Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

     As a fan since Shari Lapena’s debut novel, I was completely surprised I didn’t know about this book when it was released. But ever since I’ve heard about it, I was super excited for it and I knew I needed to get my hands on it.

“If no one’s come forward and the police haven’t knocked at your door, consider yourselves lucky. But let me remind you, young man, ” and here he leans forward and pins Raleigh again with his sharp, shrewd eyes, “luck always runs out.“

pg. 48

     Do you really know people as well as you think you do? A teen is going around breaking and entering people’s houses and hacking into their computers. What has he found out? What has he done to those computers? But things get sticky when a murdered woman is found and all the secrets of the surrounding community comes out along with some of the teens’ own….

“How, she fumes, are you supposed to teach a kid right and wrong when so many people in positions of authority regularly behave badly? What the hell is wrong with America these days?“

pg. 49

     Although this wasn’t my favorite book by her, it was still enjoyable. I found it to be too predictable for me to like it more than just a little. I called many of the plot twists throughout the book as well as the big reveal at the end. (Except for one part.) I didn’t feel like there was as much of a thriller as her others either. It was just a very long story of different parts of a mystery coming to light.

“The truth has a way of coming out.“

pg. 114

     As for her writing style, I usually love it, but this time I wasn’t impressed. For the most part it was a basic mystery and nothing stood out. I never did feel that love for the story like I did for her others. The mystery itself was good and I was interested in finding out if I was correct, so I kept reading.

“Every marriage has it’s secrets. Glenda wonders what theirs were.“

pg. 139

     As a character driven reader, I didn’t really care for anyone in this book. Like no one at all. This book has some of the worst characters I’ve read about in a long time. But I think that’s ironically what I liked most about it? These characters were all so bad and I felt like I was watching a train wreck and I couldn’t look away. But I did like that there is FINALLY a set of unreliable narrators that don’t have to be sloshed or high as a kite to be unreliable. As mysteries and thrillers are my favorite, I run into that ALOT and its nice to find books where that’s not the case.

“Today […] wearing jeans and an old sweater, and […] doesn’t seem to have the same presence or authority. Or maybe it’s that […] just not comfortable being brought in for questioning to the police station. That usually flusters people. Especially if they have something to hide. “

pg. 193

     Shari Lapena is still one of my favorite mystery writers. One out of four isn’t so bad. And I still liked it, just not as much as the others. I’m still looking forward to anything else she writes in the future.