Spoiler Discussion for Everyone Here is Lying

Have you read Everyone Here is Lying by Shari LaPena and need a character list or a plot summary? Want the ending explained? Need to talk about that reveal? You’re in the right place: my Spoiler Discussion for Everyone Here is Lying by Shari LaPena

Table of Contents: Spoiler Discussion for Everyone Here is Lying

Character List for Everyone Here is Lying

Plot Summary for Everyone Here is Lying

What Was the Ending of Everyone Here is Lying: What Happened to Avery?

My Questions About Everyone Here is Lying

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Character List for Everyone Here is Lying

Stanhope Neighbors

William Wooler: a doctor in Stanhope, a suburb of New York City

Erin Wooler: William’s wife, a legal secretary

Michael Wooler: the Woolers’ twelve year old son 

Avery Wooler: the Woolers’ nine year old daughter.

Nora Blanchard: hospital volunteer having an affair with William

Ed Blanchard: Nora’s husband

Faith Blanchard: Nora and Ed’s daughter

Ryan Blanchard: eighteen 

Jenna Seton: friend of Avery

Derek Seton: Jenna’s teenage brother

Alice Seton: Jenna and Derek’s mother

Peter Seton: husband of Alice, father of Derek and Jenna

Marion Cooke: neighbor on Connaught Street

Adam Winter: neighbor and a teen with autism

Gwen Winter: single mother of Adam

Police

Detective Bledsoe: assigned to Avery’s case

Detective Gull: partner of Bledsoe

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Plot Summary for Everyone Here is Lying

The book takes place over four days on Connaught Street in Stanhope, a suburb of New York City.

If you do not want spoilers, here is my Review of Everyone Here is Lying.

DAY ONE (TUESDAY)

William Wooler is having an affair with his neighbor Nora Blanchard. At their weekly meeting at a local motel, she tells him she needs to end things.

Upset, William drives home. He’s surprised to find his nine year-old daughter Avery, who tells him she got sent home from choir practice. She refuses to tell him why and he hits her. He apologizes and asks her not to tell her mother.  

When Michael, Avery’s brother, goes to pick her up from choir practice, she’s not there. He calls his mother, and when she can’t locate Avery, she calls William and the police.

William does not mention that Avery was home or that he hit her. Erin tells the police that Avery is impulsive and defiant. 

When Detective Gull notices a small jean jacket hanging by the door, Erin and William try to remember if Avery was wearing the jacket that day. Michael says she was, and also tells the detectives that Avery knew there was a key under the doormat.

Gull points out that the denim jacket was on a high hook that Avery couldn’t have reached. She believes that Avery did make it home that day.

William contemplates telling the police the truth. He’s worried they will find his burner phone he uses to call Nora.

DAY TWO (WEDNESDAY)

The police ask William where he was that afternoon and he says he went for a drive. Michael admits that his father sometimes slapped Avery.

The police find William’s burner phone in his car. They also tell him that a witness saw his car enter the garage at four pm the day Avery vanished.

William admits to being home, to arguing with Avery, and to slapping her. But he says that when he left, she was fine.

Detective Gully talks to Avery’s friend Jenna, who says that Avery had an adult boyfriend.

An anonymous caller tells the police that she saw Avery get into Ryan Blanchard’s car at 4:30 the afternoon she vanished.

The police ask Ryan where he was that afternoon, and he says “out for a drive.” When they tell him what he witness saw, he asks for a lawyer.

Ryan swears he didn’t see Avery that day. He had a prior legal issue involving drugs that required him to do community service.

DAY THREE (THURSDAY)

Jenna’s mother tells the police they should talk to Adam Winter, a teenage neighbor of the Woolers. He’s autistic and has a drone.

Detective Gully asks Erin and Michael about Avery’s alleged boyfriend. Both of them say they know nothing. Michael says he’s only seen Jenna with one older boy: Jenna’s brother Derek.

William calls Erin and tells her that someone saw Avery get into Ryan’s car.

Gully goes to search the treehouse where Avery liked to hang out, but finds nothing. The anonymous witness who says she saw Avery get into Ryan’s car offers to come to the station, but then doesn’t show up. But the witness calls and provides a description of Avery that seems valid.

Erin leaves the house through a crowd of reporters. Gully watches Adam’s drone footage, which doesn’t focus on the Wooler’s house at the right time. She takes a copy anyway.

Erin shows up at Nora’s house and confronts Ryan, then attacks him. 

The police show up at the Blanchard’s with a search warrant.

Erin tells Gully that she knows about the witness. Gully asks her who told her, and she says William did. Then Erin asks Gully if she told William about the witness. She didn’t, which makes Erin realize that Nora must have told William, and that his affair was with Nora.

Nora, Al and Ryan Blanchard are all brought in for questioning. The police tell Nora that when searching her house they found her burner phone. (Why didn’t she get rid of it?)

The police ask Al where he was that afternoon and he admits that every Tuesday he goes to the Breezes motel and watches his wife meet William. He confirms that William left the motel at 3:45.

Gully goes to the Seton’s house and asks to talk to Derek. She asks him if he and Avery were ever in the treehouse, and when he says he doesn’t remember. Derek has no alibi for the afternoon Avery went missing.

Gully and Bledsoe discuss the anonymous witness could be and agree it has to be someone on Connaught Street. They decide that Gully, who spoke to the witness, will do door to door interview sand see if she can figure out who the anonymous witness it. 

