The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning: Review by Colleen Mondor
The Lies We Conjure, Sarah Henning (Tor Teen 978-1-259-84106-3, $19.99, 400pp, hc) September 2024.
As The Lies We Conjure opens, sisters Ruby and Wren are finishing up a summer stint working at a local Renaissance Fair when they get an offer that impetuous Wren cannot pass up. A customer offers them each $2,000 to attend a family dinner at the local landmark mansion and pretend to be her grandchildren. Ruby, an avid mystery reader, is suspicious of an offer that sounds too good to be true but Wren, who fancies herself an actress, can’t resist the cash or the excitement. Less than a week later, after a quick study of basic family facts, they are ready to pass themselves off as the distant relations. Hegemony Manor turns out to be as awesome as expected, their hosts are rich, beautiful and a tad bit overwhelming, there are some cute boys and the food is good, so it should be a fabulous evening, right? But then there’s a murder and the sisters learn that magic is in the air in more ways than one. Their mission is no longer about playing pretend but finding a way to survive. If you think you can predict where this plot is going, let me assure you that author Sarah Henning has a ton of surprises in store starting with the fact that Ruby and Wren are not the only ones at the dinner keeping secrets.
There are four separate family units at the manor, with Ruby, Wren, and their pretend grandmother comprising one small group. Overall, three generations are represented at the dinner, with the oldest nearly 100 and a coterie of teens (eight of them with Ruby and Wren) making up the younger generation. The murder takes place early on, and through the use of a magical curse everyone (maybe) finds themselves trapped in a version of the locked-room scenario. (In this case it is a locked estate.) Henning does an excellent job at giving all of the characters individual voices and collectively, they are an outrageous bunch who admirably meet the publisher’s comparisons to Knives Out and Clue. The obvious mystery is to figure out who committed the murder, but there is also a charge from beyond the grave to find some historic artifacts, a very unexpected reading of the will, and the exploration of a lot of conflicting motivations. Ruby and Wren have to keep up the pretense of their false identities while also trying to figure out what is really going on with this very unhappy family. (As in, ‘‘decades ago some of them killed each other off and their descendants have just been pretending they all get along’’ sort of unhappy.) Can the girls keep it together with murderous magic breathing down their necks? That tension is what kept me turning pages, especially after body #2 was discovered.
Henning sets a pitch-perfect tone with The Lies We Conjure, moving the plot with ease through a series of exciting challenges, some shocking moments of drama, and a healthy amount of humor. (The bickering between Ruby and Wren is delightful.) The point of view shifts between Ruby and fellow teen Auden Hegemony, which provides readers with both the outsider and insider perspective. The action is compressed over a couple of days as the clock ticks relentlessly for the curse, and all the teens begin to realize that they must work together to beat it. (This cooperation is a lot tougher than you might think.) There is some romance mixed into the narrative as well, although it does not disrupt the adventure. As a compelling magical mystery, The Lies We Conjure is tough to beat and should bring Henning a lot of fans.
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This review and more like it in the December 2024 issue of Locus.
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