Piazza returns with a new thriller full of wit and snark. A smart addition to the tradwife influencer culture discourse, this thriller is sure to be a summer crowd-pleaser.

Jo Piazza does not shy away from controversial topics as evidenced by the two books she co-authored with Christine Pride and her solo titles; including my personal favorite - CHARLOTTE WALSH LIKES TO WIN. In EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU, she tackles a phenomenon she’s been very vocal about: tradwives.

This is a twisty, fast paced, page turner that exposes the ugly side of social media influencers where nothing is as it seems and everything is curated for likes. We meet four women who are sucked into the world of sponsorships, branded content, and living two very different lives—one in front of the camera packaged with pithy captions and filtered photos and the other less glamorous and sometimes ugly. Everyone, it seems, has a secret. When a husband turns up brutally murdered and his influencer wife disappears, the house of cards threatens to come tumbling down.

While this is a thriller, it is also the story of women taking back agency and control over their lives. Piazza crafts a story with unexpected pivots and reveals. It’s impossible to look away and just when you think you have it figured out, she takes you in another direction. The book is fun, salacious, and highly entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This one was really good with some very juicy surprises. Even if you avoid books about influencers, this is definitely a great choice for all of the twists.

Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college, but they haven't spoken in years after Bex ghosted Lizzie and told her she had outgrown their relationship. Fast forward fifteen years, and Lizzie is a magazine writer and editor and Bex is one of the most well known Instagram influencers with her #BarefootMamaLove photos and merchandise from her picture perfect life. But looks can be deceiving, and Bex contacts Lizzie and invites her to a Mom Influencer conference. Lizzie is curious and wants to confront Bex about what happened. But before she can, Bex's husband is found murdered and Bex disappears.

I really liked how the twists played out in this story. There are some very big surprises. Some of the twists are easy to figure out but others will make your jaw drop. Even though the influencer storylines have been overdone, this one offers a fresh voice and a shocking view behind the curtain. This is a multi-billion dollar business, and if you think it's all real, think again. I loved the interplay between the characters and how we discover what happened in the past as it cascades towards what happens in the present.

The mystery is what elevates this book, and Piazza's writing is strong as usual. If you want to feel like you're spying into a world of secrets and lies, this is definitely a book to choose!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Quick, fun murder-mystery read. I've never delved into what a tradwife was before reading this book so definitely a great introspective read about the lives of influencer.

Granted I will never rate a book lower than a 2 unless I absolutely hate it and can't finish it. This one was a bit far fetched for me. There was a lot going on and it was all a bit manipulative and just outright crazy. What I expected to be a trad wife thriller was more influencer and social media - granted there's a following for that so it might end up doing well

There are a few potholes with putting spyware on the phones, switching sperm during IUI, affairs, lying and cheating etc.

I can't tell if I just don't like the characters or they are just very naive. Probably both, honestly just so many little things adding up that this one while a quick read did not sit well with me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was SO good. It was the perfect mix of entertaining and conversation starting.

5 stars

Synopsis:
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

What I liked about it:
-This book sucked me in right away and kept me hooked until the very end. I felt like the pacing was done well with just enough suspense to keep you wanting to know more.
-Oh the dramaaaa... this book was packed full of lies, affairs, and behind the scenes of the 'influencer life'. It was juicy and fun.
-I find I tend to gravitate away from mystery/thrillers in the summer and find myself picking up lighter beachier reads, but this one still had that summer vibe to it that I've been into lately.

What I didn't like:
-There were a few moments where near the end where I started to feel confused/lost. It wrapped up well in the end but there were a few rough patches for me.
-It also has some more gory parts to it which I am not a huge fan of.

Overall it was a good, fun read. It really makes you think about the content you are consuming on social media and what is truthful vs 'just for the aesthetic'. It was a fun popcorn thriller - totally bingeable, entertaining, and should be added to your beach bag asap!

A popcorn domestic thriller based in the tradwife culture. Estranged college roommates reunite at a mommy influencer conference and things get twisty when a husband is murdered and Bex disappears, leaving Lizzie to clear her name. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced copy for a honest review.

I read this a few weeks ago and found it very gripping and satisfying! The tone was a bit melodramatic at times, but not so much that I was turned off from reading it. I did enjoy its plethora of reality checks about what we see on social media--for example, all filming takes place on one day of the week with a whole crew of professionals making it happen. The ending was very satisfying, though I did feel like there were a few red herrings throughout the book that didn't get tied up.

