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Lies on the Serpent's Tongue
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  • Published: 14 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593531075
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $22.99

Lies on the Serpent's Tongue

  • Kate Pearsall
Formats & editions
Paperback
14 Apr 2026
EBook
7 Jan 2025
Audiobook
7 Jan 2025
Audiobook
7 Jan 2025
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Now in paperback, this haunting companion to Bittersweet in the Hollow follows a girl who can smell the lies of others as she uncovers the incendiary mysteries of her small Appalachian town.

Now in paperback, this haunting companion to Bittersweet in the Hollow follows a girl who can smell the lies of others as she uncovers the incendiary mysteries of her small Appalachian town.

Everybody lies. And in knowing their lies, I become the keeper of their secrets.

As Caball Hollow slowly recovers from a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.

18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell lies on the teller’s breath—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long struggled with her gift, which has taught her that everyone distorts the truth, and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old rival Hadrian Fitch shows up on her front porch—bloodied and bruised and asking for the kind of help only she can provide—her first instinct is distrust.

Except Hadrian’s attack isn’t the only strange occurrence. Now small items are disappearing, but rather than report the losses the owners act as if their missing things never existed. Rumors of a new monster prowling the Hollow begin to swirl. But how can Rowan smoke out the culprit in a town full of secrets? And worse, how can Rowan trust beautiful, solemn Hadrian when every other word he speaks has the distinct burnt smell of a lie?
  • Published: 14 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593531075
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $22.99
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Praise for Lies on the Serpent's Tongue

Praise for Bittersweet in the Hollow

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick * A Kirkus Best YA Book of the Year * An Indie Next Pick

*"Luscious prose and a compelling setting make the book hard to put down. . . . Complex, well-realized, and engrossing." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Pearsall pulls on elements of Appalachian lore around Mothman but makes the creature and its origin uniquely her own, setting up Faustian deals and fateful tragedies that build tension and surely break hearts (both of characters and readers alike). The pace is impeccable." —BCCB, starred review

*"A compelling story as the James women struggle to deal with their own secrets, and in the process, reveal some the darkest ones in town. A first purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A fantastical premise full of witch girls, ghosts, and an original cryptid. . . . The details and the lyrical yet accessible writing are what set this debut apart from other small town murder mystery YA novels." —NPR

Praise for Bittersweet in the Hollow

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick * A Kirkus Best YA Book of the Year * An Indie Next Pick

*"Luscious prose and a compelling setting make the book hard to put down. . . . Complex, well-realized, and engrossing." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Pearsall pulls on elements of Appalachian lore around Mothman but makes the creature and its origin uniquely her own, setting up Faustian deals and fateful tragedies that build tension and surely break hearts (both of characters and readers alike). The pace is impeccable." —BCCB, starred review

*"A compelling story as the James women struggle to deal with their own secrets, and in the process, reveal some the darkest ones in town. A first purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A fantastical premise full of witch girls, ghosts, and an original cryptid. . . . The details and the lyrical yet accessible writing are what set this debut apart from other small town murder mystery YA novels." —NPR