Everyone Here Is Lying: A Tangle of Secrets and Suspense
When I first laid eyes on Shari Lapena’s newest thriller, Everyone Here Is Lying, I felt that familiar flutter of excitement—the kind that comes from knowing you’re about to dive into the tangled lives of flawed characters, set against the backdrop of picturesque suburbia. Lapena has a knack for peeling back the layers of ordinary lives to reveal the chaos that lurks beneath, and with this latest offering, I was eagerly anticipating another riveting ride. However, while a captivating twist ultimately delivered a jolt, the journey to it left me somewhat unsatisfied.
At the heart of the story is William Wooler, a doctor whose seemingly perfect life is punctured by a clandestine affair with his neighbor, Nora Blanchard. Their weekly escapades at a local motel take a sharp turn when Nora decides to end their relationship, citing fairness to their families. This abrupt shift knocks William off balance, and as he navigates the emotional fallout, he inadvertently finds himself face-to-face with an even greater crisis—his nine-year-old daughter, Avery, goes missing.
The themes woven throughout Everyone Here Is Lying highlight the fragility of appearance and the hidden truths we often conceal from each other—and even ourselves. As the police investigate Avery’s disappearance, it becomes clear that every character harbors secrets, and the tension mounts as we witness their unraveling relationships. Each move in the plot feels like a careful dance, and I must applaud Lapena for her deft character development; the characters are deeply flawed, and though not particularly likable, they are compelling in their selfishness and desperation.
But here’s where my enthusiasm hit a snag. Lapena’s writing style, which has always kept my pulse racing, felt muddled by an uneven pacing and an over-reliance on multiple perspectives. Rather than heightening the suspense, these shifts often cheapened the revelations, reducing their impact too quickly. Just when an intriguing secret was revealed, the narrative would pivot, leaving me feeling as if I were left wanting more, almost robbed of that nail-biting tension I cherish from her earlier works.
There were, however, standout moments that resonated. William’s explosive confrontation with Avery was charged with raw emotion and brilliant writing, illuminating their fraught relationship. The final twist that turns the entire narrative on its head did its job well, reigniting that thrill I sought from the beginning, though by the end, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the suspense had diffused too early.
In conclusion, Everyone Here Is Lying is undeniably gripping, albeit more dramatic than the high-stakes suspense I’ve come to expect from Lapena. For those who enjoy a tale steeped in moral complexity and dark family secrets, this book offers a chilling experience, even if it occasionally veers towards predictability. I recommend this read to fans of psychological thrillers, with a word of caution to temper expectations if you’re a lapena loyalist like I am.
Ultimately, while it didn’t quite meet the high bar set by her previous novels, I appreciate the intricacies of the web Lapena weaves and remain intrigued by the way her stories linger in my mind long after the last page. Perhaps in this reckoning of secrets and lies, we find fragments of ourselves—and there’s something both unsettling and beautifully reflective about that. Rating: 3.5 stars.