Publication: 6th July 2023 – Transworld
Welcome to Stanhope – a safe neighbourhood. A place for families.
William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.
Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.
Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbours become increasingly unhinged.
Who took Avery Wooler?
Nothing will prepare you for the truth.
I love Shari Lapena’s novels because nothing is ever what it seems, the suspense is always high, the pace is perfect, and the twists just keep taking you by surprise. Everyone Here Is Lying sees the small community of Stanhope shocked by the disappearance of a young girl. The lives of the upstanding and respected residents are suddenly under the microscope of the police and the media and their well-kept secrets risk to come to life. No one seemed to like Avery, but will they risk her life to keep their secrets?
As the title implies, there are lies, lies, and lies, but the question remains: who took 9-year-old Avery? Was it her father who could be the last person to have seen her right before her disappearance? Or maybe her mother, who couldn’t deal anymore with her behavioural disorder? Was it the 18-year-old neighbour who already has a drug conviction? Or the 15-year-old boy who, a few weeks earlier, had been found alone with Avery in a tree house? Or was the husband whose wife was having an affair with Avery’s father? So many suspects and so many motives, but the truth is actually much darker and more disturbing than I could expect.
I can’t say I liked any of the characters. I mostly found them irritating and annoying, but with all their faults and flaws they also felt real and I caught myself invested in their lives, and sometimes sympathizing with them. The author’s writing style is as addictive and engaging as ever and I was completely immersed in the story. Everyone Here Is Lying is gripping, thrilling, and full of unexpected and shocking surprises and with an ending that was explosive and amazing. Highly recommended!
A huge thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.
Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of the thrillers The Couple Next Door,
A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, The End of Her and Not a Happy Family, which have all been Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been sold in forty territories around the world. She lives in Toronto.
Facebook: ShariLapena
Twitter: @sharilapena
Instagram: sharilapena
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