I had high hopes for this book but Where the Truth Lies ended up being a DNF for me. The storyline was a all over the place and I just found that I couldn't connect or engage with the characters.

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story was all over the place. I had a hard time keeping track of characters, their myriad of issues, and who knew what. Overall it maintained a great, creepy small-town vibe, but the plot went in too many different directions, and had a hard time closing out all the storylines effectively.

This book is a slow burn and unfolded slowly. While the insight into each character's psychological behavior is interesting, the book is was ultimately unsatisfying for me. Each character shared their perspective, which meant repetition and disrupted the flow. I am glad the mystery was resolved in the end.

The storytelling was challenging for me - lots of sudden shifts between now and then, and the past POVs were also varying timeframes. Also, every single person in the town was TERRIBLE, with no redeeming qualities, so by the time resolution comes around, it's too late.

Where this book kept you guessing, the story line was all over the place. In a small town, a young girl regrets leaving her best friend behind when she disappears one night. The town is full of secrets and hatred. All the kids are into alcohol and drugs, while all the adults are a bunch of controlling hypocrites who are old perverts, gossips, or abused spouses. I was quite surprised by the ending and what really happened. However, it was hard to relate to any of the characters on a more personal level. The book was alright, but it definitely wasn't a favorite. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* not a bad read just felt long, would recommend not sure if id reread

3.5 Small Town Story

I love that this one was set in a small mountain town in Colorado, however it wasn’t the nicest small town! Filled with lots of lies, secrets, suspicion, unlikeable characters, including a powerful preacher. This was a darker read than I expected.

Whistling Ridge is home to best friends Emma and Abigail, and we learn more about their friendship throughout the book in now/then short chapters. Abigail mysteriously disappears at the end of a party one night and Emma is devastated. Weeks go by and the (in over their heads) small town police force doesn’t really investigate as much as Emma wants as they think Abigail just ran away.

We meet Abigail’s family – the abusive father, her two brothers, and a mother who has retreated into isolation under a very religious husband. There’s also the handsome Romanian immigrant, Rat, who has a strong connection with Abi’s brother Noah.

Things really heat up in the town and suspicions fall on Rat as the outsider. Secrets are bound to come out and I truly worried for Emma, Abi’s brothers, and Rat. Just what did happen to Abigail, and will the truth destroy them all?

A slow-burn thriller/mystery with secrets and a somewhat creepy small town vibe. The writing was okay, but the style moved around all over the place. I had some trouble following it, but I can only give this one three stars as I don't feel I really can say I enjoyed it. Some of it was just quite disturbing as well.

I had my eye on this title for a while- it seemed to pop up in what to read lists and I am so glad I finally got to it. A gorgeous cover and a great hook- who doesn't love a book about secrets?

When a teenager goes missing, all the secrets in the small town in which she lives threaten to boil to the surface. When her best friend Abigail goes missing, Emma sets out to find out what happened to her. The police initially believe she ran away, to get away from her troubled family and the hopelessness of her small town life. In this town, everyone who knows Abigail seems to have a secret that could have been a factor in her disappearance. As everyone tries to control the fast during flame of secrets, all it takes is one spark to ignite a wildfire.

This was a slow-moving thriller in which many clues are dropped for you to pick up along the way, as well as many red herrings. I typically enjoy a fast moving plot, but this slow-burning text kept me engaged throughout. The characters were multidimensional and interesting. Many themes were introduced to create a well-woven tapestry. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this title for an honest review.

The town of Whistling Ridge guards its secrets.

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.

Anna Bailey's debut novel was truly a dark and depressing page-turner. Living in a small town, I feel as though I could integrate myself fully into the setting of this book and with these characters. The writing in the book was very well done and it helped me get through some of the more tricky parts of the plot. This book put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. From being happy to sad to disgusted, I think I felt every emotion possible. Some of the unsavory characters and events made me want to put the book down but I hate not finishing something I have started. The ending was given away early in the book if you are paying attention, but the characters pulled me in and made me felt committed to finishing.

