This was the first book I’ve read from Joe Hart. I wanted to love it, but it fell a bit short for me.

Nora is a CPS worker who is dedicated to helping kids get into safe homes. She has a personal connection to her job which sometimes helps her and sometimes hurts her. She can get too involved and doesn’t like asking for help. One of the cases she was involved in was a young couple who had fostered 3 kids, ranging from 18 to 9. Kaylee Volk, the foster mom, was a lifestyle influencer who posted YouTube videos of the family together as content. Her husband Justin was an heir to a billionaire company and they couldn’t have kids themselves, so they fostered children. Nora was involved with their case recently when one of the kids had bruises that were suspicious.

When an unfortunate tragedy occurs leaving Kaylee to mourn her family, Nora can’t help but become involved again when Kaylee places blame on Andrea, the eldest of the foster children. Nora is trying to find answers by questioning Kaylee’s estranged siblings and Andrea’s friends and she steps onto a dangerous path when she ends up with a crucial piece of the puzzle. Someone wants to send her a message and put a stop to her search for the truth.

There are several other smaller storylines that Nora is involved with that deal with her job as a CPS worker. I personally did not feel any attachment to Nora’s character and didn’t like how how she dealt with work, her relationships and family. Most of the book is Nora talking about her past family tragedy, her present struggles on top of searching for the truth of what happened to the Volk family. I was kind of surprised by the ending, but it wasn’t completely jaw dropping. I wasn’t a fan of the side storylines that involved Nora because I kept mixing up the characters. I did like reading the thriller parts and I wanted more of that! Overall, it was a decent thriller and I will read other books by this author.

Special thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!!

Excellent read. So many broken people just wanting normality, going about getting it in very weird ways! Leading to some very sad consequences. Very exciting, nail bitting moments, I couldn't put the book down. A highly recommended read.

Joe Hart is a lean writer who doesn't over-explain things. This gives his books a good pace. Where They Lie is no exception to this rule. It's a crime novel focusing on the family of an influencer (Kaylee Volk) who leverages her adoptive family for her fame: "As far as influencers go, content is king. And in this particular case, Kaylee's content was her family."

Kaylee's story is told from the perspective of Nora McTavish, a traumatised woman with her own abusive childhood, who works in child protection to ensure other kids don't go through what she did. This gives her a critical view of the effectiveness of the legal (not justice) system: "Court was the vampire of our profession. Its density of unvarnished facts drained you. A seemingly unending parade of familial anguish you were sometimes called to weigh in on in the most detached and clinical manner. That legal language we used couldn't convey the true weight of what we were discussing—literally deciding people's fates." Her clients feel similarly: "You people. You come and talk about laws and statutes, but what do you really do to help? You're almost as bad as the bastard who did this."

Nora's personal trauma overlays the trauma her clients experience, and her own relationships which she at one point describes as "[b]eing waterboarded with affection." It makes her a likeable and engaging character. The lean style means not all plot lines are tied up in a bow, with Sam and his mother who are experiencing domestic and family violence not really contributing to the main storyline about Volk and her adoptive children. While it was an engaging book, I didn't love it, and felt the final chapter twist detracted from a cohesive story.

This one was interesting. I find learning about the lives of influencers quite interesting, especially lifestyle influencers, because I find it so fake personally. It all seems like a façade.

Nora is a child protective service agent with a big heart. She crosses paths with a family who has three foster kids, one of them being Andrea. Andrea has a troubled past, and seems to be lashing out. However, one fateful day, there is a tragic accident and only Kaylee, the mom survives. Kaylee blames Andrea for the crash, saying she was unhinged and wanted them all dead. Of course Kaylee, having a huge following, garners much sympathy. Nora doesn’t by it, something seems off. She’d worked with Andrea for a while and things just aren’t adding up. Nora keeps digging and uncovers some shocking truths in Andreas home with Kaylee. Things are definitely not as happy as they seem, but could Andrea really have killed them all? Nora is determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it means placing herself in the face of danger.

This one kept me guessing trying to figure it out. A few of the twists I easily guessed but some of the larger ones kept me guessing. And the epilogue – definitely not where I thought that would go. Some people really do have all the luck!

