Last year, I discovered Or Else, a twisted thriller I enjoyed so much that I went back and read another 3 books from the author’s catalogue.

Where they lie is a character driven thriller.

Nora Mc Tavish is a child's protective services agent, and she gets involved in the family drama of one of her foster house family.

She feels like there’s something she just can’t put her fingers on for Kaylee and her family of three foster children and her husband. After the plane accident, everything shows to Andrea, the girl that seemed to attract trouble at any second. Because of her own past, I can see her why she is so driven to discover what happened and trying to protect Andrea till the last minute.

I can’t say that I didn’t have a crazy moment when I thought the husband had more to do with the accident in the beginning. But after halfway through, the plot thickens, and the story held me captive even more.

I loved how the bring to light that what happens behind the camera and closed doors, reality is way more heartbreaking.

I’m not the one to watch reality tv or follow influencers that post their picture perfect family and let you believe that life is so sparkly and wonderful. But I was captivated by Kaylee and her character. She is someone I wouldn’t want to have around me or my friends. The ending left me gasping because it was unbelievable how she pulled that stunt again after everything that happened. Some people have no conscience, remorse or guilt at all.

Whether you enjoy addictive thrillers or you are seeking a great family drama in this “sparkling, everything must be posted on social media society”, this book is unmissable.

Gripping, heartbreaking and a must read story.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

This was my first book by Joe Hart and I really enjoyed it. It sucked me in from the beginning with the video transcripts. This book kept me guessing until the very end. I really enjoyed the characters and their development. This book definitely shows that not everyone is perfect, despite the front they put up. I look forward to reading more of Joe Hart's books!

Author Joe Hart has written a heart wrenching, disturbing, and complex tale with his newest thriller, Where They Lie.
Hart shows that he is a master of suspense and throws in a touch of horror through the stories of abuse that are revealed as the book progresses. Through his main character Nora McTavish and her job at Children's Services, as well as her own history, the reader is shown truly disturbing and horrible background stories of characters. He addresses the almost obsessive need for 'likes' online, and how that need can make one blind to what is happening in the real world. Yet none of this comes across as heavy handed, and the book flows smoothly from beginning to end, with many different solutions to the mystery at the heart of the book.
Well-written, fast-paced, and full of fascinating, flawed, and tragic characters, Where They Lie just may keep you up at night!
I received an ARC of #WhereTheyLie from #NetGalley .

I picked this book out without knowing anything about it. I found the whole thing to be...flat. The characters were pretty one-dimensional and didn't seem to grow much throughout the story. I felt like I was being led through the story point by point, rather than allowing me to work things out. There were so many characters that seemed to just be added to explain things about other characters away. Show me things. Don't just tell me. And don't throw more things into the mix in order to tell me things. The twists were pretty good, but they didn't really play off of things that had happened in the book previously. Overall, not my favorite.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. Though the end is not shocking - there was enough throughout the book to keep me guessing on the "who did it". Overall a great read,
Often suspense bore me but this one was able to keep my attention. One of the reasons is that the life of the main character, though related to the main story, gave a bit more and was a nice addition. The writing was easy to follow and I will for sure look up the author again.

I loved this book! Will be checking more out from this author and will be recommending it to friends!!!

I liked Joe Hart's Dominion Trilogy and wanted to see if I would enjoy one of his thrillers as well. I had a hard time finishing the book because I didn't like the main character. As a former Child Protective Service Investigator, I could relate to the parts of the story regarding Nora's job and the frustrations that go with it, but Nora as a person annoyed me.

The mystery was intriguing and I didn't figure out the why and the who until almost the end of the story. Overall, not a bad book, but not my favorite story of Mr. Hart's.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Joe Hart for the eARC.

