Everyone Is Lying to You: A Thriller

Jo Piazza does not shy away from controversial topics as evidenced by the two books she co-authored with Christine Pride and her solo titles; including my personal favorite - CHARLOTTE WALSH LIKES TO WIN. In EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU, she tackles a phenomenon she’s been very vocal about: tradwives.This is a twisty, fast paced, page turner that exposes the ugly side of social media influencers where nothing is as it seems and everything is curated for likes. We meet four women who are sucked into the world of sponsorships, branded content, and living two very different lives—one in front of the camera packaged with pithy captions and filtered photos and the other less glamorous and sometimes ugly. Everyone, it seems, has a secret. When a husband turns up brutally murdered and his influencer wife disappears, the house of cards threatens to come tumbling down.While this is a thriller, it is also the story of women taking back agency and control over their lives. Piazza crafts a story with unexpected pivots and reveals. It’s impossible to look away and just when you think you have it figured out, she takes you in another direction. The book is fun, salacious, and highly entertaining.

I read this on the Libby app, but it’s good enough that I might buy it later to read again.The author was obviously inspired by the expose on Hannah Neeleman and her Ballerina Farm influencer empire in the UK’s Sunday Times in July of 2024. This book features a fictional momfluencer who lives in an unnamed desert state with a super-influential, controlling, patriarchal church and culture. Bex, the influencer, is not a ballerina, but she’s clearly based on Hannah.This book is very much the traditional cozy mystery, but there’s a good deal of depth about the patriarchy in general mixed in, which makes it much more complex.And the end of the book is reminiscent of Murder By Death; the reader thinks she knows who did what and why, then surprise! Another character reveals a different layer of who knew what and when, and then again! At the very end, the reader is still left wondering exactly who was running this murder…and the solving thereof, just like in Murder By Dearh.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Wow this book was absolutely full of shocking twists. It’s such a modern and relatable book for the times we’re in now when it comes to influencers and social media and how it’s easy to present yourself one way when you real life is nothing at all like that. I definitely enjoyed the dynamic between Bex and Lizzie. Such a good thriller to read in one or two sittings.

Everyone is Lying to you is intelligent social commentary cloaked in a fast paced thriller. Piazza offers a smart insider’s take on the world of influencers delivered through the eyes of one influencer and the friend she abandoned decades ago after college. The title’s meaning is reflected throughout the story - one where truly everyone is lying - to each other, to the public, to their families, and in some cleverly disguised ways - to you the reader. Beware that once you pick this one up, you’ll be inclined to (thankfully) ignore your own social media scrolling as you race through to the end. Highly recommend. Thanks Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the DRC.

I loved this book, I listened to it on audible in a few hours, if was un putt a down able. I was hooked from the minute it started! So reliable and twisty yet vulnerable and fun! I loved the characters and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for answers to this fun, modern twister!