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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
I normally like the different POV & the timeline jumps, but the way this book was laid out wasn’t my favorite. It was kind of confusing. Decent book, but most of these characters were awful. Decent twists while trying to figure out what happened to Abi, but also predictable in the outcome of what happened to her she wasn’t dead
Her father was a disgusting human being & the mother wasn’t any better. But when you are surrounded by a town with equally awful people, I guess you understand how they became so evil.
Her father was a disgusting human being & the mother wasn’t any better. But when you are surrounded by a town with equally awful people, I guess you understand how they became so evil.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
This book is not for the faint of heart! It has so many twists and turns. The character development and plot line takes you on a journey to really find out the truth from this small town. It’s was a book I got as a blind date with a book and was a great read! I couldn’t put it down for the last 1/3 of the book.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
A solid book. A smidge too long for no reason towards the end but still well done. A lot of tension here a lot of characters and what felt like a coming of age story for some...
For this to be such a small town so much went on and I felt myself losing patience, maybe because I'm not a fan of teenage characters. However the climax was well done and the book overall was well written.
I did not care for the British narrator in the audiobook and I was extremely confused when discovering the setting and the need for southern accents/drawl but getting a British accent... Also terms such as fairy lights and other British words creeping in bothered me. I would recommend if possible reading this one vs listening to the audiobook as I found it very distracting.
That being said... Surprisingly a good book.
For this to be such a small town so much went on and I felt myself losing patience, maybe because I'm not a fan of teenage characters. However the climax was well done and the book overall was well written.
I did not care for the British narrator in the audiobook and I was extremely confused when discovering the setting and the need for southern accents/drawl but getting a British accent... Also terms such as fairy lights and other British words creeping in bothered me. I would recommend if possible reading this one vs listening to the audiobook as I found it very distracting.
That being said... Surprisingly a good book.
Where the Truth Lies tells a grave story of what happens in a small town full of cult-like, racist, and homophobic Jesus followers after one of their own, Abigail, goes missing. In the beginning, it seems like only her best friend, Emma, cares that Abigail has gone missing, but when she starts to investigate and things don’t add up, everyone in the town’s secrets are exposed.
Anna Bailey really delivers in her debut novel. She has a strong, original voice, even if her characters sometimes felt a bit clichéd and flat. The thought she must have put into this to keep each character’s motive and storyline clear throughout must have been intense. Each townsperson, even if some felt hollow, seemed to have a pretty good backstory, and I felt myself suspecting many of them before Bailey showed her hand.
Where the Truth Lies is told from several of the townspeople POVs, and while this is helpful for some of the finer details, the abrupt shifts between POVs were confusing, as well as timelines. Bailey shifts from THEN and NOW perspectives throughout, and sometimes it was unclear in which the story was taking place for several paragraphs.
There was a lot of victim blaming; gay bashing and shaming; sexual, verbal and physical abuse; as well as the almost cult like views of the Baptist church (which sometimes read almost as anti religious/anti Christian propaganda at points—not everyone who is religious believes that homosexuality is a sin or believes that men have a right to beat their children).
As for the ending, what a sad, fulfilling, yet somehow meandering conclusion for a book. Everything wrapped up neatly, if not nicely, for each storyline. No page left unturned (literally), but it felt as if Bailey was just filling pages for her editor towards the end. As things began to wind down, things were progressively less exciting and more just…boring.
Anna Bailey really delivers in her debut novel. She has a strong, original voice, even if her characters sometimes felt a bit clichéd and flat. The thought she must have put into this to keep each character’s motive and storyline clear throughout must have been intense. Each townsperson, even if some felt hollow, seemed to have a pretty good backstory, and I felt myself suspecting many of them before Bailey showed her hand.
Where the Truth Lies is told from several of the townspeople POVs, and while this is helpful for some of the finer details, the abrupt shifts between POVs were confusing, as well as timelines. Bailey shifts from THEN and NOW perspectives throughout, and sometimes it was unclear in which the story was taking place for several paragraphs.
There was a lot of victim blaming; gay bashing and shaming; sexual, verbal and physical abuse; as well as the almost cult like views of the Baptist church (which sometimes read almost as anti religious/anti Christian propaganda at points—not everyone who is religious believes that homosexuality is a sin or believes that men have a right to beat their children).
As for the ending, what a sad, fulfilling, yet somehow meandering conclusion for a book. Everything wrapped up neatly, if not nicely, for each storyline. No page left unturned (literally), but it felt as if Bailey was just filling pages for her editor towards the end. As things began to wind down, things were progressively less exciting and more just…boring.