This book was atrocious…

The premise of this book was promising but it was just way too disturbing for my liking. I understand books that mention violence, abuse, racism and homophobia, but thats all this book seemed to talk about. I felt like I couldn’t read a single sentence without the mention of one. There also wasn’t a single character (besides maybe Jude) that I actually liked and cared for. Overall, just a vile book and I did not enjoy it.

I DNF’d this title. I felt it jumped around too much and the writing was choppy. It was very hard for me to stay engaged.

I selected the book because it was supposed to be a suspense. I didn't feel it was. It was about family abuse. Not my favorite type of reading. Realism doesn't entertain me. The story does have several smaller storylines. Each of those lines were lessons too. There is the obligatory gay characters, the druggies, and the do gooders. The book wasn't awful, it just wasn't for me.

Loved this book! So many twists and turns but opened my eyes to domestic abuse in a way I never understood. Worth the read and it’s an all consuming quick read too!

I enjoyed Where The Truth Lies immensely. Teenager goes missing in a small town full of lies, secrets and rage. But it goes so much deeper than that. Terrific debut, well written and a fantastic ending

Where the Truth Lies is an addictive thriller about a small Colorado town filled with secrets and a missing girl. Emma and Abi go to a party together and Emma leaves Abi behind, but doesn't realize that'll be the last time she sees her best friend. The police think Abi ran away, but Emma knows better. And so she investigates to find out what happened to Abi. She begins to realize there are a lot more secrets in this town than she was prepared for and even starts questioning how well she really knew Abi after all. The story is a slow-burning one that even addresses several heavy topics such as racism, homophobia, classism, incest, rape, etc. If you enjoy engrossing thrillers with plenty of secrets, this is a great one to check out! It's shocking this is only Anna Bailey's debut.

This story is a slow burning traumatic read. Normally I dislike this type of story but the author kept me engrossed the entire time. This is also a debut novel from the author! I can't wait to see what Anna Bailey writes next

The story begins with a party out in the woods, filled with teenagers having a good time. A typical small town party. Emma tries to get her friend Abi to leave with her, but Abi wants to stay. The last Emma sees of her is Abi walking into the woods.

Whistling Ridge is not your average small town, or maybe it is, maybe we just don’t get to see in depth all of the people that really live in a small town.

This is a pretty dark story, told in a “then and now” style with various points of view. Everyone has secrets. As you slowly learn the secrets, you keep changing your mind on who could have harmed Abi.

The story covers a lot of ground, much more than your usual psychological murder mystery. Characters range from big powerful men who rule the town, a preacher who uses his pulpit to spread hatred, a Vietnam vet who physically and verbally abuses his family to a mom who feels helpless.

The book ties everything together in the end and you feel at least some sense of relief that things are going to be different in Whistling Ridge. Also, I was completely wrong at every turn on who killed Abi!

3.5/5

Where the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey has a gorgeous cover and honestly, that is part of the reason I was drawn to it. Also, who doesn't love a family drama set in a small town where everyone has secrets? I loved the setting of Colorado and was familiar with some of the places mentioned in the book which was really cool, and it made for a really compelling read. However, this shit is DEPRESSING. Most of the adults are truly awful people and there is a lot of hate, racism, and abuse packed into these 384-odd pages. It is definitely a slow burn as the synopsis suggests, and that was really fitting for the plot. I can't really imagine it as a fast-paced thriller, and you really get to know the characters as it is very character-driven as well. Even though there are secrets and the mystery surrounding Abigail, this definitely gave off more of a literary fiction vibe.

I really enjoyed Where the Truth Lies on audiobook and it is narrated by Natalie Simpson, who I haven't listened to before. She did such a fantastic job with all of the characters including any accents, and she really helped set the scene for the story. Listening to the audiobook helped keep me more engaged as well and is the right way to go for this slow-burning mystery. It was a really hard read for me, but I liked how it ended and there are definitely a couple of jaw-dropping moments. One thing that threw me off was the very nonlinear jumps in time. It started to get confusing for me and sometimes I wasn't sure what time period I was in which took away from the book quite a bit for me. I believe this is a debut though, so I will let it slide, and I would definitely be interested in reading more from Bailey!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.