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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
Everyone Here Is Lying: A Novel by Shari Lapena, Shari Lapena
72 reviews
cassidy_rain's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I would categorize this as a mystery more than a thriller! The concept is really interesting and caught my attention right away. A young girl goes missing and the search for her is tainted by all of the other characters not being fully truthful in aiding the investigation because they all have their own secrets to hide. It was exciting to watch the story unfold, but a little slow at times. I didn’t think any of the twists were particularly shocking. The ending was maybe a little rushed but I did have a “WTF” moment at the very last page and was wanting to see how the story continued unraveling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Infidelity
Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, and Child abuse
samburkhouse's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Murder and Emotional abuse
Minor: Stalking and Mental illness
rjohns5's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death, and Child abuse
kmacdonald's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
velvetreads_'s review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement
ashwatever98's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
This book will bring you on a weird and twisted ride. I did not expect the way the story went and it took me by surprise. It was a pretty good read.esoden's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Kidnapping
ronnieb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Trigger Warning: Domestic/Child Abuse, Cheating, Molestation Discussed Not Shown
This book was a solid read. You are constantly switching between many different POVs and it reads at breakneck speeds but I personally love that type of story. It is fast-paced and there are enough story beats happening that you never really get bored. I did think there were a few too many characters as I found myself forgetting who some were and where they fit into the story between sittings to read this. A character list would be helpful.
As for the actual story, this is not doing anything new or groundbreaking but there are lessons and commentary provided under an engaging mystery of what did happen to Avery. You dislike most characters but everyone does feel three-dimensional outside of Avery I would say. I never felt like I was reading a first draft or characters who were just one trait personified, once again outside of Avery. In the actual reveal of what did happen, I did partially guess as far as motive but I did not guess everything fully. This was in part of the story being well constructed but I will say it does come a bit out of nowhere. I will explain further below but it could be potential spoilers so stop here if you do not one even a hint of the twist.
POTENTIAL SPOILER
I felt like the character that ultimately is our big bad is in one scene before being revealed which I initially dismissed as a red hearing. It was not bad but I would be shocked if someone really was blown away by the twist.
This book was a solid read. You are constantly switching between many different POVs and it reads at breakneck speeds but I personally love that type of story. It is fast-paced and there are enough story beats happening that you never really get bored. I did think there were a few too many characters as I found myself forgetting who some were and where they fit into the story between sittings to read this. A character list would be helpful.
As for the actual story, this is not doing anything new or groundbreaking but there are lessons and commentary provided under an engaging mystery of what did happen to Avery. You dislike most characters but everyone does feel three-dimensional outside of Avery I would say. I never felt like I was reading a first draft or characters who were just one trait personified, once again outside of Avery. In the actual reveal of what did happen, I did partially guess as far as motive but I did not guess everything fully. This was in part of the story being well constructed but I will say it does come a bit out of nowhere. I will explain further below but it could be potential spoilers so stop here if you do not one even a hint of the twist.
POTENTIAL SPOILER
I felt like the character that ultimately is our big bad is in one scene before being revealed which I initially dismissed as a red hearing. It was not bad but I would be shocked if someone really was blown away by the twist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
jennabeck13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
Genre: Thriller
About 320 pages
When nine-year-old Avery goes missing, the community goes into panic mode. She has been raised in an extremely safe neighborhood where this kind of thing doesn’t happen. Avery’s parents are desperate to find her but her father, William, is withholding some information from the police. And he’s not the only one… Everyone in this neighborhood is lying about what they know and what they’ve been up to.
Shari Lapena is an auto-read author for me. As such, I was ecstatic for this book to come out since her last book was released over two years ago. I think I may have gone in with too high of expectations though… While I still liked the book, and it kept me on my toes, it didn’t hit the way her other books have. There were too many suspects, so we never got a lot of details on any of them which made it hard to build a foundation of a case against them. Additionally, the plot wasn’t as suspenseful as Lapena’s prior books, with only one big twist. I was shocked by said twist, however, I didn’t find that particular character’s behavior to be realistic… Still a Lapena lover but if you’re looking at which of her books to start with I would point you towards the others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Child abuse
carissa230's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Avery, a 9 year old girl, is missing and the entire town is searching for her. Most people are sure that something bad happened, but those closest to Avery aren't so sure. Avery does not have any friends and it looks like Avery was living a life nobody knew about.
This is a small town book, where everyone is keeping secrets. If they could come together they could probably find Avery, but they have too much to lose.
This was a good fast-paced book, but I don't know how well it will stick with
This is a small town book, where everyone is keeping secrets. If they could come together they could probably find Avery, but they have too much to lose.
This was a good fast-paced book, but I don't know how well it will stick with
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping