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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Anna Bailey has become one of my favourite authors. After reading this book full of well-developed characters and a riveting story, I realized how intentional Bailey is with her sentences. Each sentence carries so much emotional weight. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter left me wanting more, but at the same time I wanted to savour the story and not want it to end.
Where The Truth Lies is a brilliant novel that tackles the human condition, discrimination, homosexuality, the dichotomy between religion and hypocrisy. It's a gem of a novel that will leave you with so much to think about in your own lives. I really enjoyed this story. Noah, Jude and Samuel are such well-rounded characters. Even Dolly and Rat. Bailey beautifully analyzes the human condition through this novel. I kept thinking about the balance between being good and causing chaos in the world. What choices push people to transform into malicious human beings while others quietly watch, not sure whether to speak up or keep enduring the injustice. I highly recommend this novel if you love a good mystery and well-developed characters.
Where The Truth Lies is a brilliant novel that tackles the human condition, discrimination, homosexuality, the dichotomy between religion and hypocrisy. It's a gem of a novel that will leave you with so much to think about in your own lives. I really enjoyed this story. Noah, Jude and Samuel are such well-rounded characters. Even Dolly and Rat. Bailey beautifully analyzes the human condition through this novel. I kept thinking about the balance between being good and causing chaos in the world. What choices push people to transform into malicious human beings while others quietly watch, not sure whether to speak up or keep enduring the injustice. I highly recommend this novel if you love a good mystery and well-developed characters.
This was a rich, atmospheric mystery read. When a girl disappears in a small, religious town, everyone's secrets slowly start surfacing. Not a lot of likeable characters in this story but they were all very 3-dimensional and I like that there weren't plot twists just for the sake of shock value.
The beginning of this book did not have me thinking that I would give it a perfect rating. Is it a perfect book? No. But it's one that stuck with me during my non-reading hours and had some elements that made this book climb higher and higher in my rankings the more I read.
This book gave me a character that I wanted to punch right in the face, over and over. I've never had a book fill me with rage at a single character's actions. He wasn't even a main character. But anything that gets that type of response of that strength gets a high rating from me.
This book also had a complete cast of characters, ranging in lots of different ways. Not having everyone look or act the same definitely made this book interesting.
I also did not catch 'whodunit' until close to the end. That's not to say I didn't guess some of the 'twists', but since I didn't foresee everything, this book gets a high rating.
While there are mentions of sex, this book does not get highly graphic with it, which I also appreciated. And the romance did not seem forced like it often does with today's literature.
Now, as stated earlier, this book is not perfect. There were a few plot holes, sure. There were a few things that didn't seem wrapped up or some that wrapped up a little too easily. And the weird forcing of Romanian language did seem... off sometimes. But these things did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.
It's been a long time since I've read a book that kept me guessing, kept me intrigued, and didn't have glaring issues. This is certainly a book I'll be reflecting on for a while to come.
This book gave me a character that I wanted to punch right in the face, over and over. I've never had a book fill me with rage at a single character's actions. He wasn't even a main character. But anything that gets that type of response of that strength gets a high rating from me.
This book also had a complete cast of characters, ranging in lots of different ways. Not having everyone look or act the same definitely made this book interesting.
I also did not catch 'whodunit' until close to the end. That's not to say I didn't guess some of the 'twists', but since I didn't foresee everything, this book gets a high rating.
While there are mentions of sex, this book does not get highly graphic with it, which I also appreciated. And the romance did not seem forced like it often does with today's literature.
Now, as stated earlier, this book is not perfect. There were a few plot holes, sure. There were a few things that didn't seem wrapped up or some that wrapped up a little too easily. And the weird forcing of Romanian language did seem... off sometimes. But these things did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.
It's been a long time since I've read a book that kept me guessing, kept me intrigued, and didn't have glaring issues. This is certainly a book I'll be reflecting on for a while to come.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Where the Truth Lies was a mostly engrossing read. The author understands how to properly bread crumb people into not putting her book down, and I appreciate that quite a bit. The characters are well developed, which helps because there are many of them, and there’s not an instance where that becomes confusing (which is niiiiice because I think my brain is running at like 1/4 power lately!).
My biggest issue with this novel is that I didn’t feel much after reading it. You know that kind of pride/zeal type feeling you get after finishing a great book? That feeling just wasn’t there. There should also be trigger warnings for some concerning the content. There is abuse, dark sexual content, death, and many other topics that maybe aren’t for everyone.
So I guess we’re going to go for a middle-of-the-road three stars. I would recommend this book to those that enjoy a low-action kind of whodunnit with excellent character building.
Where the Truth Lies was a mostly engrossing read. The author understands how to properly bread crumb people into not putting her book down, and I appreciate that quite a bit. The characters are well developed, which helps because there are many of them, and there’s not an instance where that becomes confusing (which is niiiiice because I think my brain is running at like 1/4 power lately!).
My biggest issue with this novel is that I didn’t feel much after reading it. You know that kind of pride/zeal type feeling you get after finishing a great book? That feeling just wasn’t there. There should also be trigger warnings for some concerning the content. There is abuse, dark sexual content, death, and many other topics that maybe aren’t for everyone.
So I guess we’re going to go for a middle-of-the-road three stars. I would recommend this book to those that enjoy a low-action kind of whodunnit with excellent character building.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Where the Truth Lies is a slow-paced whodunit to figure out what happened to Abi, a missing teenager. Did she run away? Is someone in the small town of Whistling Ridge responsible for her disappearance?
I struggled with Where the Truth Lies for a few reasons. First, all of the characters are unlikeable. The residents of this toxic town fear and disdain everyone and everything that isn't like them. Second, the story is told using multiple timeframes and POVs. I found the frequent changes in both to be unnecessarily confusing. And finally, the pace felt way too slow.
Those who enjoy dark, slow-building, suspenseful mysteries that are character driven will appreciate all that Where the Truth Lies has to offer.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital review copy.
I struggled with Where the Truth Lies for a few reasons. First, all of the characters are unlikeable. The residents of this toxic town fear and disdain everyone and everything that isn't like them. Second, the story is told using multiple timeframes and POVs. I found the frequent changes in both to be unnecessarily confusing. And finally, the pace felt way too slow.
Those who enjoy dark, slow-building, suspenseful mysteries that are character driven will appreciate all that Where the Truth Lies has to offer.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital review copy.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
This was a really well written, solid story line, well developed character book. This book was also a bit too close to ugly reality for me. Religious fervor leading people to do despicable things. Homophobia, xenophobia, abuse, etc. You name it and it was taking place in the small town of Whistling Ridge, CO. It was all the things that make my heart hurt about our country right now. I am not sure that is what the author intended, but I struggled reading it for those reasons. Just like I struggle to watch the evening news. So while I would highly recommend reading this book, I might suggest girding yourself for some ugly topics and planning a cute fluffy book to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
When Abi disappears from a teenage party, the police in her insular Colorado mountain town assume she ran away. As Emma investigates her best friend's disappearance, she begins to learn that she didn't know Abi as well as she thought. Although the premise has all the hallmarks of a great summer thriller, Where the Truth Lies was all cliches and stereotypes of small-town American life, possibly because the author is British. The bigotry, homophobia, misogyny, and domestic abuse were all overplayed, lacking in even an ounce of nuance, while the culprit was the most obvious character.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.