A woman disappears and this book goes from past to present to work out what happened. This is a dark and thrilling read about Brooke (who disappeared), Brooke's daughter and Brooke's brother. There are so many thrills and such suspense surrounding the past and now the present.

I enjoyed this book as it kept me enthralled with twists and turns, its darkness and the family problems such as guilt, addiction and trauma which lends a depth to the story. I really enjoyed this deep and dark story and look forward to finding out more about this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Square Tire Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's been over two decades since 20-year-old Brooke Mulcahy disappeared. Her body never found, rumors about her fate have plagued her younger half-brother Bobby's life. He was only a kid at the time she went missing, living with Brooke's alcoholic father following their mother's death. Detested by Brooke, uncared for by her dad, and abused by her boyfriend, his childhood was a nightmare no kid deserved. It wouldn't have been a shock if he'd turned to alcohol and drugs to cope like those around him. But he didn't. Instead, he rose above it.

Now known as Robert with a wife and child of his own, he's a successful professor at Uniondale University and the winner of a coveted NEH grant. His life is pretty sweet. His wife is gorgeous. His son's thirteen and a great kid. He lives in a nice house in the suburbs and drives a Porsche. Although he goes to therapy to try to find closure from his childhood and Brooke's disappearance, he's lived his adult life as a stable, proud, and happy man. However, his life quickly starts to unravel when a young woman named Lily shows up at his office one afternoon claiming to be Brooke's daughter.

Suddenly, the past is literally at his doorstep, breaking into his house and mutilating his dog. His wife leaves him without warning and takes his son with her. A red car starts stalking his house. Robert has no choice but to go back to the night Brooke disappeared and figure out exactly what happened. However, nothing that he uncovers about that night is as horrific as the truth about their lives leading up to her disappearance -- or the unraveling of Robert's life in present-day.

Chilling, gritty, and twisty, "All Who Wander" by Joe Clifford is just what you expect from this author. It's brilliant. Unputdownable. And filled with a darkness that you can feel as if it were your own. Joe Clifford has a knack for creating characters that you don't just get to know. You get to "feel" them too. It's almost like you can hear them breathing and read their thoughts. There's a depth to them that you don't find with every author, even the mega popular and talented ones.

This is especially true with Robert's "character". He's a heavy character who I couldn't like, no matter how much was written into the story early-on that should have made me feel otherwise. Brooke was cruel to him when he was a kid, but she was troubled too and just wanted out of her unloved, unhappy life. She was written to be unliked, but I couldn't quite get there. Did Clifford want me to dislike her? Definitely -- if you judge by the words he wrote. However, you get gut feelings about Joe's characters like you would people in real life. Your gut feelings are very likely not to be the same as mine because in real life (again) we aren't always going to like the same people.

There's a lot going on in "All Who Wander". Although the book follows Robert as he searches for the truth about what happened to his half-sister Brooke, other characters and revelations about the past deliver a much more complex storyline. It's well-written and completely engrossing right up until the conclusion when he reveals Brooke's fate and what happened before she disappeared. It's a satisfactory final twist that you'll either have you shocked or saying "meh". It didn't knock my socks off, but it did lower them to my ankles. That's good enough for me. Not every ending has to be a jaw-dropper, especially when the book as a whole is as addicting and good as this one.

All Who Wander is told in a then-and-now narrative that follows the disappearance of Brooke, a troubled young adult with addiction issues and terrible taste in men who is presumed dead, and her half-brother, Robert, aka Bobby, who is the present-day main character. The university-level professor has come a long way from his traumatic childhood and has secured a major grant. He believes his is a happy marriage and is a good father, but what’s the truth of it? The arrival of a “niece,” the daughter of his missing half-sister, pulls the current-day success toward past failures. Why did Brooke leave that night, and what did Bobby know about it?

The story starts promisingly enough, if not a bit heavy-handed. The author does an excellent job keeping Robert’s voice that of an intelligent professor while writing Brooke’s chapters as far more casual, but the entire novel in both points of view is exposition-heavy for my taste and weighed down with backstory.

I assumed Brooke was alive from the outset because that's a popular "twist" on missing persons. I wanted to be concerned what happened to her, but she isn't a sympathetic character. Brooke calling Bobby “fecto” and the casual use of the word “retard,” while time-period appropriate, are cringe-worthy. It is hard to engage with someone mean regardless their background, and Brooke was all the reader was given to care about. Everyone else is flawed and unlikeable. Add animal cruelty, scenes of domestic violence, drug addiction, and incest, and this story just didn’t entertain me. I read as a form of escapism. All Who Wander took me to a terrible place with less effect than other similar stories with a stronger redemptive message that made enduring the hard stuff worth it.

