Make Me a Liar

by Melissa Landers

Veronica Mars gets a fantastical twist in this novel about a girl with a transferrable consciousness, who uses her power for good, only to have it turned on her when someone uses her body to commit murder. Now she must solve the crime before the killer comes after her.

Caught red handed... for a crime she didn't commit.

Within the secret circles of Harvey Davis High School, everyone knows Tia Dante is worth her weight in hall passes. Using her genetic gift of transferable consciousness, she can slip inside your mind and do your dirty work—humiliate your cheating boyfriend, bring a bully to his knees, tell your boss where to stick it—and then return your body with no one the wiser. No task is too awkward, and unlike the competition, she takes care of business without peeking at your goods.

But while Tia is occupied during a routine payback mission, someone uses her body for a few dirty deeds of their own…like murdering the town prosecutor. With the crime caught on camera and no concrete alibi, Tia is forced to ask her infuriatingly gorgeous ex—Nash Brock--to help unravel the mystery. The heat is on, in more ways than one, and a few stray bullets later, Tia is in a frantic race against the clock to find the killer before they find her.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Contemporary, Audiobook

240 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

**Receive news, updates, and exclusive excerpts from Melissa by subscribing to her e-newsletter!**

Melissa Landers writes science fiction for teens and the young at heart. The Alienated trilogy (ALIENATED, INVADED, UNITED) and the Starflight duology (STARFLIGHT, STARFALL) are complete! Look for Melissa's middle grade debut BLASTAWAY, now available from Disney-Hyperion.

**IMPORTANT** Please do not request an ARC through Goodreads. All review copies are distributed by the publisher.

Reviews

[Melissa Landers]

Writing this book was the most fun I've ever had, and I absolutely can't wait for you all to read it!!

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really only gave this one a chance for two reasons. One, once upon a very long time ago, I read STARFLIGHT by this author and remember being totally tickled by how much I enjoyed it, and two, one of my favourite shows was used as a comp. And while the latter has been used before, I thought the mental-hopping element would elevate this YA mystery with an added bit of oomph whilst still giving me the promised nostalgic gumshoe vibes but alas.. no. The aforementioned sci-fi twist was so glossed over that it felt ridiculous (sometimes this tactic works, forcing the reader to believe something is commonplace and accepted, instead of something to be introduced from the onset, but in this case we’re even told that it’s something of a new revelation, so, nope) that one was to believe this was the guiding star of the whole concept behind the particular crime and subsequent mystery to solve. But also, the ultimate reveal of the mastermind behind everything was just.. weak.

I think that sums up the whole thing. Weak. And this is such a short book, why couldn’t we have spent time beefing it up? Or, like, anything. Such as the pointlessly protracted romance woes that ultimately made no sense when it all came down to it. And the bestie was a literal caricature and there was no attempt to give anyone any kind of depth or real motivations.

This was a big disappointment but at least it bumped up my total books read tally without requiring much time or effort to complete. Womp.

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Leticia🌻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

This book reminded me about Veronica Mars. Tia uses her skill/power to help fellow students with their personal problems for a fee. Enjoyed the romance that the author added to the story. Overall a good read.

[cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

still stand by my original thoughts, by the way. great concept in theory, questionable execution. deducted one star for the unnecessary massive, massive trigger at the end (if you don't mind spoilers, tw: disordered eating, body image)

[Micayla Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this book! it was a perfect mix of fiction, mystery, and a hint of fantasy tied into it. a nice quick read!

[Barbara Behring · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a good story with an interesting concept.

[Booktastically Amazing · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first YA book I've read in so long and I enjoyed it so much 😭

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ARC expired when I was 75% of the way through. I spent $11 to read the last 25%. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

[HF · Rating 3 out of 5]

started out strong and has a cool premise, but kinda fell apart as things went on

[Hannah Kern · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is proof that ill read anything with a good love triangle

[Tracy Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an enjoyable book! The uniqueness of the characters made for a fun and suspenseful story. A murder mystery full of action that will keep you hooked until the last page. Landers is phenomenal at world building and her setting feels so authentic that you could believe that head bopping was a real thing. Teenagers will easily relate to the characters and find parts of the story humorous. Highly recommend for all ages who like a great who-dun-it mystery.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy to have gotten this ARC. I really enjoyed it! I loved Tia's relationship with her dad -- it reminded me of Veronica and Ketih Mars -- and it makes for a great contrast against another parent-child relationship in the book. Tia felt very real to me as a teenager. Some grammatical issues and a couple weird things that I hope get fixed before the final publication but overall a great YA read.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with Melissa Landers while reading her Alienated books and since then she's on my auto-buy list. Amazon took its sweet time to deliver this novel, but it actually arrived at the perfect moment. I'm currently staying with my parents for the holidays and that means a little less time to read. However, this morning I had just enough time to read this entire book in one sitting. I've been looking forward to it for days.

