Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

This is the seventh New York Times bestselling thriller from Canadian author Shari Lapena. Praised by reviewers as gripping, chilling, slick, and heart-stopping, I found this one of the better domestic mysteries, having more to do with plot than memorable writing, but a satisfying page-turner.

Nine-year-old Avery Wooler has simply disappeared. She came home from school early that day, not waiting for her older brother Michael. Her dad William, who had just ended his secret affair, also came home early, in a foul mood. Avery, not an easy girl to raise, is willful and bossy, and they have a fight before he leaves.

That night, when she hasn't returned, William and his wife Erin are frantic. The police are contacted, and the area is searched. The news posts updates, and volunteers comb the nearby woods where she played. Detectives Gully and Bledsoe interview everyone on their street for clues, but then, everyone here is lying.

Nora was having an affair with William, and her husband and son Ryan help on the overnight search. Avery's friend across the street confides that Avery had an older boyfriend; could it be the autistic boy who plays with his drone, a boy she plays with in the woods, or Nora's son Ryan? An anonymous witness says Avery got into Ryan's car that day.

Everyone's life is upended when they begin accusing each other, secrets are revealed, and security is shattered. Missing for four days now, she could be drugged and held captive, or simply have run away. Most people believe William has killed her.

A missing child is a situation we have read about before, but Lapena does a commendable job exposing the secrets and lies that tear through many homes in the community. The detectives are not overbearing, and there is no sex or violence to mar the mystery. Avery being an obstinate liar is a different twist, but does the fact that the victim is a manipulative brat make you care less for her plight?

This is a psychological novel that delivers exactly what is promised: light twists and a slight mystery, clever enough to satisfy.

2023 / Tradeback / 336 pages