What a dark yet compelling read.
I just finished reading Where the Truth Lies and still gathering my thoughts about it.
So many twists and turns going on, so many characters…
The story is a slow burn that pulls you in until you just have to keep reading to the last page. I’m glad I kept on reading. I think the story will be on my mind for a few awhile….so haunting.
(Please be aware there is incest, domestic abuse, homophobia and racist situations within the story)
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are looking to read a story about an idyllic small town, this isn't it. Whistling Ridge, Colorado is a place where poverty, abuse, homophobia, prejudice, and racism thrive unchecked. Even Pastor Lewis, the so-called spiritual leader twists the church beliefs in a way that suits his own agenda. You don't want to ask for his help if you are an abused wife or child. Somehow it is God's will and you will leave more alone than when you gathered up your courage to ask for help. In case you can't tell, this is one of the characters I loathed.
Seventeen-year-old Abigail Blake is missing. Against her better judgment, Emma Alvarez left her at the party they attended and Abigail never made it home. Emma has dealt with the people in this town her whole life, always being told she should 'go back to Mexico'. Without Abigail, she is shunned more than ever and she is determined to find out what happened to her friend. As she searches for answers, we have a front-row seat to the evil nature of the people who live here.
Abigail's father, Samuel Blake, is the worst man imaginable. He beats his wife and sons mercilessly but seems to treat Abigail differently. The things that she has seen through and enough to make everyone sure she has just had enough and run away. The truth is heartbreaking and I gasped more than once at the ugliness that lives in this town.
Were there good people in this town? Absolutely, but most of them are powerless against the mentality that surrounds them. The more I read, the more angry and sad I became, not just for these fictional characters, but also because people like this exist in the real world. Thought-provoking, tense, and with one oh no moment after another, this is a story that will haunt me for a very long time.

Calling a DNF with this one. Given that most of my GR friends gave it 4 and 5 stars I'll go with it's me, not the book. Hate to say it but I might be too old for this one. I just didn't have the patience to read past chapter 15 (which I thought was a fair try). Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the digital galley.

<b>The Short of It:</b>

This story keeps you guessing.

<b>The Rest of It:</b>

At a party in the woods, seventeen-year-old Abigail leaves her friend Emma to hang out with a boy. The next day, she turns up missing. Emma keeps revisiting the last moments she had with her. The moment where she pleaded for Abigail not to go but Abigail always had a mind of her own and now, she’s gone. Emma’s only friend.

The community is rocked by her disappearance but small communities, ones that know everyone, also know their business and Abigail’s family left a lot to be desired. A father who drinks too much, beats his wife and children, a mother who is powerless to protect them, it’s no wonder the girl went missing. She probably ran away the first chance she got.

Emma knows better though. And as the police come up short again and again and don’t seem to care whether she is found or not, Emma begins to investigate on her own and secrets begin to reveal themselves. Did she even know Abigail? Can you ever really know a person?

There are a lot of stories out there about missing people. Especially, young girls. What I liked about Where The Truth Lies is that it’s more than just a missing person story. The level of abuse that Abigail’s family is forced to endure and the relationships they seek as a means to survive, really carried this story for me. You will care about these characters even though they don’t always make the best choices. They are flawed and damaged but I felt that the story came together beautifully given how many characters the author chose to focus on.

Well done. Recommend. Trigger warning for sexual abuse.

For more reviews, visit my blog: <a href="http://bookchatter.net">Book Chatter</a>.

I hate DNF'ing debut books, but I never really got into this. When I was about 30% through and realized that I truly didn't care what was going on, I knew I needed to let it go. There are a whole mess of characters in this, and while I think this will appeal to a lot of readers, it's not for me. I don't love a missing girl story, especially a slow burn. The girl's family in particular were particularly hard to read about- lots of abuse and religious zealotry. In addition to the many characters, there was also alternating timelines and overall, I just couldn't keep up.

This is a debut novel for Anna Bailey and I think she did a great job. It's a very dark and very sad story. It's well written and very thought provoking. It will bring out some feelings that you won't expect I believe. It has a subject matter that may make you feel uncomfortable but it's still one that needs to be addressed. It's a story of a town with many secrets. A lot of people who claim to be Christians who are in my opinion of the devil himself. If I believed in all of that. What happened in this town has no doubt happened in a few small towns in our country. I honestly have no doubt. Whether it's hatred for a lifestyle, a race, a political view, or something else. In this one it just happens to be the bigots that hate a person for their race and another for their sexual preferences. How sad is that?? Very I say! Very sad indeed.

