In Anna Bailey's debut, we get a deep dive into the small town of Whistling Ridge, Colorado, where a 17-year old girl, Abigail, has gone missing.

Abi's friend, Emma, is wracked with guilt because she left Abi behind at a party on the night she disappeared. Abi was supposed to be meeting up with a boy in the woods and insisted Emma leave her, but she never should have. Not only does Emma feel bad about leaving Abi there, others in town blame her as well.

The police believe Abi ran away, but Emma knows that's not true. Abi would never have left without her. Emma decides to take the investigation into her own hands. She needs to find out what happened to her friend. Abi's family is a mess, but truth be told, they were a mess before she disappeared. Her two brothers live in constant fear of their father's unpredictable temperment, while their mother frequently appears checked-out.

Over the course of the story, multiple town secrets are brought to light. There's all sorts of racism, prejudice, bigotry and religious fervor. There's a lot of unlikable characters and unsavory circumstances. Personally, I never felt connected with this story. None of the characters were distinct to me and I had a difficult time tracking it all through the multiple perspectives and then/now timelines.

I decided to give this 3-stars because I know there is a good story hidden in here somewhere. It tackles a lot of important, sensitive issues and I would never want to take away from that. However, for me, this reading experience was more of a 2-star. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

With this being said, just because this wasn't my cup of tea, doesn't mean it is not a good book. If you read the synopsis and it sounds interesting to you, please give it a shot. It could very well be a new favorite for you. Maybe I was just in a mood or something. Who knows? Crazier things have happened, but yeah, as of today, not a great experience for me. Extremely forgettable and bland. Solid, mehhh.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it. On to the next!

a story of losing a friend and feeling the guild of being the last person to see them alive. This story was gripping and kept my attention. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers and mysteries

This book is a slow burn of a mystery with a few heavy topics. I completely felt for Emma as a character and for Abi's brother Noah. I thought the author did a great job with all the characters and building up each of their stories. The book is very character driven one which I appreciated. The mystery of what happened to Abi was a mystery until the end, I did not see that coming at all. The author did a great job at giving multiple potential culprits. The author does a great job a discussing many difficult topics in an important but not overwhelming way.

At times the slow burn was a little too slow for me, and I ended up reading this one on audiobook and I think that the audiobook version wasn't for me with this book. The narrator didn't seem like the right fit for the story and I would space out unintentionally and miss a detail. Overall the author did an amazing job writing this and I would recommend the book.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Atria Press for my honest review.*

A small Colorado town. A missing girl. Highly questionable values of the townspeople. Unreliable police officers. And secrets - everyone has secrets.

There was a lot going on in this novel. Many, many POVs and NOW and THEN timeframes. And multiple POVs in a single chapter. I'm not gonna lie, it was confusing without headers on each section knowing which view I was reading. At least the differing time frames had headers. I found it hard to get into the story because of the points of view changing all the time. I could see this being an effective novel in an audio version with multiple narrators.

Once I got to about the halfway point, I was better able to get into the story and want to see what happened and how everything ended with most of the characters. None of the characters were really likeable, but I always have a hope of redemption. And I did appreciate the ending.

I did struggle with the aspect of blatant racist attacks and homophobic actions in small towns in this day and age. Almost like reading about the living conditions of some families - The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Educated by Tara Westover. It's hard to think about the mob mentality a group has while attacking a person with law enforcement joining in instead of trying to stop it. And the pastor egging everything on. Maybe it is my naivete thinking this doesn't happen in the US.

This just didn’t end up being a book that interested me. When I first read the premise, I was very excited and invested, but getting into it made it clear that it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully it works for others out there!

This one fell in the middle for me when it comes to thrillers. I found the writing atmospheric and dark, but there was a lot going on-countless characters, flashbacks, etc. that made it hard to follow at times. There were also a lot of heavy themes that felt a bit much: homophobia, xenophobia, racism, classism, rape, incest, the list goes on and on… it felt like there was so much going on that I often forgot the basic premise of the book.

My thoughts: Less is more, but for a debut novel this one was decent. I will for sure check out what this author publishes in the future.

