We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall is a recommended domestic thriller.

Yara Gibson, a writer on a television crime drama, reluctantly leaves L.A. and returns to her childhood home in Palmdale, California, to oversee her parents’ 20th wedding anniversary party. Her 19 year-old sister can't help in any constructive way. Her dominating, bossy, and demanding mother wants a party, so Yara feels pressured into making sure she gets what she wants. Adding to the stress is the fact that Yara is asthmatic. The desert dust storms already present a problem, but her mother's demand that Yara stay at the family's home among the pervasive cigarette smoke surely mean nothing but wheezing and struggling for the next breathe.

Then, soon after her arrival, a stranger sends her a text saying, "I have information that will change your life." The message is from a woman called Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. She is insistent that the two have to talk. She leaves a key to remote lakeside cabin for Yara, but soon after this Felicia's body is found. What is the big secret and who would kill Felicia to prevent her from telling it to Yara.

Yara is the narrator of the novel and she is a completely realized and sympathetic character. She is really the only appealing character in the novel. She is likable, which kept me reading, but at the same time, there are a couple of fundamental questions that immediately came to mind. The first is the reliability of Yara as a narrator. She has admitted she's forgetful and has anxiety issues. The second is her maturity or inner strength. She is seemingly incapable of saying no to her mother. She didn't just tell her mother: No, I am staying at the hotel. I am trying to quit smoking and will not stay at the smoke filled house. Additionally, her mother demanded that Yara throw her big party for a 20th anniversary, not a really common thing to do.

The greatest drawback to We Lie Here, however, is the very slow pace through most of the novel. It requires a commitment to stay with it until the more intriguing questions arise. Once mysteries begin and secrets begin to be revealed, the plot quickly becomes more interesting, twisty, and intriguing. The ending was worth the long slog through most of the novel.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon

We Lie Here is a mystery of murder, disappearances, and, of course, lies. Taking place in the horrid high desert of southern California, a place Yara hates but must return to, the desert (actually chaparelle to nitpick) is another character in the story. It is harsh. It is a the city of Palmdale that has been shoved into a place that cannot support much life.

At times some of the decisions of the main character left me scratching my head or rolling my eyes. I get wanting to get away from your family, but I cannot imagine that oasis being the attic of a house in Antelope Valley, breasthing issues or not. It would be well over 110 up there.

The twisted reasons behind the events of the book are brought to the front in a way that makes sense. If you think there is something wrong with someone, there probably is something they are doing that is wrong.

Yara Gibson is returning home to celebrate her parents twentieth anniversary. When she receives an unknown text, she is curious, but assumes they have the wrong number. Who would have information for her that she needs to know? The text is from Felicia Campbell and she says that she has information about Yara’s birth mother who left years ago. Yara doesn’t have time for his now and evidently Felicia has run out of time as well as her body is found in the lake. Will the key that Felicia left for her answer questions about her past, her mother and why she left? I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but I had a difficult time with this book. The beginning seemed to ramble on with no clue where the story was going. The characters seemed rather shallow and not really that interesting. I finished the book to find out what secrets would be revealed, but the ending was not worth the read. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Prolific author Rachel Howzell Hall’s latest standalone novel is We Lie Here. It’s Yara Gibson’s parents’ twentieth wedding anniversary and she returns home to arrange the celebrations. Yara ignores a text message from a woman saying she is a childhood friend of her mother’s. When a body is found in the lake, Yara is shocked to learn who it is and that she was left a key to a remote cabin. Yara’s investigation discovers files regarding an unsolved mysterious tragedy from 1998. All sorts of unknown truths are revealed, with plenty of action and twists, that end with a surprising climax. The remote cabin prologue finally makes sense and so an enjoyable three and a half star read rating. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

This one started off really slow for me and felt a little disjointed with a lot filler. I felt like there was much that could have been cut out and with this book being on the longer side I wish that had been done. The text message conversations were confusing because it was hard to see who was saying what. It did come together in the end. For the last 3rd I couldn't put it down. I feel like the premise was good and all the bones were there but it was executed well. I loved this authors other novels so I will keep reading them but this one fell a bit short.

