Book Review: Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard

Title: Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard
Source: Paula Treick DeBoard, in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. But in 1999, Megan and Lauren become college roommates and, as two young women struggling to find their place on campus, they forge a strong, albeit unlikely, friendship. The two quickly become inseparable, sharing clothes, advice and their most intimate secrets.

The summer before their senior year, Megan joins Lauren and her family on their private island off the coast of Maine. The weeks go by, filled with fun and relaxation, until late one night at the end of the vacation, something unspeakable happens, searing through the framework of the girls' friendship and tearing them apart. Many years later, in the midst of a political scandal, Megan finally comes forward about what happened that fateful night, revealing a horrible truth about Lauren's family and threatening to expose their long-buried secrets.

In this captivating and moving novel of domestic suspense, Paula Treick DeBoard explores the power of friendship and secrets and shows how betrayal can lead to disastrous, and deadly, consequences.


My Thoughts:

DeBoard is one of my favorites, and has been ever since I devoured her book The Mourning Hours in 2013. Ever since then, I excitedly wait for her next book - like all readers everywhere do, for those authors we particularly enjoy. I was so excited to receive this book, with a handwritten note from Paula Treick DeBoard, in the mail, and to dive right in. 

Here We Lie is the story of two unlikely friends - one from a regular old midwestern family, the other, a daughter of privilege and prestige, the daughter of a Senator, and an old family to boot. Like the Kennedys, but of course, not the Kennedys. Through a sad series of events, Megan is able to kick the dust off her proverbial boots and go to college, away from home, and from the memories that it holds, good and bad, and a terrible secret. It is here that she meets Lauren, who has caused her political family some headaches with her wild ways, just avoiding scandal by a razor's edge. She has to prove herself to her family, that she can be something, and do something. Be responsible and good.

These two on paper should not be friends - but inside, they are keeping a secret from others. In true DeBoard fashion, there is a darkness. In most books or movies or tv shows, where opposites attract (Betty and Veronica for instance), at the core is a friendship born out of a true blending and sharing of something good. In Here We Lie, however, we get a friendship that is built on the sharing of dark secrets. 

But the story doesn't end with this. Megan slides right into Lauren's family dynamic, Lauren's buddy.Yet something horrible happens on a trip to Lauren's family's private island over the fourth of July holiday the summer before their senior year, that destroys their friendship. And after fourteen years of silence, Megan is about to tell the truth. 

I really loved this book, the darkness, these characters, knowing that somewhere something was going to drop. The overall feel that despite seeming like a buddy book, this kind of really wasn't. DeBoard does a great job of putting all the pieces in this book together into a gripping, thought-provoking book. 





*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. It is woefully late - but the book is out there, waiting to be read, and I think you should do it!

Book Review: The Drowning Girls by Paula Treick DeBoard

Title: The Drowning Girls
Author: Paula Treick DeBoard
Source: Author

Goodreads Summary:

Liz McGinnis never imagined herself living in a luxurious gated community like The Palms. Ever since she and her family moved in, she's felt like an outsider amongst the Stepford-like wives and their obnoxiously spoiled children. Still, she's determined to make it work—if not for herself, then for her husband, Phil, who landed them this lavish home in the first place, and for her daughter, Danielle, who's about to enter high school.

Yet underneath the glossy veneer of The Palms, life is far from idyllic. In a place where reputation is everything, Liz soon discovers that even the friendliest residents can't be trusted—and almost everyone has secrets they'd do anything to protect. So when the gorgeous girl next door befriends Danielle, Liz can't help but find sophisticated Kelsey's interest in her shy and slightly nerdy daughter a bit suspicious.

But while Kelsey quickly becomes a fixture in the McGinnis home, Liz's relationships with both Danielle and Phil grow strained. Now even her own family seems to be hiding things, and it's not long before their dream of living the high life quickly spirals out of control… 

My thoughts:

DeBoard is one of my all-time favorite authors. I absolutely devour every book that she writes. If you are not familiar with her, I highly recommend her. I described DeBoard's writing to my book club as Joyce Carol Oates meets Gillian Flynn, and they agreed. She has her own twists and flair of course, but if I had to compare, I would definitely use those two authors.

When I received The Drowning Girls in the mail, I of course had to start reading immediately. Like with her previous books, I could not put it down. Riveting and compelling, this book was like The Crush on steroids. Never has there been teenager so dangerous, devious, and smart. Kelsey is one scary chick.

When Liz, her husband Phil, and daughter Danielle move into the ritzy gated community of The Palms, they have no idea how much their life is about to change. Their once happy lives are soon threatened and split apart by obsession, paranoia, desperation. Held hostage by one fifteen year old girl, this family is going to either sink or swim.

It is impossible to read this book without getting sucked in - I felt nervous and scared for the characters at times, anger at other times. Told in present time and flashback, you start with the ending and are brought full circle before finding out the whole story. I don't have a lot of time to read these days, and I managed to finish this book in a hurry - I had to know what was going to happen next! The ending will blow your mind!

