Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

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

12 reviews

daniofthewood's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Gaslighting, Stalking, Kidnapping, Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging 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

It had me intrigued but the writing style made me quite detached from the characters and it felt a bit unrealistic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Ableism

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

teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

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

roeper83's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was hooked from the beginning. Honestly this might be my favorite book by Shari Lapena (so far). 
The plot twist was unexpected but I had trouble believing Avery's narrative, it just didn't feel very realistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Gaslighting

lizziemichalak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

Let me preface this with saying that I LOVE this author and her work. She writes books that keep you hooked and the story interesting. That said, she also adds heavy topics to her stories and the books don’t come with TW’s. I am writing this to you as fairly as I can based solely on the storyline, but I feel like with any book like this, the reviewer may have a bias. 

The town of Stanhope is about to take you on a WILD ride. Follow along as they uncover SO many secrets on the search for a missing little girl. A little girl, I might add, for sure has oppositional defiance disorder among other more severe things. This book was full of twists and turns and as things unfolded it got creepier and freakier. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Child abuse

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Infidelity

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, and Child abuse