When seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma, compelled by the guilt of leaving her alone at a party in the woods, sets out to discover the truth about what happened. The police initially believe Abi ran away, but Emma doesn't believe that her friend would leave without her, and when officers find disturbing evidence in the nearby woods, the festering secrets and longstanding resentment of both Abigail’s family and the people of Whistling Ridge, Colorado begin to surface with devastating consequences.
Among those secrets: Abi's older brother Noah’s passionate, dangerous love for the handsome Rat, a recently arrived Romanian immigrant who has recently made his home in the trailer park in town; her younger brother Jude's feeling that he knows information he should tell the police, if only he could put it into words; Abi's father's mercurial, unpredictable rages and her mother's silence. Then there is the rest of Whistling Ridge, where a charismatic preacher advocates for God's love in language that mirrors violence, under the sway of the powerful businessman who rules the town, insular and wary of outsiders.
But Abi had secrets, too, and the closer Emma grows to unraveling the past, the farther she feels from her friend. And in a tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark—the truth of what really happened that night—to change their community forever. ~taken from Goodreads
I found this book while browsing Netgalley. The cover caught my eye, then the title sunk in, and I decided to read the description. I liked that it was a debut thriller and the small town setting sucked me in. I am glad I decided to give this book a go.
The novel centers around the disappearance of Abigail, a lively 17 year old who goes missing after a party. Police say she simply ran away, after all she constantly talked about leaving town the second she turned 18, but her best friend Emma knows she would never leave without her. Something had to have happened to her and Emma is determined to find out.
We are slowly introduced to a rainbow of a small town cast. I think that author, Bailey, did a wonderful job creating and describing these characters. Closed-minded, spiteful, vindictive, homophobic and heavily religious is how I would describe the town. It is a town full of secrets and there is a dark foreboding that seems to have settled over everyone.
We first meet Abi's family- her shy and meek mother, her crippled younger brother, her secretly gay older brother, and her religious and alcoholic father. Did any of them play a role in her disappearance? Do they know what might have happened?
Emma goes into a dark, depressive hole after Abi's disappearance. It doesn't seem to her that police and even Abi's family are taking it seriously. Emma decides to play detective and get to the bottom of what happened to her friend.
Also playing a big part of the story is Rat, a young Romanian who moved to town recently. Rat seems to know everyone and is hated by many simply for being an outsider. Emma befriends him to try and get some answers, but soon feels like she can't trust him. Everyone in this town seems to have secrets...
This novel is a heavy, dark, psychological thriller. It is filled with characters who have substance abuse issues, who are racist, homophobic, and religious nuts. It is full of alcohol and drug abuse and it has scenes of physical abuse, which some may find hard to read. I love that it alternates perspectives, which seemed to keep the reader on their toes by breaking up the story's flow. There are many twists and turns and the ending was truly a surprise to me. This is a book about secrets and the consequences of not telling the truth.
This was an emotional read that left a lasting impact on me. I look forward to reading more from this debut author. It was a 5 star read for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for allowing me an e-galley to read and give my honest review.
"Where The Truth Lies: A Novel" is set to be released August 3, 2021 here in the U.S. so preorder today so you can start reading it tomorrow! It's a book you don't want to miss!
Happy Reading!
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