Told in the Now and Then genre , a girl is missing and her best friend determines to learn the truth. A town serious about religion and what is righteous. Young people scratching to get out of a town caught up in yesterday. Men raging and controlling pounded by demons from another time in a far off place. Youngmen tainted by nightmares and faces and places of the past. All are here pulling the reader to find the truth of Abigail’s last day. Her family each with a path uncovered but he truth of a hard and unflinching life. Every face has a secret, every story caught in a lie.

When Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma sets out to discover the truth, especially as she faces the guilt of leaving her alone at a party. This psychological thriller was a bit slower paced than what I'm normally used to but was surprised to see it was Anna Bailey's debut novel - the writing was really compelling. Overall, I give Where the Truth Lies 3/5 stars since I struggled to get through it at times and

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgally for a chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this fell flat for me and I stopped reading at 38%. I had a hard time concentrating. I did not have much connection to any of the characters. I know people enjoyed this book, this one just did not end up working for me!

I was able to do this as a read/listen combo. To be honest I wouldn’t recommend this one on audio. The narrator was good, but the story jumps around a lot between now and then segments and between POVS and this is in the middle of chapters. In the e book versions there are markings you can see, but in the audio version unless you have stellar focus for audio you are gonna feel lost and frustrated.

As for the story itself it’s haunting, dark, sad, atmospheric, and would be great for those who enjoy twisted towns filled with overly ‘religious’ people who have twisted religion to fit their small minded hatred. If you have a trigger warning involving children stay far away from this one. Tough subject matters and definitely not for everyone.

A teenage girl goes to a party in the woods with a friend....and never comes home. The friend is not only afraid and frantic to find the missing girl, but feels guilty as she was convinced to leave her at the party. It doesn't matter that the missing girl was the one who wanted to stay....it only matters that she's gone. As Emma starts looking for Abi.....the dark underbelly of Whistling Ridge, CO starts to be revealed. Secrets never stay secret..... The Town, the residents, family members, even Abi herself....secrets are coming out. And it isn't pretty.

Wow...what a book! A seemingly perfect Colorado town is just a mask over a cesspit of secrets, lies, and plots. Very suspenseful story....very twisty....what a ride! I started reading this book and it quickly became a binge read. I couldn't put it down. Got sucked right into the crap that is Whistling Ridge. Yikes!

I grew up in a small town in the midwest. And I returned there as an adult to be a news reporter. This book hit home and hit home hard -- small towns hide so much secret, horrible shit. And my hometown was no different. Murderers let go by a jury because the victim was considered a whore. Affairs, unethical behavior, thefts covered up because the people involved were important. Racism. Classism. Crimes committed by important people's kids covered up. No arrest orders for people. Little town -- little people trying so hard to be big. All worthless. I left. And moved to another small town 1200 miles away. Still lies and agendas here....still small town money trying to be relevant.....but it doesn't hurt as bad to see it. These aren't the people I grew up with, people I went to school with......these are just people. They are the same....but it doesn't gut me like learning my hometown was nothing like Mayberry. This book reminded me of all that -- those emotions, the dawning realization that the world could be a very, very bad place, and locking your front door doesn't mean a damn thing. Some things can't be kept out.

Great book! I enjoyed it! If a story can be truly disturbing -- then it's well written!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

This book was absolutely compelling and the writing really transports you to another place. While many of the characters are completely unlikeable, you can't help be get tugged into this compelling story. This master is nicely down and the story can be dark. If you love a good twisty book, give this one a read. Thank you for the opportunity to let me review this one!

First of all thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book

I am going to be sincere and when I picked it up it was mainly because the cover, then I read the synopsis and I liked it and decided to give a try and it surprised me, as I wasn’t expecting how the book turned out to be.

It can ve listed as a thriller although I would put it in more suspense rather than thriller, I love how we get to see different points of view, a thing very much appreciated in this genre. We also get flashbacks from the past from different characters which give the reader a more insight onto the wide cast of characters. The only thing I didn’t like about this was that sometimes I didn’t know who was the narrator of the chapter until some pages in, I think a good idea could be putting the name of the narrator beside the chapter number.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my own opinion.

I liked this book. I thought it was going to be the same old girl goes missing and blah, blah, blah. But the characters were well developed and the story wasn't the same as a tired subject I've read before.

Ability, a 17 year old girl goes missing after a party thrown in the woods. Her friend Emma feels guilty because she should've been there and Abu is never seen again. There are a lot of different unlikable characters in this book such as Who's father with his violent rages and her quiet mother who holds everything inside. There is also a preacher who feels like violence is a good answer to situations, but these are the things that happen in a small town and I feel that this was accurately portrayed.

