Lies the Dirt Keeps

by Heidi Christopher

She came home searching for her sister. What she uncovered could destroy them all.

Johnna LaGrange photographs death for a living. But when she gets the call that her younger sister Ori has vanished from their hometown of Sweetwater, North Carolina, the decay she's drawn to becomes chillingly personal.

Returning to a town that never forgave her for surviving, Johnna finds her family in tatters—her mother drowning in vodka, her brother partying like nothing's wrong. Only Shannon, her ex turned detective, is willing to help. But as they dig into Ori's disappearance, buried memories start to surface—of the stepfather Johnna killed in self-defence, and the darkness that's lingered in the farmhouse ever since.

When people start dying, and Johnna wakes up with dirt on her hands and blood in her mouth, she begins to question everything—including her own mind.

But the truth is far worse than she ever imagined.

A haunting, explosive thriller about guilt, memory, and the lies we tell to survive— Lies The Dirt Keeps is perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, KL Slater, and Shalini Boland.

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2025

Reviews

[Angie Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

This book completely pulled me in from the very beginning. The writing is haunting, emotional, and so vividly descriptive that I could picture every detail. The author captures that eerie, small-town atmosphere perfectly. The setting feels almost alive, like it’s keeping the town’s secrets buried just beneath the surface.

The story follows Johanna as she returns home after her sister’s disappearance, and from the start there’s this constant feeling that something isn’t quite right. The tension builds slowly, but it never lets up. The author did an amazing job balancing mystery with emotion.

The psychological aspect of this story is what really stood out to me. It’s written in a way that makes you question everything you’re reading. I found myself flipping back through pages thinking I might’ve missed something, and even after finishing, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It plays with perception and memory so well that at times I wasn’t sure what was real, but that’s what made it so addictive.

The timeline really threw me off at the end. For most of the story, it feels like everything is happening in the present, but as the truth unfolds, I realized time isn’t as straightforward as it seems. The way the author blurs past and present is so well done, it’s like I was seeing everything through Johanna’s fragmented memories without realizing it. It’s disorienting in the best way and fits the psychological tone perfectly. For a debut, this book blew me away. My mind is still trying to catch up and put all the pieces together, but to me that’s exactly what makes a great psychological thriller.

Thank you to rrbooktours and the author for an advanced copy. These thoughts are my own and my review is voluntary.

[Margie Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lies The Dirt Keeps is the debut novel by author Heidi Christopher and what a great debut it is! It’s a psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages. There are so many twists to this story that you don’t see coming and because of them you have a hard time setting the book down. It’s a story where you’re never really sure who you can trust and maybe you can’t even trust yourself. It centers around the members of a dysfunctional family and its small town residents and covers topics such as drinking, smoking, drug use, murder and so many lies. It was a phenomenal read and I enjoyed it immensely. I really believe this new author has a bright future ahead of her if she can continue to write books like this. I see others have only given it a 4 star review which puzzles me because I feel it’s really deserving of my 5 star rating. I loved it and was really surprised with how it all ended. Great job Heidi and I look forward to reading more by her in the future.

[Mary Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this as Johnna sets out to find her missing sister. Her return to her hometown is not exactly welcome. The discovery of the body of her sister's best friend complicates things.

I was never really sure what was going on. Johnna keeps seeing things and gets herself into dangerous situations. There's several twists and just as I was trying to get my head around one of these towards the end, the final one was a real wow! moment. Definitely never saw that coming. What a way to end.

[Laurie Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this was a decent story, it was full of surprises. But there was something about the story that did not agree with my taste in literature.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnna has distanced herself from her dysfunctional family and less-than-ideal childhood.
When her sister, Ori, goes missing and and Ori's best friend ends up dead, Johnna goes back to the town she grew up in to look for answers. Back in town, she faces resistance as far as she goes with her search. When more people turn up dead and her memory stars blurring the lines between dream and reality, it becames harder for her to know who to trust.
Lies the Dirt Keeps is a dark, depressing mystery with some shocking twists and a bunch of truly unlikeable characters all dealing with their own demons. Just like the plot, the town itself is sinister and suffocating; doing its best to thwart Johnna at every turn.
It's the perfect read if you are looking for something moody and mysterious.

[Steve Alink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did like the twists, even up to the last pages. It started, for me, a bit cumbersome as if the author was looking for how to tell the story and once that was there (I think at about 1/4 of the book), the author got the hang of it and me to. I can’t remember the pace slowed down. Well written in the middle. Overall the environment, as described in the book, is not revealed a lot. That is ok. The tension was good enough, the included chasing are ok and build ups believable. Filmisch is the speed with the recovering of any injuries that the main character got whilst the story continues, but hey, this is a book. A bit of magic (no it is not a fantasy book) and leaving out true live is no problem.

[Alison Cairns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johanna LaGrange returns to the small town of her childhood when her sister goes missing. She hasn’t been back since she left for work some years previously. An unhappy and abused childhood doesn’t lend itself to good memories. Not trusting the police, and her childhood sweetheart to investigate she delves into things herself. Her sister Ori’s friend is found dead and this leads Johanna to doubt everyone - including her cop ex, his dodgy brother and her brother Michael. Her mum is an addict with real health problems who turned a blind eye to the abuse Johanna suffered as a child. Strange family dynamics, many secrets and an outcome I didn’t expect. #bloodhoundbooks #liesthedirtkeeps

[Bowl of Soup · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark and screwed up book perfect for people who like to be tortured by the narrative, feel like they're covered in dirt, and trapped in a small town with too many troubles. Christopher has a unique narrative voice and eye for detail as her main character runs through her depressing hometown looking for clues for her missing sister. While Johnna LaGrange is trying to peice together clues for her sister's disappearance, you're trying to see through all the dirt she's in just trying to focus on solving the mystery and you can't. Perfect ending.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was intense and heavy. The main character, Johnna LaGrange is returning home because her younger sister is missing. She tries to figure out what has happened to her, but things are getting more and more confusing. There are sketchy male characters, weird swampy visions, and years of family trauma.
I found the first half of the book a bit slow going, but things really picked up for me in the second half.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immersive plot that draws you in from the beginning though it does do it slowly so temptation might be to stop reading but keep on because it gets great and dramatic and thrilling. I reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.

[Beaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. It kept me intrigued, and I couldn't put the book down. It has plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing throughout. Thanks to bloodhound books for this ARC.

[Fizzie Heseltine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This interesting with lots of twists and turns. At times it was difficult to keep up with them, but not enough to stop reading. While the characters didn’t resinate this was a good read

[Chazzie Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about the southern gothic tale. Twisty and atmospheric, I hope she puts out another book soon!!

[Anita Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant debut! Hope there will be more to follow.
This was a ‘wow!’ Read. Great characters great storyline with loads of action. This was fast paced & kept me wanting to read on. Brilliant ending. Loved this!