I gave this one a solid 4 out of 5 and would recommend you check it out. There are some trigger warnings here, as we are dealing with children from troubled homes. This one is out next April 18th, but make sure to put it on your radar now so you don’t forget to snag it up. Special thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Thomas & Mercer for my advanced e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

GIVE ME EVERYTHING BY THIS AUTHOR! I loved this book and I had never heard of this author before now this book was so good it kept me turning the pages. Thanks netgally for the ARC

Nora is a child protective services agent and has a wall in her home of all her success stories with placing children. She is devastated when Andrea, a teenage girl on her caseload, dies in a plane crash with her foster family. Even worse, it looks like Andrea caused the plane to crash. The only survivor of the crash was Andrea's foster mom and social media influencer Kayla. Kayla must deal with her emotional and physical injuries as she keeps her social media following up to date on progress. As she begins investigating to find out what really happened, we learn about Nora's traumatic childhood as she also deals with other cases on her caseload and a rocky personal relationship. Nora begins to see that the family Kayla portrays on social media may not be as picture-perfect as she wants everyone to believe.

I enjoyed reading this book. I felt it was well written and kept my interest throughout the book. I liked the development of the character's backstory throughout the book and the plot twist when Andrea survived. I had a couple of favorite lines- The difference is some people get handed lifejackets while others are told they should've learned how to swim better.-and- No transition occurs without pain.

While I thought the premise was super interesting and got my attention, I couldn’t stand the main character. I found her “all high and mighty” act a bit tiring and the way she treated her boyfriend (?) as a huge turn off. I liked the twists and turn, but wasn’t a big fan of the ending either.

Incredible thriller that immediately pulls the reader into the plot. I absolutely enjoyed this story and could not wait to enjoy the rest of the book.

2 stars

Nora McTavish, herself a childhood abuse survivor, is a burned out CPS (Child Protection Services) worker. What surprised me the most about this book is that I know how overworked these workers are, and I was shocked to see how much time Nora had to pursue her own agenda. Was she just blowing off her work load or what?

The Kaylee Volk character was self-delusional. She was far too busy trying to force reality into something that she wanted, rather than seeing it as it really was. Until it was too late, that is.

The book completely reveals that there is no perfect family. Sorry, Beaver. (For you old timers out there.). Kaylee tried to make her flawed family perfect, but there were too many secrets and the drama took over in the end.

Long story short, I didn’t like the characters in this story; not any of them. I don’t care for novels in which I cannot connect with at least one person in the story.

This is my first Joe Hart book, and I was disappointed. I am not sure if I will try another. I see he gets good reviews, so perhaps he just missed the proverbial boat on this one.

I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for a copy of Where They Lie in exchange for my honest review.

I will say that this is my first Joe Hart book. It will not be my last. I really enjoyed it. It was suspenseful. But one thing I also liked was the aspect in which it painted social workers. Social workers are humans. They have a hard time distancing themselves at the end of the work day. They tend to get attached to the special children. They want to see them given the life that they are owed. They do their best in making sure that these children are going to good homes. Unfortunately, even with all of the research they do on the foster families, they don’t always see what these people are capable of doing.

I don't usually read Thrillers or Mysteries in general, but I found this more entertaining than I thought. I might have been skewed by my general dislike of influencers as main cheery, YOLO characters.

Give it a try if you are between waits on your TBR list. Its a quick, satisfying read.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an eARC for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.
Never having read a Joe Hart book, I was curious to read Where They Lie. Unfortunately, I was disappointed and am in the minority...most of the reviews are excellent. For some reason I couldn't get into the story, nor did I like any of the characters. Everything felt superficial and the writing style was not my favorite. Since most of my reading material consists of British mysteries, I assume I should stick to that genre. Sorry!

Ultimately, I really enjoyed the plot of this book. Nora a CPS agent turned amateur sleuth starts investigating after one of her former families is killed in an airplane crash - with one lone survivor, the mother and social media influencer Kaylee Volk.

Kaylee accuses one of her foster children - Andrea for causing the family's small plane to crash. Nora feels responsible for the crash a few months prior there was an incident between the foster siblings that she was charged with investigating, feeling like she missed something she begins to investigate why Andrea brought down the plane that killed her and her entire family.

