Review: Depth of Lies by E.C. Diskin

Depth of Lies by E.C. Diskin
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: September 26th 2017
My rating: 4 Stars
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“A brilliant examination of the shadows lurking in every relationship and what happens when you step into the darkness.” —Mindy Mejia, author of Everything You Want Me to Be

When Shea Walker, a sunny, easygoing mom, is found dead in a bathtub with a stomach full of booze and pills, the shocking discovery shatters the complacency of her comfortable suburban community.

Kat Burrows, Shea’s longtime friend and former neighbor, is hit hardest. How could a woman she thought she knew so well come to such a sordid end? What could lead happy, well-adjusted, responsible Shea to accidentally overdose on alcohol and narcotics? Or, worse, drive her to suicide?

Compelled to uncover the truth of Shea’s final months, Kat delves beneath the orderly surface of her familiar world to discover a web of thwarted desire, shameful secrets, and shocking betrayal that suggests a scarier explanation for what happened to Shea. As her carefully constructed reality begins to crumble, Kat must question every reassuring assumption her life is built upon to solve the mystery…and summon the courage and resourcefulness to survive it.

My Thoughts:

Kat has come back to Maple Park to attend her best friend, Shea’s funeral. She’s shocked and broken hearted over her friend’s death, which from initial impressions sounds a little like suicide.  Kat can’t believe her friend would take her own life and is frightened that she perhaps missed the signs if Shea did.  As she learns more of Shea’s last days, Kat’s determined to get to the bottom of what happened, and is stunned by some of the secrets she uncovers in the process. It makes her question how well did she even really know Shea or her friends of Maple Park? 

I was sucked into this mystery. The surprising twists made me wonder with every chapter ‘what happened here?’  I really liked Kat even though I don’t know if I could’ve been as bold as she was in her mission to get the truth.  She didn’t let uncomfortable situations stop her from asking difficult and embarrassing questions.  I was disturbed by several selfish characters, Shea’s husband Ryan was one of them, although I can’t say that things were completely black and white with him.  Much like real life, no one is all bad or all good, and the characters in Depth of Lies underscored that basic fact of life.

Kat is going through her own issues with her marriage, stemming from a move and job changes.  I appreciated the more she found out about her friend’s actual lives, the more Kat appreciated her husband and the comparatively minor problems they had. 

I will say I felt a little melancholy finishing the story, because I grew to like Shea (we get chapters from her perspective), faults and all.  Even though I knew she ends up dead, I still wished a happy ending for her.  In the beginning Shea’s death was a tragedy for sure, but I didn’t feel the sadness and anger at the loss until I got to know her.

Depth of Lies is the kind of story best read in one sitting.  I was anxious to get answers in the mystery of Shea’s death once I dived in, and resented every time I had to set the book aside because of real life.  I finally put it away until I had a chunk of time to read straight through.  I’m definitely looking forward to E.C. Diskin’s next tale!

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