I received and ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Fifteen years ago, young graduates Rhett and Lucinda are a month out from their wedding when Jenn comes to their small town and catches Rhett’s attention. Unfortunately for Jenn, her arrival unintentionally sets off a series of events resulting in Jenn’s death and bitter ripples for the young couple that reverberate through their relationship, their families, and the town for years to come. Now, Lucinda and Rhett are again on the brink of disaster as new evidence, a judge who isn’t in their overbearing patriarch’s pocket, and an old grudge come back to accuse Rhett again of killing Jenn, bringing back all the buried hurts and family secrets.
Where the Truth Lies is part domestic thriller, part murder mystery, and part sheer frustration for me. I’ve read Greene’s work before so I know she loves complex characters who aren’t necessarily likeable. That approach works well if your goal is to keep the reader guessing the whodunit, and it’s true I didn’t guess the whodunit until the very end (well played!). But I also ended up annoyed because not a single character was likeable. I didn’t have anyone to root for, and every time I thought “oh maybe they’re redeemed” something even worse came out and I was disgusted or angry. If that was the point, Greene did a fabulous job.
There’s quite a bit of domestic ick in this book, both overt violence and emotional/control abuse. Trigger warnings should be all over the place here. The plot is mostly fast paced, the writing is fairly tight although there are some scenes that drag a bit. The time jumps between current and fifteen years ago combined with the point of view changes start to feel contrived by two thirds into the book, as though they’re intended to drag out the final reveal. The final reveal IS satisfying as hell, though, and I was pleased with the ultimate resolution, so as a thriller this story ticked all the right boxes for me.
If you like Harlan Coban / Netflix style twists where a steady dribble of data changes the painting every time you see it until the final picture is completely different from the one you originally looked at, Where the Truth Lies is definitely a book for you.
No Pithy Phrase 