Everyone Here is Lying Summary: A Twisted Tale of Secrets, Lies, and Deceit

Everyone Here is Lying Table of Contents

• Cover
• Also by Shari Lapena
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Chapter Ten
• Chapter Eleven
• Chapter Twelve
• Chapter Thirteen
• Chapter Fourteen
• Chapter Fifteen
• Chapter Sixteen
• Chapter Seventeen
• Chapter Eighteen
• Chapter Nineteen
• Chapter Twenty
• Chapter Twenty-One
• Chapter Twenty-Two
• Chapter Twenty-Three
• Chapter Twenty-Four
• Chapter Twenty-Five
• Chapter Twenty-Six
• Chapter Twenty-Seven
• Chapter Twenty-Eight
• Chapter Twenty-Nine
• Chapter Thirty
• Chapter Thirty-One
• Chapter Thirty-Two
• Chapter Thirty-Three
• Chapter Thirty-Four
• Chapter Thirty-Five
• Chapter Thirty-Six
• Chapter Thirty-Seven
• Chapter Thirty-Eight
• Chapter Thirty-Nine
• Chapter Forty
• Chapter Forty-One
• Chapter Forty-Two
• Chapter Forty-Three
• Chapter Forty-Four
• Chapter Forty-Five
• Chapter Forty-Six
• Chapter Forty-Seven
• Chapter Forty-Eight
• Chapter Forty-Nine
• Chapter Fifty
• Chapter Fifty-One
• Chapter Fifty-Two
• Chapter Fifty-Three
• Chapter Fifty-Four
• Chapter Fifty-Five
• Chapter Fifty-Six
• About the Author

Everyone Here is Lying Main Character

William Wooler: A successful doctor and father, William is introduced as a man leading a double life, engaged in an affair with Nora Blanchard. His character is marked by impulsivity and a struggle with anger, which tragically leads him to strike his daughter, Avery, just before her disappearance. He is a central figure of suspicion throughout the investigation due to his lies and lack of an alibi, reflecting themes of deceit and the consequences of hidden actions. His journey is one of increasing isolation and despair as his secrets are exposed.

Erin Wooler: William’s wife and mother to Avery and Michael. Erin is portrayed as a capable legal secretary who, despite her own frustrations with Avery’s challenging behavior, is fiercely protective and devoted to her children. She is initially trusting of William but becomes increasingly distraught and suspicious as his lies come to light and the police investigation targets their family. Her role highlights the profound impact of a child’s disappearance on a parent and the trauma of marital betrayal.

Avery Wooler: The missing nine-year-old girl, whose disappearance ignites the plot. Avery is described as exceptionally bright but highly challenging, with ADHD, impulsivity, and defiance. Her character subverts the typical victim archetype, revealing a manipulative and calculating nature that influences events from behind the scenes. Her perspective is crucial to understanding the full extent of the deceit and control at play in the story.

Michael Wooler: William and Erin’s twelve-year-old son. Michael is depicted as a sensitive and well-behaved child, often overshadowed by his more “difficult” sister. He carries the burden of guilt for inadvertently contributing to Avery’s ability to leave the house alone. His honesty during police interviews inadvertently exposes his father’s temper and lies, reflecting the emotional toll of family secrets on children.

Nora Blanchard: William’s lover and a neighbor. Nora is married to Al and mother to Faith and Ryan. She ends her affair with William out of fear of discovery and concern for her family, demonstrating a desire to protect her carefully constructed life. She experiences intense guilt and paranoia as the investigation progresses, fearing the public exposure of her secret.

Al Blanchard: Nora’s husband. Initially appearing somewhat oblivious, Al is revealed to be deeply suspicious of Nora’s fidelity, covertly tracking her movements and harboring a quiet rage and resentment. His character embodies themes of passive-aggression, revenge, and the corrosive nature of unspoken marital issues.