The characters in this book are all really messed up. There is Melissa, who I think I liked more than any of them and she's the mother to Emma. Emma was Abi's best friend. Samuel, who I hated, truly hated, is Abi's dad. Also married to Dollie and the dad to Noah and Jude. He's the most abusive person I think I have ever read about. He's truly of the devil. He's cold blooded. Yet he goes to church and is consider of God... Figure that one out. I didn't like Dollie either though I did feel a bit sorry for her. But she was not a good mother. Though a part of me wants to understand her reasons. The one I think I hated most was Pastor Lewis. If that man is a christian then anyone can be. He's one that incites so much violence. He gets people all worked up and they do things that most likely they might not have done. But then again maybe they just needed that excuse. Pastor Lewis could be satan himself. Who knows.

The feelings in this book are truly raw. The things that happen may make you cringe. Hold your breath. Even cry. It sure did me. I cried so many times it's crazy. I felt so sorry for Noah. And his friend Rat. I liked Noah and Rat. Even though they were not perfect. But who is right? Noah just wanted to be seen. Rat saw him. Noah's little brother, Jude, was another character that I liked. He was just an innocent child who bared the brunt of his father's evil temper once too often and was never the same after.

The descriptions in this book are great. You will feel like you are there. In the woods. At the trailer park. You will feel the heat from the fire. The pain that someone feels. Each one who is hurt. This is a book filled with so much pain. But there is hope right? Yes, there is always hope. Maybe someday people will be accepted for who they are. Not what they are. Not by their ethnicity or their sexual preference or who their parents are. But will it happen in out lifetime? Probably not. But we can hope. At least I do.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AnnaBailey, #Atria for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

I debated between a 4 or 5 star and had to go with 5/5 as it was really a good story. A touching story. A sad story. A very dark story. I do recommend it. It's worth it.

Many thanks to the publisher for an advanced ecopy of Where the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey.

Unfortunately, I am rating this book really low and it really does break my heart to do that to a debut author as I am sure Anna Bailey put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into its creation. Why is my rating WAY lower than the average one for this novel? The best analogy I can give is this: My in-laws are from Boston. They cringe every time someone does a Boston accent on TV or in a movie because they can tell the actor isn't REALLY from Boston, therefore the put-on accent is like nails on a chalkboard to them. Reading books where people who aren't super familiar with smaller-town life but write about it anyway are the same for me.

First of all, I don't mind a depressing book as long as there is value to what it is saying. Where the Truth Lies was depressing without a valid point. It was marketed as a thriller, but it was not thrilling. It opened strong with two friends at a party and one of them departing the party leaving the other behind, then never being seen again. From the start, it did appear to be on track as a suspense/thriller. However, almost immediately after that moment, the story devolves into every small-town stereotype that exists.

I am not from a small town. I am from a medium town, but was raised around my extended family who were raised and lived in small towns. Yes, there is racism, homophobia, sexism, abuse of power, and use of religion to justify hate and violence. But it is rarely all displayed so in-your-face. Usually it is much more subtle, which is more compelling in a novel and much more dangerous because its NOT so obvious when it happens. Also, I have never experienced the above listed characteristics all belonging to one person, much less the entire community.

In this day and age, when people seem to be looking for reasons to hate each other and fear anyone who thinks differently than themselves, I think it is irresponsible and even dangerous to write fiction that leans into the most negative stereotypes of groups of people. Where the Truth Lies did that do the point of total distraction to me....at times almost making me laugh (which was clearly not the intention) because the characters were so over the top.

I read in some reviews that Anna Bailey is from England, but spent a brief amount of time in a small American town which is where she derived her inspiration. Either she just had a very bad experience or she didn't spend enough time with a variety of people to learn much about the nuances of a community.

Anyway, the author has potential, but my personal opinion is that she needs to either write about something she is more familiar with or learn much more about what she is writing about as the book was a struggle to slog through while trying to ignore all the extremes she threw into it.

After 50% I'm throwing in the towel on this one. There are so many vile characters, not a one that I care about. Some people have loved this one, don't know how, maybe the ending is good but I'm not waiting for it.

DNF

This was a compelling and chilling read that is so much more than a typical thriller. It was full of complex and dynamic characters and was overflowing with deep rooted prejudices.

This was a beautiful debut that flawlessly addressed some extremely sensitive topics of racism, sexism, religion and homophobia. Unfortunately, something didn’t quite click for me to make me truly invested in the story. It was a bit of a slow burn and even tough to read at times. However, I did still appreciate and enjoy it and was intrigued throughout. I’m interested to see what Bailey does next!

