Tag Archives: Mystery

Book Review

Review: Where The Truth Lies

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Where The Truth Lies

Where The Truth Lies
By Anna Bailey
Atria Books, 9781982157166, August 3, 2021, 384pp.

The Short of It:

This story keeps you guessing.

The Rest of It:

At a party in the woods, seventeen-year-old Abigail leaves her friend Emma to hang out with a boy. The next day, she turns up missing. Emma keeps revisiting the last moments she had with her. The moment where she pleaded for Abigail not to go but Abigail always had a mind of her own and now, she’s gone. Emma’s only friend.

The community is rocked by her disappearance but small communities, ones that know everyone, also know their business and Abigail’s family left a lot to be desired. A father who drinks too much, beats his wife and children, a mother who is powerless to protect them, it’s no wonder the girl went missing. She probably ran away the first chance she got.

Emma knows better though. And as the police come up short again and again and don’t seem to care whether she is found or not, Emma begins to investigate on her own and secrets begin to reveal themselves. Did she even know Abigail? Can you ever really know a person?

There are a lot of stories out there about missing people. Especially, young girls. What I liked about Where The Truth Lies is that it’s more than just a missing person story. The level of abuse that Abigail’s family is forced to endure and the relationships they seek as a means to survive, really carried this story for me. You will care about these characters even though they don’t always make the best choices. They are flawed and damaged but I felt that the story came together beautifully given how many characters the author chose to focus on.

Well done. Recommend. Trigger warning for sexual abuse.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Book Review

Review: We Begin At The End

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We Begin At The End

We Begin At The End
By Chris Whitaker
Henry Holt and Co., 9781250759665, March 2021, 384pp.

The Short of It:

If you are looking to be entertained by some unforgettable characters then you’ve found your book.

The Rest of It:

Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen year-old outlaw. You see, the Radleys have a history and Duchess knows it and has no problem reminding others of it every chance she gets. She is a pistol through and through and won’t allow anyone to bully her family in any way. This includes her young brother Robin and her wayward mother, Star.

Duchess spends her days looking after her brother, mostly because her mother has a tendency to pass out drunk in the font yard. Everyone in town knows Star, and they knew her sister Sissy too, the one who was killed by a drunk driver years ago and the man who did it was just released from prison and lives right across the street.

As reputations go, Star’s is not great although her heart is in the right place. She tries to do right by her kids, but seems to always fall short. That’s why there is an entire cast of characters looking out for her, one of which is Walk, short for Walker, who is Cape Haven’s Chief of Police. He and Star go way back. He does what he can to help her out, but one night, he’s not able to and the entire town is affected by the tragedy.

Small town life. Tragedy. Unforgettable characters. The hope of new beginnings. When I picked up We Begin At The End, I just knew within the first few chapters that this was going to be a story that would stay with me for a very long time. First off, the writing is beautiful. There were some passages that I read out loud just to hear the words. What pushed this book over-the-top for me, in a wonderful way, are the characters. Duchess is all edges, hard and bristly but you can’t help but love her even when her “tell it like it is” demeanor puts a wedge between her and anyone trying to get close to her.  Walk is kind-hearted, honest when he needs to be but also a realist and loyal to a fault. I’ve got to mention Thomas Noble. He’s a gentle young man who befriends the tough Duchess Day Radley and loves her regardless of all the pushback that she throws his way. What a lovable kid. He reminded me of Owen Meany in a lot of ways. I could go on and on about the characters.

“You’re the toughest girl I ever met. And the prettiest. And I know you’ll probably hit me, but I think my world is infinitely better because you’re in it.” ~Thomas Noble

This is one of those reads that you savor. You turn the pages slowly because you don’t want your time with these people to end. You read a passage and then find yourself staring off into space pondering what you just read. This story broke my heart in so many ways but man, did I love it. It’s still early in the year but this will probably be my favorite read this year.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.