go!
Pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this gripping YA novel is so much more—a raw and unforgettable exploration of sisterhood, eating disorders, and devastating loss.
At its core is Molly, desperate for answers after her older sister, Kat, lands in the hospital. The investigation unfolds in real time, peeling back layers of secrets, regrets, and the painful bond they’ve always shared. For Molly, reconnecting with Kat means slipping into their old patterns—the kind that consume and starve in equal measure.
"I'm not very hungry. I am, and I'm not. I am hollow, but this feeling seems less about food and more about Kat. At any rate, I do not want to eat."
What makes The Delinquent Hero truly unforgettable is its heart-wrenching puzzle—not just unraveling what happened that night, but understanding Kat herself. This novel doesn’t just tell a story; it forces you to feel every ache, every unanswered question, every desperate search for why.
I wholeheartedly recommend this novel! If We Were Liars left you breathless, The Delinquent Hero is an absolute must-read.
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Family drama & secrets
What It’s about
Three characters share unexpectedly intertwined lives and memories of growing up in a mansion under strange circumstances.
Why I Love It - Book Review
It took me a while to get into The Family Upstairs because there are multiple viewpoint characters, and two of them start with "L": Libby and Lucy. This kind of thing trips me up, especially when I'm getting to know characters AND time/place is moving around.
After getting past that and delving into the plot, The Family Upstairs is a wild, bizarre, creepy thriller that kept me hooked until the end. I was surprised by several plot twists. This novel is my second Lisa Jewell, and I liked it as much as the first, so I'll be delving more into her backlist. If you love books like First Lie Wins, this one is for you!
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Twisty psychological thriller
What It’s about
A teen girl and her friends embark on a journey to find a missing sister, but they encounter supernatural danger on “The Road.”
Why I Love It - Book Review
“I know Becca didn’t run away. That leaves one possibility and one impossibility, and I long for the impossible. Because if she isn’t dead, if she’s only been taken, she can be brought back.” ― Kate Alice Marshall from Rules for Vanishing
Sara’s adopted sister Becca vanished a year ago.
Although everyone has given up the search, Sara is determined to find her because she believes Becca has gone into the woods and is lost on The Road. Sara convinces (tricks) a group of her friends to join her on this terrifying journey.
Not everyone comes home. Because at some point they break the rules:
Don’t leave the road.
Don’t let go.
Don’t follow other roads.
Rules for Vanishing is dark, mysterious, creepy, and full of scary and supernatural stuff. I loved it and devoured it in a few days. The ending was an unexpected twist, especially because of the connection to Kate Alice Marshall’s other novel, Our Last Echoes, which I’d read first. In fact, Kate Alice Marshall is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited. All of her books are awesome.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus?
why it’s like We Were Liars
Dramatic mystery
What it’s about
An unlikely group of high school students in detention try to figure out who murdered the outcast student among them.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“That's the kind of person you can get away with killing: someone everybody else wants dead.” ― Karen McManus from One of Us Is Lying
What a fantastic novel! I spent all afternoon reading because I had to know who did it. The story is engrossing; the characters are unique and interesting; and I was surprised by the ending. There’s a reason it’s a top-selling book in the YA mysteries and detective, thriller, and suspense categories. Check it out!
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Psychological mystery, friendship & redemption
What It’s about
A teen girl dies in a drunk driving accident and must relive her last day in this YA version of Groundhog Day with a twist.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“The last laugh, the last cup of coffee, the last sunset, the last time you jump through a sprinkler, or eat an ice-cream cone, or stick your tongue out to catch a snowflake. You just don’t know.” ― Lauren Oliver from Before I Fall
Samantha Kingston is dead.
In this YA-version of Groundhog Day, a “mean girl” gets a chance to relive her last day and the party she attended with her friends before the fatal car crash. She has an opportunity to make the same choices over and over, until she makes different ones.
This beautiful novel is an atypical mystery about redemption as the reader follows Samantha’s journey to figure out how she died. Her character arc really blew me away, and although I disliked her in the beginning, I was cheering for her by the end, and I love the way Lauren Oliver wrote the ending.
If you liked We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, check out this disorienting, confusing, and ultimately beautiful story that explores themes of secrets in an interesting way.
Missing by Kelly Armstrong
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Psychological thriller & mystery
What It’s about
A plucky heroine is determined to solve the mystery of missing teens in her town, even at increasingly dangerous personal cost.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Reeve’s End is the kind of town every kid can’t wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave and at least a quarter never come back. I don’t blame them—I’ll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in towns like ours. We were wrong.” ― Kelly Armstrong from Missing
Winter Crane’s sister is missing.
In missing-person cases, police only have so much time to find victims before their chance of returning home safe diminishes, and in this instance, the timeline for how long Winter’s sister has been missing happened to her—and other missing kids—is tied to an invisible clock like a heartbeat. It creates suspense is already unclear. As the mystery quickly unfolds, the urgency to find out what might have and raises the stakes. The tension increases with each turn of the page because we believe the situation is life-or-death. The hero spends a lot of time literally running from one place to another, trying to beat the clock.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plucky heroine and her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing teens, even at increasingly dangerous personal cost to herself. The West Virginia setting seemed vibrant and real without being cliched or overdone. The killer was gruesome, creepy, and sinister.
Be sure to add Missing to your must-read list of YA books you’ll enjoy if you liked We Were Liars.
