Where They Lie

A Thriller (Nora McTavish, Book 1)

By: Joe Hart

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The murder of an influencer’s family exposes the disturbing secrets behind the facade in a haunting novel of suspense by Joe Hart, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Or Else.

Family is content for Kaylee Volk. Her vlogs celebrate a happy home with her husband and their three foster children, Bethany, Mason, and Andrea. Everything is perfect until the day the family’s private plane plummets into the ocean. Only Kaylee manages to survive—with a shocking revelation: Andrea did it.

This is particularly devastating for Nora McTavish, a child protective services agent who is already familiar with Andrea’s troubled history. Given Nora’s own traumatic childhood, how could she not have sensed the profound darkness festering within the girl? What did she miss? Could she have stopped Andrea?

As Kaylee struggles to cope with the crushing loss, Nora’s investigation begins. But her guilt soon turns to unease. Secret by secret, Nora pieces together a Volk family puzzle that’s more twisted than anyone saw—one far from the picture-perfect life Kaylee sold to the public. And the closer Nora looks, the more disturbing it gets.

©2023 Joe Hart (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Kate Rudd captures Nora’s intensity and anguish but slips seamlessly into peppy vlog posts and flat forensic interview transcripts. Rudd’s portrayal of the flawed lead creates a compelling listening experience.”—Library Journal

“The tragic crash of a small plane sets an Oregon social worker on the trail of even greater tragedies behind it.…A well-paced exposé of dark family secrets.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The plot takes many twists and turns and keeps readers guessing until the surprising end. For fans of Harlan Coben, Riley Sager, and Linwood Barclay.”—Library Journal

A well crafted story with great narration

Nora is a child protective services agent with her own heartbreaking past. When the family of an influencster all die in a suspicious plane crash, Nora is devastated since she played a role in putting the family together.

As Nora digs in the accident, the truth is unveiled and it left me completely shocked and devastated.

Where They Lie is dark, disturbing and so very sad. In all the best ways. This one sill sit with you for a while and crush your soul a little bit.

Nora is a great character and I loved learning about her backstory, also heartbreaking.

It's the start of a new series and I'm excited to spend time with Nora again.

I have listened to this narrator before and found her to be perfect here.

Wasn’t bad, I liked it.

The ending was a bit predictable and I guessed everything before it was revealed but I enjoyed the ride to get there. I personally liked Nora and enjoyed her as a character. I wasn’t a huge fan of the end but life can’t always be kittens and rainbows. Overall not bad and I will be reading the next one in the series.

Wow!

I didn’t see that ending coming! I am still trying to process it. This was an un-putdownable book. I’ll definitely listen to more by this author.

Kate Rudd's performance always enhances any book

This is a good book and should be a successful series. It is well written with likable characters. The plot will grab the reader and keep them reading. There are some delicate subjects that will certainly pull at the emotions. It's not my preferred storyIine, but I still recommend reading this book. The audible performance by Kate Rudd is excellent.

New author

I was not aware of Joe Hart the author but I will look for more books by him. This book was great

Pitiful ending.

This is not the quality of writing I've seen previously from this author. It was OK at the very best and certainly a waste of a credit. Even a talented narrator couldn't salvage it.

Crazy!

The story itself was great, kept you guessing for a little while.. and when, the truth was finally revealed it made so much sense! And the ending! I just wanted to come through the phone. The narrator was great, and was a very easy listen.

Couldn’t put it down

Original storyline with good twists. Kate Rudd’s narration really helped bring the characters to life. Bummed the second book in the series isn’t going to be out for awhile. Please write faster Joe Hart.

good, worth a listen

the story was good, but had some holes, IMO. worth the listen, though, so I can't knock it.

Great Story

Realistic depiction of the horrible state of child protective services. I’ve worked with foster parents that were also unfit to parent children in need. Ominous feel throughout due to the past tragedies. Ultimately it has to be about trying anything to make a child’s life better. Tragic and hopeful.

Narration was excellent!!