Ryan Blanchard: Nora and Al’s eighteen-year-old son. Ryan becomes a prime suspect in Avery’s disappearance due to an anonymous tip. He has a past history of drug-related trouble, which further complicates his situation and strains his relationship with his parents. His role highlights the vulnerability of the accused and the fragility of public and familial trust.

Faith Blanchard: Nora and Al’s eleven-year-old daughter. Faith is initially presented as an active child, two years older than Avery. She is affected by her brother’s previous legal troubles and reacts with fear to the current crisis, showing the ripple effect of the unfolding events on the extended family.

Detective Gully: A sharp, insightful, and empathetic Black female detective. She approaches the case with an open mind, often challenging her partner’s assumptions and pursuing alternative leads. Her intuition and dedication are key to uncovering the truth behind Avery’s disappearance and Marion Cooke’s involvement.

Detective Bledsoe: Gully’s partner, a Caucasian male detective in his mid-forties. While initially prone to focusing suspicion on William, he demonstrates a willingness to consider Gully’s perspectives and new evidence. He is a more direct interrogator, and his interactions with suspects are often confrontational.

Marion Cooke: A nurse at the local hospital and a neighbor of the Woolers and Blanchards. Marion initially presents as a concerned citizen and the anonymous witness claiming to see Avery with Ryan. She is later revealed to be Avery’s captor, driven by a deep-seated obsession with William Wooler and jealousy of Nora Blanchard. Her character embodies themes of unrequited love, obsession, and the dark side of human emotion.

Alice Seton: A neighbor and mother to Jenna and Derek. She expresses concerns about Adam Winter and later defends her own son, Derek, when he comes under suspicion. Her character represents the anxious parent in the community, grappling with the unthinkable happening close to home.

Jenna Seton: Avery’s only friend, who lives across the street. Her innocent revelation about Avery having an “older boyfriend” provides a crucial, albeit misleading, lead for the police.

Derek Seton: Jenna’s older brother. Michael reveals he saw Derek with Avery in the treehouse, leading to his questioning by the police. He denies any inappropriate behavior.

Adam Winter: A teenage neighbor with autism, who owns a drone. He is briefly suspected due to his “weird” nature and a perceived crush from Avery. His drone footage is reviewed by the police but yields no immediate evidence.

Oliver Fuller: Ryan Blanchard’s criminal attorney. He skillfully defends Ryan, highlighting the lack of concrete evidence and the anonymous nature of the tip.

Everyone Here is Lying Summary & Plot Summary & Analysis

Non-Spoiler Plot Summary

“Everyone Here Is Lying” plunges readers into a suburban nightmare when nine-year-old Avery Wooler goes missing from her seemingly perfect home in Stanhope, New York. The story begins with William Wooler, a respected doctor and Avery’s father, discreetly ending an affair with Nora Blanchard, a neighbor. Returning home unexpectedly in the afternoon, William finds Avery there, having been sent home early from choir practice for misbehaving. Upset from his breakup, William loses his temper and strikes his daughter, a moment he immediately regrets and tries to conceal.

Avery’s disappearance soon after this encounter throws the entire community into a frantic search and places intense scrutiny on the Wooler family. Detectives Bledsoe and Gully are assigned to the case, and their investigation quickly uncovers a web of secrets and lies within not just the Wooler household but also the lives of those connected to them.

The initial focus falls on William, whose inconsistent statements and a crucial piece of physical evidence — Avery’s jean jacket found hung on a hook too high for her to reach — raise immediate suspicion. As the search for Avery intensifies, the narrative delves into the complexities of marital discord, hidden infidelities, and past traumas that plague multiple characters, suggesting that the truth about Avery’s disappearance is far more tangled than it initially appears. The central question becomes not just “Where is Avery?” but also “Who is telling the truth?” in a town where nearly everyone seems to be harboring a secret.

