This review will be posted on July 22, 2021 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

In the small mountain town of Whistling Ridge, church is everything, secrets are everywhere, and xenophobia abounds. These tensions simmer until the disappearance of Abigail Blake forces them to boil over. What worked for me: the window into small town life in Colorado, the tension of teens trying to figure out their own lives, and the exploration of effects of domestic abuse and child abuse on a family. What missed the mark for me: the "villains" felt like caricatures (they just felt like extra awful monsters) and the ending felt unresolved and a tad unsatisfying. #WhereTheTruthLies Rating: 😐 / meh, it was ok
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This book is scheduled for publication on August 3, 2021. Thank you @atriabooks for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail "Abi" Blake goes missing in Whistling Ridge, a small town in Colorado, we follow the people closest to her as they try to work out what has happened. Secrets are revealed as we learn more about each character and their checkered past lives.

This book feels like it's split in half. The first half, for me, was slow and difficult to follow. The character map was foggy. We had reveals without much build up and a plot that plodded forward. By the halfway mark, we'd picked up steam and it felt like the story really came to life. We finally actually hear from Abi, and plot points start to feel less disjointed.

If you're looking for a thriller that has lots of twists, gimmicks, and guessing games this might not be satisfying to you. Similarly, if you would like to read a book mostly centered on the missing person and the search for that person, this book may feel too dispersed. However, if you're okay with a dissection of small town life, dogmatic belief systems, and romantic relationships and how they fail, this would be enjoyable.

I especially enjoyed the discussion of religion in a small town. Mob mentality occurs, we learn about the outdated views on marriage, relationships, raising children, and femininity, and we see the town split clearly into an "us vs them" dichotomy.

The author, Anna Bailey, specifically based this book on her time in small town America, and it feels like the fact that it is a thriller is an afterthought. I am looking forward to reading more from Bailey and hoping for more general and literary fiction since the cultural discussions in this book were beautifully woven into the story.

I did not enjoy this book at all. There were too many characters to keep track of. None of the characters were likable. The book is full of racism, homophobia, abuse of all kinds, misogyny and people who use religion as an excuse to be terrible human beings.

The now and then timelines were confusing because when reading the past sections it wasn't supper clear how far back we were going. Sometimes it was just a few weeks and others a few years.

After I got about 1/3 of the way in, I just wanted it to be over. If this hadn't been an advanced readers copy I would have not finished it.

I usually like thrillers and this one is actually in my top 10 thrillers list. This book highlights small-town problems that come to surface up and into your face into this book.The author of this book brought out something in me that is usually tamed like a lion in a den. Hatred for characters, usually i can just look past them but no this author’s beautiful writing made me continue to this day to hate these characters every time I think about this book. Bravo Author Bravo. I think it also plays into a part about how God is portrayed and how harmful it can be through the use of humans. It is very powerful on how much a town can outcast you just for being who you are. I know I wouldn’t survive this town but the characters that i do like when they do a sense of pride is in me.

I wanted to love this book; the synopsis sounded like a dark physiological thriller that sucked you in and kept you turn pages past your bedtime. For me, there were a lot of characters to keep straight as they were all introduced in the beginning of the book. The back and forth of chapters 'then' and 'now' is a great way to build a slow burn and keep the reader engaged but the time frame was so close together (a month or so) that it got a little confusing trying to remember if what you were reading was 'then' or 'now'. There are a lot of possible Trigger Warnings the reader needs to be aware of. Around the 40% mark I started skimming and it wasn't until around the 75% mark that things things started picking up a little more but in the end this book felt to heavy (depressing) and unoriginal for me to really enjoy it like I had hoped to.

