As a fan of Instagram and a weird obsession with trad wives ( and why someone would want to be one??) this book was so fun! And also scary! Maybe a little over the top but definitely brings to life that all we see on social media is definitely not all there is. Great book for a book club or t for those that love an engaging thriller.

Although this will fall into the mystery/thriller genre, read it for the behind the scenes look at mom internet influencers (and really, most influencers). Jo Piazza's work on her "Under the Influence" podcast clearly was the inspiration for this book. Rebecca is the perfect #tradwife with her 6 children (primarily born at home) and the many shots of her baking in the kitchen, farming, and tending her even more famous 3 legged goat. When her husband is murdered, much of what people believe about her will turn out to be false. The highlight for me was the glimpses into this world and seeing women take ownership of their financial futures. While there are some real surprises surrounding the murder, it was not the most important part of the story to me. I keep reading excerpts of this book to others, and for me, there is no higher praise. I won't forget this book soon.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Marketing for an early ecopy. My opinion is my own.

𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌

ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕨!

Trust me when I say this is a great book for anyone captivated by the world of Insta influencers, who has considered the difference between reality and online personas or thought about the cost of sharing life online. It was a riveting thriller that kept me eagerly reading to finish the book in less than a day. I was hooked by this thrilling murder mystery steeped in the political intrigue of the influencer set.

Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated.

Fifteen years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband, Gray. Lizzie is a struggling magazine writer, watching reels while her young children demand her attention.

One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition—an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion-dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference.

At the conference, Bex goes missing and Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch. Lizzie finds herself plunged into the dark side of the cutthroat world of social media that includes jealousy, sordid affairs, swingers, and backstabbing. She must learn who her old friend has become and who she has double-crossed to try to find her, clear her name, and maybe even save her life.

This is the perfect thriller for your next beach read - you won’t be able to put it down and you won’t stop talking about if for the rest of the summer.

I’ll read anything Jo Piazza writes from now on. Thank you @jopiazzaauthor @duttonbooks for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

QOTD: What’s a non-Booksta influencer account you follow?
OR
What are you reading today?

#summerreading #everyoneislyingtoyou #jopiazza #newbooks #booksta #bookreviews #netgalley

A murder mystery set among female influencers, who can be exceptionally convincing and often deceptive! Rebecca Sommers is the #tradwife queen, living a pastoral fantasy on a farm with her husband and six children, so when her husband is murdered and she disappears, who can get to the truth? Enter Lizzie, Rebecca’s old college bestie, who remembers when Bex was a baddie—partying every night, not baking pies from scratch. She’s a reporter, sleuthing about at the conference for influencers, trying to figure out what is really happening behind the beautiful photos we see online. Solid mystery that will appeal to anyone who finds themselves wrapped up in the lives of reality stars or social media celebrities.

Sadly this one was not for me. I had been hearing about it and seeing it everywhere and the premise sounded great, but I felt like the whole time I was waiting for something to take off.

A lot of the "twists" were predictable and the characters felt a little AI generated. Jo Piazza and Christina Pride co-authored one of my favourite reads of 2021, so it saddens me to have to give this feedback. I did enjoy the Sicilian Inheritance though, so I would definitely be willing to read Piazza again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // This ARC provided via NetGalley and Dutton in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I needed to dive into it head first. And WOW.

While I do wish certain elements within the story had been more fleshed out, I found my jaw on the floor for the full final 20% of the book. This was the darkest, twistiest, most horrifying take on tradwife culture, and it was a fascinating read.

I would love to read more books in this vein.

Perfect fun beach binge read! I love thrillers and this was a solid read. It is possible I will forget every character in the book by the time someone asks me about it but that is not uncommon with this style of popcorn thriller. Still fast and thoroughly enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns in Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza. I loved getting a peek behind the lens of social media stars who present a life so different from reality. With the popularity of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and the current fascination with Mormon tradwives, this book feels perfectly timed. I am recommending this to patrons and friends who enjoy women's fiction and mysteries. This was my first Jo Piazza book, and I’m already looking forward to her next one.

I really loved this look into influencers (a term I hate). Lizzie hasn't heard from her old friend Bex in years, after Bex leaves her a nasty message. She does follow her Instagram page and marvels at what she is now. One of those very earthy farm women, raising a brood of children and making it all look organic and beige and easy. Of course, there is more than meets the eye. None of it is easy and not done alone. Bex messages Lizzie and invited her to MomCom, a big meeting of all the different mom influencers. (I gag a little each time I write that.) Lizzie is intrigued and Bex has her own agenda. Bex is in a bad relationship and she wants out. Secrets are revealed and a murder occurs and the fun begins.

There was a twist I didn't see coming and just a good engrossing read. Jo Piazza never disappoints.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Dutton for a copy for review.

i was pretty interested the whole time, and was going to give it 3 stars but i feel like it was a let down. not very thrilling, i didn’t really care about the end reveal. i feel like some parts were hyped up and then had no reason to be. a little disappointed.

felt more satire than thriller? it that makes sense

Everyone crusted certain images and social media “truths” in their posts.
I don’t know of anyone who hadn’t been envious of someone’s posts, but the grass is always greener on the other side of the screen!
This book explores that theme, the power and money behind influencing, smoke screens, lies, and deceits.
I enjoyed unwrapping the lies layer after layer.
I was surprised at who ultimately turns out to be the master manipulator, even when other puppets have been quieted!

A definite suspenseful and page turning book that will keep you riveted to every page until the end. Thanks for the ARC!

