Review : Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Little White Lies is the first book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes' new Debutantes series.  The story is told from the main character, Sawyer Taft's, point of view.  It opens with Sawyer and three other Debutantes in a jail cell, seeming to argue and stress out the rookie officer who is trying to figure out why they're in the jail cell and what's going on.  The story flips back and forth between the girls in the jail cell and the moments leading up to it, starting with 10 months prior.  

Sawyer has grown up on the wrong side of town, without a lot of money, and a mom who is all she has, but isn't very good at being a mother.  Sawyer has never known her father, or her mom's family as she is estranged from them.  One day while Sawyer's mother is off on a trip with her newest boyfriend, Sawyer's grandmother shows up, and makes Sawyer an offer she can't refuse.  The next thing you know, Sawyer is thrust in the life of a Southern Debutante, meeting her relatives, and trying to figure out who her father is.  And then there is the issue of the Senator's daughter - she is up to something and Sawyer and her new friends all end up involved in the intrigue.

Little White Lies is a young adult mystery novel, with a lot of humor thrown in.  I really like books about formidable southern women and their strength and manners.  Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the author of one of my other favorite series, The Fixer.  She does an excellent job of character development and building a story line.  There was definitely a twist that I didn't see coming.  I'm really glad that this is going to be a series, because I love these characters.  Boone, the Senator's nephew is one of my favorites.  He makes me laugh, a lot, and I hope to see more of him in the next book.

I liked this book a lot, and I give it 5 Stars for good writing, a great mystery with plot twists I couldn't predict, Southern setting and strong women.  I also love how different and somewhat goofy supporting character, Sadie Grace is.  Jennifer Lynn Barnes does not disappoint with her new series.

Summary of Book from Goodreads:

"I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

***I was given a free advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.