This was an excellent book! New to me author and I can’t wait to read more! This was non stop good! So glad I could be able to read this early! It will be a hit!

3.75/5 ⭐️

Note: I feel like this book should come with a trigger warning as it covers a lot of sensitive topics- ie; child abuse and domestic violence.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I felt like it went at a good pace that kept me intrigued. There were a few very suspenseful chapters that I just flew through! The plot was different than most stories that I’ve read before. I was, however, able to guess two or three of the plot points.

One specific chapter really got my nervous! It was chapter twenty. During the chapter, Nora thought someone was on the porch and she saw something go past the kitchen window. Then she wondered if her basement door to the outside was locked…The whole scene made my heart race. Maybe it’s because I was reading on my phone in the pitch black, but I thought it was a job well done!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy of Where They Lie in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure: I found myself slagging through this book and felt that even had I finished it, I wouldn't be able to give it any review that wasn't bitter and biased, so I gave up while still ahead.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A social worker acts as a detective to uncover the secrets behind mysterious deaths in one of her cases.

Married couple Kaylee and Justin Volk foster 3 children. Obviously, they have some struggling. Until once, 4 of them were died in air crash. Only Kaylee survived. And she appeals with shocking news  - Andrea, the older child, did this.  And Nora, a child protective service's agent, wants to find the truth. 
This book consist of a lot of triggers. Mostly everything will come up near child abuse and neglect. Lots of characters were physical or emotional traumatized in the past. It's interesting to see how different each of them worked with the own trauma. Nora, I think, has the deepest wounds.  
As for the plot, my predictions were wrong. But the twist in the end was good. Also, I liked the relationship between Nora and Byron. For me, they were perfect. The tense in the book were constantly increasing, each new chapter added the tension. It was not overhype, just a good, steady one. This book is perfect if you like to read about child protective services or foster family.

I really liked this book. Not often the mystery isn’t obvious from the start, but this one surprised me! I liked it. Will def. Recommend to patrons. Lots of surprises here.

So with my third attempt at typing a review and not being able to outsmart my laptop's desire to sabotage my efforts (yes, I completely know it's user error), I'm going to concede the victory to the damn laptop and just say this was a great read based around a timely topic related to social media and influencers. I'm not a fan of either of those two things, so I really enjoyed this story. And while I figured out the who of the whodunnit, I was swept up in finding out the entire backstory. There were some seriously scary moments for me, and this author has the ability to put you directly in the moment. Our heroine was one tough cookie with an incredible need to slay a few personal demons, and I sure did enjoy taking her trip with her.

The first book I have read by this author and I have to say I really enjoyed it! It is by no means the greatest literary work of art, but the premise was interesting and it has a great pace. I felt like the characters could have done with being a little more developed, especially those of the volk family but all in all the plot was enjoyable. A book with a bit of everything- murder, heartbreak and tragedy. I found it easy to get sucked into and enjoyed the little twists along the way.

This is a great read. Well written and the storyline flows.
Adults with childhoods that make them hurt in adulthood.
Nora is in child protection but gets way too involved in her clients lives, even after they are settled.
A plane crash destroys a family with 3 foster kids, but not all is as it looks.
Great read. You will enjoy it

I’ve enjoyed many books by this author, but this one didn’t quite measure up to his usual standard of excellence. I felt like I was being talked to more than experiencing the events of the story. The plot was well done, and the characters well developed, but there was just something that didn’t quite “click” for me.

This book is full of it!!!
It is full of-Drama, outrage, justice- murder, revenge and heartbreak.
It is full of- characters with traumatic pasts, uncertain futures and shaky relationships.
I loved it!
I am now in search of the rest of his novels!!!

A page turner from the beginning! Nora McTavish is a complex character who you can empathize with as she wades through her own traumatic childhood experiences to try and make the world a better place. Nora’s instincts lead her into a increasingly dangerous situation, and as a reader you can’t “look” away as she is drawn deeper into a dangerous tangled web of lies that she feels compelled to decipher. Great story, and I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of Where They Lie. This was a really good story that was probably more suited to a Lifetime movie, not a book. Many people love sneak peeks into the lives of ‘influencers’ and the vlogs were well done. Nora was a good, caring character, and I loved how she took care of her clients. I didn’t love the writing, and found myself losing interest every so often. I also didn’t really understand the significance of the final ‘Update’ which, once again seemed more suited to a Lifetime movie. fIf you’re looking for a great female protagonist and a story with a surprising ending, you will love this book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Family is content for Kaylee Volk. Her vlogs celebrate a happy home with her husband and their three foster children, Bethany, Mason, and Andrea. Everything is perfect until the day the family’s private plane plummets into the ocean. Only Kaylee manages to survive—with a shocking revelation: Andrea did it.

