When 17 year old Abigail goes missing her best friend Emma, is determined to find out what happened. Emma is guilty for leaving Abigail alone at a party in the woods. The police think Abigail ran away at first but Emma knows Abigail wouldn’t leave her. When police find more disturbing evidence, secrets that have been around for ages come out and the people of Whistling Ridge, CO will not be the same.

This is the second debut novel I have read this week and been super impressed with. This is such a sad and realistic story of hatred, abuse, racism, addiction and homophobia that rings real familiar as of late. The entire book is a trigger warning but Anna Bailey writes with such wisdom and knowledge on the topics that you can really understand the hurt these characters go through. The issues with homophobia and the characters facing their own demons was heartbreaking. The blatant racism is appalling but within all of this Anna Bailey sprinkles in goodness, kindness and forgiveness which rings of hope. This is a heavy story. It’s very atmospheric and a slow burn. If you like those kinds of things this is for you. My own downside to this was I felt at times it dragged a bit and was maybe TOO atmospheric for me.

***Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and Anna Bailey for my advance copy in exchange for my review ***

I read an advanced digital copy of this novel courtesy on the publisher through NetGalley. Review available on goodreads.

What a roller coaster of a story. Where the Truth Lies has so much going on in this one book. You will definitely no be bored with this book.

Where the Truth Lies is about a small town with far too many ugly secrets. For me, the character who most represents the town of Whistling Ridge and all its sordid secrets is Pastor Lewis, who spews hate and racism and homophobia in his weekly sermons. He is just one of the book's characters you will love to hate.

The mystery of the novel is about a teenage girl, Abigail, who goes missing after attending a party, Her best friend, Emma, is gripped with guilt because she left Abi alone at the party. The town (including a sheriff who's missing a few fingers) searches for the missing Abigail to no avail. However, Emma is determined to find out what happened to Abi even as she tries to drown her grief and guilt in alcohol. She befriends a Romanian boy named Rat who enables her alcohol abuse but wants to help her. Emma and Rat are the only two empathetic characters and practically the only ones in town not laden down with ugly secrets.

The other major characters are Abi's family (mother, father, and two brothers), Emma's mother, and a local boy and his rich father. They all have secrets that are slowly killing them. It's a sad and sordid town, and not one you'd ever want to live in. The atmosphere is relentlessly claustrophobic.

The author, Anna Bailey, does a fantastic job of bringing all of the various characters alive, warts and all. She also weaves a compelling mystery that kept me hooked to the very end. Where the Truth Lies is not an easy read, but it is wonderfully written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Kudos to Ms. Bailey.

You know when you’re reading a mystery and the mystery is just “too vague” it ends up brings frustrating? That’s definitely how the first 1/3 of Where The Truth Lies reads. We get it: it’s a mystery... now reveal SOMETHING.
Then once the reveals started it was like BOOM BOOM BOOM, wild bombshells.
I liked the scenery of Whistling Ridge and despised most of its residents. The town had a lot of issues going on -racism, homophobia, classism- which became consistent themes throughout the book. The twists were interesting but pretty disturbing. This book is not for the innocent.
I’d recommend it (with warning) to fans of mysteries/suspense, family dramas, and small town drama.
TW: alcoholism, pedophilia, and domestic violence

Teenagers, isolated small town, and lots of dirty little secrets make for a dynamite combination in this suspense novel.

The town of Whistling Ridge is off. There is just something not right about the people who live there. They have a lot of secrets to keep and they are about to blow up in a big way for some folks.

Emma and her bestie, Abigail are seventeen and think they know everything about each other. Emma is about to find out just how little she knows. At a party, Abigail tells Emma to go home alone as she is meeting someone in the woods. Emma doesn’t know who and Abigail won’t say. All Emma sees is a guy in the shadows.

So when Abi doesn’t make it home, Emma won’t let it go. The police think she ran away and with her family who would blame her? But Emma doesn’t believe that. And she isn’t about to let it go.

When evidence is found in the woods, people are scared. It seems everyone has a dirty secret. Everyone. My favorite character was Rat. A Romanian immigrant who is gorgeous and living at the trailer park, which you know is not going to end well.

Abi’s older brother Noah loves Rat and that is an issue. Their father's violence is an issue. But no one says a thing. Why? Because the preacher is not preaching the gospel of a disciple, he’s preaching about violence and beating the sin out of people.

The more Emma digs, the more secrets she finds that Abi had. As more secrets come to light all of the pent-up rage and hate will explode into a night that will change all of their lives forever.

There were the vilest of characters in this book. There were also the most innocent of characters in this book. I think I felt this book more strongly because of the political and social climate of today.

Great writing!

This is a debut novel. The setting is beautifully written, not a small town I’d want to live in but I think that’s the point. The author shows real potential and I will look forward to her next book. This one hit a lot of tough issues and things that are hot topics in the media right now.