3.5 stars rounded to 4 for goodreads

With abuse and racism at its core this book was a very difficult read. Wanting to find out what happened to the missing Abigail, I soldiered through, but ultimately wished I hadn’t. The hate that filled the pages of this book and the vile characters within was more than this reader could take. Dark, dreary and completely depressing, this is one book I recommend skipping!

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Y’all this book…I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s depressing and dark, and there were times I almost DNF’d, but I had to keep reading. It’s slower paced, but I knew there were secrets, I knew twists were coming…and when I got to the ending, I was like ‘wtaf’. The last few chapters made the book very worthwhile. When I finished, I felt kind of icky and relieved and I don’t even know what. I think it takes quite the book to give the reader that kind of emotions. Check out CW/TW though - there’s several.

3.5 Stars

This is a dark but great mystery. I was overwhelmed, at first, by all the characters to the story. And there are a lot of POV that left me flipping back and forth, trying to remember who was who and the storyline. But I read it in 2 sittings so once I got a little farther in the story, I was easily able to keep it all straight.

I was honestly holding my breath for parts of this story, I was so sucked in. It's dark and full of dirty family secrets and twists and turns. I didn't mind how dark it was but the story will definitely stick with me for a bit. It was good, I was so pulled in, but it definitely leaves a mark when you're done. It was SO good!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

I don’t really consider myself a sensitive reader that needs trigger warnings, but this book may be the exception. There is quite a bit of abuse going around in the small town of Whistling Ridge. To add to that, the residents follow an overzealous preacher and seem unable to think for themselves.

I liked the mystery of the story. Abigail goes missing and there were plenty of possibilities as to what could have happened to her and who was involved. Many believed she simply ran away to flee her horrible family life.

It seems the only person who really cared about Abigail was her little brother Jude and her best friend Emma. I believe Emma and Jude may have been the only characters I cared about in the story.

I liked how the author gave readers the point of view from numerous characters. This has quite a bit of scandalous tidbits to offer readers. I think the only reason I can’t rate it higher was because it was just such a dark world for some of the characters in the story and I must not have been in the right mood to read something of this nature.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review.

Where the Truth Lies is a haunting debut by Anna Bailey that is filled with dark twists and turns. This atmospheric, slow-burn mystery will chill you to the bone.

This story is about seventeen-year-old, Abi, who goes missing in a small, rural Colorado town. Abi’s best friend, Emma, is wracked with guilt for leaving Abi alone that night at a party in the woods. Emma will stop at nothing to find out what happened to her best friend—even if that means digging up some of the small town’s dirtiest secrets.

I must say, I really enjoyed this mystery even though it had a lot of dark and heavy topics that were embedded into the story. The hatred and bigotry that ran rampant through the small town was absolutely heartbreaking. This is a story that will definitely elicit a lot of different emotions from the reader. The novel had plenty of twists and turns which kept me rapt, and I loved that I was solving the puzzle one piece at a time. Definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a dark mystery that will chill you to the bone.

Thank you to Atria for gifting me a copy of this one in exchange for an honest review.

The town of Whistling Ridge guards its secrets.

You're telling me! The secrets are many and the characters are clinging to their secrets with all that they have.

Seventeen-year-old Abagail (Abi) goes missing after attending a party in the woods of Whistling Ridge. Her best friend, Emma feels tremendous guilt over leaving Abi alone at the party. She wants to know what happened to her friend and searches for the truth. The police, initially believe that Abi ran away but when evidence is found, it changes everything. The Town, the people, the woods all hold secrets and with this discovery those secrets are threatened.

There are many players here and may things that will be unsettling for some. This small town is full of gossip, racists, of bullies, rage, bigotry, hate, the haves and the have nots. The church with its Pastor should be a place of prayer, of rest, of welcoming of safety. But it is place of judgement, homophobia, blame, and so many other horrible things.

This town is full of unlikeable characters who are simply horrible and do terrible things to each other. All the characters introduced have some part to play in the book. As Emma attempts to learn what happened to her friend, she learns that her friends had sad secrets as well.

What happens when you turn a blind eye? What happens when you don't want to know? What happens when rage is turned loose? What happens to outsiders? What happens when you deny the truth? What happens when you judge others? What happens when you push your children to fulfill your dreams? What happens when you don't stick up for them? So may what ifs in this book.