This is particularly devastating for Nora McTavish, a child protective services agent who is already familiar with Andrea’s troubled history. Given Nora’s own traumatic childhood, how could she not have sensed the profound darkness festering within the girl? What did she miss? Could she have stopped Andrea?

As Kaylee struggles to cope with the crushing loss, Nora’s investigation begins. But her guilt soon turns to unease. 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.

My review: I'm not sure what to think of this one. The plot is interesting, and somewhat unique. There's a nature vs nurture theme running through the entire story (which I like). The first part of the book is a little hard to get into, but it picks up nicely later on.
None of the characters are particularly likeable, which is sometimes ok but here it irritated me a little. I wanted to like Nora more, but couldn't.
The twist was pretty obvious early on, but there were a few well-done surprises at the end! I'd read another book by this author.

Though Nora's childhood holds some horrific events, it was refreshing to read a book where the main character isn't an anxiety, PTSD ridden mess.
The story was interesting and kept me guessing, unsuccessfully the whole way. I would certainly recommend this thriller.
Thank you Net Galley, publisher, and author for a copy.

Great book that kept me entertained way past bedtime. While I guessed the outcome fairly early on the writing and insights into a CPS caseworker kept me reading.

Before I get started with my thoughts on this book, I just wanted to mention that this is the first book I have read by the author, and I must say I was impressed by the plot and the style it was written in.

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.

Highly recommend reading it.

This is my first time reading a book by Joe Hart and I already plan on picking up more.

You meet Nora who works for CPS and you find out that she also grew up in foster care which led her to wanting to help kids and protect kids.
Nora finds out about a terrible plane crash that has occurred, which happened to have on board a foster family she worked with. This particular foster mom is a social media influencer and she paints this picture perfect life that she has given these three foster kids.

The story starts off strong and really draws you in, and then it starts to get a little drawn out and took me a bit to get back into. However I’m glad I kept going because the thrills did pick back up and I love Nora! She is one strong woman who knows what she wants and what she doesn’t.

I definitely found myself saying just one more chapter because I just needed to know what was going to occur next.

I did predict a few things and some things I did not see coming. I was hoping for a different outcome for a couple characters but there’s only so much one can take…

This is my first book by Joe Hart and I truly enjoyed it.

Nora is a child protective service agent that helps kids in the system find foster homes. Nora had past trauma of her own growing up. She came across Kaylee Volk that was a famous vlogger. Her and her husband Justin, was fostering three children Bethany, Mason, and Andrea. At the beginning of the novel Kaylee, Justin and her three foster children was on a private plane going on vacation, but the plane ended up crashing. The only survivor was Kaylee and she said the oldest foster child, Andrea, caused the crash.

Nora was investigating the accident because she wanted to know why Andrea would do such a thing. The reason she was so invested in the plane crash was because a few weeks prior Andrea and Mason had an altercation, but didn't get the full story on how it happened. Both kids chalked it up to a misunderstanding and left it at that. Nora didn't believe it, but she didn't want to push for more information. As time went on Nora wanted to find out the truth on what was really going on behind the scenes of the family because some things don't add up. Nora gets herself in some sticky situations when digging into a family her work told her not to pursue.

Overall, I really liked the development of the characters. I didn't feel like I was missing any information on their back stories. Some of the plot was easy to guess on what was going to happen next. I wasn't expecting the ending at all. I ended up rooting for characters I didn't like at the beginning. I was invested in the book from the very beginning, but during the middle of the book I kind of drifted off for it being a little slow. At the end of the book, I got hooked in again and loved the ending, I rate this book a 3.5 This won't be the last book I read from Joe Hart.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this arc early.

This book was perfect!! You will get lost in the storytelling and the lies. It is sad and wonderful and brilliant. I loved this one so much.