Once upon a time a young Englishwoman decided to take some time off after college and went to live in a small town US. The experience must have been scarring, because after returning to England a few years later, she wrote this book. Destroying any myth of quaintness, this is about as devastating of small towns small minds representation as it gets.
It’s also probably fairly accurate, if heightened for dramatic effect, representation, because places like this as American as apple pie and privately owned assault weapons exist. This one, tucked away in the mountains of Colorado, has all the tells that try to make American great again, ignorance, raging xenophobia, gay bashing, rampant familial abuse and violence, etc. The sort of place to quickly dispel whatever quaint notions of small town life you might have had and stay in the city, where life, however dirty, expensive and loud, is at least civilized.
This was actually meant to be a transitional read, to ease the Mare of Easttown withdrawals. The same sort of small town crime drama that centers around someone’s daughter (or as they say in Easttown durdur) and then evolves into so much more. But…this turned into a different beast altogether, a darker and scarier one, much more along the lines of folkhorrific stories than murder mysteries. Primarily because the evil here, both in the general town’s atmosphere and as specifically embodied by an antagonist so profoundly vile you might have a visceral reaction to him, is just so…evil. And the entire thing is powered by faith in its worst interpretation by the (once again) evil priest and his sheeple flock. These people somehow manage to let their faith to both inspire and excuse their absolutely worst behaviors, exemplified to terrifying perfection by the girl’s father. And the supporting cast of what is essentially villagers with pitchforks.
The author creates a community that’s backwoods in a positively medieval way with ways and mentalities that are almost difficult to comprehend by a modern reader. And yet, it seems tragically realistic. And affecting. You will be affected. Possibly devastated.
So it’s a powerhouse of a story, emotionally gutting, well rendered, with excellent writing and equally excellent character development, including every attempt to personify and explain evil and some redemption to balance it out. A really good read, but the most striking thing about it is the author’s youth, to write a story of this emotional complexity as a debut in one’s 20s is really, really impressive. And yes, yes, I’m an agist, but also most people in their 20s seem to do whiny memoirs these days. This is so much more. And infinitely superior.
Excellent and engaging, this is small town USA at its scariest. Read if you dare. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

I was super excited to read this book but it was very dark and heavy and at times I had a difficult time reading it. Most of the characters are unlikeable and the subject is rough. I kept reading because I had to know what happened but I almost didn't want to.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

This is usually the kind of book I enjoy with characters from many backgrounds, however 97% of the characters are completely dislikable, awful, terrible, judgmental AF people. Racist? Homophobic? Religious fundamentalists? Political fundamentalists? This book had the cream of the crop of the worst kind of people. It was too heavy for me to read but I suffered on because of the hopes of a disappearance of a teenager from a party.

Honestly, I almost DNF'd this and picked this up and put it down to pick up again too many times. Just not for me. Just awful and disappointed. Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Anna Bailey and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/3/21

Honestly, I found this book difficult to read because of the topics it dealt with. The author, however, did a masterful job of drawing me back to the book, again and again, in spite of its themes of violence, abuse, bigotry, intolerance and evil people doing evil things. At times, I just didn’t want to know what was going to happen next in the small town of Whistling Pines and at other times, I felt compelled to return to the story of Abigail and Emma. Abi went missing from a party in the woods that she attended with Emma, so Emma feels responsible for her being missing. Emma is determined to find out what happened to Abi, although the local police decide early on that Abi just ran away. After all, her father had a raging and unpredictable temper and her mother just silently watched his abuse. So, there were good reasons for Abi to pack up and disappear. Her disappearance takes second stage to the main plot, that of the secrets of a small town and how these secrets destroy lives. The plot was dark and intense, but it was also slow-paced. The character development made the story since the characters were believable and dynamic. I am not sure that I would have chosen this book to read off a shelf because even the first chapter is disturbing and evoked many emotions as I read it. I give it 3.5 stars since it kept me coming back to read more, but I must say that this book will not be for everyone. Some of the secrets are hard to read about; many of the actions of the characters were thought-provoking. The author gave me a profound and insightful look at the roiling secrets in a small town. This book was a fascinating character study with a complicated plot and an edge, unique perspective. Fans of drama with a dark atmosphere will enjoy this debut novel.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This is an almost 5 star book for me - I loved it. I devoured it quickly and loved the ending - didn't see it coming!
This is a mix of small town religious drama, family issues (some trigger warnings for domestic violence), a missing teenage girl, and other teenage stories all combined to make a twisty thriller. Great book, highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. The synopsis of Where The Truth Lies sounded right up my alley of interest. Unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me. I can see where many will like it.