If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller, I highly recommend The Drowning Girls, which comes out in April. Until then, check out DeBoard's previous books The Mourning Hours and The Fragile World.

Book Review: The Fragile World by Paula Treick DeBoard

Title: The Fragile World
Author: Paula Treick DeBoard
Source: NetGalley

Goodreads Summary:

The Kaufmans have always considered themselves a normal, happy family. Curtis is a physics teacher at a local high school. His wife, Kathleen, restores furniture for upscale boutiques. Daniel is away at college on a prestigious music scholarship, and twelve-year-old Olivia is a happy-go-lucky kid whose biggest concern is passing her next math test.

And then comes the middle-of-the-night phone call that changes everything.Daniel has been killed in what the police are calling a freak accident, and the remaining Kaufmans are left to flounder in their grief. The anguish of Daniel's death is isolating, and it's not long before this once perfect family find themselves falling apart. As time passes and the wound refuses to heal, Curtis becomes obsessed with the idea of revenge, a growing mania that leads him to pack up his life and his anxious teenage daughter and set out on a collision course to right a wrong.

An emotionally charged novel, The Fragile World is a journey through America's heartland and a family's brightest and darkest moments, exploring the devastating pain of losing a child and the beauty of finding healing in unexpected ways.


My thoughts:

Wow. Wow. This book was amazing; it was emotional, intense, surprising, even uplifting. This book walked a long, sad road, and I was led by every word to redemption.

Last year I read DeBoard's book, The Mourning Hours, and was blown away, and with this book  DeBoard does it again. This time, the story begins with a death. Daniel Kaufman is a golden boy, talented, smart, kind. Everyone loves him, especially his family. Then one night the Kaufman family world is rocked, when Daniel is killed in a freak accident while away at school. Life as they know it is fractured, how do they go on in the depths of this tragedy? The family is splintered, each member of the family finding their own way to deal with the loss of Daniel. It finally culminates into a journey across the country, when Curtis packs up Olivia to embark on his own salvation. This is where the story really gets good. You are rooting for these characters, wanting them to heal, become whole, turn away from their chosen roads.

 Olivia is my favorite character by far. Consumed with anxiety, she breaks your heart with her myriad and numerous fears, and you desperately want her to overcome her demons. Whether she does or not, I will leave you to find out for yourself.

I don't want to give much away, so that is all I am going to say about this book. I loved it, I was riveted, I was involved in this story, and I think it is a book anyone would enjoy.

The Mourning Hours - Review

Title: The Mourning Hours
Author: Paula Treick DeBoard
Source: NetGalley

A family's loyalty is put to the ultimate test in this haunting and unforgettable debut. 

Kirsten Hammarstrom hasn't been home to her tiny corner of rural Wisconsin in years-not since the mysterious disappearance of a local teenage girl rocked the town and shattered her family. Kirsten was just nine years old when Stacy Lemke went missing, and the last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Johnny-the high school wrestling star and Kirsten's older brother. No one knows what to believe-not even those closest to Johnny-but the event unhinges the quiet farming community and pins Kirsten's family beneath the crushing weight of suspicion. 

Now, years later, a new tragedy forces Kirsten and her siblings to return home, where they must confront the devastating event that shifted the trajectory of their lives. Tautly written and beautifully evocative, The Mourning Hours is a gripping portrayal of a family straining against extraordinary pressure, and a powerful tale of loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness.


My thoughts:

I could not put this book down.  I started reading it at 11:00 pm last night, read until 1:00 am, when I forced myself to stop reading and go bed, since I had to work in the morning. When I got up, I picked it right back up and kept reading as I brushed my teeth, did my hair, and got ready for the day. When I left for work, I popped my iPad into my bag, so I could read at work. I actually reviewed my morning in my mind on the way there, trying to figure out if I would have time. I read it here and there, and then finished on my lunch break.  The story was riveting, the language and writing expressive.

This book was gripping, suspenseful, a real page turner.  I don't want to give much away - I will say that I when I started I just had to read until I found out just what happened, what was the big thing the characters were alluding to, that the reader felt coming from the very beginning.  Situations build with tension, you can feel it like a rope being pulled taut that you know is going to snap sometime soon.

And this is mostly from the point of view of a 4th grader, at least 75% of the book is through the eyes of Kirsten as a child. You would think things would get lost, that you wouldn't get the full picture, but DeBoard writes the story so that you get just enough, the right enough, that you understand the situation even though Kirsten may not.

This book reminded me a bit of Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, and of We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. Especially the Mulvaneys, although the ending in The Mourning Hours doesn't leave you feeling like you were hit by a truck, unlike all Oates books. It is a story of how loyalty can be tested, even with your family that you love like your ownself - you may think that you would stand by a brother or a sister, a mother or a father, no matter what, when the chips are down and you are all at the lowest point you can go, but you never really know what will happen if you were in that situation.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense thriller book. But be prepared - once you start reading it you can't stop, so clear your calendar first!