I'm pretty sure this book is not gonna be for everyone. However, I think especially the target audience will love it. There is a lot going on. There are some really action packed moments and our heroine's life is both recognizable, relatable and yet still more interesting than our own. I like how the author manages to mix some paranormal/sci-fi elements with teenage drama and most of all a really interesting murder mystery.

The first chapter of the book immediately had me hooked. The heroine was introduced in a very perfect way while also introducing the important mythology of this novel. The author did a great job showing us everything without turning her explanation into an info-dump and once we understood what our heroine was capable of and how that worked it was easy to follow the rest of the book and to understand the stakes of this case.

Although I think there are a few loose ends in the end I really like the finale of this book. Not only did everything come together very nicely, but the author also managed to make us feel a lot of emotions. Sometimes murderers are simply bad guys and it's easy to hate them. However, in this case the eventual solution of the case also had something sad. I don't wanna say too much, of course, but I really liked how this was not a black and white case.

I can't wait for the next Landers novel!

[Libby V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll read pretty much anything that uses Veronica Mars as a comp. And it did have the snarky crime solving heroine that I was looking for. The sci-fi head-hopping twist was interesting. I picked it up because I knew it would be a short read but I could have used a little more resolution. Overall I enjoyed it.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from a goodreads giveaway. From the start I loved the concept. It was a really fun book and different from anything I've read lately. There were a few plot points that I wish had been fleshed out or wrapped up which is why its a 4 star read. I'm hoping Landers writes a sequel.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

So very mid. If I didn't have to read YA for my job, I wouldn't read it as much. This had a great premise, but the lead protagonist was so obnoxious that I just couldn't stand her. Also, I didn't think the murderer was much of a twist, it was predictable.

[Danielle Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably a four star, but interesting concept. Tia is one of a select few that can "head hop" and have her mind take over someone else's body....unfortunately that means her empty body is vulnerable for another headhopper to steal her body.

Read by Gail Shalan. #booksin25

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and a half stars.

Great snarky voice. Great mystery. Great conceit (slipping into someone else's body).

Satisfying resolution. Could be more.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun murder mystery with an extra little twist of magical realism. It hooked me from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down, so it was a quick read!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review:
4.7 ⭐
I struggled writing this review. It has nothing to do with the book, which is why I want to start with my favorite part of the book, besides any quips or jokes, and that was the fact that the immersionists call themselves head-hoppers since they can take over someone'a mind.(I thought it was funny, and I quite enjoyed the crude humor in this book.) This is the most unusual book I've read in terms of someone being able to take over another's mind and, on top of that, a crime occurring because someone else took over their mind(I don't think I've read anything with this concept before). MAKE ME A LIAR is a neat read and a quick read. I liked the mystery of the book, and I wanted to keep reading. Like,I flew through MAKE ME A LIAR. Something about it kept me hooked, and I couldn't wait to see who actually committed the crime and why. And, let me tell you, the last few chapters were full of action and offered the perfect wrap to the book.

What I Liked About It:
*the humor
*the overall concept

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

This had great Veronica Mars vibes, the only thing is I think the ending was extremely rushed and felt quite abrupt. I hope there are more books and this becomes a series because the premise is cool, and I felt there was not resolution to the personal relationships in the book.

[Liv CG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make Me a Liar by Melissa Landers was a fun, quick YA thriller. It's about a teen girl who can "head hop" - transfer her consciousness into another body. But a head-hop job goes awry and someone in her body commits murder... now she has to clear her name, while the stakes keep escalating.

What I liked:
- short chapters
- quick-witted characters
- positive relationships
- interesting premise
- fast pace
- solid character growth
What I'll consider before giving it to middle schoolers:
- language (nothing crazy or overwhelming, but occasional swears)
- sexual innuendo and lots of body talk
- murders, duh, but not gory ones, nothing gratuitously violent

Overall, it was a great escapist read. The author set us up nicely for a sequel too. 3.5 stars for me!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Disney Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This book is SO fun and different than anything I’ve ever read before! I was hooked from the first paragraph and read the entire thing in one sitting. Yes, the premise of the book - transferable consciousness manipulated to frame someone else for a murder - is a fresh take, but so are the characters, the pace of the story, and the overall writing!

Teens (and 40 year old librarians, obviously) are going to love Tia. The story is told from her point of view, and she thinks and acts like a real teenager - albeit a totally smart, funny, and badass teenager! Yes, this is an engaging mystery with great dialogue and a smidge of romance, but it’s the brains behind this story that really make it special. You can tell that Landers explored the legal and criminal potential behind the idea of transferred consciousness and how it could affect the dynamics between people and power. I’m constantly saying that kids are smarter than we give them credit for, and it’s really powerful when a book acknowledges that teens read with their brains as well and know how to use them!

