Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green (review)

Three beautiful teenaged girls have died over the years in the waters around Phantom Rock during the seaside town's Fall Festival, so the event was shut down in an attempt to evade what locals and tourists alike believe is a curse. This year, though, the mayor has decided it's time to try the festival again, and the locals are abuzz with excitement. Tenley, who moved away years ago when her father died, is back and anxious to regain her status as most intriguing party girl; Caitlin is nearing a breakthrough with regard to repressed memories about a kidnapping she endured as a child; Sydney is anxious to see whether her relationship with Guinness has a real chance now that he will be spending the entire summer in town. At a pre-festival bash, Tenley decides to revive her childhood obsession with high-stakes truth or dare, but after the party, she, Caitlin, and Sydney start getting anonymous dares that are more sinister than playful, threatening to reveal truths from their pasts that would destroy them. This is soap-opera drama, but it ably proves why soaps are so addictive; the characters are surprisingly deep and carefully drawn for maximum reader investment, while the mysteries twist and intertwine with one another, leading first one way and then another as the dares suggest insider knowledge that points to multiple suspects with viable motives and access. The suspense winds tautly, and the story proceeds at a flawless pace as the narrative progresses to its inevitably tragic conclusion, leaving just the right amount of loose ends to set up the next book in this proposed trilogy and making this a perfect choice for vacation reading.