Maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't tend to enjoy novels told from more than one character's perspective. It so often seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative. But the approach works well in "Harmless," for a couple of reasons. For one, there's a cleanness to second-time novelist Dana Reinhardt's writing that makes this gripping story unfold smoothly. For another, the whole novel is about a lie, and, as Reinhardt demonstrates, even the truth can be complicated enough to benefit from a few viewpoints.

It doesn't take long for us to get to know the three girls who tell us their story. First there's Anna, an only child whose parents dote on her and who isn't exactly popular at school.