This story perfectly explains why I'm not fine with organized religion. Because look at it! Look how people can use people's faith to manipulate them and pretend like it's God's wish! People don't need to have telling them what to do or what to believe to have faith: it should be something private - it should be something only between the person and the entity s/he believes in. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Now that we set the stage, let's go back to the story. In a small town where nothing significant happens, people are manipulated by the priest and his supporters. Daughter of one of the supporters went missing and what came next was probably good description of some American towns. With a single green light from the priest, people in this town would be okay beating the hell out of someone or burn things down. They were especially dangerous to LBTQA and immigrants, but what they did not know was very people who force them to create a lynch mob were the ones rotten inside.

It should not be so hard to let people live the life they wanted. If you want to live a religious life, go for it. If you want to freely live your life as a gay man, it's no one's business. If you are a biracial child, so be it. If you want to live elsewhere, away from your parents, do it. Where the Truth Lies is going to make you so furious since it will show you bunch of people who disregard all of the above. At least, it gives you bit of hope at the end though!

This was a dark and rather disturbing book. It’s told in several timelines that I found very hard to follow. It jumps back and forth so much and just felt real disjointed.
The idea of the book sounded really good and interesting but for me it didn’t turn out that way. I’m sure there are others who will really like this book
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I liked the diversity in this book, along with the ending. It had a series of good twists and turns, although the final one was pretty obvious. It takes a lot for a thriller to really speak to me after having read so many. Still, at 3-1/2 stars, Anna Bailey did a good job.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This book tells the story of the disappearance of Abigail, a 17 year old high school student. She disappears after a party and walking away from her best friend, Emma. The story that results is about what happened in this family and this small Colorado town. I would not classify this as much of a mystery as a family/town drama. This book is full of absolutely horrible people. Every type of terrible person you can think of (abusive, racist, homophobic, religious zealot) was in this book. There were times when I was reading this that I just had to stop and take a break because it was so heavy. There were maybe 2-3 people that I liked even a little bit. Overall, though, this was a well told story. I did want to keep reading to find out what happened. A good debut from this author. Thank you to Atria Books, Anna Bailey and Net Galley for the complimentary digital ARC of this novel.

Where The Truth Lies was a super sad and super dark thriller. Abigail is a teenager that goes missing and it looks like all hope of a return is lost but it is not that easy in the bible thumping, uber judgy small town.
This book broke my heart. The topics of racism, homophonic poverty and abuse was so hard to read but I think that Anna Bailey did a great job putting these topics in this book. The way Anna navigated writing Where the Truth Lies had me glued to my kindle. I wanted to see justice! And I wanted to be able to sleep hahaha kidding not kidding.

This was a beautiful novel reminiscent of Celeste Ng or Kristen Hannah. High praise from me. The religious undertones of the story were tough for me to take, but I still devoured this novel in a day. I loved the small town Colorado setting, and the character development of Noah and Emma. Hunter as well. Such well written characters. I will definitely read whatever Anna Bailey writes next.

The disappearance of a teenage girl exposes the racism, misogyny, homophobia, and abuse that informs relationship between family, friends, and acquaintances in this small town in Montana. Given this basic plot line is hardly new, I was expecting the author to devote substantial space to creating a strong sense of place, time, and regional culture. But this expectation is never realized, and so this small Montana town could be anywhere in America. At least for me, the result is a predictable story populated by characters that are no more than shallow, stereotypic caricatures: the Bible-thumping, hell-fire-and-brimstone preacher; the drunken, wife-beating, trailer-trash father, the sensitive and angry closeted son, and so on. For this reason, I cannot recommend this book.

I was lucky enough to win an e-galley of WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Anna Bailey through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and I hope you stay safe!

Where the Truth Lies (or Tall Bones in the UK) is one of those books that I probably wouldn’t have picked up usually. I was actually sent the UK book edition from Goldsboro monthly book club. This book was probably one of the best books I have ever read. The setting, the writing, the story and the characters were EVERYTHING. I honestly loved everything about this book. I read it slowly so I could savor every single word. I didn’t want it to end, but yet I did because I needed to know what was going to happen to these characters that I had fallen in love with. This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. I highly recommend this one.