<b><font face="roboto" size="12pt">TW: Language, drinking, sexual abuse (mention), cheating, suicide (mention), violence, guns, fat shaming, cheating, grief, bullying, family drama, divorce, homophobia, gambling, mourning</font></b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
Monreith, Massachusetts, was once a small community of whalers and farmers. These days it’s a well-to-do town filled with commuters drawn to its rugged coastline and country roads. A peaceful, predictable place—until popular restaurateur Laurel Thibodeau is found brutally murdered in her own home. Suspicion naturally falls on Laurel’s husband, Simon, who had gambling debts that only her life insurance policy could fix. But there are other rumors too . . .

Among the group of six friends gathered for Alice Stone’s fortieth birthday, theories abound concerning Laurel’s death. Max Barbosa, police chief, has heard plenty of them, as has his longtime friend, Unitarian minister Georgia Fitzhugh. Local psychiatrist Farley Drake is privy to even more, gleaning snippets of gossip and information from his patients while closely guarding his own past.

But maybe everyone in Monreith has something to hide. Because before this late-summer evening has come to a close, one of these six will be dead. And as jealousy, revenge, adultery, and greed converge, the question becomes not who among these friends might be capable of such a thing, but—who isn’t?
<b>Release Date:</b> January 23rd, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Thriller
<b>Pages:</b> 320
<b>Rating:</b> ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. I liked the writing style
2. The chapter breaks
3. The characters were interesting
4. Pov of Harper the dog was fun

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Very slow beginning
2. Farley is poop
3. Some parts felt repetitive

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><u>The Therapist:</u></b>
The book starts off with the murder of Laurel Thibodeau. We follow the therapist, Farley Drake. Who we find out is the someone that has already killed some of the locals;
• Steve Alabiso - was selling drugs to anyone and cheating.
• Jeanine Geller - was giving her daughter stuff to make her sick
Farley would find these terrible people through his clients and then kill them. The twist is that Farley didn't kill Laurel.

<b><u>The Patient:</u></b>
We then jump to the pov of Alice Stone. Alice knew that her husband, Damian. Alice found out that Damian was sleeping with Laurel. We find out that she has killed some people of her own;
• Hans - her 27 year old teacher that was sleeping with teenagers. She killed him with a syringe between his toe
• Father Jean-Marc - for taking advantage of sad and grieving women. She drugged and drowned him.

Awe Max remembering that Alice is vegetarian and getting vegan marshmallows. So nice.

Finally Alice tells Damian that she knew he was cheating and Damian dropped a bomb - he was going to leave her for Laurel. So I guess this dude just cheats and then marries the women he cheats with.

Oh the phone got a text and it's from Richard saying <i>"Meet me at the dock."</i> sent 10 minutes earlier. Who's phone is this? At first I was thinking it was Laurel’s but it can't be because Richard knows that she's dead.

<b><u>The Cop:</u></b>
We get to Max the cop that kissed Alice in her kitchen. The cop that brought her ambrosia salad with vegan marshmallows. What a choice that was... Ew though. (mentions he had vegan marshmallows on hand)

Omg I didn't see that coming. Now Farley is dead.... Omg.

<b><u>The Boyfriend:</u></b>
Now we can get Richard's pov. He also has a secret account where he is sending money because he's going to leave Georgia.

I don't know why Richard said he would get back to the house conversation when Farley already said that Richard bought half the house.

Richard mentions that he signed papers for the house and to be in the will for Farley's house then says he's <b>still</b> married to Georgia, so she'd get the property too. Hmmmm.

We end the chapter on a bombshell that Richard is being arrested for the murder of Farley and Damian - - Damian is dead????

<b><u>The Daughter:</u></b>
Onto Chloe's pov.

I liked being able to find out what happened to her at school with the fight. Taylor is terrible. She called her father a f*g insult. Gross.

Chloe does hate Farley despite what Farley's pov where he made out they were great together. She actually wants her family back together.

The night of the murders she snuck out to the phone back from Noah. When she comes home is when he her father is "waking" her up for the police.

<b><u>The Minister:</u></b>
Now we hear from Georgia. Ah so Damian asked Georgia to pick up the cake for him. Why did he not mention that? That's why she randomly showed up with the cupcakes.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh the burner phone belongs to Georgia!!!

