I thought the magical powers were going to play a bigger part, and while they’re important they contribute more to the overall vibe than the plot. I expected Dark and Shallow Lies to be a fantasy novel, but it reads like a thriller. The thin lines between truth and fiction further feed the confusion, and Sain’s brief inclusion of Cajun culture and Louisiana dialect are welcome. The mysteries could not occur in the same way anywhere else, because they are tied inextricably to both the magic of the town and the tight-knit, claustrophobic community. The town’s closeness and culture absolutely inform the story, and give it a distinct feeling. Even with that in mind, I can see that Sain did a good job with La Cachette. I’m not a visual person and I’ve moved often enough that to me, one place is pretty much like another. As I said above, I don’t personally care all that much about setting. Grey, spurred on by what are possibly psychic visions of the night Elora disappeared, becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of Elora’s disappearance… and, with it, the drownings of two other children a decade before. This summer is different, however her best friend (and “twin flame”) Elora has disappeared and is presumed dead even though no body has been found. Grey was born in La Cachette, Louisiana, a town full of psychics and secrets, but after her mother’s death she lives with her father and returns to La Cachette only in the summertime. It’s fine, but it’s nothing to write home about. Considering that the last two books I had to read for work were All of Us Villainsby Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Dark and Shallow Lies had a lot to live up to.
Still, I had to read it for work so I did.
Setting-heavy fiction isn’t something that particularly appeals to me, and the witchy small-town Louisiana setting is a major selling point of this one. To be totally honest, the premise of Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain didn’t really catch me.
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