Great read! Kept me on the edge of my seat til the very end. The author has a great style and creates a realistic world filled with suspense and thrill. I loved this book and would highly recommend to anyone! I will definitely be reading more from Rachel Howzell Hall!

A gritty novel about the deepest family secrets. Secrets that people will kill to protect. This plot twisted and turned and then twisted again. It was fast paced and well written. The story line was well thought out. The characters had real depth and personality. A great read

We Lie Here had me hooked from the beginning. It was a fun read while maintaining a complex mystery and a lot of darkness.
Yara is the successful eldest daughter and sister who works tirelessly for approval from a family wrapped in secrets. She feels the history and trauma of the place she’s from deeply and physically. When she desperately tries for the approval of her mother by throwing an anniversary party for her parents she is wrapped up in a web of murder as decades old secrets finally burst open. She is a character you trust even when she doesn’t trust herself.
The book weaves in themes of class, race, and education while considering how we all “play” adult games without seeing or being in control of the full picture.

The best way to sum this book up is "Wow!!" There are so many complex characters and a very rich buildup to the climax. The 'what' that happened varies depending on the viewpoint. The 'who' could be anyone, and it is a thrill ride as you whip through the events that lead you to the ultimate betrayal. You will question versions of events, motivations, and even the sanity of this family and community. It is all wrapped up in a masterful climax that explains everything while also leaving you stunned! It is a mosaic of colorful threads woven into an intricate web of deception that makes for a thrilling read! I loved it!!

I really really wanted to love this book but I just could not get into it!! The storyline wasn’t very interesting and didn’t seem to go anywhere very fast. I did not like any of the characters in the book, they all really could use some more development. I had to skim through some parts of this book to make myself finish. This was just a lukewarm read overall. I will definitely give the author another try in the future and I may try her previous book, which was great ratings!

Thank you Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one, with a slow start then picks up where i immediately became hooked, with a great twist at the end.

This is heartbreaking for me to say but I didn’t care for this book. These toxic things was one of my favorite 5 star reads. Needs editing, needs some subplots gone. No reviewing any where.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of We Lie Here, a stand-alone thriller set in the Californian town of Palmdale.

Yara Gibson returns to her hometown of Palmdale to host a twentieth anniversary party for her parents. She has just arrived when Felicia Campbell, a stranger who claims to be her cousin, contacts her and wants to speak to her before it’s too late. Too late for what? Yara will never know because Felicia is murdered before she can tell, but not before she leaves Yara a note and keys to a remote lakeside cabin.

I thoroughly enjoyed We Lie Here, which is a bit of a slow burner in terms of the final destination, but never in terms of events and developments. By that I mean that it wasn’t easy to discern where the novel would end up, but it was eventful during the read. I like a well disguised perpetrator and it was fun to try and work out what was at the root of it all. I finally got there about a chapter before the author and long after I’d disappeared down countless blind alleys. From that it is easy to guess that the novel held my attention throughout.

The novel is mostly told from Yara’s point of view with a few short chapters from the perpetrator’s point of view. These latter are interesting because they are not your standard monologues and are quite funny in a way. They also prove to the reader that Yara is not as unreliable a narrator as events would suggest. I like Yara’s voice. She is slightly ditzy, always misplacing things, but she’s smart and focused on her investigation into the secrets Felicia was keeping and what happened to her.

The novel is slightly longer than standard, but there is never a dull moment as even the interactions in Yara’s dysfunctional family (and there are many) give insight into her character and theirs. I liked the way the author builds tension and mystery with all the attacks on Yara. Why? is the big question as she seems remarkably inoffensive and prone to be a people pleaser (return to family dysfunction for that). The denouement of the novel is great. The content is fairly standard but how it’s done is a big twist and a shock.

We Lie Here is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

First, as a Southern California Native, let me assure you that this book describes Palmdale perfectly. It’s…not a place we choose to go, and if you need to know the reasons, read the book.

Now, the mystery was a good one with a very surprising reveal. While I was suspicious of everyone, I truly didn’t expect the outcome of this one.

As usual, the author’s characters aren’t the most likeable. If that’s a problem for you, I’ll tell you right now that you probably won’t like many (if any) of them, but they’re bold and realistic and I loved them, faults and all.

This is a good read!

