Review: Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

Release date: July 30, 2019

Publisher: Pamela Dorman

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Maybe you don’t know your neighbors as well as you thought you did . . .

“This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out.”

In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses–and into the owners’ computers as well–learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too.

Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and suspicion mounts. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they’re telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets?

In this neighborhood, it’s not just the husbands and wives who play games. Here, everyone in the family has something to hide . . .

You never really know what people are capable of.

Review:

I’ve been a fan of all of the authors previous books, she has this unique style that feels like a traditional, good old fashioned whodunnit mystery combined with a modern twist that always seems to work well for me. This was no exception, it had all the elements that I’ve grown to love and expect from Lapena and was overall an entertaining read.

Sometimes, typically in a mystery, a large ensemble cast can fall flat but that didn’t happen here. Though it took a few chapters for me to settle in and figure out who was married to who, once I did I was pretty dang invested. As more as revealed about each character in the neighborhood you realize they’re all carrying secrets and trying to figure out which ones who come out, and at what expense was engaging.

Endings can either make a book for me or break it and unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of how this one wrapped up. I don’t want to spoil anything specific but I’ll just say open endings, even just small pieces aren’t my favorite. The author is definitely talented though and I’m still a fan, it’s just not my absolute favorite from her.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.