In this latest addition to the Pretty Little Liars series, Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria must now face their fears that the horrible things they have done will be exposed, and of the inevitable accounting for sins that will surely follow.

In Deadly, volume number 14 and latest addition to the wildly popular young adult Pretty Little Liars series, best-selling author Sara Shepard treats her readers to another twisted tale of scandal, secrets and surprises. 

In a shocking turn of events, high school seniors Hanna, Spencer, Emily and Aria are confronted with the very real possibility of having the world discover what they’ve done. Tormented privately – until now – by their stalker, known only as “A,” with reminders that their secrets are not so secret (“A” knows everything), the girls must now face their fears of having the horrible things they have done exposed, and the punishment that will surely follow. In an excerpt from Deadly, readers learn that,

“In Rosewood, news vans lurk outside gated drives and FBI agents are knocking on every mansion door — and it’s all because four very pretty liars simply don’t know how to be good. Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria have been keeping killer secrets for an entire year … things that could land them in jail if A ever told. And now A has.

One by one, the girls’ worst deeds come out, and their worlds come crashing down around them. Spencer gets kicked out of Princeton. Hanna gets kicked out of her dad’s campaign — and his heart. Emily gets kicked to the curb. And Aria may get kicked out of the country.

The girls are the lowest they’ve ever been. They’ve lost everything. But A’s not done yet. If A’s deadly plan succeeds, the liars will have told their last lie …

Shepard, a New York Times bestselling author, has been thrilling teens (and adults, too) since 2006 with her page-turning stories about four teens – Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Spencer Hastings and Hanna Marin – whose lives are forever changed when their clique’s leader, Alison DiLaurentis, disappears during the summer before 8th grade. Drama sets in during the girls’ junior year in high school when they begin hearing from a stalker who uses the alias “A,” and threatens to reveal the girl’s darkest secrets.

The Pretty Little Liars series’ popularity exploded when the novels became a hit ABC Family original TV Show by the same name. Now in its fifth season, the hit television show is loosely based on the books, and covers themes such as bullying, drugs, murder, underage drinking, peer pressure, mental illness and more.

While the books and the television series draw audiences in with thrilling storylines that highlight lying and moral ambiguity, the overall, underlying theme in Pretty Little Liars is that the girls will face – sooner or later – the consequences of their actions.

A recent spin-off of the television series launched October 31, 2013. The new series, Ravenwood, follows five strangers brought together by a town’s curse that has plagued them for generations. Like the fictional town of Rosewood from Pretty Little Liars, set in Sara Shepard’s home state of Pennsylvania, the spin-off series is set in another fictional Pennsylvania town that the show is named for, Ravenswood.

In the author’s brief biography included on the inside back cover of each book, Sara Shepard tells readers that she was inspired to write Pretty Little Liars by events she experienced growing up on Philadelphia’s Mainline. When asked if what she experienced growing up in her hometown were the same ones her book characters experience, Shepard told Goodreads that while the setting was similar, she didn’t actually have a stalker. 

She also didn’t witness any murders or know a crazy girl named Alison DiLaurentis, Shepard adds, but she always imagined that there were secrets lurking just below the surface of the lives of the beautiful setting and wealthy people who live there. 

Some of the social and moral issues her facing her characters, she explains, actually did come from her experiences growing up, although she didn’t get into trouble with the police, Shepard tells Goodreads, adding that he was just a regular teenager who dealt with regular problems like boys, school, and friends.