Book Review :: Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
ISBN: 0593485882
Series: We Were Liars #0
on 3 May 2022
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Goodreads

A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.

Twenty-seven years before the events of We Were Liars comes another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades—a story that is scandalous, tragic, and layered with mystery.

Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars.

Last updated on 10 August 2026

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What is Family of Liars by E. Lockhart about?

We’re back with the Sinclair family in Family of Liars. This time, though, we’re with the generation above, as told mostly through the eyes of Caroline Sinclair.

Carrie starts the story in ‘present’ day as she tells her son Jonny about the events of her own summers on Beechwood Island, specifically her seventh summer there. Over the summer, there are the usual things like swimming, tree climbing, exploring the island, the famous Lemon hunt .. but there’s also some newcomers this year. Specifically George ‘Pfeff’ Pfefferman, whose presence over the summer throws a real spanner in the works.

“Not all pain is worth it,’ said Tipper. ‘Some pain is just pain.”

There soon becomes jealousy, sibling rivalry, first kisses, ghosts from the past, and deep betrayal.

As Carrie tells the story of Summer Seventeen, secrets and lies come to light; secrets that probably should have stayed hidden.

My thoughts on Family of Liars

When I read We Were Liars by E Lockhart back in 2015, I absolutely loved it. I thought it was such a great story – both what you know and what you don’t – and the characters were so interesting. The ending was phenomenal.

And then we had the TV series and I think they did a wonderful job at that – it was a good adaptation (which is something considering how many average ones there are out there!). If you’ve read or seen the show, you’ll know how well they did it.

Which brings us to Family of Liars.

In this prequel, we’re back with the Sinclair family, but we’re a generation above those in We Were Liars. This was about the mothers of the kids in We Were Liars, and we follow mostly Caroline, who is Jonny’s mother, and her own summers on the island.

We follow her and her two sisters, mum, and dad, and learn more about the details of their fourth sister, who we know from We Were Liars, died young. A lot of the family dynamics come from that loss at such a young age, and you can really see and understand more of those adults in We Were Liars.

You also get to see things like the Easter Lemon Hunt, which happens in the sequel, too, and meet new characters who have influenced the Sinclair sisters, too.

There’s a sense of mystery or ‘something is going to happen’ all throughout the book, simply because we know that’s how E. Lockhart works, but when it did come, it fell short to me.

I don’t know if it’s because my expectations were too high, or I’m older now, or the scope of the characters and plot that we already knew from We Were Liars was limited without changing too much … but it was just okay.

Did I enjoy it? Yeah sure. Do I think you need to read it? Meh. If you want. But I don’t think it’s as good as We Were Liars. So just curb your expectations.

I’d love to know what you think, though! Leave a comment below and let me know!