This is the story of a mixed-up woman who disappears during one of the Northeast's wicked snow storms. It is told in two different timelines - 1998 and Present. This is a very dark and stunningly twisted story. There were a few times that I thought it was a little too dismal for my taste. But Joe Clifford's writing saved it for me.

Honestly I’m not sure what to classify this one? A mystery? Not quite a thriller.

Interesting read and well thought out plot however the ending didn’t settle any of the questions.

Who was lily? Why did Brooke lie? How would a blood test have solved anything is lily wasn’t the daughter? Why add on the wife leaving?

There was a lot going on which muddled the story and there were characters that really didn’t need to be in the story.

Over twenty years ago, Robert's sister, Brooke, disappeared after crashing her car never to be seen again. Now in present day, Robert is approached by a young woman claiming to be Brooke's daughter. This prompts Robert to investigate what happened to his sister.

I really liked the first 3/4 of this book but then the last 1/4 really lost me. There was a storyline that thankfully didn't actually happen but that the premise of it seemed unnecessary anyway. Trigger warning for potential incest on that front. I also feel like Robert's storyline doesn't really get resolved. He seems like is on the verge of a breakdown and then the epilogue pans to "Jill" aka Brooke. Also trigger warning for animal abuse.

I also think the synopsis should be changed from Robert and Aaron investigating together. Aaron is both a small and large part of the book, but in terms of page time, he is a more minor character and definitely does not team up with Robert. I also think this is more about uncovering reality and dealing with trauma more than it is an actual mystery or thriller.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Past- It’s 1998 in and it’s a snow storm, Brooke Mulcahny is determined to leave her hometown in the rearview mirror. She’s escaping a horrible relationship and that’s only part of the dangerous situation she has found herself in. As she’s driving and crossing the border from Massachusetts to rural Vermont, her car hits some icy roads her car crashes. From that night Brooke is never seen again, a man had stopped by and offered to help that fateful night but she declined and was last seen walking away from her car.
As we read we are taken into Brookes past how her mother left her and returned with a half brother named Bobby. When her mother dies of cancer Brooke feels lost, she doesn’t get along with Bobby, she looks for love in all the wrong places and she tries drugs, we soon discover what leaves Brooke to leave and then go missing.
PRESENT: Now, twenty-one years later, Bobby is grown up and is now called Robert, he’s an esteemed professor at a private Upstate New York University. He just received a grant. Married and with a teenage son Robert has always wondered what happened to Brooke. When a young woman named Lily appears, she claims to be Brooke's daughter. Roberts world soon becomes unraveled as he investigates further into who Lily is and he is determined to find out what happened to Brooke. This was such a dark atmospheric read. I was glued to the pages, the author does an incredible job creating characters who seem so real and who are flawed. I read this book in a day! Joe Clifford is a must read for me!

This is the first book I've read by Joe Clifford. I had never heard of this author but I will be looking at more of his books in the future. I went into it blind, just choosing by the mysterious snowy cover that sets the scene very well. This book is told dual timelines and POV to uncover what happened the night Brooke disappears. Brooke narrates the past and Robert the present. Through its many twists and turns I was pleasantly surprised to find a dark book with themes of family, guilt, addiction and trauma. Four stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This novel is the story of a cold case, of the disappearance of a troubled young woman.

Twenty years later her despised step-brother Bobby receives a call from a girl claiming to be his sister's daughter. She has a piece of jewellery to prove it. But her university accommodation phone number turns out to be fake. What could be going on?

Át first, it seems things are going fine for Bobby Kirby: despite a difficult early life he has a job, wants for nothing, has a loving wife, and a child. When cracks suddenly appear in this picture however, Bobby feels intensely motivated to get to the bottom of what really happened to his sister.

This story simultaneously follows the days leading up to the sister's, Brooke's, disappearance. From both sides of the story, a violent, dysfunctional demimonde of drugs, violence and deprivation open up - alongside a whiff of real evil literally hiding in the shadows for Bobby.

No one proves to be quite what they seem as the story progresses, and no one completely innocent either, with Bobby being confronted with realities even earlier interventions did not touch.