DAY FOUR (FRIDAY)

Gully comes over the Setons to tell her they are trying to get a search warrant. Alice asks her to leave, but decides to search the house herself.

The school principal tells Gully that she knows of no complaints about Derek.

Marion Cooke, a nurse at the hospital, watches the police canvassing the street. One of the officers recognizes her voice as the anonymous witness and they ask her to come to the station.

Marion admits she saw Avery get into Ryan’s car. She wants to remain anonymous due to an abusive ex.

The police arrest Ryan, but still have no evidence besides the eyewitness.

Where is Avery?

We find out where Avery is: in Marion’s basement!!

Avery is mad about the way things are going and has lots of questions for Marion. What did the police ask Marion when she was questioned? Why isn’t her father being blamed?

How did Avery end up in Marion’s basement?

Marion is in love with William. But one day at the hospital, Marion realized William was making out in a supply closet with Nora. So she befriended Avery and one day, Avery showed up at her house with a welt on her face. She asked to stay with Marion so that her father would be blamed.

Marion plans to kill Avery.

Erin is confused by the arrest of Ryan. Alice is relieved that the police aren’t focusing on Derek. William still loves Nora. Nora is distraught about Ryan’s arrest and wonders if her husband took Avery.

Nora and Al argue about her affair. He hits her across the face and then storms away, furious.

Avery’s sulking. She’s going to leave Marion’s and claim that a man in a mask took her.

Erin decides to go around and talk to the neighbors. She talks to Alice. Then she and Gwen and they bond over having “difficult” children.

After that, she shows up at Marion’s house. Erin asks Marion if she was the one who saw Avery getting into Ryan’s car, and when Marion denies it, Erin says she’s lying. Marion asks her to leave. From the basement, Avery hears Marion admit that she was the anonymous witness.

Marion admits she lied and says she hates Nora and wanted to get back at her. Avery asks if Nora is sleeping with her father, and Marion says yes. Avery throws a lamp at Marion and tells her to recant her story.

Marion has no intention of recanting.

Avery realizes that Marion is in love with her father and jealous of Nora. She decides to leave and say that Marion kidnapped her, but she realized she is locked in the basement. 

Marion tells Avery she recanted her witness statement and Avery tells her not to lock the door. Marion realizes she will have to kill Avery. She’ll blame Ryan and then William will fall in love with her. She plans the murder.

DAY FIVE (SATURDAY): WHAT IS THE ENDING OF EVERYONE HERE IS LYING?

Marion puts sleeping pills in Avery’s breakfast milk.

Avery watches the news and sees that Ryan is still in custody. Marion lied. And the door is locked!

Marion unlocks the basement door to check on Avery, but Avery pushes her and she falls down the stairs and hits her head.

Avery opens the front door to escape and Detective Gully is there. Avery tells the police that Marion held her prisoner.

Ryan is released from jail.

Gully and Bledsoe interview Avery, who explains coming home and being hit by her father. She says she then went to Marion’s house, because they were friends. She said Marion gave her a snack and then she felt funny, and woke up in the basement.

Avery says that Marion saw Nora and William together and was jealous. She thought Marion was going to kill her and decided to surprise her when she came into the basement.

William tells Erin that he thinks Avery is manipulative and might be lying about what happened.

Avery is distressed that her mom wants her to ignore the press. She wants to be famous.

The coroner says that it looks like Marion died after hitting her head on the post of the staircase, but she can’t be sure. She’s calling the cause of death “undermined” rather than accidental. 

Erin agrees to let Avery do one interview and she’s ready for her moment.

Avery does the interview and says she was always aware that Marion couldn’t let her go. But the interviewer asks Avery why she waited four days to push Marion down the stairs. Avery starts to say that Marion double-crossed her, but catches herself. The interviewer says “why don’t you tell us what really happened.” 

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My Thoughts on Everyone Here is Lying

I have done a post on The Best Book by Shari Lapena. I agree with Goodreads that, while this book kept my interest, this is NOT her best book. In my review, I do point out the things I liked about the book: the number of suspects and the fact that the book did keep me guessing.

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But very early on, I suspected that Avery had done a “Gone Girl.”

Kids do run away from home. I have an old diary I wrote when I was ten where I threaten to do it. Plus, the book emphasizes over and over how difficult Avery is.

Did you think that crazy-in-love Marion was a credible character?

Everyone Here is Lying also reminded me of the old story The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry. It’s a story about a troublesome child who gets kidnapped and turns out to be more trouble than he’s worth.

There’s also an element of The Bad Seed, a 1955 book about a mother who realizes her young daughter is a murderer. There have been a few books recently that touched on the topic of evil children, including Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage or We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

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But I felt like these issues weren’t really explored or resolved. Was nine year-old Avery really capable of being that conniving? What is her actual issue? The book suggests ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, but did her upper middle class parents try to get her a diagnosis or any help?

There was also the issue of physical abuse (by Al and William) that went largely uncommented on.

Why didn’t William and Nora get rid of their burner phones? Each of them spends a HUGE amount of time worrying that they are going to get caught and the phones are going to be found, but they do nothing about it.

Why does this exclusive suburb have not one doorbell camera or security camera or anything?

How did you feel about the very abrupt ending?