The inciting incident of Hall’s latest thriller feels familiar in its simplicity ... But in the hands of contemporary writers, such setups open windows onto more complicated, often dysfunctional families, situations that feel compelling even in the absence of a corpse. And in Hall’s work, it opens doors to the kinds of houses you might not have seen in fiction before ... Hall has long forged a singular path as a crime writer, blending an increasingly assured mastery of the genre with an abiding interest in lives too often relegated to the margins. Watching her peel back the layers of Palmdale to expose its diverse residents and problems feels particularly gratifying and makes We Lie Here a fresh addition to a more inclusive list of essential L.A. crime fiction. This stellar entry makes one eager to learn not only what comes next for Hall but also how Yara the writer might use grist from the Palmdale mill in that series pilot percolating in the back of her mind. Hall has been writing stand-alones ever since putting down her Elouise Norton series; maybe it’s time she wrote another sequel.
The unforgiving desert setting and its mix of white supremacists, Crips, and various other outlaws ups the plot-driving paranoia here, but Hall’s knack for creating driven, relatably vulnerable heroines like Yara is the key to this latest success.
A whopper of a domestic thriller ... What makes We Lie Here so frightening is the suggestion that your own family might not be who they claim to be. Rachel Howzell Hall plots this idea perfectly, and the reveal is quite satisfying with the appropriate surprises and twists in the final act.
Hall conveys the racist atmosphere of a small town and writes knowingly of extreme family dysfunction, but the meandering narrative, self-gaslighting protagonist, and several plot holes weaken the story.
Crafty ... Hall exhibits a mastery of slowly building pressure-cooker tension until it explodes. A less accomplished writer might not have been able to be as convincing with occasional situational constructs that stretch credulity, but Hall pulls all of it off with aplomb. She remains a writer to watch.
What’s most special about the book is the array of complex characters ... The dialogue is sharp, observant, and emotional without ever straying into sentimentality, and the mystery of who is targeting the Gibson family manages to stay compelling despite many twists and turns—though at times these misdirections and pivots can feel a little disjointed, leaving you wondering momentarily how you got there ... This captivating domestic thriller will keep you on your toes.