I thought I would enjoy this more than I did. The mystery part, what happened to Abigail, did she runaway or did someone make her disappear? Was my favorite part of the story. This was a slow burn suspense novel, not an action packed high speed story so depending on your preference you may or may not like this book. The things that made me personally not like this book were two things. First, all the descriptive details about the town and the people were negative which gave a very depressing aspect of the story. The second thing which made me not care for the book as much was Abigail's diary pages. The pages were referred to many times at the end of the story as to why she made the decisions she did, but were never made available to the reader except obliquely where we had infer what was in them.

Great debut by Anna Bailey - she packs in a lot of tough issues and it was easy to get sucked in.. A perfect read for fall.

This is a book that either you read in one sitting or a book you have to read in short bursts. While it’s an engrossing tale there is so much homophobia, misogyny, racism, religious intolerance, domestic abuse, and child abuse portrayed that I couldn’t get over my anger and had to keep putting the book down. About halfway through I couldn’t stop reading because the shock from each turn in the storyline was too much to let go. The town of Whistling Ridge felt all too real and scary and I’m sure there are so many towns like this scattered throughout the country.

The plot itself was good with plenty of suspects and possible motives to keep the reader guessing. But other than a few characters, every other character in the story was irredeemable and somewhat one dimensional. Perhaps more well rounded characters weren’t needed as it wouldn’t be such a dramatic tale otherwise.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the arc.

Wow. This sorry was so much more than I anticipated. I thought I was going to read a thriller about a small town, only to find it runs much deeper, the issues are so much more wounding.

This was a haunting yet beautiful debut thriller that I couldn’t get enough of. I hated putting this book down and needed to know what happened next. I became invested in the mystery surrounding Abby but also in the lives of the residents of Whistling Ridge. Every resident has a story to tell and these stories are heartbreaking, disturbing, and human. There were some characters I wished I could reach through the pages and hug, and others I wanted to throttle.
As someone who grew up in a small town, the author was spot on with her depictions of that life, and some of the behaviors I read about triggered memories of my own experiences. The author doesn’t hold anything back with her often brutally realistic depictions of xenophobia, racism, abuse, and evangelical religion.
But despite the dark depictions of humanity, the author balances it well with poetic imagery. Reading, you can almost imagine for yourself the cool mountain breeze at your back, or see the majestic snowy peaks in the distance.
I will be recommending this book to everyone I know, and I am looking forward to Anna Bailey’s next book.

So many people who live in small towns have always said how stiffling and claustophobic living in a small town can be. Everyone knows everyones business (and secrets) but there is also a sense of "We're all in this together" That last part did not come across in this book! In fact the town was just awful. It was like the author put all of the nastiest, homophobic and racists POS in this book.

So a young girl Abigail disappears and the only one who seems to care is Emma (who is her best friend). Emma is determined to find Abigail or what happened to her. By trying to piece together what could have happened to Abigail, she is brought face to face with the towns secrets and realizes that not everything is what it always seems.

I have to be honest, there were some of the most unlikeable characters in this book which I think really worked in this story because I got the feeling you weren't supposed to like anyone . It made my heart break for Emma.

Thank you again to Atria Books and #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the story got my blood boiling a few times. It had a slow build but once it really started it completely captivated me and I couldn't put this book down. The characters were gripping as well as the story line..

many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books.

Abi is a high school student from a very dysfunctional family in a small town in Colorado. She disappears one night and neither her family or her best friend Emma know if she left on her own.

This book was slow for me. I hated the town, which was filled with god fearing racist misogynistic homophobes. It wasn't a setting that I enjoyed at all and many of the characters were horrible people. I know it is a true depiction of some towns, I just don't really want to read about them. That said, I did find myself sort of interested in what actually happened to Abi, and with some of the side stories but wasn't that excited with the answers. Overall a good debut, but maybe just not for me.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The blurb describes this book as “atmospheric” and a “slow burn” and it is- it’s more of a literary drama about a dead girl than a thriller. It’s not unenjoyable though, and I found myself turning pages once the action started going. Slow and pensive

This was a pretty bleak look at what goes on in small American logging towns in Colorado. Nothing good, apparently! It was a little grim for me--is there nothing good in this town or happening to these people? But it was well written and well paced and the characters seemed real.

This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! This book sucks you in from the get-go and you will find yourself thinking about the story and the characters long after you finish the book!

Where the Truth Lies is a dark, claustrophobic vision of a small American logging town in Colorado, caught in a web of lies. The novel defines depression and bleakness while dealing with the worst of America: spousal abuse, controlling spouses, child abuse, child sexual abuse/rape, misogyny, drug and alcohol abuse, homophobia, and the sexualization of teenaged girls.

When Abigail Blake disappears into the forest, her best friend, seventeen-year-old Emma Alvarez cannot forgive herself for not insisting Abi leave with her. As the plot progresses, the reader is introduced to multiple vivid characters, from Abi and Emma who are beautifully layered to high school students from the local high school, to Rat a Romanian young man who lives in a trailer park and Noah Blake, a member of Abi’s family, to the local preacher, a religious right hard-liner to Samuel Blake, a Vietnam vet whose religious beliefs, anger, and hatred ruin his family. Multiple plot twists keep this a high-tension thriller.