Synopsis
When nine-year-old Avery Wooler vanishes after being sent home from school, her disappearance sends shockwaves through her family and community. Secrets, lies, and betrayal bubble to the surface as the search intensifies—and no one, not even her family, is telling the full truth. Shari Lapena spins a fast-paced, twisty thriller where everyone has something to hide.
My Final Thoughts
When William Wooler and Nora Blanchard emerge from The Breezes Motel, neither of them expects the rest of their day to completely unravel.
Nora knows she has to end the affair—not for her husband, Al, but for her kids. She can’t risk them finding out and hating her. William, on the other hand, couldn’t care less if his wife or kids found out. He’s ready to divorce Erin and start fresh with Nora, confident his children would understand. Speaking of William’s kids—his 12-year-old son, Michael, and 9-year-old daughter, Avery—neither of them exactly help tip the scales in favor of ending the affair. William has long since fallen out of love with his wife. His daughter is a rebellious, lying, disruptive nightmare, and when it comes to his son, he mostly just feels indifferent.
She’s [Avery] complicated. She’s a lovely nine-year-old girl. Very bright — gifted, actually. But she’s challenging. She has a learning disability and ADHD. She also has behavioral problems.
When William returns home after his breakup with Nora, he’s surprised to find Avery there—she should still be at choir. All he wants is a few quiet minutes to pull himself together, but that’s short-lived. Avery has been sent home from school (again), and while he’s trying to get the full story out of her, he loses his temper. Needing to cool off before facing his wife, William leaves Avery at home and goes for a drive. But when Michael later shows up at choir to walk Avery home, she isn’t there—and when he gets home, she’s not there either.
And just like that, the search for Avery Wooler begins.
This book is basically Gone Girl if Gone Girl were about a nine-year-old. The twists and turns definitely kept me hooked. I knew early on that the obvious suspects weren’t it—because they never are—but even still, it took me until my third guess (about halfway through the book) to figure it out. And even then, the reveal felt a little out there—borderline unbelievable, honestly.
That said, I really appreciated the police work in this one. Detective Gully was professional, thorough, and actually competent—something I wish more thrillers got right. It drives me crazy when books make the cops cartoonishly clueless, but here it felt realistic. You could tell the detectives genuinely cared about finding Avery.
I also liked the contrast between Al Blanchard and William Wooler. By the end, you can almost see why Nora might have chosen William—almost.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely pick up another Shari Lapena book. I think this had been sitting on my TBR since 2023, so I was thrilled when I saw it available on Libby. And yes, the title is absolutely spot-on—everyone in this book is lying.
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