We Lie Here

A Thriller

By: Rachel Howzell Hall

Narrated by: Alaska Jackson

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A woman’s trip home reveals frightening truths in a twisty novel of murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author of And Now She’s Gone and These Toxic Things.

TV writer Yara Gibson’s hometown of Palmdale, California, isn’t her first choice for a vacation. But she’s back to host her parents’ twentieth-anniversary party and find the perfect family mementos for the celebration. Everything is going to plan until Yara receives a disturbing text: I have information that will change your life.

The message is from Felicia Campbell, who claims to be a childhood friend of Yara’s mother. But they’ve been estranged for years - drama best ignored and forgotten. But Yara can’t forget Felicia, who keeps texting, insisting that Yara talk to her “before it’s too late.”

But the next day is already too late for Felicia, whose body is found floating in Lake Palmdale. Before she died, Felicia left Yara a key to a remote lakeside cabin. In the basement are files related to a mysterious tragedy, unsolved since 1998. What secrets was Felicia hiding? How much of what Yara knows about her family has been true?

The deeper Yara digs for answers, the more she fears that Felicia was right. Uncovering the truth about what happened at the cabin all those years ago will change Yara’s life--or end it.

©2022 Rachel Howzell Hall (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“[Narrator Alaska] Jackson's inflections perfectly capture the story and make the way the individual characters communicate with one another seem real. With a compelling story and a strong performance, listeners get a thrilling experience from this well-performed audiobook.”—AudioFile Magazine

“Hall exhibits a mastery of slowly building pressure-cooker tension until it explodes. A less accomplished writer might not have been able to be as convincing with occasional situational constructs that stretch credulity, but Hall pulls all of it off with aplomb. She remains a writer to watch.”—Publishers Weekly

“What’s most special about the book is the array of complex characters…The dialogue is sharp, observant, and emotional without ever straying into sentimentality, and the mystery of who is targeting the Gibson family manages to stay compelling despite many twists and turns…This captivating domestic thriller will keep you on your toes.”—Kirkus Reviews

Better than anticipated.

This book started off a bit slow but glad that I stuck with it.
Hollywood screenwriter, Yara, is back home in Palmdale to throw an anniversary bash for her parents. Her relationship with her mother is strained but she has to be the good elder daughter. Then things get really interesting when a distant cousin shows up with a warning for Yara. Except she blows off said cousin who ends up dead. As Yara digs through her parents memorabilia, she begins to uncover a mystery…one that could lead to her own demise. The ending will astound you. Really glad that I stuck with it…surprisingly good book.

GREAT LISTEN

This book started off a tad slow but by chapter 4 I was so invested!

Glad I hung in

It was slow in parts, but I’m glad I kept going. There were enough twists and turns to make me enjoy. The narration was weak at times, because I couldn’t tell the difference between characters, so I had to backtrack a few times to figure out who was talking. Overall, I enjoyed.

A bit too long, great ending

This is a rare instance in which I did not care for the story or its characters that Rachel Howzell Hall created. There were several plot lines that begged to intersect much sooner than the author allowed.

Additionally, the narration was very dry and one-note.

They can't all be my cup of tea, but I would recommend this book to those who enjoy strained family dynamics and, of course, a twisty story about murder.

Welp! She did it again. I'm never disappointed.

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Another BAD (Michael Jackson) creation. Bravo! Alaska Jackson's performance is A1! Great Listen

Mrs Hall is Brilliant

I adore all the great game with in Mrs Halls books I really appreciate and enjoy these well written stories this book was a Movie

A Must Listen/Read

This book had me guessing at every turn. Very well written and the performance was outstanding!!! I will definitely recommend this book to my Book Club!

Twists and turns

So many twists and turns. I questioned the sanity of most characters in this book.

Well Done!

Rachel! You did it again! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and did not want it to end. Definitely kept me guessing!

Good storyline

Original storyline and lots of background provided. Longer than it needed to be. Narrator was okay.