Yara Gibson returns to her hometown of Palmdale with big visions of celebrating her parent's anniversary. But those big plans go sideways when an old family friend comes to town, stirring up the past many tried to hide.

I'm not sure why Yara was so determined to get answers following a tragic discovery. Not only is her health threatened just by being in this dustbowl of a town (she's asthmatic), but her safety is also at risk as it seems someone doesn't want her poking around. But despite everything she goes through, she just keeps poking.

I have mixed feelings about this story. While I was interested in seeing what the big secrets were, the subplot regarding Yara and her family, minimized the tension I like from a mystery/thriller wasn't there. In addition, I didn't really warm up to any of the characters.

As it turns out, the subplot regarding the family dynamics ties into the whole mystery, but the big reveal, while shocking, seemed to come so late in the story and was resolved quicker than I would have expected.

Overall, this story had potential, I just wanted more tension to draw me through.

We Lie Here is the eighth novel by American author, Rachel Howzell Hall. Having escaped Palmdale three years earlier for a career in Los Angeles, TV scriptwriter Yara Gibson returns as infrequently as she can get away with. But she’s spending $5000 on a twentieth anniversary party for her parents, and she’s given herself ten days to organise the best party that Palmdale has seen.

And maybe also mine her family’s craziness to write a script for a movie, tentatively titled, The Queen of Palmdale.

Within hours of her arrival, Yara is getting text messages from an unknown number telling her: “I have information that will change your life!” A stranger accosts her in the hotel carpark, needing to urgently tell her something. Felicia Campbell, it turns out, is her mother’s estranged cousin. Angling for an invite? Yara doesn’t have time for this!

The barrage of messages continues. “Please Yara Talk to me before it’s too late!” and “You need to know the truth RIGHT NOW!!!” Should she relent? A note with keys under her hotel room door: meet me at your mother’s favourite place. But the next day, Felicia is found, drowned in the lake. Suicide? Or murder?

In between dealing with party preparations, the asthma flare-up every time she enters her parents’ house, her younger sister’s petty-criminal boyfriend, accusatory calls from Felicia’s twin sister, important things that she keeps misplacing, her mother’s demands and her father’s strange attitude, curiosity takes hold and Yara goes to the cottage on Lake Paz for which she now has keys.

What she finds there raises more questions about her family than giving her any answers that Felicia might have had. Here she is, organising a celebration of her parents’ marriage, but she’s discovering cracks that were never apparent when she was growing up. Have her parents been lying to her all this time? On top of this, her car is vandalised, notes left, a strange car opposite her parents’ house: what is going on?

For much of the story, we wonder, is Yara an unreliable narrator? Or are those around her gaslighting her? She’s off her anxiety meds and she’s stopped smoking; she does have a history of forgetting and losing things… it all has her doubting herself, what she remembers, what she has always thought she knew.

Howzell-Hall gives the reader yet another gripping page -turner that has the reader leaping to conclusions and then second-guessing those in favour of a different theory, all the way to the dramatic climax. The astute reader might settle on the actual perpetrator, but the how and why of it keep them enthralled. Brilliant crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: July 12, 2022

Yara has a complicated relationship with her family - but back to her hometown she goes to host an elaborate anniversary party for her parents. Drama ensues quickly with old grudges and issues coming to the surface, and the introduction of an estranged family member who is found dead only escalates things further. As Yara digs into this mystery, what will she find out about her hometown? And her family?

PROS and CONS:
The writing style was just not for me personally. Others may enjoy the more casual style, but I found myself getting distracted by it (severe overuse of the word “wanna”). The main character has a lot of issues (repeated references to asthma), and the rest of the cast is equally unlikeable. I liked the mystery though, and it was quite an easy read. Vivid descriptions of Palmdale made it easy to picture!

READ IT?
If you’re already a fan of Hall, you’ll enjoy it but I’m not sure she’ll gain any new fans with this one.

3 Stars

This is a weirder review for me to write because this is the first ARC I’ve been given where I really did not like the book. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer anyway for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Like I said, while there was some promise here in the concept, this book didn’t work for me at all. One of the main issues I had was with the characters. Not a single one of them was likable in any way, so it was hard to root for them or care what happens to them at all. There was little to no development of them through the story as well, so they just remained terrible and exhausting. The MC came across as incredibly juvenile, which was also an issue I had in another of the author’s works (These Toxic Things), but unlike that one, there didn’t seem to be a reason for why this character didn’t act or speak like an adult. Also can we just retire the trope of “unreliable female narrator because of mental illness and trauma” already?

