Shari Lapena has become a Ruth Ware type of author for me—I’ll read anything they ever write, but it is definitely a hit or miss for me at times. However, EVERYONE HERE IS LYING is hands-down my favorite Shari Lapena novel thus far. The story reads more like a “neighborhood story” with some light police procedural, which worked for me. Italy: a horror movie filmed in a crumbling, possibly haunted, castle owned by the estranged aunt of the starlet. What could be better? As the lines between reality and the movie plot begin to blur in this tautly written novel, family secrets begin to emerge that if revealed, might lead to unforeseen (and possibly deadly) consequences for everyone.”— Jennifer Winberry, Hunterdon County Library, NJ The many never-saw-them-coming twists and questionable characters . . . will keep you on the edge of your seat. First-time novelist Lapena's writing is spare and tense, and it makes The Couple Next Door a compulsive read. The last line is absolutely a killer." And what an end it was. It's quite coy, winking at the reader and implying a certain conclusion. Usually I don't mind using my own imagination to fill in the blanks, but in this case, I wanted that certainty. I wish there had been one more chapter to spell it all out so I could get the satisfaction of seeing the villain get what they deserve. But that's a pretty small quibble overall.

Experience the chilling atmosphere of a seemingly safe neighborhood teetering on the brink of chaos. Everyone Here Is Lying is classic Shari Lapena. Impossible to know what's coming next. Just like The Couple Next Door, you simply can't put it down." - Robert Gold Police detectives are all over the house looking for clues and interviewing family and neighbors. The doctor can't tell them the truth that he was home, can he? His already over affair would be exposed if he did and ruined his marriage as well as his mistress's.

EVERYONE HERE IS LYING is a Shari Lapena signature read: a taut, clever, chilling ride of manipulation and family secrets, with a terrifying question at its core—what if you can't believe the very people you love the most? Lapena masterfully builds a chain of suspense through the unsuspecting neighbors of Connaught Street, and no family is spared. Prepare to be consumed!” When a child goes missing, everyone—from the family to the neighbors—worries that their carefully kept secrets will be exposed during the investigation. My heart was racing with anticipation to find the answers to the question of who took Avery Wooler.

Gully comes over the Setons to tell her they are trying to get a search warrant. Alice asks her to leave, but decides to search the house herself. Erin tells Gully that she knows about the witness. Gully asks her who told her, and she says William did. Then Erin asks Gully if she told William about the witness. She didn’t, which makes Erin realize that Nora must have told William, and that his affair was with Nora.As the story unfolds, Avery goes missing, and the police get involved in the search. William is trapped in a web of guilt and fear, unable to admit he saw his daughter before she disappeared. Suspicions arise, and the whole neighborhood is under scrutiny. As witnesses speculate about potential harassment, everyone's lives are turned upside down. Detective Gully asks Erin and Michael about Avery’s alleged boyfriend. Both of them say they know nothing. Michael says he’s only seen Jenna with one older boy: Jenna’s brother Derek.

In an act of resistance towards her husband’s exploitation, Rui eats a bowl of seeds that sprout from her body. The Forest Brims Over is a surreal unfolding of a marriage exploring how gender affects our relationships with others and ourselves.”— Andrew King, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seattle, WA I do wish the daughter had been older. Her age was pushing my sense of plausibility 👀(as I give her the side eye). Otherwise, this was an overall thrilling, compulsive read!

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Her dad William is hardly a Father or Husband of the Year candidate, but is he guilty of doing harm to his daughter? After that, she shows up at Marion’s house. Erin asks Marion if she was the one who saw Avery getting into Ryan’s car, and when Marion denies it, Erin says she’s lying. Marion asks her to leave. From the basement, Avery hears Marion admit that she was the anonymous witness. The plot, however, was where Lapena lost me. Typically, all of her past novels have had a perfectly timed ratcheting of suspense that oozed tension and foreboding. Unfortunately, this one just did not deliver in that respect. For that reason, the entire storyline felt decidedly little like a Lapena novel for me. The only piece that was a total home run was the mind-blowing twist that turned the entire book on its head. Once that was out of the way, though, the entire premise just wasn’t all that mysterious. Quite frankly, it fell a little flat in comparison to what everyone thought had happened which left me somewhat dissatisfied.