A few years back, I read The Unwilling by John Hart. I really enjoyed it, so when I received a copy of Where They Lie (in exchange for this honest review), I was grateful to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley. When I began reading, it felt like something that wasn’t John Hart, with good reason: Where They Lie is by JOE Hart. I figured “whatever,” and started in. 

As a former foster mother, stories involving foster kids always seem to have a bigger than warranted impact. In this story, a CPS worker named Nora McTavish begins an investigation into the fatal plane crash that took the lives of Kaylee Volk’s husband and three foster children, Bethany, Andrea, and Mason. Kaylee feels certain that foster kid “Andrea did it.”

Kaylee makes her income from her online video blog, which provides all sorts of information and advice about how to have a happy home life. Nora, whose own background and familiarity with Andrea’s issues make her wonder if she missed something and ponder whether she might have been able to stop/help Andrea. The more she digs into the whole family, which had been put forth as an ideal picture-perfect bunch, the more she uncovers family secrets that become more troubling by the day. 

It’s a well-done, twisty thriller by a fairly prolific author, none of whose books I had read…but I will definitely look for more of his work after reading this four-star surprise.