I received an ARC of All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay in exchange for my honest review.
Wow! This book was riveting, I simply could not put it down. The characters were well developed and I felt like I was right there with them. The ending was one that I didn't see coming and it blew me away. I literally read the last chapter twice to experience it again. This is absolutely a must read!
Miranda Larkin is ten years old and lives with her mother Jane, father, Dan and two brothers, Alex and Jeff. One day Miranda comes home from school and the house is empty, her moms purse is there, and nothing is out of place so everyone thinks she is just somewhere in the neighborhood. When Jane doesn't come home, an investigation starts. Many think her husband, a criminal defense attorney, had something to do with her disappearance, but no evidence is ever found that would implicate him. After time, the case goes cold and life goes on. Then, two decades later, Jane's remains are discovered and the case is reopened. The Larkin children are adults now and they must decide if they will stand with their father or against him. What if they choose wrongly? The family will discover things about each other, secrets, hopes and dreams, truths and lies told. What really happened to Jane Larkin?

I am torn on how I should rate this book. I loved Defending Jacob. And have waited a long time for another book by this author. I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy and started it right away. Thank you to NetGalley!

The chapters were so long - it was hard to find a breaking point. It was such a sad story about a family in turmoil. However, I was intrigued and wanted answers!
I did end up liking this book ( and the ending!!), but just not as much as the first one.
Thank you again for the advanced copy!

WOWZA
What a book! Just when you think you had it figured out, another twist in the story! Kept me up late finishing it and what a ride!

William Landay’s long-awaited novel is a roller coaster of a book. In 1975 housewife and mother of three Jane Larkin disappears. Foul play is suspected with Jane’s husband Dan Larkin, a criminal defense attorney, the only suspect. Jane is not found and the case stalls.

The book explores the ongoing legal developments and the effect of Jane’s disappearance on her family members, especially her three children. The eldest, Alex, seems relatively unaffected, but the younger two struggle with their mother’s loss and their suspicion that their father was involved.

I read this book in one sitting. There are four parts, each told from a different point of view. The voices are distinct and moving. The book spans the time from Jane’s disappearance to the present day. It is difficult to give a detailed review without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say, there are several surprises during the book, none of which I anticipated..

My only dislike was the abrupt ending of the book. I kept trying to turn the pages, not able to believe the book had ended.. Still, if you read carefully, all the questions regarding Jane’s disappearance were answered except one (you’ll have to read it to find out!) This novel should spur significant reader discussion and debate.

Thank you to Bantam Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this title.

Eek!!!! So excited to read this one. I loved the author’s other book Defending Jacob (the book NOT the tv show). I sat down to read this and finished it the same day. Such an engrossing read!

All That Is Mine I Carry with Me is a family drama set against a legal thriller backdrop. When Jane Larkin vanishes, her children grow up with the constant drive to discover the truth.

This is an absorbing, character driven mystery that delves not only into the crime committed, but the effects of the crime on the family and friends of the victim. The book is narrated by various characters, including the mother. As the story unfolds over decades, I realized that the victim of the crime was not the only victim. All of those close to the victim were also victims, and the book vividly describes how the lives of each of them was altered by one devastating act of violence. It is a page turning, thought provoking psychological thriller that kept me guessing throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

Oh man, oh man, oh man, OH MAN!!! I was screaming from the hilltops when I received this ARC, as I have waited 10 years for something else from William Landay after first reading Defending Jacob. While not quite as riveting, that one was hard to beat, it is a quite worthy 5-star read. The story begins a bit slow but picks up quickly like a snowball rolling down a hill. Bigger and bigger and faster and faster then BAM!!! Smacked in the face with a very fitting ending. The story is told in 4 books, each a different POV and that took a little getting used to but once I got into the story and theories were swirling around in my mind, I liked that too. This is not a feel-good story. There are so many victims here other than the obvious and there is no joy. I feel like I'm not really selling this one here, but I am just trying to avoid any spoilers. Definitely do not miss this one! And I do hope we do not wait 10 more years for another one!

Thank you to #NetGalley, William Landay and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Oh my gosh, this book was amazing and I enjoyed every single second of it! Highly, highly recommend!

I was excited to get the ARC of this book since I had read and very much liked Defending Jacob. Unfortunately, this book does not compare. It is divided into parts or "books." The first one seemed drawn out and it took me a bit to get through. The second one, I enjoyed more. The third one was only ok. And the fourth one seemed like it came out of nowhere. I believe there was a twist at the end, but it just didn't hit me in that surprising or thrilling way that it should have. Hate to say it, but I was disappointed with this one.

When Jane Larkin goes missing, her three children have differing opinions on the guilt of their father. Years later, when her remains are found, they are still torn. Did their father kill her? Can they live with that? Should they be loyal to him? Told from different viewpoints, All that is mine I carry with me examines family bonds and when they are breakable.

This was a frustrating read for me. There seemed to be separate stories going on rather than the the mystery of what happened to Jane.the pacing of the book is off...almost as if book 1 and 3 and 2 should all be swapped. This was my first book from the author...and I already see I am in the minority with my low rating.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Not as good as I was expecting. I wanted more… of every part of the timeline. Especially the after.

Thanks to William Landay, Random House - Ballantine, and Net Galley for providing me with an advance review copy of this novel.

This is an absorbing, layered, emotional mystery, that is much more of a family drama/character study than a thriller. The slow-burn pace may be off-putting for some, but I was thrilled to read a smart, complicated story, in sharp contrast to the formulaic thrillers that currently flood the genre. I had trouble putting this novel down and rushed through to the end, though I had guessed at the ending early on and so I found it satisfying but not “shocking.”.

