At first, I was not pulled into this story as quickly as I thought I would have been, but around Chapter 20, the scene took on a wild and crazy turn.
I don't want to spoil anything.
Good character development, interesting plot and well written.
It was a little slow for me and the ending was predictable.
I just wish the ending chapter had a little bit of spice.
But I really enjoyed the plot and twist overall.
A quick read and overall a good twisty book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thomas & Mercer,
Thank You for this eARC!
For an honest review.

I’m a bit flummoxed by this book…Rachel Howzell Hall is a talented writer and I really enjoyed her previous book, And Then She’s Gone, but this book was not well-written or put together at all. The actual story was not bad, but it felt more like a first draft to me than an edited, close-to-being-published book….so much repetition, it just didn’t flow, and very little character development, This one needs some more work before going to print.


Thank you very much to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I couldn’t get more excited after seeing RHH’s last book at the NG and best part is you can access it without even requesting! “And now she’s gone”was one of all time favorite reads and I also enjoyed her several previous works!

The plot attracted my interest and beginning of the book was so strong which kept my hopes up for another five starred read but then… well it felt like the beginning and rest of the book were written by different authors because I truly lost my entire interest and kept stuck in repetitive cycle ( same dialogues, unnecessary details about characters’ motives, actions, one dimensional characters and very foreseeable culprit)

I had two options: DNF %20 or skim it! I honestly chose to skim as fast as I could.

Overall: I was disappointed. If this book could be re-edited: with less pages and more character development, less repetitive situations and dialogues: it would have potential.

I’m only rounding up 2.5 stars to 3 because I love the author’s writing style and beginning of the book was truly promising!

I wish I enjoyed the entire book. Keeping my hopes for the next one! I’m still devoted fan of the author!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas& Mercer for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

#WeLieHere #NetGalley
Awesome.
Yara Gibson’s hometown of Palmdale, California, isn’t her first choice for a vacation. But she’s back to host her parents’ twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life. The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. But they’ve been estranged for years—drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can’t forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her “before it’s too late.” But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true?
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me an advanced copy.

This thriller is a well written story which include a lot of very interesting dynamics such as the one between the main character and her mother, unfortunately a lot of it and even the main mystery gets lost in the writing that includes a lot of repetition and information that don’t benefit the story. However it was all pretty promising and I will most likely check out the author’s other books

Rachel Howzell Hall gets better and better with each book! This story builds in intensity and speed as the reader uncovers life-changing secrets with Yara. This will certainly be another successful thriller from Hall.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've read one of Rachel Howzell Hall's books before and quite enjoyed it, so I was happy to dive into her newest thriller. Again, I was immediately hooked, even though the premise of a woman returning to her more or less rural hometown only to be met with a mystery is not a new one. I like it though so I was all game. Hall writes in a very approachable, direct way, at times I almost thought it rather simplistic. It's an easy to read book that I finished in a single sitting.
While I was hooked at first, that interest slowly but surely diminished over the course of the story. The mystery is rather predictable, there are too many repetitive dialogues in which a character explains something to another character that we, as a reader, already know or just found out, which just seemed redundant and unecessary. The characters themselves have potential but are rather shallow in the end, and because it's pretty clear where the story is heading and who the culprits are certain big twists about them don't really work so well. There's generally too much side noise, too, little stories that don't really add anything to the plot nor the characters. There is one central relationship between out protagonist Yara and her mother that I found really interesting, but the complexity of it doesn't reach the finish line.

All in all an okay-ish book with a writing style that just doesn't fit me as a reader very well and a mystery that is too predictable and pretty cliché as well.

Yara has returned home to Palmdale, California to organize her parent’s wedding anniversary, and she plans to go all out, finding the perfect mementoes of their lives together to showcase at the party. She’s caught off guard by a text from a woman named Felicia, who claims to be an estranged friend of her mother. Even though the two women haven’t spoken for decades, Felicia claims to have life changing information she wants to share with Yara. Before Yara can meet her, Felicia turns up dead in the local lake. Just when it looks like Felicia may have taken her secret to the grave, Yara receives a key to a lakeside cabin, left for her by the dead woman. In the cellar of the cabin lie the answers to Yara’s questions, answers that will change everything she thought she knew about her beloved parents.

Rachel Howzell Hall gets better with each book she writes and I can't wait to start reading her books the minute I can get the newest one in my hands. We Lie Here is a masterpiece of twisty that kept me enthralled from beginning to end - in one sitting. Highly recommended.

Bring on the family drama!

Yara Gibdon returns home to host her parents twentieth anniversary party. Everything is going to plan until she receives a sketchy text:” I have information that will change your life”.

The message is from her mother’s estranged friend Felicia Campbell. Yara tries to ignore her constant “we need to talk” texts and phone calls. Then Felicia winds up dead. She left Yara a key to a cabin. This key will unlock all the hidden secrets from years ago. This key will also change Yara’s life.

I enjoyed this thriller. It was a little slow in the beginning, but it picked up and I got hooked! The twist at the end I kinda saw coming but it did not take away from the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It had me from the prologue to the last page. A fast thrilling read with a great story. Characters and the setting were absolutely perfect as well.