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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
WOW! 10/5 stars, if I could. This novel is like The Glass Castle meets Beartown (no hockey tho) meets A Flicker in the Dark. I could not put it down. Twists you don’t see coming. Relationships are beautifully written and I could almost feel the wind through the forest trees as I read. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.
i'm not sure how to rate this as it's incredibly fresh in my mind. my immediate thoughts are: this is very, very sad and perhaps a tad overwrought at times, but at the heart of this is a devastating story of family and love.
Where the Truth Lies takes place in the small town of Whistling Ridge. And when I say small town I mean small town. Every stereotype of people who live in a small town is prevalent in this book.
Seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing and her best friend Emma feels guilty for leaving her and is determined to find out the truth. But, because of where Abigail grew up, the police just believe that she ran away and don’t really do anything.
This book brought up a lot of emotions. It is full of people who are racist, homophobic, abusers, misogynists, and all hiding behind the idea that their religion justifies everything they do. It was a tough read at first, but by the time I got to the point where I wanted to put the book down, I was also invested in some of the characters and wanted to find out what happened.
I think the book had about as good of an ending for all of the characters as I could have expected.
I was very impressed by this debut author overall, andI know this book will stick with me. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing and her best friend Emma feels guilty for leaving her and is determined to find out the truth. But, because of where Abigail grew up, the police just believe that she ran away and don’t really do anything.
This book brought up a lot of emotions. It is full of people who are racist, homophobic, abusers, misogynists, and all hiding behind the idea that their religion justifies everything they do. It was a tough read at first, but by the time I got to the point where I wanted to put the book down, I was also invested in some of the characters and wanted to find out what happened.
I think the book had about as good of an ending for all of the characters as I could have expected.
I was very impressed by this debut author overall, andI know this book will stick with me. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Synopsis: In small-town Colorado, teenager Abigail Blake disappears. some believe she ran away, finally at a breaking point with her dysfunctional home life, while the few closest to her fear that something sinister has happened to her. Abi was Emma Alvarez’s only friend. As the only biracial girl in town, Emma is ostracized and harassed regularly. Abi’s friendship meant everything to her, so she starts doing some digging of her own, despite that it may cause her to be more of a target than she already is.
TW: sexual assault, domestic abuse, child abuse
⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: sexual assault, domestic abuse, child abuse
⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
When troubled teen Abi goes missing everyone becomes a suspect in the disturbing thriller, Where the Truth Lies.
Whistling Ridge, Colorado is a small, God fearing town full of dark secrets. Abi’s disappearance has many of the town’s residents trying to uncover the truth. Her best friend, Emma, harbors guilt after leaving Abi at a party in the woods, but she also doesn’t believe Abi would run away. After all, she knows Abi best…or does she?
But there are other stories to tell, too. Abi’s older brother is a closeted homosexual, secretly in love with Rat, the new boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Could either one of them know the truth? And what about Jude, Abi and Noah’s younger brother, shielded somewhat from the town’s horrors, but old enough to know some things just aren’t right.
Where the Truth Lies weaves back and forth between “then” and “now” in its attempt to paint the whole picture of what really happened. But writing alternating timelines can be tricky. In this case, this proved to be true as the crowded cast of characters took a minute to get straight. This, in addition to a controversial cocktail of homophobia, incest and abuse had Where the Truth Lies just lying there in its overarching storytelling.
Whistling Ridge, Colorado is a small, God fearing town full of dark secrets. Abi’s disappearance has many of the town’s residents trying to uncover the truth. Her best friend, Emma, harbors guilt after leaving Abi at a party in the woods, but she also doesn’t believe Abi would run away. After all, she knows Abi best…or does she?
But there are other stories to tell, too. Abi’s older brother is a closeted homosexual, secretly in love with Rat, the new boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Could either one of them know the truth? And what about Jude, Abi and Noah’s younger brother, shielded somewhat from the town’s horrors, but old enough to know some things just aren’t right.
Where the Truth Lies weaves back and forth between “then” and “now” in its attempt to paint the whole picture of what really happened. But writing alternating timelines can be tricky. In this case, this proved to be true as the crowded cast of characters took a minute to get straight. This, in addition to a controversial cocktail of homophobia, incest and abuse had Where the Truth Lies just lying there in its overarching storytelling.
challenging
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:
Complicated
Più che un giallo, una full immersion nella vita di una provincia americana.