So now Georgia is the one that approached Laurel about stolen items and seeing why she's stealing things from the old people

And then get to the reveal. Georgia killed Laurel because she didn't want Damian and the tow to know that she was tormenting him via a phone. How very random. How could they prove it was really her behind it? Why would the town turn on her after 15 years of being in the town for two people that were cheating on their spouses? She also decides to frame Farley for the murder. Seems silly because he wasn't on camera showing up and he is her therapist - easily explained that she must have picked the hair up when she was in his office at an appointment. She gets worried that Damian will turn over his phone because there is a photo of Laurel with a bag over her head on it. Why send it to him if you are worried? Again how would it be traced to her?

She also killed Damian with her car because he knows too much. She didn't kill Farley. So what happened to him?

<b><u>The Dog</u></b>
Interesting pov from the dog. So Alice and Max are together now. Georgia is arrested - Chloe turned her mother in.

Alice & Harper were out that night when it was raining and they passed Georgia without knowing it. Georgia had dropped the mallet but then Farley was stalking Alice because he knew he had to kill her. Alice attacked him with the mallet. She threw it in the water. The last scene we get us Harper almost bringing the mallet back to Max to play fetch with.

I kept thinking Chloe and Noah killed Laurel and Farley because they wanted their parents to stay together. Honestly it seems like everyone hated Farley. This book is keeping me guessing I seriously don't know who killed them. We know that Laurel didn't kill herself because the case is still open. She had a bag over her head and Simon, her husband found her. He has an alibi but the town insists on treating him like he did it.

I think the detective is over stepping in his investigations. Forcing him to talk to Richard's daughter is not legal. Unless you are arrested you don't have to talk to the detective.

<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
My biggest issue with the book is that there are two killers in this small town both killing people in the name of revenge. Not only that but the more you learn about Farley it seems so out if character for him to even care enough about people to take out vengeance in their name.

I had <i>so</i> much fun with this murder mystery book. The characters all passing one another without knowing it but interlinked into one another's lives was absolutely wonderful.

I kept thinking the killer must be this person and then a new character pov proved that not possible.

I would love to other books from this author.

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Thanks to Netgalley,
Kensington for the ebook, and Recorded Books for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

✨ Book Review ✨
📖 Who to Believe

⭐⭐⭐⭐
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This book kept me on my toes each time I thought I knew who did it I was then directed to another person. Love how everyone had their part in their POV but honestly, this book had me so confused and kept me guessing. It is worth a read.
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I enjoy books having different narrators for each section. It brings life to the book.
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listened to a murder mystery in quite a few months and I’m thankful that the NetGalley let me read/listen to this book and audio.

In the final act of the story, I was expecting some kind of Agatha Christie moment where all the pieces come together. Sadly, there wasn't one. It was less mystery than I would have hoped for but still an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an audio ARC of this book.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. While it had a strong start and it caught my attention right away, it quickly lost my attention with all the repetitiveness between POVs. This could have been confusing as an audio if we had not had such an amazing cast of narrators. That - I loved. I didn’t love hearing the same thing repeated over, enough that I stopped fully paying attention.

I also didn’t really care for any of the characters, though I did love all the secrets between them, the serial killer on the loose (and how the author alludes to enough characters that I had no inkling of who it possibly could have been for the majority of the book). It was an alright listening experience, but I’m not sure I would pick up another book with such a premise such as this one.

I really loved this book. I could not get enough of the twists and turns. I audibly gasped many times. This was a quick and easy read, there was literally never a dull moment. I was shocked all the way until the end.

I didn’t really liked this one.
I listen to it but I wasn’t really into it. I wasn’t interested in the characters or the plot. It was not for me.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

The story is told in a unique way, which is a rarity! The plot is largely centered on a birthday party, which takes place in the aftermath of one murder and leads up to another. The unique part is that the same series of events is told from the perspective of all the different characters with the reader gaining new clues with each telling. I haven’t read another book like it, and for that, I commend the author!

The book starts out extremely strong, with the first narrator surprising me and grabbing my attention right off the bat. Unfortunately, it starts to lose steam about halfway through. The ending was a bit predictable, but satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the narrators did a great job (as I listen to the audiobook). However, I wish I could’ve stayed as engrossed as I was with those first few chapters.