We Lie Here is a great family drama with suspense and mystery.
A whodunnit in the 21st century.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book had a lot going on. Different layers made it complicated and slightly hard to follow. It was intriguing because I wanted to know how everything tied together, but this wasn’t for me, even at the end I still had some questions. If you love an unreliable narrator and complex layers in a dramatic family dynamic. This book is definitely for you!

This book was ok. I had problems relating to the characters and also getting involved with the plot. It did pick up toward the end and the e Du f was a surprise, but all in all, this book was just a medium read for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
We Lie Here is yet another well-crafted thriller from Rachel Howzell Hall. It’s not my favorite of hers, but as far as the elements that I love of the genre, she continues to prove she’s one of the best in the game, especially for stories featuring Black leads.
One of the things that stands out almost immediately is the Southern California setting. The area is a frequent setting for Hall, but it comes to chilling life in her depiction of the town of Palmdale, where you really get a sense of the scope and landscape of the town.
The plot is complex and twisted, in signature Hall fashion. There are many twists and turns, suspicious characters, and even a false reveal, culminating in the reveal of the true killer.
The story is immensely personal for Yara, with revelations about her family that have long been buried coming to light, and it’s hard not to feel for her based on that alone, even if I didn’t feel like her character development was at the forefront. Hall isn’t afraid of writing immensely unlikable characters, whether it be for the “heroes,” villains, or anyone in between, but it works, as you inevitably suspect almost everyone.
I did feel like this one lagged a bit in the middle, and in spite of my interest in the story, I struggled a bit with my motivation to come back to it. I can’t really say for sure why, as the story remains pretty gripping. It could just be my struggle to focus in the midst of some of the quieter moments.
In spite of any minor quibbles, this is another solid, engaging thriller from Rachel Howzell Hall. If you enjoyed her previous work, or enjoy thrillers with convoluted plots and unlikable characters, I recommend this one.

Yara finds out that you might not like what you discover when you go home again. Back at her parents' house for their 20th anniversary, she's feeling anxious and stressed, which is only compounded by Felicia, her mother's cousin who claims she has information that Yara must know. And then Felicia is found dead and Yara takes the key she meant for Yara to a cabin where she uncovers....no spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Is Yara an reliable narrator and is this family as toxic as it appears? Over to you to decide.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall is an #ownvoices thriller featuring Black characters. The story revolves around Yara, a TV screenwriter who receives a disturbing text one day. It's from Felicia, a childhood friend of her mother's. Felicia claims that she has information that will change Yara's life. But before she has a chance to meet with her, Felicia's body is found floating in a lake. What secrets did Felicia know? And who was willing to kill her to silence her?

Here is a captivating excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Every summer, the Afro-Americans came to hoot and holler at Lake Paz. Yes, every summer they arrived and talked loudly, and never kept private things private, and always spilled those secret things across the woods like cheap wine. And they always spilled those most-awful private things while good people, quiet people, tried to sleep.
Bird glanced at the clock on her nightstand: almost an hour before midnight and those people in the cabin next door were doing this now. Of course they were. Their anger had slipped through the evergreens and rustled through the high grass to pull her from sleep."

Overall, We Lie Here is a thriller that will appeal to fans of Kellye Garrett's Like a Sister. One highlight of this book is how it is an #ownvoices book featuring Black characters. I think that it's so important to diversity new releases, including the thriller genre. I also love how the main character is a TV screenwriter, which is a really unique job. Another highlight was the jaw-dropping twist and explosive finale. I totally did not see it coming, and I really enjoyed the ending.

I did take off 1 star, because there were a lot of cultural references I missed and parts I didn't understand. In particular, I didn't understand some characters' behaviors and motivations. For example, if the main character wants to learn about her mother's sister, why wouldn't she ask her mother? Wouldn't her mother be the logical person to ask? Why doesn't her mother care that her sister is dead? If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in July!

Thank you, NetGalley, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book! This book will release on July 12th, 2022.

