In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, reporters are lined up outside the historic courthouse, typing furiously at their iPhones with freshly manicured nails. Because the trial of the century is happening right here in Rosewood: the four pretty little liars have been accused of killing Alison DiLaurentis. Only Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily know that they've been framed. Ali is still out there, laughing as she watches the girls go down for her murder. But when your nickname includes the word "liar," no one believes you're telling the truth. . . . Aria tries to run away from it all but finds that life on the lam is even harder than life as a liar. Spencer gets in touch with someone who can help her disappear--but when a guy from her past reemerges, Spencer no longer knows what she wants. Hanna decides that she'll hear wedding bells chime before she serves time. And in the face of prison, Emily does something truly drastic--something that will change her friends' lives forever. As the trial goes on and the outcome looks grim, the girls are in their darkest hour yet. But maybe they can finally figure out how to beat Ali at her own game. Because once upon a time, she was just a pretty little liar too
Vicious takes place not that far after Toxic ended. We get a glimpse of a triumphant if not slightly...changed Ali (Apparently, she's gained some weight, dyed her hair and fucked up her skin all in the name of hiding who she really is) gloating over the success of her plan. she watches in the news in her hideaway with someone whose identity isn't revealed til the end of the book. But it's also pretty damn obvious. Ali recalls the same details we all already know about her previous crime and her fake diary and what not (P.S. what the fuck kind of captor lets their kidnappee write in a journal? That makes no damn sense. Gone Girl much?)
The first scene of the novel opens with the hopelessness of the Liar's case. They have lost everything. Hanna lost her movie deal and invitation to go to the Fashion Institute in New York. Spencer's bully blog as become a wasteland and her acceptance to Princeton revolved, Aria is no longer a sought after artist. They have gone through a feat of lawyers and none of them believe that Ali is alive or setting them up. Even the guy they have now who got mafia bosses out of murder charges doesn't think he can help them.
Emily can't take it. The girl has officially gone coo-coo for cocoa puffs.
She is seeing and hearing Ali everywhere, she has officially gone off her rocker. She suggests to everyone that they don't give up the search to find Ali because at this point,bringing back the dead girl is the only way of saving their asses from frying.
With jail never looking as real as now, Spencer starts taking How to Survive in Jail lessons from a tutor who tells her the only way someone like her is going to survive is if she avoid jail time. And if she can't do that in the jail system then she has a way to buy a new identity and help her get out town...for a high price. As rich as her family is, Spencer doesn't have that kind of change. So she and her friends decide to visit Ali's crazy, dissed and not really missed, ex boyfriend, Nick.
That trip quickly becomes a waste of time. The only thing Nick really says is that he doesn't think Ali's dead, he isn't sure if she's using more of his families property to hide out, however he does get mighty bull-hurt when Emily lies and says Ali told her he meant nothing to her, and she really loved her all along. Using the information Nick gave them, Emily finds one of his families places that no one has checked out in Cape May. Emily convinces her friends to go off to the coast to check it out. But of course the place turns out to be a dead in.
Heartbroken and finally giving in to their fate, the girls decide to stay for the night not realizing that something is wrong with Emily. And something is wrong indeed. After all it was only the last book that the girl tried to kill herself. And it doesn't take long for her to return to her roots. She scribbles a note to her friends then takes to the sea.
While Spencer and the others catch on, but by the time they arrive, it's too late, Emily gives her self to the sea as the hurricane reaches land. Spencer stupidly tries to dive in after her but she is no match for them waves. She quickly passes out as Emily's head disappears under the waves.
When Spencer comes to, she's in the hospital getting yelled at by an officer and no one is answering her questions about Emily. Finally she finds out that Emily's body hasn't been recovered, her doctor is the guy she gave her virginity to and Emily has been deemed Lost At Sea.
Next thing we know, we're at Emily's funeral where her family is subtly blaming the rest of her friends for leading her on the wrong path and refusing to let her speak. This leads to a huge fight between the remaining Liars as Hanna and Spencer duke it out as Hanna blames Emily's death on her.
Pretty quickly after all this, Aria is like, "Fuck this! I'm out! Peace!"
Hanna spends the night with Mike, and in the next morning they have a fight when he claims that he's going to wait for Hanna even if she goes to jail.
Okay, Mike, whatever you need to tell yourself at night. It's a pretty thought but your ass likes ass and sex too much to wait for Hanna for some 20+ years.