This is not a happy-go-lucky book. It's sad and heartbreaking. Elements of this book will evoke strong emotions in readers. There is the mystery of what happened to Abi, but there are also small mysteries in this book as well. Several characters have questions, but will they get answers?

This book is thought provoking. heartbreaking. well written and bleak. Yet, it was also well done, expertly plotted and captivating. There are some twists along the way which kept things moving nicely - it's not fast paced but meanders along as it brings the book to the conclusion. Will you figure out what happened? Will you be surprised? Read to find out!


Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a dark, unsettling, slow-burn mystery this is it. I strongly disliked most of the characters. These people had serious issues. I was seeing red and cringing over the preacher’s actions. He led his flock to cast judgements, and to harm others that strayed from his beliefs (sound like cult behavior?) And with all the naughty small town gossip, prejudices, and hatefulness, there’s despicable behaviors happening behind closed doors too.

Teen Abigail Blake goes missing during a bonfire party. Her friend Emma was the last to see her, including the dark silhouette of a boy she was seen meeting at the edge of the woods. Emma feels tremendous guilt for leaving Abi behind and sets out to find what happened to her. Everyone has opinions on what happened to Abi. Unfortunately, the police think she ran away, so finding her wasn’t a priority.

This follows a timeline of then & now, to the final conclusion revealing the unsub that caught me completely by surprise, I never would of guessed it. Anna Bailey has written a clever debut with multiple characters she seamlessly wove into her story. I’m highly anticipating her next book!!

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for kindly sharing a review copy with me. All opinions are my own.

The guilty friend dynamic in Where The Truth Lies is by far the strongest part of the novel, and the dark setting and writing only amplify it. And while I read it a lot, this book does a great job of portraying the grief after all the chips fall.

This book is in no way a happy or easy read like I was expecting it to be, and I do actually prefer the other and more sinister cover. Books featuring small towns are either going to be very cozy or very gloomy, and this book is the latter. And while it took me out of left field, the setting and characters all do a great job at adding to the dreading feeling.

Would recommend to those who have read/enjoyed Village of the Lost Girls, this book creates a perfectly sinister vibe. Happy publication day and thank you to Atria and Netgalley.

This is another multiple point-of-view novel taken place in different times. Not my favorite type of style thriller to read, but more and more authors are doing it so I have to bite the bullet and read on. With that in mind, it was fairly well done despite a few hiccups where I had to backtrack to pay attention to what timeline I was reading about. This was a really unique mystery which I appreciate having read a lot on my own. It started off as a typical mystery novel, and really turned into something a whole lot more intriguing. The writing was really well done for a debut author as well. I enjoyed reading this small town vibes during the summer months and highly recommend this one.

✨R E V I E W✨

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗬

Happy pub day @annabaileywrites ✨I finished this story a few days ago and am still thinking about these characters💙

This was a beautifully written, heartbreaking story that takes place in a small town where a young girl disappears. I felt all the emotions reading this one as the town is full of racism, sexism, homophobia & more. The traumatic experiences the characters face were disturbing but I imagine still very real in some parts of our country. Many of the plot lines were hard to swallow, but I give it up to the author for diving deep into this dark world and delivering a beautiful but heartbreaking story about this community.

I enjoyed getting perspective from many characters as the story progressed & the short chapters that kept me reading wanting to know how the story ended. This was definitely not the thriller I was expecting, but it was a great slow burn mystery. Overall, this was a dark novel, but had moments of kindness & forgiveness. I definitely enjoyed it & would recommend!!

Thanks to @netgalley & @atriabooks for this advanced copy. This one is out TODAY 8/3 ✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

When Emma's best friend, Abigail, goes missing from a party in the woods, she becomes consumed by guilt. She left Abigail at the party and went home. Abigail had insisted, but she blames herself anyway. She is determined to find out what happened to Abigail no matter the consequences and no matter what she discovers.

In Anna Bailey's debut novel, Where the Truth Lies, Emma is devastated by her best friend's disappearance. She peels back layers of secrets many townspeople want to stay hidden. Emma has help from a few unlikely people. Some of them seem to know more about her best friend than she did. Emma wonders if she really knows Abigail at all.

Bailey captures the cross interactions of a small town. She shows how actions involve multiple people, how some "secrets" are known to everyone but not discussed, and how pulling a thread can unwrap the delicate balance of a small town.

The story is told in alternating timelines - then and now. Characters come in and out of the story and felt flat. At times, the story was confusing, and it felt jumbled. It seems to try too hard, and it did not resonate with me.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com.