Read this for my bookclub and I went into it thinking I wouldn't really like it - not my style of mystery. However, it kept my interest and I thought the characters were well drawn. It does hit on several tough topics (domestic violence, homosexuality, incest), have not had the bookclub meeting yet and I am curious to see how our discussion will go. ( )

Where the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey is a recommended murder mystery set in an insular small Colorado town. Considering I love a good thriller this was just up my alley. I have somehow fallen a rabbit hole that is mysteries this year that will continue into 2022. I think because my best friend loves anything to do with a crime that I enjoy these even more.

Emma's best friend Abigail is missing after a party held in the woods outside the small Colorado town of Whistling Ridge. The last time she saw her friend, Abi was going to meet a boy in the woods... and then she disappeared. She does not believe Abi ran away without telling her first, but when evidence is discovered that something happened to her friend, Emma sets out to uncover the truth. The trouble is that this is a town full of secrets and prejudices that everyone is hiding and violence always seems just behind every turn.

The plot moves along at a swift pace and the tension keeps you reading. I felt that every word had its place on the page making it a joy to read.
( )

Reader beware: Where The Truth Lies by Anna Bailey features themes of physical and emotional abuse as well as violence, drinking, drugs, and more. In a world becoming more and more polarized along stereotypes, a book that pulls on the ideas creating that divide, for me, is a challenge to get through. This is a depressing and dark story, and it is nothing of what I expect from the title or the description. I walk away, completely not the reader for this book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/12/where-truth-lies.html

Reviewed for NetGalley. ( )

This story alternates between before Abigail Blake goes missing to after she is missing.
On Whistling Ridge, Abigail Blake, 17, goes into the forest to party with other teens at a bonfire.
Emma Alvarez and Abigail Blake had gone to the bonfire together but against her better judgment, Emma left Abi behind when she insists on staying after she sees Hunter, her crush. When Abigail goes missing after not coming home from the bonfire, Emma is overwhelmed with guilt and grief. Unfortunately, Emma begins to spiral out of control when she begins spending time with Rat Lãcustã, a Romanian who sells cocaine and supplies Emma with alcohol in his trailer home.

Like most stories, life is rarely what is portrayed to others. Dolly Blake mother asks son, Noah, 22 yo, where he was when Abigail doesn’t come home. Samuel Blake is an abusive, judgmental father who believes this tragedy is a result of the “sins of the family” referring to Noah being gay. His reaction is a result of his own childhood experiences with an overbearing religious mother. Their young emotional son, Jude, responds by kneeling in gravel driveway to pray. Of course, Hunter becomes a person of suspicion being the last person to have seen Abigail before she went missing. Unfortunately, Sheriff Gaines believe she is just a runaway who will return.

This story has an interesting cast of characters each with their own motives for concealing secrets which may be able to help find Abigail. It’s a challenge finding out “where the truth lies” among the many controversial stories which begin to unravel exposing dark truths. Unburying the wicked sins of the past is the only solution to discovering the truths which could help find Abigail.
( )

There were so many suspects! Great book. ( )