By Rebekah Dolmat
Content warning: child abuse, child alcoholism, child drug use, child neglect, conversion therapy, domestic abuse, homophobia, murder, racism and racial violence, sexual abuse
Anna Bailey’s debut novel, Where the Truth Lies, is a slow-burning, atmospheric and chilling read that follows the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl from the small, insular town of Whistler Ridge, Colorado.
When Abigail goes missing in the woods one night following a party, her best friend Emma seems to be the only one who cares. Although Emma’s concern is largely rooted in her guilt of having left Abigail alone, she feels compelled to find out what really happened to her best friend. As Emma strives to uncover the truth behind Abigail’s disappearance, she also uncovers a plethora of deeply rooted small town dark secrets.
Where the Truth Lies starts off really, really strong. The writing is excellent and the insular small town setting is atmospheric, eerie, and completely captivating. However, at some point in the novel the focus of the story shifts, leaving the reader feeling perplexed—the book becomes less about uncovering the truth of what happened to Abigail, and almost entirely about the dark secrets and small minds of the townspeople. To put it simply, I think that Bailey attempted to include too many big ideas, touchy subjects, and extremely large character arcs for secondary characters that, when all put together, confuse the main plot, which is supposed to be about a missing teenager.
However, instead of focusing on Abigail’s disappearance, the book hyper-focuses on several big issues:
· child abuse and child neglect
· child alcoholism and drug use
· domestic violence and sexual abuse
· homophobia and conversion therapy
· racism and racial violence
· violence in the name of Christianity
While there is nothing wrong with including any of these issues in a novel, the downfall of Where the Truth Lies is its attempt to address too many issues—especially for a book under 300 pages. The added issues detract from the story, cause plot holes, and essentially defeat the purpose of including them in the story in the first place. Had this book not included so many issues, I think I would have enjoyed it more. Nonetheless, I’ll be looking forward to seeing what Anna Bailey has in store for her readers next!
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!