3.5 stars!

A small town community with depressing secrets; my another favourite thriller sub-category that I seem to enjoy quite a lot in the recent times!

WHERE THE TRUTH LIES is an incredibly atmospheric and a gripping slow burn mystery. Its true that this book would appeal the fan of Celeste Ng! It has creepy small town setting, dysfunctional family drama, a bit of coming of age thoughts, and a deep dark mystery that contains all these like a gum-ball machine. You put in the penny and stay excited to see which colour gum-ball you’ll get! Wildly good.

Thank you Atria books via Netgalley for the arc.

**Random note- the audiobook narrator has an English accent but the story is set in America and none of the characters have an English accent so it was super weird to listen to. I do not recommend the audio for this book, I would suggest reading the physical/ebook instead.**

When Abigail goes missing while meeting a boy in the woods, it seems like everyone in the small town is hiding secrets. Did she run away from her alcoholic father? Was she taken? Who is responsible and who knows the truth?

The synopsis for this sounded fabulous and the plot had potential, I just think the execution was lacking for the story. It felt a little like the story meandered along, not really focusing on the mystery of the missing girl but instead focusing more on small town life and politics, racism, alcoholism and religion. Also, the point of view jumped around between past and present and all different characters so at times I had no idea who was the current narrator or what was really going on.

Overall I just thought this book was ok, but keep in mind that other people might really like this story, it just was not an engaging read for me and I was not invested in finding the answers.

We all have our secrets, and the inhabitants of Whistling Ridge are no different, especially Abigail Blake. However after Abi goes missing, the town's secrets start revealing themselves. What happened to Abigail? Her best friend, Emma Alvarez, is on a mission to find out what happened to Abi -- no matter the consequences, but in doing so, Emma realizes she may not have known Abigail at all. Why was Abi hanging out with drug dealer Hunter Maddox? Why did Sheriff Gains touch her that way? What happened to Emma's father, Miguel? Are all these things connected? Abigail's family has their own secrets as well: her big brother's (Noah's) passionate love for new-to-town Rat, her mom's hatred of her husband and their father Samuel who has abused her and them for years, Samuel's Vietnam memories, and her younger brother's (Jude's) penchant for observing everything and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This book was a bit slow for me, but as I neared the end, it got better as I wanted to know what the hell was going on in this town?!? I thought the book was overall really good, and I loved the open-ended ending. The abuse was hard to stomach along with everyone just turning a blind eye to what Samuel was doing to his family, but I'm afraid, unfortunately, this does happen. I liked the switching POV idea as it gave you a broader picture of what was going on instead of just Abi or Emma's viewpoint. I didn't particularly like any one of the characters -- they all definitely had their downsides and seemed to play a part in Abigail's disappearance by either in-action or direct action. Overall, a good, solid book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I decided not to continue reading this book. At 25% of the way through it failed to capture and maintain my attention. The characters were unique but no one really resonated with me so I didn’t feel very invested in the story. I can definitely see it working well with a younger crowd, just not for me!

Where the Truth Lies begins at a party in the Tall Bones outside of the small community of Whistling Ridge, Colorado. It's a place where the local kids gather to blow off steam, drink beer, and escape from their parents and day-to-day lives for a bit. Emma sees her best friend Abi walk into the woods, but does not accompany or follow her. Abi never emerges. She never shows up back at home. After Abi vanishes, questions ensue and Emma feels guilty because she believes she was the last person to see her that night. And she didn't look out for her, thinking that Abi just wanted to go make out with a boy.

Abi comes from an unhappy, dysfunctional home. Her father, Samuel Blake, is significantly older than her mother, a Vietnam War veteran who was raised by a mother who wielded Bible teachings like a sword. Samuel does the same thing with his three children. He is controlling, with a vile, violent temper, and regularly abuses his two sons, Noah, the eldest, and Jude, who is a twelve-year-old sweet-tempered child who has been permanently disabled by his father's abuse. Their mother, Dolly, also suffers Samuel's physical wrath and fails to protect her sons. Abigail, though, is her father's precious girl and he does not subject her to the same treatment.