The writing was repetitive and cliched, which made the story drag and I found myself wanting to skim a lot of sections. I don’t know if this is because I read an ARC and maybe it was a very early draft, but this didn’t feel like a polished, finished novel. But I think the bones of the mystery itself were good, so maybe it could be tweaked into something better if it was still being edited.

This was an author I had heard good things about and I was looking forward to reading my first book by her. The setting in Palmdale, north of LA, was atmospheric and well described. The characters revolved around a family full of secrets and years of deception.
Yara is a successful writer for a popular TV show. She's asthmatic and high strung.  She's left boyfriend, Shane, in LA, and gone back home to throw a big anniversary party for her parents. Her sister, Dominique, is still living there with their parents.
A distant cousin shows up unexpectedly and is later found dead in a nearby lake. Yara can't or won't accept official explanations. Strange notes, vandalism and mysterious events push Yara to dig into the past. She tries to convince her old friend Kayla, a detective in LA County Sheriff’s Department, that there's something sinister going on. Will Yara's dogged tenacity put her in a killer's path or is it all in her mind?
There is a very strained relationship between Yara and Barbara, her mother. There's a big, messy cast of cousins, aunts, best friends and townspeople. There's a big dose of family drama, dishonesty and lies.
The plot had promise however, none of the characters were particularly likable, they mostly annoyed me. It did not hold my attention as much as I'd hoped.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "We Lie Here" by Rachel Howzell Hall and to Thomas & Mercer. These are my honest and personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

DNF at 24%

I've heard good things about Rachel Howezell Hall's "And Now She's Gone" and so I was excited to read this book about a TV writer going back to her hometown.

While the book starts off very well and hooked me with the prologue, I'm sorry to say that I slowly started losing interest once the main story got clear. It's entered around a toxic and annoying family and I found it care for any of the characters.

I decided to stop reading when there was 4-5 pages of nonsensical gossip came up even though they all just found out that a dead body had been found.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advance readers copy.

I really wanted to love this book but it just felt so repetetive. For a thriller it just wasn't that thrilling with bland characters and a super slow pace. It felt like an outline or a draft with no clear sense of direction.

Thank you Netgalley, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Thomas & Mercer for my gifted copy!

Synopsis:
Yara doesn't want to stay at her parents' place for their anniversary. But as always, her mom gets what she wants. So when her second cousin turns up, saying she has to tell her something that will change her life, Yara's mother will have none of it, and neither does Yara. Only when her cousin is found murdered, she starts to investigate...

My thoughts:
I've seen this author's previous books all over Bookstagram and Goodreads, and now I finally know what the hype is all about. I really enjoyed this slow-burn of a book, although it was a bit too slow for me at times. Yara was a great character, and the other ones had some depth, too. The ending surprised me A LOT. Like, how can people do that?! I just hope the text messages mentioned in the book get some editing before publishing, it was a bit confusing in this ARC.

This was my first book by this author, and I am glad I have two more of hers on my TBR!

Everyone knows a family that has crazy drama and more than a few secrets. It could even be your own relatives. But let me tell you something. No family has as much drama, or are hiding as many secrets, as the Gibson’s from Palmdale, California. I’m talking next level stuff. Rachel Howzell Hall takes family drama to the extreme in We Lie Here, a psychological mystery that boils the brain and has more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful, dramatic thriller that begs to be consumed quickly with a relentless desire to learn the truth.

Yara Gibson has come home to Palmdale to throw her parents a 20th anniversary party. However, she would rather be anywhere but here. Between her increased asthma attacks from the climate and dealing with her overbearing mother Barbara, this is not a stress-free vacation. On top of everything going on, Yara receives a text from an unknown number stating the individual possesses life changing information and needs to urgently meet. But before Yara can get the information, this person winds up dead. Oh, and the individual is her mother’s cousin, whom she’s never met. Anxiety levels immediately increase and Yara starts to dig into her family’s past, finding things that don’t add up and put her in growing danger. But Yara won’t stop until she learns the truth. A truth that will change things forever.

To say We Lie Here keeps the reader guessing is a gross understatement. It literally takes until the final chapter for the big reveal. Meanwhile, you’re constantly evaluating the actions of each character, wondering what they’re capable of and questioning their motives. Who’s lying? What are they hiding? Are things as they seem? Is someone pulling the strings from behind the curtain? Who’s capable of murder? All great queries that you’ll change your mind on numerous times throughout the story. And even if you think you’ve correctly guessed the answers to these questions, you won’t have strong conviction until the end because Rachel Howzell Hall introduces plenty of reasonable doubt to all your theories.