Trad Wife/Influencer Mom books are hot these days! This one so far, is probably my favorite. There's a lot of commentary on how one needs to push oneself in the world of influencing to survive. But also it's never that pretty from the inside. Everything is fake, And everything is a lie.

I loved how twisty this one was. There's more than the eye can see. And more than the author is telling us there is. The last part and reveal was probably the least expected from my end. When I read thrillers I usually try and guess what happened, etc etc, but with this one I didn't feel the need for it. The story carried me throughout and I felt so lost in the story and the drama of everything, that all the reveals were unexpected. Love that for a family drama type of book.

Thank you to PRH Audio, Dutton for my review copies.

This book was just what I needed to get me out of a reading slump I was in. Just keeps you wondering what is going on and how it is going to end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Ms. Piazza for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I scanned reviews of this book prior to reading, as one does, and saw a lot of #tradwife mentions. Of course I spent a couple of hours internet rabbit-holing (as one ALSO does) to find out more about that. Suffice to say, ha ha, I am not a #tradwife except maybe for the fact that it generally falls to me to handle the social-secretarying for my household (remembering birthdays, doctor appointments, due-dates, school events, and assorted other obligations). But I understand the concept. I feel like it started with mombloggers and then when mombloggers started on social media, and back when I used to scroll Instagram, I’ve seen a couple of posts in that style. Once upon a time I even used to be a fan of the Pioneer Woman, whom I thought of now and then when reading this book.

The idea of the murder mystery’s twist being about a “tradwife” was a lot less appealing to me than the idea of it being about influencers. Having recently read -and loved - Aisling Rawle’s The Compound, I felt this book had another good spin on performative culture; this time, social media rather than television. Although frankly they’re almost one-and-the same, nowadays. Everything you see is manufactured for marketing and the purpose of everything leads back to revenue. So disheartening, but SO interesting as a plot driver. And definitely it made me not miss my one-time nightly Instagram doomscroll. (Personal aside: I saved SO much money when I stopped using Instagram and stopped seeing all those ads for things I didn’t know I wanted but couldn’t live without)

So former Serious Reporter (now womens’ listicle author) Lizzie travels to an Influencer-Mom conference in the desert – it sounded kind of like Utah or Nevada but who the heck knows, and it doesn’t really ultimately matter – to reunite with her long-lost college friend Bex, now Rebecca, multi-million-dollar influencer, who has some big news to share. Almost immediately, Bex’s husband is murdered, Bex herself disappears, and Lizzie is left trying to piece together the pieces. The mystery was interesting, and the secrets were certainly interesting, but the most fascinating part to me was the absolute ruthless mercenariness involved in the influencer “industry.”

I’ve seen this called a “popcorn thriller” and I can’t disagree. It was a fast, easy read and the author seemed relatively well-informed about the ins and outs of the biz. I did think that Lizzie was a little too self-critical of her mothering skills, especially when she knew full well how false the momfluencer narrative to be. Nonetheless, the book was a fun ride and a juicy summer poolside read. I have a feeling this book will be a hit on our murder mystery display at work too.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza
Rating: 5 stars
Pub date: 7/15

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dutton for my advanced copy!

If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through a picture-perfect influencer’s page and wondering what’s really going on behind the scenes, Everyone Is Lying to You is the dark, twisty answer to that question.

Lizzie is a struggling journalist who reconnects with her estranged college best friend, Bex, now known to the internet as Rebecca Sommers, a tradwife influencer with a dream life on a ranch. But the illusion shatters when Bex’s husband is murdered and Bex disappears. Suddenly, Lizzie is caught in a web of lies, secrets, and internet fame gone wrong.

I loved everything about this! The pacing is perfect, the dual POV between Lizzie and Rebecca adds depth, and Piazza keeps the twists coming. It’s part murder mystery, part social satire, and totally unputdownable.

