Everyone Here is Lying – Book Review

Welcome to Stanhope – a safe neighbourhood. 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 declare 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 neighbours become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

I always make a point of reading all of Shari Lapena’s books and this book is no exception.

Everybody Here Is Lying involves people living in the neighborhood of Stanhope, a quiet safe neighborhood. William Wooler is a successful doctor with a family–but he has a secret. He was having an affair and when his lover, Nora Blanchard wanted to end the things, he went back home. He was hoping for alone time but he finds his nine-year-old daughter Avery had returned home from choir practice. She has been kicked out of the practice and has walked home alone. An argument happens between Avery and William with William ending up hitting Avery. William instantly regrets of hitting Avery and he left the house. And then he receives a frantic call from his wife–Avery is missing.

Each of these characters have a secret–and quiet unreliable characters, except in my opinion, Erin who seemed to be the only reliable character. The story is intense, where everyone is a suspect and everyone is hiding a secret. It was fast paced and also quiet unputdownable as the main question was–what really happened to Avery? Did she run away or was she kidnapped by a random stranger? I was literally hooked into the story, wondering what is going to happen next. The ending in my opinion was unexpected and twisted with a small cliffhanger in the end.

I always love Shari Lapena’s books and this was no exception–worth four stars.