IF THE WITNESS LIED
Caroline B. Cooney
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Thriller
ISBN: 9780385734486
224 pages

The Fountain family may as well be associated with any other family scrutinized under the public eye because of reality shows or docudramas. The Fountains first made national headlines and news broadcasts over the decision of Laura Fountain to forgo chemotherapy and give birth to baby Tris. The public couldn’t understand why Laura refused to have an abortion and save herself. Then, not even three years after Laura’s death, young Tris strikes again. As Reed Fountain scrambles underneath his Jeep to grab something, Tris climbs out of his car seat and releases the break causing the Jeep to roll over Reed. The media has another field day over this young killer of both his parents.

The rest of the Fountain family --- sisters Madison and Smithy, and older brother Jack --- are left to pick up the pieces of this once happy family. Madison and Smithy flee to godparents and boarding school, respectively, while Jack stays home with live-in guardian Aunt Cheryl to take care of Tris. Jack has never blamed Tris for his parents’ deaths and has refused to give up loving his baby brother because of senseless tragedies. Cheryl is a less than desirable guardian and spends much of her waking hours in front of the television, obsessed.

When the anniversary of Reed’s death approaches, Cheryl hatches a plan to capitalize on the public interest in the Fountain family. She makes a deal with a television producer to film the family and invade their personal lives once again. Now she just has to get the whole family home again and capture their awkward confrontations on camera. Jack eavesdrops on the plan and immediately heads to daycare to rescue Tris. Madison, who was planning on coming home anyway, walks out the door as soon as she sees the cameras. Smithy, picked up by the producer at the train station from boarding school, is just as clueless as to why the rest of her family would agree to this mess.

Only when the four Fountain kids are reunited do they start to piece together the mystery surrounding their father’s death --- and their lives. Is it possible that two-year-old Tris was even strong enough to release a parking break in the first place? Could the only witness of the accident, Cheryl, have lied about the whole incident? And can the Fountain siblings forgive each other after being consciously cut off the past few years? 

Caroline B. Cooney is a prolific author of thrillers, each compelling as the next. IF THE WITNESS LIED is a realistic look at how families are often torn apart after tragedy and the amount of work it takes to begin the healing process. What makes Cooney so good is her relevance to what is happening in society. For example, Aunt Cheryl is by no means the worst villain in history, but she does effectively embody the public’s obsession with television and what people will do sometimes to be on camera. If you’ve enjoyed any of Cooney’s other well-written books, then you’ll certainly want to pick up this one.

   --- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche (bennyboche@hotmail.com)

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