The Initial Deception

The story opens on a Tuesday afternoon with William Wooler, a doctor, bringing his affair with Nora Blanchard to an abrupt end. Nora initiates the breakup, citing her family and children as reasons, leaving William feeling blindsided and distraught. He drives home, his mind preoccupied, expecting his house to be empty. Instead, he finds his nine-year-old daughter, Avery, in the kitchen, eating cookies. Avery explains she was sent home early from choir practice for being disruptive.

William, already in a foul mood, lashes out, calling her “difficult” and expressing annoyance. When Avery responds sarcastically and defiantly, a “blind rage” overtakes William, and he strikes her across the side of the head, harder than intended, knocking her to the floor. He is immediately horrified and apologetic, pleading with a dazed Avery not to tell her mother, Erin, or admit that she came home alone. This act of violence, coupled with William’s subsequent lies, forms the devastating catalyst for the entire plot. He leaves the house again, hoping to avoid further confrontation.

Simultaneously, Nora returns home, consumed by guilt and the relief of ending the risky affair. She believes her decision was necessary to protect both her family and William’s from the inevitable fallout of discovery. Meanwhile, Michael, William and Erin’s twelve-year-old son, arrives at school to pick up Avery, only to learn she was sent home early. He becomes worried when he finds the house empty and calls his mother, Erin, who is still at work. Erin rushes home, filled with the usual parental frustrations over Avery’s challenging behavior.

The Investigation Begins

Upon Erin’s arrival home, police are called, and the search for Avery begins. William returns home to find officers already there, feigning shock and concern. He attempts to control the narrative, suggesting Avery might have run away due to anger over her punishment. Erin, transparently, informs the police about Avery’s complex nature, including her learning disability, ADHD, impulsiveness, and defiance. William worries this honesty will make them look suspicious.

The first major break in the case, and a significant turning point, occurs when Detective Gully, observing Avery’s jean jacket hung on a high coat hook, realizes a child of Avery’s height couldn’t have reached it. This confirms that someone else was in the house with Avery after school. Under questioning, Michael reluctantly admits that Avery knew about a hidden key under the front doormat and had used it before to get into the house alone.

This revelation directly contradicts William’s initial statements and fills him with a paralyzing fear, as he was indeed home, saw Avery, and hung up the jacket himself. His internal monologue reveals his panic about being seen and his cowardice in not confessing immediately. The police take William’s car for forensic examination.

A Web of Suspicions and Secrets

As the search for Avery continues in the woods and surrounding areas, the focus of suspicion shifts, driven by the discovery of William’s lies and the anonymous tip. Nora is wracked with guilt, seeing Avery’s disappearance as a punishment for her affair. Unbeknownst to Nora, her husband, Al, has long suspected her infidelity and has been covertly observing her every Tuesday afternoon at the motel where she met William. His quiet resentment and vengeful thoughts add another layer of dark complexity to the already strained family dynamics.

William and Erin are brought in for questioning. William adheres to his lie, claiming he was out driving to clear his head, with no witnesses to verify his alibi. Erin is horrified by William’s lack of an alibi and his evasiveness. Michael, questioned separately, is pressured to admit that his father occasionally “slapped” Avery “to calm her down,” a detail that incriminates William further and fuels the detectives’ suspicions. Gully notes William’s lack of an alibi and history of temper, making him a primary person of interest.

The Anonymous Witness and False Leads

A significant development occurs when an anonymous caller contacts the tip line, claiming to have seen Avery getting into Ryan Blanchard’s car (Nora and Al’s son) around 4:30 PM on the day she disappeared. This tip immediately shifts police attention towards Ryan. Ryan, who has a prior drug offense and community service requirement, is brought in for questioning. Despite his attorney’s advice to remain silent, the police highlight the credibility of the witness.