*ARC via Publisher

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I read and enjoyed a couple of this author's Elouise Norton books, but this one was a big disappointment. The only character who was at all likeable and normal was Yara's boyfriend Shane, and he was barely in it. Other than that the novel consisted of people quarrelling spitefully with one another, sending each other mysterious and/or threatening and spiteful text messages, Yara losing things and discovering things and repeatedly going places which would exacerbate her asthma. I am not a big fan of novels where the female protagonist's memory cannot be trusted because of past trauma or because she is on medication, but mainly this didn't work for me because it was all a lot of a fuss over not very much, and the characters were just so exhausting and unpleasant.

Yara returns to her hometown to host a wedding anniversary party for her parents. Shortly after her arrival, she receives a text from a long-lost cousin, saying the cousin has important information that she needs to share with Yara. Days later, the cousin is found dead, floating in a lake. That sets into motion this twisty whodunnit, where the writing is so good this is an absolute pleasure to read. Great characters, witty and sharp dialogue and a plot that keeps bouncing around at every turn all add up to a great story. Takes a little time to separate all the characters, but once you do, it’s a blast. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yara returns to her family home for her parents' big anniversary party and becomes entangled in a mystery when a distant cousin is killed after trying to contact Yara. I felt no particular interest in or affinity with Yara or any of her family, who were pretty unlikable, especially her awful mother. I didn't particularly enjoy this. I wasn't very surprised by the ending, and I could go the rest of my life without reading the word "ratchet" again. 2.5 stars rounded to 2.

RHH's books are a mood above everything else.
She doesn't bring the atmosphere with lavish description of locality, but entirely through characters, their lingo, minutiae of their everyday routine, authentic Black experience and family and friends relationships. She has a distinctive style of writing and, honestly, it's what I love about her and it's exactly what I want when I pick one of her books.
We Lie Here has that, it's her thing and it's what she excels at, but the mystery element didn't quite work for me nor did the choppy, all over the place plot.
-The thing that killed the suspense about mystery in question was the textbook behaviour akin r/raisedbynarcissists post.
-I didn't buy the fact that Yara and Dom had no idea that their mother's aunt Cece who seemed to visit frequently has twin daughters. If Felicia was estranged it would work, but Yara knows everything else about that side of the family, so it was just not plausible, so that threw me out of the story right from the get go.
-I love mean girl queen bee plot when characters are teenagers because there is something quite arresting about the anger of teenage girls. Not a fan of this type of behaviour attributed to grown ass women.
-Sometimes it seemed like a certain plot point was just abandoned. At one point Yara is told by her parents that she used to blame imaginary girl for bad things she's done when she was a kid and then admitting later that she is guilty in letters she would leave to them. She has no recollection of this and I have no idea why it was even included when it was never addressed again. Seems too elaborate to be just gaslightining and nothing came out of it, which, I guess, means it's just there? I have no idea why is there.
-Resolution was over the top, but with the way the whole thing was set up, it couldn't be resolved in any plausible manner.

Messy and convoluted for mystery part. Brilliant as always for effortlessly depicting family dynamics and relationships and atmosphere. I love RHH, but this one didn't quite work for me.

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. And things escalate from there. This story has a lot of twists and turns and shows that you cannot always know your family. I'm a big fan of this author and this book did not disappoint. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

The premise of We Lie Here sounded really promising, but I couldn't click with the pacing. I could see the groundwork the author was laying, but the way the plot unfolded wasn't enough to keep my attention.

Great storyline! I love a book with a twist and this one did not disappoint. Thank you #NetGalley for the #ARC!

We Lie Here is another excellent standalone book from Rachel Howzell Hall. It tells the story of Yara Gibson, a successful TV writer who has a complicated relationship with her family, especially her overbearing mother Barbara. She decides to throw her parents a big anniversary party for their 20th anniversary, which means going back to her hometown to stay with her parents. Everything is going reasonably well until she is confronted by a woman claiming to be her mother's childhood friend. Felicia Campbell claims she has information that will change Yara's life. Yara brushes her off but the nest day Felicia is found dead in a nearby lake. Yara can't shake the feeling that Felicia may have been telling the truth. But the more she asks her family about it, the more evasive they become. Hall builds the tension with each chapter, making the reader question every character, including Yara. She does a great job of weaving a story together that keeps up the pace without sacrificing character development. I'm a huge fan of her books and can't wait to read the next one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn't realize this was a part of a series and it now doesn't really Interest me so I read a couple pages and had to put it down so that way I could read others. But thanks to the publisher gor providing me with this arc. I am greatful.