This book is more than just a juicy thriller; it’s a look behind the curtain at the lives of influencers of all kinds. It’s funny, fast-paced, and full of surprises. Highly recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, it has all the elements of a good read from plot and intrigue to pace and tension.
This book did not disappoint it was outstanding!
I found it to be a very addictive mystery and I was hooked within the first few pages.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

This domestic momfluencer thriller was completely different from the author's debut (which I absolutely LOVED) and it was great on audio and kept me entertained from start to finish. Told from dual POVs of two former friends and trad wife inluencer mom's whose lives are definitely not as idyllic as they make them out to be online. While at a conference for fellow Momfluencers, one goes missing and the other tries to figure out what happened to her, uncovering a whole host of lies and dark secrets. Perfect for fans of books like The tradwife's secret (also out this year with a suspiciously similar cover and plot) or People like her by Ellery Lloyd. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: infidelity, infertility struggles, domestic violence

"The #tradwife murder mystery we’ve all been waiting for. From the bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance and the creator of the Under the Influence podcast comes an explosive thriller about two estranged friends, a grisly murder, a sudden disappearance, and the truly shocking revelation that everyone is lying to you about something . . ."
I can't say enough about this one!! One of the most anticipated novel for the summer and it has something for everyone. If you love the lives displayed on social media or even wonder about the dark side of their lives this one is bound to satisfy your curiosity. The characters stem from a friendship made in college between two girls, Lizzie and Bex. Without explanation, Bex walked out of Lizzie's life, but later surfaced on social media with a gorgeous husband, Gray and their 5 children. She is now Rebecca Sommers, an Instagram influencer with millions of followers and a multi-million dollar business. Bex contacts Lizzie out of the blue for an exclusive interview and wants to meet her at a high profile conference, Mombomb.
There are so many insights to some of the high profile people with snippets of what their real life is like until you get caught up in the disappearance of Bex and the murder of her husband Gray on their ranch. Under the jealousy and backstabbing are some undertones of danger lurking behind each character and endangering Lizzie. This was fast paced and cleverly dynamic in the portrayal of everyone who is lying. Highly intense and an unforgettable must-read!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this incredible ARC in exchange for my review!

Bex and Lizzie were best friends in college and remained so until one day Bex just dropped her. Now 15 years later Bex is now known as Rebecca, has 6 kids, a seemingly perfect husband and home life, and has become a traditional wife instagram star while Lizzie is a struggling magazine editor. Rebecca reaches out to Lizzie and offers her a story of a lifetime. Lizzie flies to an all expense trip to MomBomb, a luxurious hotel conference for the most popular mom influencers. However, after a night of reconnection, Bex disappears and her husband is found violently murdered on their ranch. While Lizzie digs into the mystery, she is exposed to the bizarre world of mom influencers and she realizes that no one is who they pretend to be, including Rebecca.

I loved this one - the humor, the mystery and the zinger lines written throughout. I kept highlighting the lines that had me laugh such as “men have hobbies, women struggle to take a shower” and “toughen up your spirit through prayer and CrossFit”. This book really has so much - the dark world of influencers, murder, abuse, complexities of friendship, and enough twists to keep you from putting it down to take care of your own children. In addition, the audio for this one was superlative - multi cast and just spot on. I will be talking about and recommending this one for a while. I love a thriller where I cannot make predictions as to who and when, but this one was that and so much more - it was an amusement park ride!

4.5 stars
Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I loved this one! Perfect thriller for this generation, exploring the power of the influencer and social media. Loved that it explores the “other” side and toxicity of influencing. Kept me hooked…loved the friendship between the two main characters and the struggle of reconciling past mistakes and misunderstandings. Appreciated the satire and humor also. Definitely 5 stars for me!

Jo Piazza perfectly captures the seductive, toxic underbelly of influencer life. From influencer gossip to curated chaos, this book is filled with commentary on how influencers present themselves online versus how they live behind closed doors.

It’s a compelling mix of:
-Psychological suspense
-Social satire
-A sharp critique of “tradwife” culture and influencer branding

Piazza also weaves in strong themes of motherhood, female friendship, ambition, betrayal, and identity!

As Lizzie peels back the shiny layers of Bex’s life, she’s forced to confront her own insecurities, choices, and blind spots.

While the plot is full of twists, it never feels too far-fetched. It is unsettlingly plausible to be honest.
The pacing is tight, the stakes are high, and the writing is sharp. Piazza manages to make a murder mystery into a smart cultural critique.

If you love thrillers that are binge-worthy but also have something to say, Everyone Is Lying to You is for you!

An entertaining thriller perfect for this generation. A deep dive into the lives of mom influencers that will leave you thinking about who you are really following online. Plenty of drama, mystery, and humor in this story that will keep you interested throughout.

This book was definitely not what I expected but in a good way!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am sure future readers will as well.