I love the idea of having the reader go through multiple POVs on a murder to ultimately decide who dunnit! This book uses seven different character’s version of events and beliefs on who killed Laurel in her home. The typical answer is always the husband, or is it?

Gathering at a friend’s fortieth birthday party, all seven POVs have something of their own to hide. Before the end of the night, one of them will also be dead. Who was it…and who isn’t capable of murder?

The audio production is well done with multiple narrators for the separate POVs.

Firstly I loved that each of the different perspectives were performed by different narrators. That made it a whole experience and helped me keep things clear.
This was weird and I liked the mystery.

A small town in Massachusett has always been a quiet place, until restaurant owner Laurel is found brutally murdered in her home. Her husband, Simon, who was deep in gambling debt, is the first suspect but there are plenty of other rumors too. As six close friends gather for Alice’s birthday to discuss their theories, it becomes clear that all of them have something to hide. Local police chief Max has heard all the theories (or so he thinks). Minister Georgia is trying to uphold her perfect reputation in town, while raising a rebellious teenage daughter. Then there’s psychiatrist Farley who seems to know everyone’s secrets but has several of his own. But by the end of the night, someone else will be dead.

I went into this book totally blind because, as usual, I saw several people on bookstagram raving about it so I had to check it out! What I found was a hilarious domestic suspense story. Told in multiple points of view, with each new viewpoint, you gain a different perspective on the events that have transpired. I thought it was a very unique way to tell the story; broken into a “part” for each different narrator, with their own viewpoint of pretty much the same events. Every viewpoint offered their own insight on the events, bringing the reader a tiny bit closer to solving the mystery. I loved all the viewpoints but the last one was my favorite :) Aside from several mysteries, the relationships between the characters were the real stars of the show; there was Chloe and Georia’s mother/daughter relationship, blended families and of course Farley befriending several of his clients made for some unique relationships as well.

This was a fun mystery for sure! Thank you to Kensington and Penguin Random House for the beautiful finished copy of this book! And thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the ALC! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle).

4.5/5 ⭐
A small Massachusetts town is rocked by the murder of Laurel Thibodeau. Everyone is convinced that her husband, Simon, is the culprit. As six friends meet for one of their birthdays, rumors fly about the murder and tensions rise. When one of them ends up murdered, one of the remaining five must be responsible.

I really enjoyed this one! It is told in different perspectives, but all at one time. So first we get Farley the therapist, then Alice, etc. This worked really well because we got to see how scenes unfolded from different perspectives and each new section challenged what we thought we knew. The audiobook makes it easy to follow as each section is narrated by a different person! I will say the audiobook limited my ability to go back and check what someone else had said (which would have been nice here).

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Edwin Hill, RB media, and NetGalley for an audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Massachusetts, was once a small community of whalers and farmers. These days it’s a well-to-do town filled with commuters drawn to its rugged coastline and country roads. A peaceful, predictable place—until popular restaurateur Laurel Thibodeau is found brutally murdered in her own home. Suspicion naturally falls on Laurel’s husband, Simon, who had gambling debts that only her life insurance policy could fix. But there are other rumors too . . Everyone seems to have their side of the story and their truth.
I found this book to be slow at times and often hard to follow with all the different character and their POV. With all the different characters, there was often a lot of repetition.

Over 13hrs for an audio book and super long for me. I did really love the narrators and found them clear and easy to understand. This book is full of twists and turns and definitely had me guessing the whole time. This books started off strong for me but then just ended flat.

Multiple POV's, multiple murders, multiple suspects, multiple twists, and lots of secrets! Everytime I thought it was going slow "bam" something would hit you with a twist or reveal. Sometimes following the multiple POV's got a bit much and had to got back and rewind a few times for clarity. But it all paid off!

I love Harper!!! Who to Believe is such a fun book. It is by far one of my top favorites I’ve reviewed on NetGalley. The different POV’s did not get redundant; rather, I enjoyed the insight into each character’s experience. Edwin Hill has written a thrilling whodunnit and I’m excited for his future novels.

