The Book:
Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
Published July 25, 2023 by Pamela Dorman Books
Date read: June 22, 2023
The Characters:
William and
Their kids Michael and Avery
Nora and Al
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
This page contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this site.
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Welcome to Stanhope! A safe neighborhood. A place for families.
William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.
Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.
Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbors become increasingly unhinged.
Who took Avery Wooler?
Nothing will prepare you for the truth.
How did Everyone Here Is Lying end?
The Reveal:
Avery wasn’t dead. She was hiding down the street at Marion’s house after running away. She wanted her dad to sweat it out a bit and get publically blamed for her disappearance. Marion was the one who called in the tip about Avery getting in Ryan’s car, but Avery doesn’t know that.
Marion was in love with William (Avery’s dad). When Avery came to her, she took it upon herself to frame Ryan in order to punish both William and Nora for their affair. She realized that she had to kill Avery.
There was a whole side plot with Nora’s husband thinking about killing her, but he didn’t do anything. They just hated each other.
Avery realized Marion was going to kill her and pushed Marion down the basement stairs instead. When the detectives attended the autopsy, it was implied that Avery might have killed Marion after her fall.
The Ending:
Avery left Marion’s house just as the detective was coming to question her again. She was gratefully welcomed home, but her POV tells us she is unquestioningly a psychopath. She insisted she wanted to talk to the press. In her TV interview, she accidentally let slip that Marion had double-crossed her. The interviewer asked, “There’s more to the story, isn’t there?” And that’s where the book ended.
The Review:
Now here’s a neighborhood thriller done right! I’ve read a handful of mediocre neighborhood thrillers recently so Everyone Here Is Lying was such a refreshing change. As the title suggests, this is one of those neighborhoods where everyone has a secret they don’t want their neighbors or the police to know. I loved listening to these twists unfold.
I’m not going to say any more because I don’t wait to spoil anything, but this book should absolutely be on your TBR!
2 Comments