The Better Liar

When The Better Liar begins, Leslie’s father’s will gives a large inheritance to each daughter, on the condition that both sisters collect in person, together. The problem is that Leslie hasn’t seen her sister Robin in years, since her rebellious sister took off, into a haze of drugs and boyfriends.

Leslie tracks her to Las Vegas, but is slightly too late, and finds a girl’s body, just after an overdose, in her sister’s apartment. (It’s not gory.) In a surprising move for the suburban wife and mother, Leslie convinces another Las Vegas drifter with a passing resemblance to Robin to come home and pretend to be her sister, for a share of the inheritance. Of course, Leslie could just wait until Robin is declared dead and collect 100% of the inheritance in six months or a year or whatever, but Leslie has a lot of (conflicting, shady) reasons why she can’t just do this through normal channels. It’s the beginning of the story’s endless secrets and lies.

The “sisters” go back to meet with the lawyer and claim their inheritance, because of course Leslie still lives in their hometown, where there’s the maximum chance running into someone who knows the real Robin.   Leslie’s anxiously counting the days and hours until the money is in her account, again, for varied and shady reasons. “Robin” sees the adventure as a break from her Vegas waitresses gig, and Leslie is constantly trying to keep her from saying too much.  There’s a long cat-and-mouse game, with Leslie, “Robin,” Leslie’s husband Dave, and Robin’s hometown ex, so convoluted that I was no longer sure who the cat was. Characters keep lying, getting caught, and explaining it away with either a piece of backstory OR a new lie, and it’s impossible to look away, until the final twist took me completely by surprise.