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gracefullypunk's review against another edition
2.0
Dry like the desert
I really like several of Rachel Howzell Hall's books but this one was a slog through a sandstorm, waiting to confirm my long-held theory of what the book was about. To me, Yara was just not relatable or interesting. But the author does atmosphere so very, very well.
I really like several of Rachel Howzell Hall's books but this one was a slog through a sandstorm, waiting to confirm my long-held theory of what the book was about. To me, Yara was just not relatable or interesting. But the author does atmosphere so very, very well.
kizzabell's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
mrs_yang_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was able to figure everything about this story out before the reveals but the journey was still good. The whole time I just wished Yara would be enough for herself and once she was I was so proud of her. This story was sad and my heart hurts from it but family secrets tend to do that.
themagickofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning I was hooked. Once it got towards the middle I got lost a few times. It wasn’t horrible, but it also wasn’t my favorite.
jbjohnson80's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
galacticchar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jamiethome's review against another edition
4.0
From the first pages, this standalone novel by Rachel Howzell Hall is fraught with tension. Shifting with ease from murder-y bits to family drama sets, Hall's talent for writing well-developed characters is on full display here, and the reader can literally see (and smell) each person as if they are standing right there. Definitely worth reading.
ella_rose31's review against another edition
4.0
I might have a slight bias because the story takes place in my hometown but I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend for anyone trying to get into thriller/suspense books written by black women authors!
april_does_feral_sometimes's review against another edition
3.0
‘We Lie Here’ by Rachel Howzell Hall is an atmospheric mystery. While Yara Gibson, the main character, fascinated me, she also frustrated me. You know, like real people sometimes do. In this case, Yara and her family is one of those upper-middle-class, constantly-busy-people ones that appear to be normal if seen only by their surface appearances. But when around them for some time one becomes aware of hidden riptides. Since Yara’s point of view is the one most seen (there is another’s, a bad guy), readers soon see she is a high-maintenance anxiety-prone neurotic. Her memory is faulty, too, perhaps due to all of the prescribed drugs she is dropping for her asthma and anxieties.
Are her fears real?
I have copied the book blurb below:
”A woman’s trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She’s Gone and These Toxic Things.
TV writer Yara Gibson’s hometown of Palmdale, California, isn’t her first choice for a vacation. But she’s back to host her parents’ twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life.
The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. But they’ve been estranged for years—drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can’t forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her “before it’s too late.”
But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true?
The deeper Yara digs for answers, the more she fears that Felicia was right. Uncovering the truth about what happened at the cabin all those years ago will change Yara’s life—or end it.”
The blurb info is spot on, but I cannot convey how annoying Yara and her anxieties and her cowed obedience to her mother is. I find it difficult to believe she is a Los Angeles television show writer, and that she is able to tread water in that competitive, stressful environment. She switches often between being highly competent and being a mentally-ill basket-case with no ability to self-direct, throughout this novel. She judges everything through the lens of her mother’s opinions despite that she fears her mom and her opinions. There is a Munchausen syndrome by proxy vibe going on, coupled with obvious gaslighting that Yara is frustratingly blind to but readers can clearly see.
As a thriller, it was sort of stop-and-go rather than a sustained buildup. However, the mystery of why/what/who is definitely intriguing!
The book kept my interest, and I generally enjoyed the reading of it.
Are her fears real?
I have copied the book blurb below:
”A woman’s trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She’s Gone and These Toxic Things.
TV writer Yara Gibson’s hometown of Palmdale, California, isn’t her first choice for a vacation. But she’s back to host her parents’ twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life.
The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. But they’ve been estranged for years—drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can’t forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her “before it’s too late.”
But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true?
The deeper Yara digs for answers, the more she fears that Felicia was right. Uncovering the truth about what happened at the cabin all those years ago will change Yara’s life—or end it.”
The blurb info is spot on, but I cannot convey how annoying Yara and her anxieties and her cowed obedience to her mother is. I find it difficult to believe she is a Los Angeles television show writer, and that she is able to tread water in that competitive, stressful environment. She switches often between being highly competent and being a mentally-ill basket-case with no ability to self-direct, throughout this novel. She judges everything through the lens of her mother’s opinions despite that she fears her mom and her opinions. There is a Munchausen syndrome by proxy vibe going on, coupled with obvious gaslighting that Yara is frustratingly blind to but readers can clearly see.
As a thriller, it was sort of stop-and-go rather than a sustained buildup. However, the mystery of why/what/who is definitely intriguing!
The book kept my interest, and I generally enjoyed the reading of it.
hal2499's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75