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A review by latad_books
We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall
3.0
3.5 stars.
I like Rachel Howzell Hall’s mysteries (at least the ones I’ve read so far) and though I liked this book, I didn’t love it.
Main character Yara Gibson has organized an anniversary party for her parents in her home town of Antelope Valley, and heads there from her stressful life as a writer on a weekly cop show.
Yara is not looking forward to returning home: she has a somewhat difficult relationship with her manipulative mother, Yara suffers from asthma and has memory lapses and nightmares, partially from her medications and from what might be memories or an overactive imagination, her mother and young sister are smokers, and her home town is dry, windy and very dusty.
The days she arrives, she’s accosted by a relative, who claims she has important information for Yara, but before she can deliver it, the relative is found dead.
Yara begins looking into the death while she’s home, and she begins slowly unravelling secrets involving her parents, their friends, and their time in high school. Yara also has asthma attack after attack, and begins possibly hallucinating or confounding actual occurrences with possible nightmares, complicating one’s understanding of what Yara is actually seeing. So, quickly, one has to wonder how reliable a narrator Yara is, as well as who amongst her parents and relatives is telling the truth about her parents’ relationship, how it started, and the actions of people entwined with Yara’s family, including a woman who may be sending Yara threatening messages.
I can’t really say much more without spoiling the identity of the murderer (which I deduced early on). I found the family tensions well-drawn, with it becoming difficult to figure who was telling the truth. I did find this story a little less enjoyable than others I’ve read by this author, but that didn’t stop me eagerly reading right to the end.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.
I like Rachel Howzell Hall’s mysteries (at least the ones I’ve read so far) and though I liked this book, I didn’t love it.
Main character Yara Gibson has organized an anniversary party for her parents in her home town of Antelope Valley, and heads there from her stressful life as a writer on a weekly cop show.
Yara is not looking forward to returning home: she has a somewhat difficult relationship with her manipulative mother, Yara suffers from asthma and has memory lapses and nightmares, partially from her medications and from what might be memories or an overactive imagination, her mother and young sister are smokers, and her home town is dry, windy and very dusty.
The days she arrives, she’s accosted by a relative, who claims she has important information for Yara, but before she can deliver it, the relative is found dead.
Yara begins looking into the death while she’s home, and she begins slowly unravelling secrets involving her parents, their friends, and their time in high school. Yara also has asthma attack after attack, and begins possibly hallucinating or confounding actual occurrences with possible nightmares, complicating one’s understanding of what Yara is actually seeing. So, quickly, one has to wonder how reliable a narrator Yara is, as well as who amongst her parents and relatives is telling the truth about her parents’ relationship, how it started, and the actions of people entwined with Yara’s family, including a woman who may be sending Yara threatening messages.
I can’t really say much more without spoiling the identity of the murderer (which I deduced early on). I found the family tensions well-drawn, with it becoming difficult to figure who was telling the truth. I did find this story a little less enjoyable than others I’ve read by this author, but that didn’t stop me eagerly reading right to the end.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.