The story is told from the perspective of Nora McTavish, who works for child protective services. After Andrea, a troubled foster child, murders the family of Kaylee Volk’s family, Nora starts her own investigation. Of course, it doesn’t help that while Nora is unravelling the mystery behind the deaths, she is fighting away her own demons. And there is more than what meets the eye in both instances.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that the characters were relatable, and I liked how they were developed.

The story was well-paced and had a great twist.

Where They Lie by Joe Hart
Kaylee Volk is an influencer that documents the home life of her, her husband, and their three foster children. They have a seemingly perfect life until their private plane crashes into the ocean. Kaylee is the only survivor and states that the eldest foster child, Andrea, forced the plane crash. Nora is a social worker that was familiar with Andrea and she takes a personal interest in the case. She begins investigating amd secrets about the Volk family unravel.
I liked this book for the most part. The pacing was quick, with short chapters, and it wasn't too long. I liked Nora's character but it was hard to get behind some of her poor choices. The twist ending was predictable. Overall this was a quick read with an interesting premise, but predictable and probably forgettable.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Joe Hart novel. I really enjoy their writing style- very quick and easy to read, not overly descriptive while still managing to convey a decent amount of imagery.

The plot had a lot of potential however I felt underwhelmed by this book. The secondary story of Nora helping Julia seemed to take away from the main storyline in my opinion. The character development was fairly weak and I couldn’t find a character to root for and most upsetting was the plot twist was easily seen from a mile away.

I will say there are some chapters that are extremely tense and Joe Hart did a fantastic job of making us feel that - for example, without giving spoilers- when Nora was in the park and again at the end of the book the scene on the beach.

Overall it is a quick easy read, the plot idea is great and it’s a solid 3.5 star book. I’d give the author another shot after reading this book.

This is again a book I recieved the arc of and the only thing I knew about it going in, was that it‘s a thriller. Been reading a lot of them lately, probably because I feel like thrillers are perfect in the fall/winter time.
But that also means that I have a lot of experience with thrillers and personally am quite critical especially when it comes to plot twists. The story of this book had sooo much potential but sadly it lacked a little depth as well as the the plot twist was lacking since I figured it out early on. His writing is amazing and so easy to read but I would‘ve preferred if the book was longer and the characters had more depth. The story line felt a little rushed because of how short this book was. I‘ll probably give the author another try with another book, since I actually liked his writing and again this one had potential to be a really good thriller.

In a first chapter that is both chilling and horrifying, a man out for an afternoon sail with his dog is nearly hit by a plane that then crashes into the ocean near him. He sees two people fighting in the cockpit and, in a window, the small face of a terrified child. Everyone on the plane is killed except Kaylee Volk, a well known vlogger, influencer and foster parent. She tells the ploice that her troubled teenage daughter Andrea fought with her husband and deliberately crashed the plane. Andrea had recently been the subject of an investigation by child services. Social worker Nora McTavish had interviewed Andrea and her brother after they had a violent fight at their home. She’s convinced that something was hidden under the story they told. Something dark, something that would turn deadly.

Where They Lie is a book that will stay with you long after you read the last page. Joe Hart shows the flaws in the child protection system, a system that failed Kaylee Volk and her family, other clients of Nora and Nora herself. These failures lead to emotionally damaged children, terrified wives and sometimes death. As Nora says “Someone once said we don’t have a justice system, we have a legal system. I think about that a lot.” You will too. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Joe Hart for this ARC.

This was an incredible read! Hooked from the first page, I kept guessing and guessing and still was mind blown at the end. To the point that I slapped a hand over my mouth! lol this was a turn pager thriller if there ever was one and I will definitely be reading more of Joe Hart’s work.

I was able to read this book early thanks to NetGalley! I can't say enough about this book. There was so many unexpected twists and turns. This book was about a social worker named Nora who goes above and beyond for her job. She had a traumatic childhood and has a passion to help people. She was notified of a previous case involving the Volk Family. Online the Volk family gives the impression that they have a perfect life that is until one day almost all of them end up dead in a tragic plane crash. I highly recommend this book!