Noah is thoughtful and planned to attend UCLA as an English major, but he was forced to notify the institution he would be unable to attend due to financial issues. One particularly heinous episode in the Blake household required the expenditure of the only substantial money his parents had on medical bills. Now Noah is stuck in Whistling Ridge. Noah has strong feelings for Rat and the two of them spend time exploring their connection, even though Noah's father is an unrepentant homophobe, as are many of the town's residents, including the fire and brimstone-preaching Pastor Ed Lewis, who offers conversion therapy to members of his congregation.

Emma Alvarez has also felt the impact of racism and prejudice. Although her mother is a local physician, her father, Miguel, mysteriously left town when Emma was just a little girl. But she doesn't know what happened or why he left, because her mother will not share the details with her. Others intimate that some horrible event drove him to run away. Indeed, Jerry Mattox, the most powerful man in town and her father's former employer, threatens her that she will end up like her father if she doesn't stop poking around in search of answers, even though Emma doesn't know exactly that that means. And now Emma has lost her best friend, Abi, and is the subject of gossip by kids at school. In the bathroom, she overhears other girls saying, "Can you believe Emma Alvarez just left her there? Do you think that's why she was taken?" But, in fact, no one knows if Abi is dead or alive, although foul play becomes a distinct possibility once her bloodied sweater is discovered in the woods. Emma will not stop searching for the truth until she knows exactly what happened to Abi, and it is her determination that compels Bailey's story forward.

Where the Truth Lies is a richly atmospheric, dark, and haunting story about a small town in which the most powerful residents are bigoted, homophobic, and determined to stop those they deem "others" to infiltrate their tight-knit circle. Men like Jerry Mattox and Ed Lewis demonstrate they will stop at nothing to ensure that their positions of power and influence are secure, even if it means getting involved in and covering up the behavior of their children or committing unspeakable acts. Bailey compassionately illustrates Emma's devotion to the friend she thought she knew so well, and dismay when she learns that Abi engaged in behaviors and had relationships about which Emma was unaware. Emma escapes from her unhappy life in unhealthy ways, skipping school and hanging out with Rat in the trailer park, but recognizes that she needs to find better ways to cope. As for Dolly, she is a battered woman who has failed as a mother by not shielding her sons from her husband or seeking to escape. Eventually, she realizes just how derelict she has been in her duty to protect her children. But is it too late to save all of them, along with herself? Her husband, Samuel, is as unlikable a character as readers are likely to encounter, but Bailey explains how his upbringing made him into a monster. Can he be redeemed?

In her debut, Bailey shows she is an eloquent wordsmith. She convincingly transports readers to the brooding, ominously claustrophobic little town of Whistling Ridge where all of the inhabitants know each other and their histories, and movingly conveys the depth of her characters' feelings about their complicated lives and dreams for the future. At the center of the story is Abi, the girl whose disappearance sets in motion a series of events that will change the characters' lives, and the little town in which they live, forever. Bailey tells the tale through alternating narratives set "then" and "now," and effectively provides critical exposition from the points of view of her characters.

Where the Truth Lies is ultimately both heart-breaking and affirming.

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Blake’s disappearance after a party in the woods stuns the town of Whistling Ridge, and her best friend Emma Alvarez feels horribly guilty that she left the party after Abi chose to stay. Whistling Ridge is a town full of secrets, and Emma is determined to solve the mystery of Abi’s disappearance, talking with others at the party to find out all she can about Abi’s final hours. During her search, she discovers that Rat, a Romanian immigrant and a resident of the trailer park, can tell her something about Abi, and she gravitates towards him. As Emma’s investigation continues, she learns that the deep-seated racism she encounters daily for being half Latina is ingrained in the town, tarnishing both Rat and Emma in the eyes of the older generation. Abi’s brutal home life comes to light, as well as the questionable actions of the town’s most prominent citizens, all instigated by the town’s charismatic pastor.

Where the Truth Lies is an interesting story, compelling and full of intrigue, and I kept changing my mind about what had happened to Abi and who may have been responsible. This debut novel was a fast read, and I appreciated Emma’s tenacity in wanting the truth, and her willingness to put herself in potential danger to learn the truth, although the truth is often painful. My only criticism is the use of some British terminology in the beginning, like the term netball and saying Jude and Noah Blake, Abi’s brothers, were like chalk and cheese, but other than that, I enjoyed this story very much.