Forgotten But Never Gone by Khristina Chess
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Amateur sleuth & friendship
What it’s about
A girl walks up the road and vanishes from sight, and the town’s apathy proves as terrifying as the darkness that swallowed her.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“I think it was this rebellious quality about her that allowed everyone to write off her disappearance so easily. Kids like Half-pint ran away. This whole generation was full of delinquents. Blah, blah, blah.” – Khristina Chess from Forgotten But Never Gone
If you’re drawn to those cold case shows and unsolved mysteries, those heartbreaking stories of missing girls and unclaimed Jane Does, Forgotten But Never Gone is for you. Set in 1980, this historical YA novel transports readers back to a time before AMBER alerts and 24-hour news cycles, when carefree kids roamed neighborhoods with little supervision and always returned home in time for supper.
Except sometimes they didn’t.
The story begins with the disappearance of fifteen-year-old Rosie Fields, affectionately nicknamed “Half-pint.” One of the last to see her was Bobby, a foster kid whose life Rosie once saved. When the police dismiss her case as just another runaway, Bobby refuses to accept it, and in his relentless search, he follows one lead after another until he makes a shocking discovery.
I highly recommend this layered and unsettling YA mystery, which exposes some of the reasons why more people seemed to vanish without a trace in the 70s and 80s. What makes this book especially powerful is its dual resonance: it’s both a gripping page-turner and a thoughtful exploration of how society failed vulnerable youth in the past. Bobby’s determination reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely person can become the keeper of truth, and that refusing to forget is itself an act of justice.
Fans of YA novels like We Were Liars will love Forgotten But Never Gone. The story lingers long after the final page, leaving you haunted not only by Rosie’s fate but by the real-life children who have never been found.
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
Why It’s Like We were liars
Psychological thriller & mystery
What it’s about
A re-imaging of The Talented Mr. Ripley with a female protagonist.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“She believed that the way you speak is often more important than anything you have to say.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from Genuine Fraud
I picked up Genuine Fraud because I loved Lockhart’s other books so much, and the premise sounded intriguing.
Genuine Fraud is a close re-imagining of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley (another binge-worthy series of books), but with female protagonists and a plot that has been lightly shuffled, so events are in different sequence but still end up being very, very familiar when you encounter them.
Because the book opens with a bang and gives a great big story question, I definitely wanted to find out what happened and how things in the mystery were going to pan out. However, the ending felt a little anti-climactic to me. Still, Lockhart is one of those authors whose writing is worth following, wherever it goes, and I'll be back for more.
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Psychological mystery & trauma
What It’s about
A golden girl abruptly self-destructs on her perfect life, and the reason is shocking.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“You get away with a lot, even after you're caught.” ― Courtney Summers from Cracked Up to Be
Parker Fadley has a secret.
She used to be the captain of the cheerleading team, top student, queen B, perfect at everything, but something happened. Something she never told.
By the time we meet Parker, we’re in the middle of her “after,” when she’s busy wrecking her perfect life and torturing herself, so it takes a while to understand how deep this secret really goes.
It’s not what you think.
It’s worse.
If you’re looking for an irresistible YA mystery and a protagonist who is mean, unsympathetic, and yet strangely someone you want to hug, this is the book for you. You won’t be able to stop until the final page. Fans of We Were Liars will enjoy this one.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Cat & mouse mystery, sisterhood, trauma
What It’s about
A girl leaves home and goes on a journey to seek justice against her sister’s killer.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes, I don't know what I miss more; everything I've lost or everything I never had.” ― Courtney Summers from Sadie
Sadie is another irresistible YA mystery book by Courtney Summers that’s so thrilling you won’t be able to put it down. I felt instantly drawn into her story and liked the format of alternating podcast interviews and young Sadie’s viewpoint as she sought justice against her sister’s killer. She has plenty of personal reasons to hate him, and he deserves to die for his crimes.
This novel alternates between young Sadie, who is a missing teen, and a podcast show, where details of her disappearance are told through a series of interviews. I think I would have loved this book even more in audio format than paperback
Still, Sadie is a great read. The pacing increases as the story unfolds and Sadie gets closer and closer to her target. The conclusion to her quest for justice is a surprise. This compelling YA book about teen runaways that will stay with you long after the last page.
If you liked We Were Liars, you’ll love Sadie as well.
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
Why It’s Like We Were liars
Family drama & emotional thriller
What It’s about
A prequel to popular We Were Liars shows that the Sinclairs have been liars from the beginning.
Why I Love It - Book Review
"They're doing just as I asked them to. As we Sinclairs always do. Pretending. Lying. Trying to have a good time.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from Family of Liars
Lockhart's prequel to We Were Liars does not disappoint! The narrator, Carrie, tells the story of the summer of the boys' visit to the island, but long before those events, there are ominous hints of what is to come. In her early teen years, for example, Carrie's father insists on a surgery to break her jaw, and an infection sets in.
But Carrie bends to his will. She is a "credit to the family."
This novel has some brilliant symbolism, a few great twists, some predictable story-lines, and other unexpected turns. I finished in 4 days because the pages turned fast and furious. I had to know the secrets these liars were keeping.
The pages are full of great details about summertime on the island. The lemon hunt was very vivid, as well as the details about clothing, food, and the picnic table. Lockhart painted a vivid sense of place, siblings, and privilege.
If you enjoyed We Were Liars, you will also love Family of Liars. I recommend reading both of them! Be sure to read We Were Liars first.
Other YA Books You’ll Enjoy If You Liked We Were Liars
If you are looking other YA books you’ll enjoy if you liked We Were Liars, check out the Books Similar to We Were Liars lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of other YA books reviews.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.