I wish I had noted my review when I originally read this but I didn't, still this book has stayed with me that I recently bought and will be reading again. It was a great thriller and probably what took me down the rabbit hole of loving Kelley Armstrong Books. ( )

To begin this review, I have to admit I'm a little biased. I have always enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's books and doubly so because she's Canadian (represent!!). My review will absolutely reflect that I thoroughly enjoy her writing style and I am always down for a reading ride in her books.

So, off to the races...

This book is unique and different. It's not the typical Kelley Armstrong book I have come to expect, but I did enjoy going off the beaten path.

Riley is our lead, and the poor girl just witnessed a murder. She was just getting set up to babysit and suddenly masked men came in and murdered the parents of the little girl she was babysitting. She didn't see it happen, she hid under the bed, but it was still brutal and horrible for her. She was even under the impression people made fun of her for hiding under the bed with the little girl, even though that's what saved them both.

Riley's parents decide she needs to take part in a little therapy retreat in an old warehouse (it has been renovated, but it's still a warehouse with no windows... definitely not my ideal place to stay). When she gets there, she meets some new friends and comes across some old ones. Good old Max is there, a strange fellow who she has seen and briefly talked to before. He's... different (you'll find out why in the book, no shame in me ruining the "plot twist" that isn't a plot twist for you). All of these kids have mental health issues - cutting, anxiety, PTSD, narcissistic personality disorder, etc.

Everything seems like it's going to be a normal day at a therapy retreat... until it's not. Masked intruders come in and say they are holding them hostage, and chaos ensues. Death, murder, lots of pain and psychological horror gets thrown at the kids until the amazing plot twist at the end.

So, what did I think?

You need to suspend your belief a LOT for this book, but it's a psychological YA thriller so it should be expected. Being locked in a warehouse without windows? Creepy and seems illogical. Masked intruders - highly unlikely. Lots of fake outs - even crazier. A daughter of a police officer is as good as a SWAT team - hmmmm. Does that affect my view of the story? No. I was along the ride and was able to suspend my belief. This book wasn't meant to be "realistic" in whole, it's a thriller.

To be honest, this book was wild. I didn't know what way this book was going to end. Once the plot twist was coming into view, I could totally sense it buuuuuut... it's not what you think during the first couple of chapters in this book. I really liked that it wasn't there from the beginning but you could connect the dots if you paid attention enough. Well played Kelley!

So you add in intensity and thrills, a fast paced writing style that leaves you hooked to every word and a character that isn't the perfect Mary Sue/Mary Jane and you've got yourself a good one. But there's more... Kelley throws in an interesting romance (because most YA these days has to have some sort of romance in it). At first I wasn't sure about the romance since it seemed force, but by the end I was totally fangirling and loved every second of it. Somehow it works, even if it seems like a bad idea.

Other points: I have no idea if the mental health portions of this book are well represented. I have my own dabblings with OCPD but none of the mental health issues shown in this book. So, as always, buyer beware.

Overall, this book was one epic journey! I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to someone wanting to jump into a more mature YA novel with psychological thrills.

Five out of five stars! ( )

Riley witnessed a murder and is suffering from PTSD and survivors guilt. She is sent to an overnight therapy session with a group of teens and two counsellors. They are attacked by three men with guns and Riley teams up with Max. The two of them have to rely on each other to survive.
A change from the supernatural, this was a good thriller. The relationship between Riley and Max was believable and you could see his struggle with his illness and what was happening. There were a few twists that were a little fantastic but overall it was a very good book and I would recommend it. ( )

The Masked Truth is a fast-paced thriller that jumps into the action of the story within the first few pages. The story follows a teenage girl named Riley who is sent to therapy camp to heal from a traumatic experience only for her and other camp attendees to be taken hostage by masked men. Will they be able to escape alive?

The situation in the novel is terrifying, dangerous, and realistic. Armstrong’s attention to detail puts readers into the heat of the story and asks them the question “What would you do in this situation?” Would you run, hide, or fight your way to safety? While reading this book you truly feel the fear embedded in each character and the intensity of the situation.

The novel is mainly centered on the plot’s two main protagonist’s Riley and Max. Riley dealt with a horrific incident and now suffers from PTSD. Max struggles to find the balance between his hallucinations and real life because has schizophrenia. I enjoyed how the characters developed over the course of action and how we get glimpses of Max and Riley’s backgrounds during the calmer moments of the story.

I really admired Max and Riley’s bravery and their ability to be quick on their feet throughout the novel. Though both are scared to death they push they fear back down inside in order to assess ever-changing situation. When things got too hard to handle, one of them always stepped up to support one another in order to give them the strength to go on.

The Masked Truth gave me a another insight into the lives of people who struggle with various mental illnesses. By looking deep inside the two main characters minds we get a feel for their emotions, what coping methods help them, and what it’s like to deal with something you feel you have no control over at time. Armstrong also touches on the issue of the stigmas surrounding mental illnesses.

