Shepard brings some verve back into the series by having the Liars bring the fight to A and get more entangled in A’s web.

Each girl has their assignment as they ditch their old cells and lock themselves in a panic room to strategize as Emily’s reveal that Ali actually could have survived the fire leads them to realize that A definately has a helper A. There’s two of them, there were always two and things are a lot more dangerous.

Spencer, as usual, is the leader bringing the group together and taking the initative to track down A herself by heading into the dark underbelly of conspiracy boards. Well not so much a dark underbelly because the first guy she meets turns out to be quite cute and quite understanding with his own stalker story. Has Spencer finally found a true romance after the stoner dumped her? Or is this guy who has all the evidence and answers, A’s helper?

Hanna, on the other hand goes back to her despised burn clinic volunteer job to find out if Graham will wake up and if he has the answers to the mysterious Helper A. She goes through some more requisite character growth in regards to being a good person to people less popular than her and once more a friend betrays her. Which was actually a really good twist, I completely believed in Kyla’s sincerity but unfortunately, it looks like A will once more give Hanna trust issues.

Emily goes to the Preserve to see if she can pump information from Ali’s former roommate, Iris which leads to some procrastinating and stalling from the girl who wants out of a mental hospital. Who can blame her? Shepard does a good job here in making Iris sympathetic after her depiction in Heartless. I really hope nothing bad happens to her which is probably just tempting fate but I think she could be a good friend for Emily, letting loose Emily’s bad side but also not a complete psycho. Meanwhile, Emily continues with her obssession with Jordan, the thief she only knew for a few days, it’s ridiculous how intensely she falls for people. I still don’t quite trust Jordan, I still think her story was too pat, too tailored just for Emily to naievely fall for her.

Aria is the star here though as we finally find out what happened in Iceland which is just. . . it’s a doozy but also plants the clues to the Liars realizing Noel was in love with Ali and he may have been helping her this whole time. Shepard does a great job portraying Aria’s angst and heartbreak and denial when realizing Noel’s complicity in all the horrors Ali has wrought. The hints and lies are well-placed too, making it seem subtly obvious but also ambiguous enough that you don’t know what to think when the Liars unlock the shed to find A has outwitted them again.

Like I said above, this book brings back the intrigue, danger and possible criminal stakes back into the fold, making it an exciting race for time as the girls try to stop the As once and for all.