Yara Gibson, is a very modern kind of gal, a successful TV writer who is working hard towards living her best-life. But, like so many of us, all it takes is a trip back to her hometown, in Yara’s case Palmdale, California, to be reminded of where she comes from. A little pushback (of the "Who do you think you are?" variety) from her controlling mother has her doubting herself. A reminder that daughter Yara has always tended towards the dramatic, been overly anxious, and occasionally even delusional.

But Yara just has to keep focused on her reason for returning home: She is hosting a party for her parents' wedding-anniversary. It will be the party event of the season. Get it done. Get gone. No problem. In the meantime she can plot out her idea for a television show based on her family called The Queen of Palmdale. At least that WAS the plan... Until things start to unravel and Yara gets sucked into a mystery full of old family secrets that has her questioning her own sanity.

We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall is at the far edge of my go-to comfort zone. I am usually more of a hard-boiled or noir fan while this leans far into a more contemporary style... Oversimplification: I'm more crime fiction and classic-style P.I. (Chandler, Leonard, Crais) and this is not at all that type of story.

In fact it's so far removed from what I usually read that I have no reference point as to what readers might know that is similar. But it's really, really good. Well crafted characters with individual, distinctive voices. Compelling plot with a dark mystery running through it and some nice plot twists.

I think the idea of the young Black woman who is trying to fulfill family obligation while making herself miserable will resonate with a lot of people, especially since it's so well written (I'm a middle-aged White guy and I could feel her pain - that's good writing!).

The best recommendation I can think of is that I could totally see this book as a limited series on cable television.

This is my second download of a book that didn't need an approved request, which going forward I'm going to be really suspicious of and avoid, because here we have another one star that was really painful to read.

This book is about Yara, who returns home to organize her parents' anniversary party. She's immediately sucked into old family dynamics with her little sister, Dominique, who is dating a criminal, her mother who swings between differing personalities, and her distant father. During this trip, a cousin who she doesn't know reaches out to her, saying she has information that will change her life. She doesn't get the chance to find out what that is though, as Felicity (the cousin), ends up dead. This spurs Yara to finding out the mystery.

This book was so painful, I had to hard skim through the second half of the book. It is not well written, full of cliches, bad puns ("Bye, Felicia!" is literally written in the manuscript... what is with authors sinking their teeth into name-based overused puns recently? Please stop doing this! You're more creative than that!), unrealistic dialogue, melodramatic relationships that are just not believable. There is so much repetition, and the pace is so slow, filled with details and dialogue that don't actually move the plot forward.

One major part of the book that was a huge distraction/turnoff was the use of asthma as a personality and tension device. The amount of the plot and writing dedicated to describing Yara's asthma was so, so boring and tedious to read, and in large part medically inaccurate. It was painful to read. Yara continually is checking the status of her inhaler counter, saying "130 puffs left .That should get me through the week." Well, I certainly hope so, since if you're using that much in a week, you're using 18 puffs of Albuterol A DAY... if your breathing is that bad you really should be in the hospital, you're having some kind of horrible respiratory infection. That is not a normal amount of medication to be taking at all! The character also used to be a smoker, which is so unrealistic, if her breathing is truly that bad it would literally not be an option. She also describes having "vials of prednisone" at her bedside as a child... that is not how prednisone is administered. Then we have the "two inhalers, one steroid and one emergency." Your emergency inhaler is always going to be steroidal, the normal one is going to be a steroid/bronchodilator combo. And of course we have the usual administering of a puff of Albuterol and it instantly working, and the good old "relax, breathe:" self pep talk that also reduces symptoms magically. The medical inaccuracy and asthma in place of an actual personality turned me off so much about this book. It was the most tedious and ineffective way to try to bring tension to the plot. When that wasn't enough, the author threw in the good old "I have an expensive loan" plot to really dazzle it up. I couldn't roll my eyes enough.

Out of the three major elements of a novel -- plot, character, and language -- not one ended up being compelling enough to make this book a worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read tis early in exchange for an honest review.