But then he surprises me by taking Hanna's very logical questions as ultimatum to prove his love and responds with:
He very obviously doesn't have a ring, so he gives her his lacrosse bracelet, and says they can marry before she goes away to the slammer.
And Hanna...says yes. (Falm palm.)
This is just going to make it so much harder on the both of you when Hanna does go away because now you have to get a divorce. But no one listens to me!
Both Hanna and Mike's parents give the okay and they immediately start planning the Red Carpet Wedding of the Series before they get taken to jail for life. It is somewhere during this mess that it is realized that Aria has flown the coup. You would think this would bring Hanna and Spencer closer together but all the bad words (not blood, words) between them keeps them apart.
Meanwhile, Aria hops across the seas to Paris. On the way there she pitifully thinks she sees Emily, but it's someone else. From there she runs to the place that she and the Nick-she-knew (was it Phineas?) stole that painting all that time ago. And much to her (and my surprise) is is waiting for her but her boyfriend, Noel himself.
They are happy for a while until her old insecurities about Ali come up, her paranoia about being found and a huge fight that ends with them both getting caught by Interpol and their asses being hauled back to the United States.
Back home, Hanna is happily planning her wedding. She invites her stepsister, Katie, but happily calls her dad and tells him that his ass is not invited. Go Hanna!
And Spencer is now contemplating flying the coup as she and Wren reconnect. Now that she and Melissa have a good relationship, she refuses to let him back into her life. However, Wren wants her so bad, he goes and talks to her sister to get her blessing. She gives it and Spencer gives into him.
Noel and Aria arrive back in the States just in time for Hanna's wedding. The remaining three make up then become Hanna's bridesmaids. Also, her dad shows up and begs for her to allow him to walk her down the aisle (I think he only wanted to for a publicity stunt. By this point Hanna and Mike's wedding was sponsored by Us Weekly and literally had a red carpet on it). Hanna forgives him and allows him stay but only lets her mom walk her down the alise. They are happily married with Hooter's girls serving the food at their reception and a nice tropical honeymoon in Hanna's backyard.
Unfortunately, this honeymoon doesn't last long. The verdict comes back and it's not looking good for the Liars. (Don't trials take months?) The jury has decided...
Guilty.
They've barely spent a night in jail when their lawyer comes to yank them out of jail because they have to go back to court. Why? Because someone is waiting for them...and it's none other then Emily!
...and she's not alone either.
She has Ali with her!
It turns out Emily purposely faked her death.
She did find a clue in Nick's house but it was in Florida and knew that the girls wouldn't have a way to investigate it while they were in custody. So she fabricated that suicide letter so no one would come looking for her. I knew it made no sense for her to die in that water. Anyone who knew her, knew she probably had the talents being a swimmer and all, to survive. But it worked in her favor. She was declared dead and took a bus to Florida where she all-too-easily found Ali and...her mother. (During the trial, only Ali's "dad" was at the trial while her mom's excuse was she was tired of all of this. But she wasn't. She was hiding Ali all along.)
Emily calls the cops as she spots Mrs. DD then Ali comes out with a gun. But it is too late, the cops are already here. Ali tries to hop a fence and escape, but she's not as fit as she used to be due to her too-good-of-a-disguise. The cop quickly catches her and Emily exposes her as a dead-girl. Ali tries to refute this claim but Mrs. DD hasn't gotten their new ID's yet, so they are all taken into custody then shipped back to Rosewood.
All the charges against the Liars get dropped, Ali gets thrown into jail and everyone ends up happy. It's a little too wrapped up for my tastes.
Aria and Noel make up and she agrees to leave her Ali-insecurities in the past. They decide to try and travel Europe again, but this time while not being on the run.
Mike and Hanna move to NYC. She gets her movie role back and back into the Fashion Institute while he transfers to a high school in New York while they live in a apartment together.
Emily goes off by herself for a bit and learns how to surf and finds a new flirtation.
Spencer and Wren get back together and she takes a year off from Princeton.
Meanwhile, Ali bides her time. She's made herself seem insane so she can get thrown in a psych ward and learned from her mistakes of the past by counting on other people's help with her plans. She's coming back for the Liars...all she has to do is wait.
*Sigh* and that was the ending we waited so long for. Nothing really happened. It might've been so much more interesting if we had known that Emily was alive and followed her dangerous journey across the country. Otherwise, this entire book was just a filler until the end. I'm really disappointed that the final showdown with Ali literally took like 5 pages and was over just. Like. That. What a waste.
But at least it's over now! It only took 16 books and a re-boot!