This book is also equally a psychological thriller. It puts you on edge and you’re not sure who is telling the truth and who is lying. Just when I thought the climactic part of the story was over, the plot takes readers for a spin. Though there was a bit of romance in this book I appreciated that it was a thread rather than being the center of the story. Max and Riley end up depending on each other for survival before pursuing something further than their initial attraction. ( )

Kelley Armstrong’s The Masked Truth is a step away from her normal work in all the right ways. She steps into contemporary/thriller territory with the story of a therapy group held hostage by masked men. The ultimate strength of this book, and something that made me extremely happy, was the look at trauma, mental health, and mental illnesses. The main character, Riley, has undergone horrible trauma after losing her father and then being witness to the couple she baby sits for getting shot. Instead of sending her into a spiraling mess, the author does an excellent job in balancing Riley’s strength with her weaknesses. Yes, she is prone to panic attacks, flash backs, etc., but finds ways and reasons to stay strong and push through it. It’s such a delightful thing to see. Riley is a strong character, there’s no doubt about that, but you get to see she has to work for that strength. It creates a powerful message for any readers who may have undergone trauma themselves-- that strength is something you can cultivate through perseverance, and even when you feel you’re about to fall apart, those dark feelings can be overcome.

Through Max, the book’s secondary protagonist, we get to glimpse a little deeper down the rabbit hole. Max is diagnosed with Schizophrenia and takes medication for it. At times, he isn’t sure what’s real and what’s imagined, and it seriously affects his self-confidence. Near the beginning of the book, I felt that the author focused too much on the label of Schizophrenia. The beginning is very clinical in the way that it lists symptoms and goes through the checklist of what Max has and what he doesn’t, which distanced me from the disorder more than it made me understand it. Later on in the book, more through the middle and definitely at the end, the author goes into more detail about how Max’s diagnosis makes him feel, how that label interferes with his life, and the consequences of having to cope with this illness. I felt like the emotion behind it made a bigger impact than listing symptoms and throwing around the clinical side of it. The book could have had more power if the situation was reversed-- if we started with Max’s emotions and how he feels living with it, and then move more into the clinical side of explaining everything. That way, we would have experienced Max’s illness the same way that Riley had, which also would have built a stronger connection between Riley and the reader.

If you’re a sucker for tension, this book is a must read. It doesn’t take long at all to launch straight into the hostage situation, which instantly turns the tension up to the max. I couldn’t bring myself to peel away because even when I thought the author would slip into kidnapping/hostage tropes, the story turned in the opposite direction and threw me for a loop. A twist about mid-way through had me texting my friend with many swears and capital letters and general freaking out-ness. The plot and the way it was handled got me excited in true thriller fashion. As well, the romance between Max and Riley was developed in a believable and excellent way. It’s more than just being trapped together that pushes them together, it’s the strength and determination to survive that connects them. My biggest complaint with romance in YA is often the unbelievable relationships; sometimes love interests are drawn to the main character for literally no reason. But the author clearly shows the reasons that Riley falls in love with Max, which in turn makes me, as the reader, fall in love with him too.

As with many of Kelley Armstrong’s books, her writing style is thin on description. This allows for the action to move faster, but doesn’t give you a very real sense of setting. As Max and Riley spend a chunk of the book running through the warehouse their therapy group is in, the creepy factor could have been amped up by making the setting a character in its own right. As well, I had a problem with the focus on Riley. Within therapy before the tragedy starts, all the characters seem really fixated on Riley, how “brave” she was, the ethical implications of what happened (was she a coward or wasn’t she), and so on. Even after the horror starts, characters are still overly focused on Riley and her past trauma, and how she must be “holding up” through all this. I found this highly unrealistic. Most people only focus on themselves, and if these kids have big enough issues that they’re at an overnight therapy group, then they have more important things to focus on than a stranger’s problems. I could have excused this if more characters had the spotlight. Sure, we shine the therapy spotlight on a couple other characters for only a few moments, but it pales in comparison to the amount of time everyone else is discussing Riley, her well-being, how she should be one of the first ones out, etc. Made the whole narrative very MC-centered. If more time was spent discussing other character’s issues as well as Riley’s, it might have been more believable.

My final issue came with the ending. No spoilers, I promise. The plot itself wrapped up nicely, and I really enjoyed the ride. It was the note the author left off on that didn’t really sit right with me, as not only was it very heavily implied meta commentary, but it just didn’t fit with the rest of the book. The end leaves off with two characters discussing writing a story, where one talks about how he wants to end his story. He used Riley as a base for his protagonist and comments that the dark ending to stories just doesn’t do it for him, and he wants to make her happy. I understand the sweet note that the author attempted to leave off on, but I didn’t feel the writing analogy was properly presented throughout the story. It left the ending very out of place, and all I could see was the author commenting through her characters. It almost felt like a “moral of the story” ending. I wish that it had been something else, because the book was overall amazing, but that last chapter left me with a weird taste in my mouth that’s hard to shake.

All in all, 4/5 stars. An incredible plot and wicked tension plus awesome take on mental health equals a happy me. ( )