WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Anna Bailey is a dazzling debut with a slow-burning intensity that builds after a young girl disappears after a night partying in the woods. Filled with deeply nuanced characters that leap off the pages, the mystery builds like a flickering flame that eventually ignites into a raging fire that consumes all in its path. No one in the Whistling Ridge community will ever be the same again.

Emma never imagines she will not see her seventeen-year-old friend, Abigail Blake, again when she leaves her in the woods at a bonfire party. Abigail never makes it home and now the town of Whistling Ridge is on high alert to find the missing girl. Sheriff Gains believes Abigail may have run away since the Blake family has a reputation in town, especially the father who delivers destructive guidance to his wife and sons with his fists. Abigail is his shining light though, and Abigail’s mother and brothers, Noah and Jude, take the brunt of his rages. Abigail’s mother is a passive woman who allows her husband to vent, even though underneath she is simmering with guilt, while Abigail’s brothers, Noah and Jude, wrestle with their own secrets surrounding Abigail’s disappearance. 

When bloody evidence is found in the woods, everyone realizes Abigail did not leave willingly.  As the town of Whistling Ridge searches for a suspect, they set their sights on Rat, an intriguing Romanian immigrant, who lives in the trailer park and has a connection to Abigail’s older brother, Noah. As a feisty preacher takes to blaming the outsider and riling the community, he sets in motion an act with devastating consequences. Through it all, Emma searches for the truth along with golden boy Hunter Maddox, a young man fond of Abigail, and suspicious of his own father. 

What Emma cannot understand is why Abigail kept secrets from her. Did Emma really know her best friend at all?  Everyone is always trying to protect Emma from the truth, but the truth may be the only thing that can save them in a town full of life-shattering secrets.

Bailey’s debut novel is a stunner. It is a character study of the diverse residents of a small community in Colorado whose secrets come to light after the disappearance of a young girl.  It asks tough questions about abuse within a family and harming those we love. It is dark and agonizing at times, but its ends with a sense of retribution and hope for healing. WHERE THE TRUTH LIES is a page-turner that will keep you captivated with its flawed unforgettable characters and a fitting conclusion that hints at a path forward for those strong enough to take it.