To catch a liar, he must become a liar.

And what if the truth throws his whole world off balance?

The premise of this novel is a fascinating, original one: A 17-year-old boy suspects his father of being involved in illegal activities. Besides finding the courage to investigate, he must face the perilous decision of whether to confront and/or turn his father in, which would plunge his well-off family into poverty, potentially put his father in prison and traumatize his unsuspecting mother, and lose him friends.

It’s not so much an action novel as one that skillfully explores the turbulent emotions involved. Indeed, while teen dialogue and friendships are realistic, and there are tense moments involved in spying and confrontation, we spend more time in protagonist Ethan’s head than anywhere else.

Then I got mad again. The fact that I had to start covering my tracks felt foreign and kind of sleazy. It outraged me that my own father had put me in a position where I’d have to sneak and lie and snoop into who knows what.

It felt strange, like a surge of power and fear running through me at the same time. I might be on the verge of solving the mystery of my father’s secret life. Just what I was going to do with that information, I had no idea. I’d been so occupied, wondering what he was up to, that I hadn’t given any serious thought to how I’d handle it if I found out he was involved in something sleazy.

In some ways, this slows the pace, especially in the first half. On the other hand, the novel hooks you early on and you’re not likely to put it down. You really care where it’s leading and how Ethan is going to handle the dilemma. And by the time you’re past the halfway mark, the emotionally-wrought scenes are true heart-stabbers, very skillfully written.

We’ll be at the table, having a meal, maybe having a conversation about nothing important — and the next thing I know, I’m imagining what it would be like to stand up, take a step or two to his end of the table, and just clock him. And then I’m horrified for thinking something like that, but that doesn’t stop it from happening again.

It would be so much easier if he was an out-and-out monster. If he was a lousy father. If I didn’t love him. It’s been strange and unsettling to discover it’s possible to both love and loathe someone. For days, this upheaval of thoughts and feelings has left me off balance, distracted and in a constant state of turmoil.

Strangely, given how much the father/son relationship is at the center of the plot, we actually encounter his father very few times in the story, although it counts when we do.

It’s also odd that the story kicks off with a backflash of how Ethan’s father saved Ethan’s life when he was seven. Besides potentially confusing the reader as to whether this is a children’s or young adult novel, it seems an odd thing to feature so prominently, on the weak premise that the incident would incur too much guilt in Ethan to proceed with doing the right thing ten years later. It just didn’t feel that important.

Also, if you miss the “Ten Years Ago” Chapter One title above the “When I was seven years old…” opening, you’re clueless as to what age Ethan is in the present day until you get to page 43. I spent many of those pages trying to figure it out.

A chapter titled “Eight Months Later” feels rather abrupt right after the story’s climax. And the novel features a few too many side angles and characters that don’t seem to contribute or connect directly to the storyline (a car accident, the alcoholism of a friend’s parent, Ethan’s best friend’s girlfriend, and early mention of Ethan’s girlfriend’s sister, who never appears). But these are pretty minor quibbles.

There’s plenty of diversity amongst the characters, from an LGBTQ pair of guys helping Ethan out, to names like Aki, Ms. Abboud, Jayamma and Bahiriya. There’s a subtle rich-vs.-poor theme, and some profound observances about that social divide near the end, when Ethan plummets from one to the other.

But above all, it’s simply a great read, with the moral angst of Ethan’s situation a strong pull throughout. I especially admire the brilliant way that Ethan draws on what his father has taught him about lying and manipulating, against his father.

There’s fortitude and adventure aplenty here. Enjoy.

– Pam Withers