Peccato per:
- personaggi piatti: questo libro è uno dei casi in cui, come si dice, "il più pulito c'ha la rogna", ma senza una vera e propria zona grigia. Tutti hanno dei segreti, tutti hanno degli scheletri dell'armadio, ma troppo ovvi per dare loro profondità, troppo legati all'archetipo del personaggio che vanno a incarnare. Abbiamo il predicatore omofobo, il più ricco del paese arrogante e corrotto, l'ubriacone che picchia la moglie, il figlio gay, lo straniero usato come capro espiatorio... Non sono contro la critica sociale attraverso la narrativa, ma quando è trattata in modo troppo superficiale assume lo stesso spessore di un tema delle medie.
- il ritmo. Bailey usa molto il foreshadowing per stimolare la curiosità, ma nel modo che onestamente più odio ("Tizio non sapeva che avrebbe trascorso a bere i successivi dieci anni", "non sapeva ancora cosa avrebbe scoperto di lì a poco", girl, non è così che si tiene viva la curiosità. Utilizzare il foreshadowing, in narrativa, non è per niente facile, perché si deve trovare l'equilibrio perfetto del "far capire senza dire". Senza contare che l'uso del narratore onniscente è una delle poche cose che, salvo rare eccezioni, una delle cose che sono dritte sulla mia lista nera del MAI MAI MAI.
Anche la tensione conseguente alla scomparsa di Abi è... nulla? I personaggi quasi vanno avanti normalmente con la propria vita, come se la sparizione di una ragazzina adolescente in una piccola comunità avesse avuto lo stesso impatto di un temporale la sera della fiera di paese. Piattume.
In generale, non categorizzerei questo libro come un giallo, onestamente. Si distacca un po' dalla narrativa di genere, e devo ammettere che, da copertina e presentazione, mi aspettavo decisamente qualcosa di diverso.
Peccato per:
- personaggi piatti: questo libro è uno dei casi in cui, come si dice, "il più pulito c'ha la rogna", ma senza una vera e propria zona grigia. Tutti hanno dei segreti, tutti hanno degli scheletri dell'armadio, ma troppo ovvi per dare loro profondità, troppo legati all'archetipo del personaggio che vanno a incarnare. Abbiamo il predicatore omofobo, il più ricco del paese arrogante e corrotto, l'ubriacone che picchia la moglie, il figlio gay, lo straniero usato come capro espiatorio... Non sono contro la critica sociale attraverso la narrativa, ma quando è trattata in modo troppo superficiale assume lo stesso spessore di un tema delle medie.
- il ritmo. Bailey usa molto il foreshadowing per stimolare la curiosità, ma nel modo che onestamente più odio ("Tizio non sapeva che avrebbe trascorso a bere i successivi dieci anni", "non sapeva ancora cosa avrebbe scoperto di lì a poco", girl, non è così che si tiene viva la curiosità. Utilizzare il foreshadowing, in narrativa, non è per niente facile, perché si deve trovare l'equilibrio perfetto del "far capire senza dire". Senza contare che l'uso del narratore onniscente è una delle poche cose che, salvo rare eccezioni, una delle cose che sono dritte sulla mia lista nera del MAI MAI MAI.
Spoiler
L'unico buon utilizzo del foreshadowing è nella scena in cui il padre insegna ad Abi ad andare in apnea, questo se io ho interpretato bene il finale e la telefonata muta, perlomeno. è stato uno dei pochi elementi che ho molto apprezzato.Anche la tensione conseguente alla scomparsa di Abi è... nulla? I personaggi quasi vanno avanti normalmente con la propria vita, come se la sparizione di una ragazzina adolescente in una piccola comunità avesse avuto lo stesso impatto di un temporale la sera della fiera di paese. Piattume.
In generale, non categorizzerei questo libro come un giallo, onestamente. Si distacca un po' dalla narrativa di genere, e devo ammettere che, da copertina e presentazione, mi aspettavo decisamente qualcosa di diverso.
It took soooo long for anything to actually happen in this book! Most of the events rely on the reader inferring what happened because the author never clearly says what happens. I would definitely not recommend listening to the audiobook if you choose to read this.
This is a dark but great mystery. I was overwhelmed, at first, by all the characters to the story. And there are a lot of POV that left me flipping back and forth, trying to remember who was who and the storyline. But I read it in 2 sittings so once I got a little farther in the story, I was easily able to keep it all straight.
I was honestly holding my breath for parts of this story, I was so sucked in. It's dark and full of dirty family secrets and twists and turns. I didn't mind how dark it was but the story will definitely stick with me for a bit. It was good, I was so pulled in, but it definitely leaves a mark when you're done. It was SO good!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
I was honestly holding my breath for parts of this story, I was so sucked in. It's dark and full of dirty family secrets and twists and turns. I didn't mind how dark it was but the story will definitely stick with me for a bit. It was good, I was so pulled in, but it definitely leaves a mark when you're done. It was SO good!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.