Harlequin /
Park Row Books
From the Publisher
“The bad man, Daddy. The bad man is after us.”
Clara Solberg’s world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon.
Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick’s death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out—and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit.
Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara’s investigation and Nick’s last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date—one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.
Between the Covers
Being the huge Mary Kubica fan that I am – if she writes it, you can be sure I’m going to read it, recommend it to you, and then hound you until we have an impromptu pseudo-book-club meeting about it, wherever we might be – I had high hopes for Every Last Lie. For fellow MK fans, it will come as no surprise that she has nailed it … again!
First, though, let me get this out of the way: even though I teach the second grade and littles are generally some of my favourite people, Clara’s daughter Maisie made me want to take up day-drinking. Every time she did/said something that made me want to scream, I had to constantly remind myself that she was only four years old, had experienced a traumatic event, etc. I swear I am much more sympathetic and patient in real life. Her ‘tiny dictator’ schtick nearly drove me round the bend, though.
I also wanted Clara to handle the subject of Nick’s death better where Maisie was concerned, as I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was doing a horrible (and somewhat unbelievable) job of addressing it. Although, if she tried to explain it to Maisie, everything would have become too real, too final – and it’s hard to put into words something for which you yourself have no acceptable explanation.
Despite my general aversion to weaving conversations and interactions with very young characters into pretty much any narrative that isn’t a picture book or junior chapter book (i.e., fellow book nerds raved about Emma Donoghue’s Room; I couldn’t get past the first 60 pages because it was being narrated by a 5-year-old), I was less than a tenth of the way through Every Last Lie and I knew that I would be willing to perform a ritual sacrifice of my usually-sacred sleep, in order to finish this book!
Driven (that’s a little on the nose, I know…let’s go with ‘desperate’) to discover the underlying truth which she believes exists about her husband’s car crash, Clara goes to extreme lengths to do so (I kept asking, aloud, “Ok, seriously, lady! Come on! Who. DOES. That?!”). Her increasingly erratic behaviour, fueled by overwhelming grief, confusion, exhaustion, and, simply, the ‘not knowing’, is expertly paired with Nick’s perspective in the months leading up to the crash.
Kubica – as only she can – presents the chaotic aftermath of a tragic loss and how those left behind might try to fill in the blanks in order to make sense of the senseless. It’s the side we don’t often see, don’t often take the time to consider, when we read the shocking headlines in our daily newspapers. But how far would be ‘too far’, in a situation like this? Every nerve is raw and exposed as Clara takes us down the rabbit hole with her. She is not only convinced but develops an all-consuming obsession with the notion that there’s more to it than the police report claims. As the story progresses it becomes abundantly clear that Clara not only believes that there is more to the accident but that she needs there to be more to it.
Is it a case of “Occam’s Razor” or is there really something sinister to be uncovered, here? Each misdirect is so plausible – from both Clara and Nick’s perspectives – that it will keep you hooked and guessing, until the ultimate reveal.
Do yourselves a favour, book nerds: pre-order this puppy! You can thank me later.
NOTE: I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row Books for granting me an eARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Between the Covers 