Kudos to Rachel Howzell Hall for crafting this intricate, anxious, winding tale centered on family drama. While I certainly hope the vast majority of people haven’t experienced this level of family dysfunction, everyone can easily find a way to relate with interesting family dynamics. Which makes it easy to connect with certain characters, building hopes in the reader for what they want to see happen to/for certain individuals. And you’ll just have to read all the way through to see if those hopes become a reality.

If you like a slow burn thriller this book might be for you. Story seemed to drag at times with nothing overly exciting happening for most of the book. It wasn't a terrible read but I enjoyed the authors previous books much better. The characters could have benefited from further development.

We Lie Here covers the Gibson family and their prickly relationships with each other. Yara is coming home to Palmdale to throw a 20th anniversary party for her parents. She’s no sooner arrived in town than her second cousin starts texting her weird messages and asking to meet. Within a day, the woman is dead. But she left Yara a note with a key.
Yara is a junior screenwriter for a television show and dreams of creating her own show. She spends way too much time envisioning every event as the potential source for an episode of that to be developed show. After a while, it became repetitive and boring. Hall also makes her an unreliable narrator. She forgets things. She takes multiple medications for her allergies and anxiety. But it never quite rang true.
There are interspersed chapters from some unknown nut job.
Hall does a great job of creating a scene - the dirty wind aggravating Yara’s asthma and allergies, the toxic relationship between mother and daughter. But she didn’t do as good a job keeping the story moving forward.
It’s not an overly suspenseful story and moves at a steady, sometimes plodding, pace. Hall quickly lets the reader know that everyone has secrets, especially Yara’s parents. And she throws out multiple suspects. I’ll admit that the ending threw me for a loop and I didn’t see the ultimate twist.
My thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book.

"A woman's trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She's Gone and These Toxic Things.

TV writer Yara Gibson's hometown of Palmdale, California, isn't her first choice for a vacation. But she's back to host her parents' twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life.

The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara's mother. But they've been estranged for years - drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can't forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her "before it's too late."

But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true?

The deeper Yara digs for answers, the more she fears that Felicia was right. Uncovering the truth about what happened at the cabin all those years ago will change Yara's life - or end it."

Proving that you should always listen when someone says "before it's too late."

I enjoyed this. Hall has quickly become a must read for me. I very much appreciate that each novel is a standalone; I mean, I love a good series but one and done is good sometimes! Like all the other books of hers that I've read, this one is set in California. It starts with a bang (the first chapter plunges you right into the story at a fast clip) and then twists and turns from there. There are elements of the mystery that you will figure out but the details include some shocking surprises. Definitely check this one out.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley and the author to review.

I really wanted to like this.
Unfortunately I thought it was fairly predictable, the only character that was likeable was Shane- who was barely there. Everyone felt under developed. There was a lot of unnecessary repetition. Things started to pick up a bit more at the 60% mark, but overall I was a bit disappointed. This one was not for me.

This is a thrilling novel about a woman investigating the mysterious death of her aunt. Her aunt knew secrets, and is is up to her to discover them. I found it difficult to get into this thriller, and ultimately did not finish. I was just not able to make a connection to the characters.

This was a slow burn family drama mystery. I emphasize on the slow part. This took a while for me to even get into. I did figure out the twist but that didn’t deter me from finishing the book.

Rachel Howzell Hall has long been one of my favorite authors. Marrying dizzying plots with compelling characters, topped off with spiky and engaging writing, she is a virtuoso. This book follows Yara Gibson, a prodigy TV writer who's already developed several hit series at the age of twenty-four. Yara is back in her hometown of Palmdale, California--reluctantly--for her parents' anniversary party. Her mother, Barbara, goes from hot to cold, alternately caring and bitchy. Barbara demands attention, and Yara's father, Rob, lets it happen. After some passive-aggressive parries from her mother, Yara leaves her hotel and goes to stay at home. Her distant cousin, Felicia, arrives to tell her there are family secrets she hasn't yet uncovered--but shortly thereafter, Felicia winds up dead. Yara's tenacity drives her to uncover those secrets, but not without mounting danger. Although I predicted the twists, the journey to get there was unrelenting. The pace will pull readers in and leave them satisfied.

*DNF*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

Couldn't get into this one. Decided to DNF.

This one was okay. The characters were hard to connect with for me so that made it a 2 star read. It also took me a long time to get through it. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!