My only real quibble with the book was the structure of the varying narratives — this was an odd choice that left so many things hanging with each of the different main characters. Each narrative was interesting and engaging in its own way, but then it was very frustrating when it was completely abandoned for the next point of view.

Still, this was an excellent read overall and I highly recommend it.

Book covering the disappearance of a young mother. It starts off like a non-fiction book with the author describing his difficulty in finding a new topic to write about after the success of his last book. His friend asks him to write about her mother who disappeared nearly 20 years ago. Part 2 is the same story from the POV of the friend. Part 3 is her brother's POV. Part 4 is the missing woman's husband. The big question throughout the different parts is whether she was murdered by her husband or not. Long chapters but it kept you going.

*Many thanks to William Landay, netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine- Bantam for my eARC for an honest review. Publication date 3/7/23*

Miranda Larkin comes home one day to find her mom Jane Larkin not home when she usually would be. The night goes on and into the next morning and still no Jane. Jane never comes home, no clues, no break in, no note, nothing, Jane just completely disappeared. As the investigation runs cold they suspect the husband Dan Larkin but they have no proof. As the years go on the Larkin kids are divided in believing if Dan is innocent or not. If Dan did not kill Jane then who did?

This is a slow burn and very character driven book they takes us deep into the lives of the Larkin family. This story is split into books told from the perspective of the family members. Landay did an incredible job of sucking you right into the Larkin family lives and into exactly how they were feeling. I could not put this book down and I 100% recommend this book!

This is my opinion only but in the Book Description the second to last section that says "Two decades later, the remains of Jane Larkin are found" I feel like that is a spoiler. The first 2 books in this novel you do not know if Jane is alive or dead and I am glad I did not read the book description till after I read the book.

I'm just going to stand here and applaud for bit, while I let this story sink in. It is told in several segments by different narrators, but some is fact and some is fiction, and it takes a while to figure out what is what. And when it all comes together? Well, that's where the need to stand and applaud comes in. What a horrific event this family went through and how it tore them all apart as they had to choose sides and learn to live with the uncertainty of a mother who has gone missing, doubt about who was responsible, and no answers in sight. So clever! And the story telling was immaculately done.

While not a traditional mystery, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me had me hooked. This is the best ARC that I have read in years. I liked the way the author told the story from the perspective of several different characters and at different times. I would have liked to hear a bit more about the crime from one particular character, but I can't share who without giving anything away. Landay does a great job creating his cast of characters and at one point I even felt sorry for one who did not deserve it!

I really enjoyed William Landay's Defending Jacob, but this one was just okay. The author made some odd narrative choices that threw me off repeatedly and kept me from enjoying the book as much as I might have.

For example, Book 1 is narrated by a family friend who is a writer -- a guy named Phil Solomon. Because Phil is hearing the story years after the fact, there's a lot of telling rather than showing -- not a good way to spin a murder mystery yarn. We reach the end of Book 1 and we never hear from Phil again -- he and his book pretty much disappear, which is super weird. Book 2 picks up with narration by the murder victim, which is odd in and of itself, but odder still because every time I picked the book up, I forgot that we weren't still in Phil's voice. I'd get two or three paragraphs in and the narrator would say something like "the detective was very close to finding out why I died," and I'd have to go back and reread, reminding myself that the story was now being told by Jane, not Phil. Very off-putting.

We finally get to narration by Jeff, the son of the murder victim, and it's clear that he should have been the voice all along. But hearing him finally tell the story is too good to be true -- we very shortly move to the voice of his father, who has Alzheimer's, and may or may not have committed a murder. He doesn't remember.

AAUUUGGHHH!

Sometimes books flip perspectives and there's a reason for it. In this book, I never could see what that reason might be, except that the author was trying to do something unexpected. Weird narrative choices for no reason are just annoying.

I kept reading because I wanted to find out who did it. But we're never told definitively -- we're left to draw our own conclusions. There's a court case that provides no answers and creates a lot of courtroom drama for nothing. There's a confession from some guy we've never heard of that the cops seem to accept at face value even though there's a hole in the guy's story big enough to drive a truck through. There's a mysterious clue toward the end that I think was maybe supposed to lead us to a definite "a-ha" moment. But not much was made of this clue earlier in the book, so I'm really not sure what we're supposed to surmise.

I read this book because I thought it was a murder mystery. What it's really about is a family in turmoil in the aftermath of a tragedy. Unfortunately I didn't care enough about any of them to care about their turmoil. I just wanted to see how the mystery turned out, and I didn't get that.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a sneak peek at this book.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me is a nearly flawless work. With stellar writing, a sensational (and sensationalized!) "ripped from the headlines" plot, and (un) sympathetic but very flawed characters, William Landay will be back on top of the best seller list. All That is Mine feels like a podcast, "Dateline" segment, and true crime magazine rolled into one. It also has a multi-POV narrative and a clever "story within a story" format that holds your attention from beginning to end. All That is Mine has two minor flaws, the heavy handed title the first. While the disappearance of Jane Larkin is a somber topic, All That is Mine I Carry With Me seems better suited to a sweeping historical drama. The second "flaw" is the ending. If you like them neatly tied up with a pretty bow you may be disappointed. But this is the author of Defending Jacob, so a frustratingly ambiguous ending is a given. Don't let either of these two small details stop you from reading what is surely to be one of the most talked about books of 2023.

3.5 stars. The slow burn of a story was good. The characters didn't really come alive for me as much as I had hoped. I do think the storyline is a good one and would make a great movie.