This book was entertaining at times but the plot and motivations just seemed silly and over-the-top. It also felt unnecessary to have so many points of view -- some of the narrators were fantastic, but it felt like the point with that was to show how dark people's hearts could be, and again, that felt so exaggerated.
After all that, the ending seemed almost abrupt.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

Thank you to NetGalley and RB media for the audiobook.

I almost didn’t even keep listening to this book after the first 10 minutes. The first character is so narcissistic that I was very reluctant to continue. I’m so glad I did!!!!!

I didn’t have an issue with each of the narratives covering similar events—first, that aspect is a small part of each story and second it’s interesting to hear the small differences each unreliable narrator adds to their story. Keeps you guessing.

The dog’s perspective is SPOT ON.

Each actor is great, bringing a very individual perspective to their character. Very well done.

This was a really great audiobook. I finished it within 36 hours of beginning! This story is about 7 people and a dog and it's narrated by each of them. I loved having different narrators for each different characters as that added dimensions to the character development. The narrator's did a great job.

This is the story of Farley, Alice, Damien, Richard, Chloe, Georgia, Max, and Harper. Farley's, the handsome therapist, knows everyone's secrets and has some of his own that he's trying to keep hidden no matter what the cost. Alice, one of Farley's clients, is all about justice. And she is not afraid of making tough decisions for the greater good. Damien, Alice's adultering husband, is a documentarian and he's looking for his next big story. He's begun to suspect there's a serial killer on the loose, a story that could be his next big break. Richard, Georgia's husband, has recently embraced his sexuality and left Georgia to date the very fetching Dr. Farley Drake. Richard and Georgia have a beautiful, smart, interesting tweenage daughter, Chloe. Chloe, is 13, her father left her mother for the handsome Farley. Chloe is doing her best to acclimate to the changes in her life. She is one of the only characters in this book that I really liked, inside and out. Georgia, Chloe's mom and Richie's wife, is a minister who listens to the secrets of all her parishioners, She has her own secrets she'll do anything to keep. Max, is the chief of police, He's a neighbor to all the characters and is connected to each in his own way. Harper, Alice's rescue pit bull, is my other favorite character.

It was a little difficult to keep everything straight because there were so many characters, but the way the book engaged you made it easier to keep track. Most of the characters are unlikable, but I'm it's own way, it made the story more likeable. Chloe and Harper were my favorite characters by far. The plot was excellent, lots of twists and turns. Plenty of drama to keep you on your toes. Each character is intertwined with the next, and each are complex individually as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the audiobook. I put the speed up to 1.25 and that was a good pace for me. The only thing that really annoyed me was how they referred to the state police as the 'state cops' over and over. I definitely recommend this to a mystery, thriller, or psychological suspense reader! Solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thank you #netgalley for the #arc in exchange for my honest review. Thank you #RecordedBooks for the audio version of this title. #WhoToBelieve

This is my first Edwin Hill book but it won't be my last! What a fabulous, twisty tale of murder, lies and total deceit. Who to Believe is the perfect title for this book because just when you think you know a characters motives or next move, you don't!! I loved the small town, gossipy feel.

The story is told from multiple characters point of view. Character descriptions from the author:
*Farley Drake… the psychiatrist with a nasty habit of getting too close to his clients.
* Damian Stone… the documentary filmmaker with a conviction that a serial killer is stalking the region.
* Alice Stone… the financial planner with a clear-eyed view of her husband’s extra-curricular activities.
* Max Barbosa… the jaded police chief who struggles with impartiality.
* Richard Macomber… the not-as-dumb-as-you-might-assume car mechanic with a secret addiction.
* Chloe Macomber… the eighth grader obsessed with an older man.
* Georgia Fitzhugh… the Unitarian minister used to offering solace, not accepting it.
* Or a mystery guest… whose keen sense of observation reveals all.

If you love a great fresh new page turner then this is the book for you! Just released on January 23, 2024

Special thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC copy. All thoughts about this book are my own.

3.5 stars. I liked all the different voice actors (except Richie - excuse me, Richard, just didn't fit for me), and I've just finished it and I'm still not sure who to believe. Will have to reread (relisten) to truly get the gist of it all, for now I'm just thinking it over.

This one started out very strong!! I was telling all my friends about how good it was. Then it kinda got repetitive and boring. The ending was lack luster too. I’m very torn on this one! The narration was ok. Some voices I didn’t like.