A fabulous read - pacy and gripping and so well characterised. I've had a run of duff books lately (well, at least ones I haven't enjoyed) but this I couldn't put down. The world of influencers is gobsmackingly fascinating, so the conference makes for such an interesting setting. The two main characters are completely different to each other, yet both so sympathetic in their own ways. Ending was very satisfying too! Highly recommend.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. Two estranged college friends, one a journalist (Lizzie), one a trad-wife social media star (Rebecca/Bex), reconnect under strange circumstances. Bex has reached out to Lizzie out of the blue asking for help and, out of curiosity, Lizzie agrees to go to a huge social media conference just for bloggers/vloggers like Bex to meet up with her. Shortly thereafter Bex's husband is murdered and Bex has disappeared. It's now up to Lizzie to find out exactly what is going on and why her friend reached out to her all these years later after abandoning her so long ago.

I really liked the plot and the unveiling of the trad-wife social media deception. When you peel back the layers, it's easy to see how carefully curated and staged everything is for profit. Many of the characters were extremely unlikable and that is fine with me. I enjoyed the inclusion of texts and articles in the book that made it feel more authentic and engaging. The ending was over the top however with way too much going on. I don't think it was necessary for the villains to be quite so villainous for us to despise them. We get it....they are terrible people. At times they felt a little cartoonish. That being said I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to people who enjoy this genre.

Estranged friends from college Lizzie and Bex reconnect fifteen years later when Bex (now Rebecca, an Instagram influencing stay-at-home mom) reaches out to Lizzie offering her the chance to write an exclusive on her new venture. A writer for a struggling magazine, Lizzie is skeptical at first but can't pass up the opportunity. If nothing else it will give her some insight into what went wrong with their friendship. Out of her element at MomBomb, a high profile influence conference, Lizzie tries her best to blend in. Before Lizzie can uncover much about Bex's venture, Bex goes missing and Gray, Bex's husband, is found brutally murdered. Determined to figure out what is going on - and why Bex reached out to her after all these years - Lizzie begins digging into the corrupt world of social media influencers. Easier said than done, since nothing is like it seems, and everyone is lying to you. Recommended for fans of podcasts, social media influencers, bloggers, and reality television.

Everyone Is Lying To You by Jo Piazza
Due to appear in an edition of The Bookish Drop newsletter.
There is something I find uncomfortable and terribly unchic when social media heavily features in a plotline. Perhaps it’s because trends change so quickly, by the time a book is published the references are dated and often cringe. Also, it’s a very unwanted reminder that the phone sat by you that you’re desperately trying to stay off while you read.
So when I began reading Everyone Is Lying To You I feared I would struggle. However, I am happy to report Piazza avoids succumbing to the ‘cringe curse’ in this ‘can’t put down’ #tradwife murder mystery.
It’s everything you want in a thriller - fast-paced, developed characters and explosive but realistic twists.
Often when authors mention social media in their work it sometimes turns into something that would be more suited to a non-fiction essay (Bella Mackie was guilty of this with How To Kill Your Family). You can’t help but wonder if you’re reading the author’s, not the character’s, opinions on influencers and trends and left wishing they’d kept it for Substack.
But Piazza manages to use social media trends to explore female friendships, motherhood pressure and just how savvy/savage some women can be. I’m a similar age to Bex and Lizzie so perhaps I found it easy to relate to their rekindled friendship but I really enjoyed the narrative around old friends slipping quickly back into their way despite a toxic fallout.
Everyone Is Lying To You is the perfect beach read or the kind of book you pick up when you want to get back into your reading groove.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Everyone Is Lying to You. I'm always on the lookout for adult books with crossover appeal to teens for my older high school students. While I enjoyed this look at what really goes on behind the scenes of an influencer lifestyle, I'm not sure my teens will enjoy it as much as my staff. I'll definitely recommend it for staff book club! As far as purchase for my library, I'll look at professional reviews to decide, but I'm on the fence right now as our budget tightens.

Overall, though, the mystery of what happened to Gray and where Bex and her kids actually were kept me invested. Lizzie finding herself again through her writing felt real, and I was invested in her as well. I think Everyone Is Lying to You would be a great book club option, and I'm hoping it gets picked up by a studio as a limited series because I'd love to see it on screen as well.

There is a good mystery surrounding this book, and I enjoyed the friendship between the main characters as well as both of their points of view told throughout the book. However, I think I just wanted more from the story. The reveals seemed either bonkers or pretty predictable. It kept my interest throughout, but just didn't "wow" me. I'd recommend to those who are big Instagram or TikTok followers and enjoy a mystery.

Loved the on trend influencer skepticism plus some fun insider info and the edge of a great influencer. Thank you for the galley!

REVIEW: Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars

Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college until Bex disappeared after Lizzie came to visit. Lizzie was always confused about what happened between them and would continue to follow Bex on Instagram. When Rebecca, formerly known as Bex, contacts Lizzie with a job offer, Lizzie jumps at it, hoping to learn more about her friend. At an influencer conference, things get messy, and then they find out someone is dead.

Everyone Is Lying to You had an interesting premise, focusing on influencers’ business and mom posts. Since a significant portion of the book’s setting is at the influencers’ conference, the reader gets a glimpse of the various types of pages they all have. I liked how the different chapters were mainly from Lizzie’s and Bex’s points of view. It was great to hear the story from both of their sides. This book also explored many aspects of women’s roles from the perspective of husbands and wives.

Everyone Is Lying to You had a lot of side characters who didn’t significantly impact the story and weren’t particularly memorable. It was sometimes challenging to keep track. Some parts felt somewhat predictable or dragged on too long. It took a while before the thriller part came through. Some of the characters’ motivations didn’t make sense, which clouded the story. Lastly, the ending was messy. It just tries to wrap up too quickly.

Overall, I did enjoy Everyone Is Lying to You, but it’s not one of my favorites. It was a fine book without being bad.

Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton, for providing me with a free advanced copy for my honest review.