We Lie Here is the third book that I have read by Rachel Howzell Hall. I have come to really appreciate her writing and I will never forget listening to her at a thriller panel at the LA Times Festival of Books! One of the things that I appreciate is that she often writes about Southern California, which is where I live. It really hits differently when you know all the locations that the author is discussing. And let me tell you, Rachel Howzell Hall nails it. This book takes place in Palmdale. Yara doesn’t really want to come home but she is planning a huge party for her parent’s anniversary. Her mom, dad, and sister, can be… a lot. Her physical and mental health always decline when she is home. She is a TV writer, dating a US Marshal but going home makes her feel small. However, one afternoon a woman approaches her and claims to be her cousin, Felicia. She doesn’t seem stable but is insisting that she has information that concerns Yara. The next day, Felicia is dead. Then the messages start arriving and someone has been in her room…is it all in her head or are there deep family secrets that should stay buried?

So if you happen to wander over to Goodreads, then you will see that the reviews aren’t raving about this book. I can see where they are coming from. There are a few parts that can use some polishing up. However, the story and the characters are on point. At first, Hall leads readers to believe that all of the issues that are occurring are from some petty fights from years ago. –No, she manages to entwine a deeper more sinister plotline.

It also goes to show how important it is to deal with toxic family members. I can see why Yara just wanted to appease her mom, but it started to get to the point where she took the gaslighting to a whole new level. But as I kept reading, I realized there is a reason for Yara to subject herself to that toxicity. This is probably where the polishing up would come in handy.

However, there were moments that were extremely unnerving and gave me the chills! Overall, I think this is a great thriller!

I was really excited to find this book as a Read Now on Netgalley, because it sounded so great. While it did have good bones to the story, I felt like it was pretty repetitive and I kept getting so bored while reading it. I wanted more from just about every piece of this - characters, mystery, twists. The audio length isn't that long, and I probably should've just waited for that and maybe it wouldn't of seemed so boring.

I will still be reading the next book by this author because the beginning was actually pretty easy to fly through and was a great set up.

This was a miss for me.

I found it to be overly repetitive and descriptive with no actual development of the characters or the plot.

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer. The opinions are my own and freely given.

Cast of Characters:
Yara - screen writer for crime show
Dom - her sister
Barbara - her mother
Rob - her father

Yara goes back to Palmdale to throw a wedding anniversary party for her parents that will end all parties. A woman approaches her and says she is her cousin Felicia, and she has information that will change her life. Yara then receives a text from Felicia that says "HELP". The next morning, Yara learns that Felicia has died. Yara starts investigating Felicia's death herself and things start happening that make her feel threatened, her car is keyed, her tires are slashed. Yara uses this time at home to look into her parents' history and learns some startling things. There are more twists and turns that I didn't see coming. This book isn't what I was expecting it to be. I couldn't put it down and read the last half in one sitting.

Maybe this is mean, but.......this book sucks.

Not very well written, repeated dialogue, unnecessary details, and unreliable narrators. For 85% of the book, I just....didn't care.

Skip it.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled with it so much. I found the drama surrounding Yara to be strange - there’s stalking, lying, gaslighting & much more. I found her mother to be extremely manipulative from the get go, and this just put me off, especially with everyone making excuses for her. To me, it felt like the story was rushed & could have done with more editing. The idea of the story was interesting but the execution was lacking. I found that the last 20-25% of the book picked up & had me racing through the pages, but it was too little too late.

We Lie Here has so many twists and turns that my head is still spinning! Yara, the main character, is throwing an anniversary party for her parents at her childhood town. A town that she has worked very hard to get away from. Her parents’ past clash with the present, resulting in mysterious stalkings, attacks and deadly surprises.

The author has a gift for descriptive writing- the reader is immersed and can easily picture the various scenes. I wish some of the characters had been more developed. There were many to keep track of and it felt like we didn’t know them well.

The ending is bonkers! This book is definitely worth the read. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Truths Emerge..
Truths emerge upon one woman’s visit home to host an anticipated anniversary party. For Yara Gibson, this trip is for a purpose. She needs to do this. As she searches for momentos for her parents, so begins a series of alarming text messages and the start of a bizarre and disturbing series of events. Keenly observed domestic noir with a complex plot and a well crafted cast of characters. A slow burn menace which ultimately delivers upon its, perhaps shocking, denouement.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.