Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Everyone Here Is Lying: A Novel by Shari Lapena, Shari Lapena

21 reviews

nashvillebookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Solid psychological thriller! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Mental illness

Minor: Kidnapping

stephaniezd's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wish I liked this book a lot more than I do. As soon as I realized what was going on, I knew what was going to happen, just not how - and I REALLY and TRULY hate that for me because this was a fun book to listen to, and really well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Infidelity, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

lcamp2780's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Death

tierraskye's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Definitely was not expecting the ending on this one! I thought I had everything figured out and by the time the big twist was revealed, I was in shock! It just kept getting better! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Rape, Death, Murder, Confinement, Grief, and Mental illness

atjude's review against another edition

mysterious 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? It's complicated

0.25

If you like victim blaming and holding children accountable for the way adults abuse them, you’ll love this. There’s also a healthy dose of ableism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Ableism

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Confinement

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

9 year old Avery goes missing and everyone is a suspect. Secrets are revealed, relationships are torn apart, and lives are irrevocably damaged. 

This is a fast pace, twisty suspense that sucks you in from the start. My theory changed so many times throughout the first half. You really have no idea who to believe because, well, everyone is lying. 

Avery has always been a difficult child; she gets into a lot of trouble and is very defiant. After getting into a fight with her dad, she goes missing. Fingers are pointed at her father William after his lies and affair come to light. Then the tide turns on Ryan, his mistress Nora's son, after an anonymous tip. 

There are so many red herrings in this story. The truth is pretty twisted. After their fight, Avery wants to punish her father, so she runs away to a neighbour's house and plans to stay there until her dad is arrested for her disappearance. Little does she know that this neighbour, Marion, has her own plans for Avery. So while Avery has been hiding in her basement, Marion has been taking advantage of the situation and scheming. 

Marion is in love with William and when she found out about his affair with Nora, she wanted to punish them. So, she makes an anonymous tip lying about Ryan, hoping to destroy Nora 's life. Marion knows that in order for her plan to work, Avery can never go free, so she makes a plan to kill Avery. Avery ends up getting the jump on her and it ends with Marion dead. Avery "escapes" and seeking as much attention as possible, she spins a tale about her "harrowing ordeal". 

The ending was so abrupt for me.

There is so much that is still unknown. Did Marion really die in the fall? Did the truth of the events come out? What happened to Avery if the truth did come out! Is Avery really a psychopath ?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

babetacular's review against another edition

mysterious medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Child abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Blood, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

chrissyrein's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Mental illness

quietlex's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

I love Shari Lapena’s work, despite every book following the same plot line over and over.

I didn’t see Avery hiding out in Marian’s basement, so that was a fun twist.

Everything else was fairly predictable, though it was a fun read. What WASNT fun was the ending. I can’t remember if Lapena has ended a book so abruptly before with no resolution. I was flipping through the pages looking for the next chapter, or maybe a sneak peek at the next book. So frustrating! I literally closed the book with a “wtf!” All in all, I enjoyed reading this one, but I wouldn’t recommend it compared to her others. She always follows the same tropes, so you know what to expect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, Blood, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder

britt_b24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Ableism, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Violence, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse