Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica

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This is the first book I've read from Mary Kubica, and I found it a bit... lacking. After a little research, I discovered that this was written at the beginning of her career, and we all know writers who sometimes become better storytellers after they've published a few books. Don't believe me? Read Deception Point by Dan Brown.

But I digress.

I thought that the alternating narration between the two characters was an interesting choice. In some cases, we learn things about the characters we couldn't know unless we were inside their heads. In other cases, having a second POV for the same moment in time offers an additional perspective and lays the seeds of intrigue... asking questions and adding additional clues. That having been said, I found these two POVs far too disconnected through much of the story, and the chapters where the little girl's memories of the accident simply added to the confusion rather than helping to knit things together. How much can a pre-k child truly understand, anyway? How much is trauma expressed through imagination because they don't have the maturity to understand? Instead of offering an additional layer of insight for the remaining parent, the child's perspective added to the panic... which was probably the point; but still... the device didn't connect the pieces for me. Instead, it scrambled them.

I found this book a bit unsettling and difficult to read because of the disconnect, the pressure put on a child's recollection, and a grieving adult who sometimes couldn't be the adult the child needed. It was a bit troubling to imagine. Also, the ending left me flat, wanting more. There were some loose ends that didn't get connected or resolved for me, and I felt as though I was reading the first in a planned series that the author gave up on.

This book is classified as a psychological thriller. I'm a fan of both genre elements, but I felt that this story missed the mark on both psychological and thriller... without much strength in one or the other. I found it more sad and depressing than edgy, twisty, and doubtful.

I'll give Ms. Kubica another try at some point. Perhaps her more recent works will be a better fit for me. Just because this one didn't work for my reading style doesn't mean she's not a wonderful storyteller. 😉