Sometimes the sheer baseness in the way way some of the characters in this book behave in family settings just comes across as truly dreary. From that perspective the redemption of one or two characters seemed a little unrealistic

This is not a neat whodunit, the novel leaves loose ends in its wake, which some may well say would better reflect the messiness of real life, though some of these loose ends were also somewhat unsatisfying, at least for this reader.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I did not connect with the main character, and I did not enjoy reading from his perspective. This book was just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Joe Cliffird does a great job in writing a good psychological thriller, it had a strong concept and does everything that I expected. The characters were well-written and I never questioned why they were doing something.

What a suspenseful psychological thriller with familial drama and a heart-pounding mystery!

I absolutely loved this novel and appreciated the writing style of the author. The twists and turns in this story had me rubbing my neck from all the whiplash….but in a good way. I was captivated by the way the story was written in a dual timeline / dual POV, traipsing back and forth between present day and the past. It felt like the story was a gripping but slow unraveling of what really happened that night, all those years ago.

This was a super good atmospheric read for me, enoying the chilling setting while wrapped warmly in my blanket. I was left turning page after page and had to take a break a few times to regroup and start again. As the mystery unfurls and we get more and more details, the struggling family dynamics are put to the test and we learn more about Brooke, her supposed daughter Lily and her step-brother Robert. These characters were well developed and I was really able to put myself in their shoes. I think the ending could have been a titch better, so I took off one star for that.

Currently on KU for FREE, so if you’re looking for a dark atmospheric read with familial drama and want to be in the winter season setting, this one id for you!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Certainly love the premise, Brooke, a young woman disappears into a snowy night. 20-yeara later, her stepbrother is paid a visit by a woman claiming to be Brooke's daughter. Domestic suspense from an author I've enjoyed for years.

This was very atmospheric and suspenseful! I really enjoyed it and have already recommended to several of my reader friends!

This one started a little slow for me but then really picked up and got my attention. I love the alternating timelines and they way the author moved through the transitions so seamlessly. I loved the layers to this story. Several times, I thought I had it figured out and it would twist again and surprise me. It completely was not what I expected - but the author does a perfect job of bringing all the storylines together. I will definitely recommend this to thriller lovers.

I struggled with getting going but overall this was a good book! The book opens up in the past on a snowy winter night and switches to present day through separate point of views. This is one my favorite formats to read.

All Who Wander is a dark, twisty, familial thriller that will keep you coming back.

I loved the characters of Brooks and Bobby and their sibling relationship and how it played into the intense mystery in a small town that this book takes you . It’s an intense but good mystery
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

Brooke and Bobby are brought up in the most dysfunctional of families. The mother a former sex worker had abandoned her in the past with her violent alcoholic dad and only returned home, with Bobby, her half brother when she was dying of cancer. Struggling with her nursing studies, Brooke is well into drugs and has an abusive boyfriend. One winters night there is a crisis and she jumps in her car to drive north and leave it all behind. She is never seen or heard of again, and is suspected to be the victim of a now dead serial killer. Spool on twenty years and Bobby is a respected university professor with a wife and son. But suddenly his perfect life falls apart. He has a visit from a young woman claiming to be Brooke's daughter. He is wary and starts to look into what the police know about her disappearance. There is plenty of action and some gruesome violence. A rattling read.

This was a much more intense mystery than I anticipated - and I loved it! Brooke and Bobby are half siblings in a broken, unloving family. One night, Brooke disappears and is never heard from again. Bobby has struggled with his past and questions about Brooke’s disappearance, but he’s built a good life - successful college teacher, husband and father. But then Lily shows up claiming to be Brooke’s daughter and things start to go off the rails. A highly entertaining story!

Joe Clifford is becoming one of my top ten authers. All Who Wander is set in wintery upstate New York. It is 1998 and Brook, a young troubled woman decides to run from spiraling circumstances that could land her in prison or worse. Driving in the freezing and story NY State winter, Brook is never seen again.
In the present, Brooks younger half-brother, Robert is visited by someone claiming to be Brook's daughter. So starts Robert on his quest to discover what happened to Brook. But, in the hands of Joe Clifford, there is much, much more to come. He has a brilliant ability to write a character's inner dialog and psychological unraveling when the haze of denial and avoidance clear a road to the truth. With Joe Clifford, it basically never is what it seems. Hiw writing is that good. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of All Who Wander in exchange for my honest review.