The story itself was very good, it had me hooked and I had to find out what happened. I did find Nora somewhat unlikeable, but it didn't deter me enough to not enjoy the story.

I loved the premise and was excited to get stuck in but this one just didn't do jt for me. I wasn't a fan of the narration style or the fact that most of the story is just Nora telling the reader things....... I would have bn more engaged if you saw things being discovered. It was also incredibly character driven with very little happening and I didn't feel any suspense or any building of tension. I did like the actual plot and the characters but for me the pace was too slow and the big reveals didn't come off as terrible surprising, I was more just relieved something was finally happening after all the dragging it out. That said, that's all very much just my personal preference since I like action based thrillers and character based are never my ideal. For those who do like the slower burn, deep dive into who the characters are and more focused on the minute things then they'd probably really enjoy this one

Joe Hill (in my humble opinion) may just be better than his dad, Stephen King and "Where They Lie" proved it!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I have to say I’m conflicted.
The story was excellent – a family tragedy- the characters, especially the protagonist Nora McTavish, a Child protective services agent, fully developed and believable, and the setting, sound. While all those things come together nicely, I felt there was a great deal of explaining that went on from Nora’s POV. A lot of telling us what was happening or happened, not as much showing as I would have liked.

That aside, the premise – a perfect family on the outside, not so much on the inside – may be one we’ve all seen before, but Joe Hart brings a modern-day freshness to the story of the VOLK family. An influencer, foster children, and a few past tragedies that, dare I say Influence the present-day characters made this a thrilling story.

Nora, a violent past that has formed her present life will do anything to protect the people in her care.
Kaylee, a past tragedy that has formed her own present life wants nothing but the perfect family she was robbed of as a child.
Andrea, a foster kid with a horrible past that forms her present life is looking for a forever family.

These three women all have something to hide, something to lose, and wills forged in iron.
From a protagonist's viewpoint, they are all excellently drawn by Mr. Hart. Their motivations make sense and though the reader may not see it until the end of the story, their actions are all perfect for the story.

Excellent story. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for a chance to read and review this before it goes public.

4.5 stars.

This was another enjoyable read from the author. A fast read mystery with a good storyline and enough suspense to keep the reader turning pages. This is a book which I would recommend to all who like a good mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. An influencer adopts children, then horrifically they die in a plane crash. Social worker Nora is determined to find out what really happened. This story was suspenseful and intriguing. I knew there was more going on, but to find out the truth was shocking. Nora's storyline while relevant, was also a little reckless. She put herself and others in danger too many times. The ending was good, but I don't feel like the villain got their karma. Overall great read!

This novel started with a BANG! Then it plummets into heartbreak. Two chapters in and I'm in a whirlwind of suspense and distress. I'm a fan of Hart's but didn't expect so much intensity so quickly. Hooked pales.

"The voice was right. I’d made a mistake somewhere."

Nora is a CPS worker. Kaylee is an influencer showing off her family and their lifestyle on YouTube, including her three adopted kids. When on vacation the family's plane crashes, killing all but Kaylee, all fingers point to the oldest child. Andrea had a troubled history and a bad attitude . . .

I kept searching for other clues though. Andrea was the easy target, so naturally, it couldn't have been her. Her brother had some odd quirks that stuck out to me: kind, quiet, smart, bookish, overly tidy--signs of a budding serial killer. Then there was the husband. His reactions to things before the accident rubbed me the wrong way. And, of course, Kaylee. She had a muddled past of her own.

Nora takes on the task of figuring out the truth and it's a shocking end I never anticipated.

Where they Lie
by Joe Hart

4 stars

A thrilling and gripping tale.

This is an easy read, that slowly reveals who knew what, to a surprising climax.

Kaylee Volk, a vlogger celebrity is the only survivor a family plane crash. Nora McTavish who a child protective agent who placed three children with the Volk’s. As Nora investigates there are twists and turns into what went on behind the scenes in this picture perfect family.

Lives are threatened, and destroyed as the tale unwinds.

This title has been reviewed by www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

This title was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an open and honest review.

#WhereTheyLie #NetGalley