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Review: The Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham

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The Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham

The Fall of Iris Henley
Jennifer Graham
Wednesday Books
Published February 24, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Fall of Iris Henley

For fans of Megan Lally and Kara Thomas, a twisty thriller about a Texas teen accused of murder who’s desperate to clear her name.

All it takes to ruin someone’s life is the stroke of a key. Just ask Iris Henley. Her life is destroyed when someone posts an anonymous message on her high school’s subreddit thread: “Iris Henley is a killer. I’ve been too scared to come forward until now, but I saw her murder Rocky and Lynette last summer.”

Just like that, Iris loses everything. Her reputation. Her friends. Her hope of getting into college on scholarship. Even, possibly, her freedom, once the police start to investigate. After all, she’s the perfect suspect: Rocky was her boyfriend, and Lynette was her ex-best friend—and the girl he was cheating on her with. But Iris didn’t do it, and now it’s up to her to clear her name by finding out who did—before it’s too late.

Propulsive, sharp, and absolutely twisty from the New York Times bestselling author who brought readers the Veronica Mars duology, Jennifer Graham’s YA thriller is unputdownable.

My Review

I have to agree with the cover copy– I found this book unputdownable, for sure. Iris is a fabulous heroine. She’s flawed, sure, but her grief is palpable, and her desperation to recapture some kind of normal life experience in the wake of terrible tragedy makes her easy to identify with.

The cast of characters is memorable and elicited a lot of strong feelings from me. I think, weirdly, I felt the most for Lynette. She definitely made mistakes, including some really bad ones. But she read like someone reacting to trauma, and I wished that the story had explored what happened to her a little more.

On the other hand, I think it’s not a bad thing to have a character who reads like there’s more going on than the author tells us, because that’s pretty true to life. We don’t always get to know what the people around us are facing, sometimes even the people closest to us.

The stakes in this book just kept getting higher for Iris. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat as the story sped toward its conclusion. I stayed up far too late finishing this one.

All in all, I think readers who enjoyed Girls Like Us by Mindy McGinnis or books by Courtney Summers will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing, references to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to murder and suicide. Online bullying. One scene shows an attempted murder.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at parties in a couple of scenes. One minor character abused drugs (not shown on scene).

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Between the Lies by Cathy MacPhail

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Between the Lies
Cathy MacPhail
Kelpies
Published on April 20, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Between the Lies
Judith Tremayne is missing. She hasn’t been online, nobody has heard from her. She simply appears to have vanished, until Abbie Knox, a school nobody, receives a message: “I want to come home.” Suddenly everyone knows Abbie’s name. The mean girls and the misfits alike are obsessed with Jude’s disappearance. Abbie finds herself at the centre of a whirlwind of rumours, secrets and lies. Why would popular, fun Jude be messaging loner, loser Abbie? Why would Jude disappear? Can Abbie bring her home? Award-winning author Cathy MacPhail authentically captures the voice and lives of teens — desperate to be seen, bombarded with online harassment yet obsessed with living their lives on social media. This tense thriller is packed with MacPhail’s trademark sharp dialogue and a series of sensational twists.

My Review
Between the Lies totally delivered on the promise of sensational twists. At more than one point in the story, I had no idea what would happen next. I’m kind of a sucker for an unreliable narrator, which Abbie absolutely is. I’m not sure how I’d score her in terms of likeability, though. She’s deeply flawed, but she also knows it for the most part, and there was something soft and vulnerable about her despite her scrambling and lying and keeping people at a distance, and I couldn’t help liking her for that vulnerability.

I kept hoping for a bit of romance or at the least the development of an unexpected friendship. Between the Lies really isn’t that kind of story, though. It’s much more psychological and focused on Abbie unraveling the truth surrounding Jude’s disappearance and the strange harassing text messages she receives.

If you’re into psychological mysteries or unreliable narrators, check out Between the Lies. It’s a super quick read—I think I finished it in about two hours—and will keep you guessing even up to the last few pages. Add it to your list if you liked We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, especially that topsy-turvy storytelling feeling.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Between the Lies is set in Scotland. No race details about the characters are really given. Abbie’s fourteen at the time of the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
At one point Abbie shoves another girl. A girl falls down a flight of stairs. Later we learn someone tripped her on purpose. A girl falls down a hole and sprains her ankle.

A couple other creepy things happen. Classmates learn of Abbie’s fear of clowns, and she ends up spotting a clown following her. Sometimes she’s not sure whether this is in her head or real.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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