Erin, distraught, learns about William’s discovered burner phone, confirming his affair, and is further devastated to hear about the tip implicating Ryan. In a fit of rage, she confronts Nora Blanchard, physically assaulting Ryan in the process. This public outburst, witnessed by reporters, confirms to Erin that Nora is William’s lover. Meanwhile, William, now a pariah, isolates himself in a hotel, grappling with his ruined reputation and the unfolding nightmare.

Detectives also pursue other leads, including a tip from Jenna Seton about Avery’s claim of an “older boyfriend” who did “grown-up things”. This leads Gully to question Derek Seton, Jenna’s brother, and Adam Winter, a neighbor with autism who owns a drone. Derek admits to being with Avery in the treehouse, but denies any impropriety, claiming Michael found them and the ladder was down. Adam’s drone footage is reviewed but doesn’t provide any direct evidence.

The Truth Comes to Light

The police intensify their focus on the Blanchards. Marion Cooke, a nurse and neighbor, is revealed as the anonymous witness who identified Ryan’s car. She initially denies it, citing fear of an abusive ex-husband. However, her story about the ex-husband is later revealed to be a lie, as she had fabricated accusations against him in the past to destroy his life.

Ryan Blanchard is formally arrested based on Marion’s testimony, much to Nora’s despair. During questioning, Nora’s hidden burner phone is discovered, confirming her affair with William. Al, Nora’s husband, then confesses that he had known about the affair for months, silently observing Nora and William at the motel every Tuesday out of a mix of anger, shame, and a desire for passive revenge. This provides him with a strong, albeit dark, motive if he were to be a suspect.

The ultimate twist in the plot reveals that Avery was never abducted by Ryan, or any other man, but was instead hiding in Marion Cooke’s basement. Marion had invited Avery in after Avery, upset and defiant after being hit by William, ran away and sought refuge. Marion, obsessed with William and consumed by jealousy of Nora, saw an opportunity to “make them pay”.

She fabricated the story about Ryan Blanchard, intending to frame him, destroy Nora’s life, and, by extension, William’s. Avery, initially complicit in the plan to make her father suffer, soon realizes Marion’s malevolent intentions, especially after overhearing Marion admit to lying about Ryan and realizing Marion had no intention of ever letting her go.

A harrowing confrontation ensues when Marion attempts to drug Avery, planning to kill her. Avery, having anticipated Marion’s deception and realizing she was locked in, pushes Marion down the basement stairs, causing Marion’s death. Avery then stages the scene, claiming she was held captive, drugged, and acted in self-defense.

Aftermath and Unsettling Revelations

Avery is found by Detective Gully, rescued, and taken to the hospital. She is physically unharmed, but the long-term psychological impact is clear. Her dramatic story, blaming Marion’s obsession with William and jealousy of Nora as the motive for her “kidnapping,” is widely accepted. The medical examiner’s report on Marion’s death is “undetermined,” leaving a subtle hint of doubt about the exact circumstances of her fall.

William and Erin’s marriage is shattered by the revelations of his affair and his violent act towards Avery. William is relieved to no longer be a suspect but is horrified by Marion’s malevolence. Erin, however, is deeply scarred by the events, blaming William for all the misery and trauma inflicted upon their family. She also begins to suspect Avery’s manipulative nature, especially after Avery expresses a desire for fame and money from her story and admits to Michael that she lied about the older boyfriend. William, too, expresses his fear and unease about Avery’s true character to Erin, though Erin largely dismisses his concerns.

The novel concludes with Avery preparing for a televised interview, confidently rehearsing her fabricated story, demonstrating her manipulative prowess. A critical moment occurs during the interview when Avery, in her self-assured narration, makes a slip, admitting she and Marion “watched the news together every night” while she was supposedly captive, and then almost reveals Marion “double-crossed” her.

The interviewer, Casey Wong, catches these inconsistencies, hinting that Avery’s carefully constructed narrative might still unravel, leaving the reader with a chilling sense of unease about the young girl’s true nature and the future implications of her actions.

Everyone Here is Lying Themes & Analysis