“Secret by secret, Nora pieces together a Volk family puzzle that’s more twisted than anyone saw—one far from the picture-perfect life Kaylee sold to the public. And the closer Nora looks, the more disturbing it gets.”

Where They Lie is my first read by Joe Hart, and I am interested in further exploring his writing.

I enjoyed the pace of the book, and his more streamlined writing style that isn’t overly wordy, the story of an inside look at an influencer family, and the twists the book takes you on.

A wonderful, somewhat dark, twisty mystery that unravels through the pages. I felt all emotions in reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an eARC of Where They Lie in exchange for an honest review.

A few years back, I read The Unwilling by John Hart. I really enjoyed it, so when I received a copy of Where They Lie (in exchange for this honest review), I was grateful to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley. When I began reading, it felt like something that wasn’t John Hart, with good reason: Where They Lie is by JOE Hart. I figured “whatever,” and started in.

As a former foster mother, stories involving foster kids always seem to have a bigger than warranted impact. In this story, a CPS worker named Nora McTavish begins an investigation into the fatal plane crash that took the lives of Kaylee Volk’s husband and three foster children, Bethany, Andrea, and Mason. Kaylee feels certain that foster kid “Andrea did it.”

Kaylee makes her income from her online video blog, which provides all sorts of information and advice about how to have a happy home life. Nora, whose own background and familiarity with Andrea’s issues make her wonder if she missed something and ponder whether she might have been able to stop/help Andrea. The more she digs into the whole family, which had been put forth as an ideal picture-perfect bunch, the more she uncovers family secrets that become more troubling by the day.

It’s a well-done, twisty thriller by a fairly prolific author, none of whose books I had read…but I will definitely look for more of his work after reading this four-star surprise.

Another great, but kind of depressing, book. I say depressing because of the subject. The book itself is written superbly. I received it from Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley and it'll be out on the first of May 2023.

The life of influencer Kaylee Volk is turned upside down when their private plane with her husband and three foster children crashes into the ocean. Only Kaylee survives and she has a shocking revelation: her eldest foster child, Andrea, has crashed the plane. The child protective services employee Nora McTavish is in shock. She knew Andrea and she just can't believe what happened. That's the reason she starts her own investigation...and secret after secret is uncovered.

The author, Joe Hart, is very capable of giving the reader the uneasy feeling about child care and foster families. The horrible practices that can occur do leave an awful impression and makes you feel so sorry for children who are put through such a system. The story is well thought out and you end with all the answers to the question you get while reading. The characters are described vividly and you sometimes second guess yourself because you just don't know who to believe.

All in all, an absolute great novel that leaves you with a somewhat bitter aftertaste, especially because of the ending.

4,5/5⭐

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Where They Lie. I could not put this book down. Hart tell an intricate story of family drama, mystery and distinction that will tug at your heart while trying to pull it out at the same time. In depth interesting characters and a relevant subject kept me invested till the end
The crash of an airplane in the ocean with a wealthy family on board kicks off this novel. A social worker who had investigated an incident can’t let it go. Something is not right so she starts her own investigation and in doing so becomes a target. Something is very wrong and she is determined to find out the truth.
Excellent. I could not put this book down. 5 stars

The story keeps you hooked up from the start to the end. As a early childhood educator and a mom found aspects of the book very interesting and some very sad. Really liked the plot and the characters. Definitely recommend it.

What a twist!

This was such a fun and fast read, it was a bit weird and not as greatly written and constructed as I would have wanted, but the plot was very surprising, and the characters were very well written, this thriller was extremely character oriented actually.

The plot was kind of interesting and had good misleads, it kind of made me spiral in doubts, sometimes.

In the beginning, the main character failed to get me to like her, she was all over the place, and not in the interesting, attractive way. But I did get to a point where I was rooting for her all the way.

All in all, if you're into twisty, character based thrillers, you would love this more than I did!