I will absolutely be recommending this book to high school librarians for purchase and have already told my teenage son he’s got to read this one. I love Tia as well as the whole cast of characters, and I’m hoping for more books about her adventures! Grades 8+

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea that someone can push their consciousness into your body (with your permission) and act/do things that you might not normally do is intriguing. And then, expanding on that to suggest that while they're "being you", someone is using their body to commit a crime? You got me.

And yet only three stars because that's the most interesting thing about all this. Everything about the actual mystery of who used Tia's body to commit murder was so stereotypical and something I'd read before. Tia turning to Nash and that relationship somewhat blossoming again, the sleuthing, just everything... read it before.

ARC provided by publisher.

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an immersionist, Tia has a pretty sweet hustle, dipping into other people's bodies and completing tasks for them like scaring off bullies and sharing difficult information with loved ones. But when Tia leaves her body unattended while on an assignment and another immersionist takes over, she finds herself all but legally guilty of a murder she didn't commit. Now Tia must find the real killer before she becomes the legal precedent.

This short, fast-paced, action-packed novel dives headfirst into a world similar to our own but with a small community of people with a special ability. Landers sets up her world through Tia, whose take-no-hostages attitude has a refreshing gruffness to it not often written believably in teen fiction. The world itself is well-done. Despite a lack of significant exposition, there's a matter-of-factness to the world building that immerses the reader easily and the solidity of it makes the book all the better.

While Tia's dad may seem a bit soft and naive, his personality makes sense when the reader considers he is likely often under Tia's thumb to an extent. Other characters respond to Tia differently, including ex-boyfriend Nash who has his own secrets, possible love interest (who is also involved in the mafia) Blade, best friend Val, and school acquaintance and family friend of the victim, Molly. Despite the brevity and straightforwardness of Make Me a Liar, each character comes across as fairly well-developed, if a bit on the nose in archetypes -- fair enough given the brevity of the novel. While I would have enjoyed being led on a bit more of a wild goose chase as far as suspects go, Liar does a decent job with the surprise element of the culprit -- how much sense it makes given the information provided is debatable, especially as far as character personality and development go.

Liar ends well enough to stand alone, but could lead to a sequel, too -- and I hope it does.

[Cami · Rating 2 out of 5]

i fell for this book's general idea/plot, but i started falling out of love for it halfway through. i'll admit that the exchanges were often funny, but they were too unserious at times. the book focused too much on the romance and the tia's adoration for food (which i get bcs how the hell can she survive with that much allergies, but come on, donuts over your own life?), rather than how she was accused of actual murder, and how she could have possibly lost the rest of her life for it (which is what the summary focuses on, to point out), so it feels so lacking and anticlimactic. there were also a lot of things left uncovered. i hate how it lent a couple pages to her love of food, but half a page for new discoveries and secrets regarding their "immersion abilities" and the other people that had them. also, i'm not a huge fan of romance, much more love triangles, so.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a unique idea of having a main character be able to hop heads. I enjoyed seeing how she interacted with each person that she head hopped into. The realization of how different everyone feels in their bodies was really helpful to see how Tia connected with her clients. I also liked the interactions between Tia and Blade, and Tia and Nash. Both Blade and Nash were fun unique characters, ones readers could easily get behind Tia being with. I think my biggest issue with this story was that it ended kind of abruptly. The plus side was that I had zero idea who framed Tia for murder up until the last couple of pages. That being said that was a very quick wrap up.
Thank you so much to Disney Publishing Worldwide and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

[H. Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. I thought the specially gifted teen trope had been done to death. Landers put a twist into the main character, Tia, that totally sucked me in. Tia is a YA character who acts and thinks like a real teen. If I had a special gift that others didn’t, I’d totally make money from it, too. Who wouldn’t use head hopping to their advantage?! Adding in the murder mystery was great, plus a little touch of romance to add pepper. Ideal plotting, awesome characters, make this book easy to root for. Also, the comedy of inhabiting someone else’s body is fun. Definitely a must read.

[Erin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if some people had the ability to transfer their consciousness to another person?
How would that affect crime and laws?

These are some of the things explored in Make Me A Liar.

Tia is a "head hopper". She has a side gig where she helps her classmates do things that are hard for them to do by entering their mind and doing it for them.
But when her body commits murder while she's on another head, she's got to figure out who did it.

This fast paced whodunit kept me turning pages.

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for an early copy for review.

[Laura Mauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

* I got this book for review*
I would give this book 3.5 stars*
It was a really unique read.I think this read like a tv show and it worked for me. I really liked the murder myystery vibes, along with the freaky friday elements!! I Thought the world was really fun but i don't feel like the world was the explaine and i think it was a bit confusing, but it was a super fast read and i thought it was unqiue!