One of the best books I've read this year. A tangled web of relationships unraveling and reconnecting in the wake of the murder of Star Radley.

I was able to get a early copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had been hearing about this book for about 9 months before I finally read it. It did not disappoint. Every once in a while there is a book that comes along that everyone will read, everyone will like & everyone will be talking about for a while. This is that book!! Simply take a look at everyone's reviews and you will be inspired to add this one to your TBR list too!


Here is the publisher’s description if you need it!

There are two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create.

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.

Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess―her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she’ll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She’s just trying to survive and keep her family together.

A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.

Chris Whitaker has written an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love―in all its different guises―wins.

Duchess, a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw, attempts to hold her family together while her mother, Star, reels from the death of her sister many yesrs before. Walk, the local sheriff, also keeps an eye on the family. Forces are set in motion when another childhood friend of Walk and Star is released from prison after serving his time for his responsibility in the death of Star's sister. A wonderful moody atmospheric novel.

A beautifully written crime novel. A Sheriff of the small town he grew up in and never left, a man convicted of a murder at 15 just getting out of prison, and a 13 year old girl Duchess. Through out this novel we learn how each of these lives intertwine. Duchesses mother is killed and the mystery starts from there. Duchess is an amazing bad ass character. She describes herself as an outlaw and will do anything for justice and her 5 year old brother. I couldn't put the book down. This is one of the best written novels I have read in a long time. A five star read for sure!

I was given an e-galley of this book by the publisher and Netgalley and my opinion is my own.

A masterpiece. Thirteen-year-old Duchess Day Radley, “the outlaw,” is fierce, bright, determined and ready to take on the world. She is forced to mother both her own mother, Star, and her younger brother, Robin. She reminded me of the feisty female protagonists I’ve loved in True Grit, News of the World and To Kill a Mockingbird. But she is unique in her own wonderful way. You will never forget Duchess once you read this novel. She will make you open your heart and break it. Here she is reminding her younger brother to believe in her:

“What am I?”
He met her eye. “An outlaw.”
“And what do outlaws do?”
“They don’t take any crap.”

In addition to Duchess as a narrator, Walk, the chief of police in a small town in California, narrates other parts of the story. Walk is trying to live with the fact that his testimony sent his best friend to prison for murder 30 years ago. Now he must reconcile the fact that his best friend has been released from prison and accused of a new murder. There is a mystery that ties all the characters together and casts doubt on who the murderer was 30 years ago and today. Walk also tries to protect Duchess and Robin as their mother slides deeper into self destruction.

“We endure, right. That’s what we do for those we love.”

For awhile Duchess and Robin are sent to live with their grandfather Hal in Montana. The relationship between Duchess and Hal is so touching, and the protectiveness Duchess has for her younger brother is heart warming. Author Chris Whitaker’s writing is beautiful and his descriptions of people and nature are stunning.

“At times she felt so far from a place she had never been, like home was somewhere out there and calling, she just did not know how to find it.”

Whitaker sets the tone for the book right off the top as the townspeople come together to search for a missing 7-year-old girl.

“You see something, and you raise your hand...”

“The townspeople readied, their feet in the ford. Movement in line, twenty paces between them, a hundred eyes down, but still, they held together, a choreography of the damned. Behind the town emptied, the echo of a long, pristine summer had been smothered by the news.”

Thanks to the publisher Henry Holt and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an advanced readers copy.

I just finished this book and all I want to do is start reading it again. If my TBR pile wasn't on the brink of toppling over and burying me, I probably would. This isn't the book I was expecting. I read the marketing blurb and a few reviews before requesting a copy, but I was still caught off guard by the overpowering story line. The writing is brilliant and the characters so well developed I often went to sleep at night--long after I should have quit reading--dwelling on Duchess and Walk and their predicaments.

Duchess is thirteen going on thirty. A self proclaimed outlaw, she is battling the world while trying to raise her six-year-old brother Robin and caring for Star, her alcoholic mother whose relationships with men are often abusive. As if this weren't enough, Vince King returns home after being released from prison after thirty years. He accidentally killed Star's sister when he was fifteen and has never forgiven himself. Duchess doesn't know if he is friend or foe and the scenes when the two are feeling each other out are high drama.

Walk, the chief of police, has never ventured out of their small California coastal town and grew up with Vince and Star. He has also taken on the chore of watching out for Duchess and Star. With Vince entering his life again, he is protective of him as well. His plate quickly overflows when a murder occurs and Vince is squarely in the cross-hairs for it. Convinced Vince is innocent, Walk sets out to find the real culprit.

The story takes its time unfolding and delving into the lives of the residents of Cape Haven. It could be categorized as both a mystery and also a coming-of-age story although Duchess never outgrows her outlaw ways. She and Walk are characters I won't soon forget.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for an Advance Reader's Copy. The publication date is March 2, 2021 and I've already pre-ordered a copy. I know I'll want to read this book again.

😭😭😭😭😭

Is that enough to sum up this review? Oh, my heart. What a devastating journey this was.

Vincent and Star. Walk and Martha. Two couples in love with the world ahead of them when tragedy happens. Vincent is accused of the murder of Stars sister. He is sent to prison for 30 years. Walk his best friend and blood brother goes to visit him through out his 30 year sentence believing that the good in him outweighs the bad.

At the same time Walk and Star have remained close friends and he does whatever he can to help her and her two children, Duchess (13) and Robin (6). Star is an alcoholic that can hardly take care of herself. They live a hard scrabble life and Duchess becomes Robin's greatest protector since their own mother isn't able to. She considers herself an outlaw and fears no one.

“I am the outlaw, Duchess Day Radley"

Now in their 40's and Vincent is out on parole. Walk picks him up and settles him in but when Vincent is accused of another murder Walk is sure he didn't do it and will do anything in his power to keep him from receiving the death penalty. Even calling Martha back, now a lawyer, to help with Vincent's trial.

This tragedy forces Duchess and Robin to move to Montana to live with there estranged grandfather.

From here so much more happens but to discuss it all would spoil this entire reading experience. Let me just tell you that my heart broke for Duchess and Robin. Anyone that reads this book and doesn't shed a tear, well, you aren't human. This story and the pain in the pages is just so fucking real.

I will never, ever forget Duchess. She has been let down by nearly every one in her life and she wears that pain like armor. She will stop at nothing to make sure her little brother is safe and taken care of to the best of her abilities and with the little money she has. Even if it mean sacrificing her own food to make sure his belly is full. And Robin, sweet, sweet Robin. Wow, the love between these two is breathtaking. I wanted to reach into the pages and hug them both so fiercely. When these two arrive in Montana to meet their estranged grandfather Hal, well, this entire section had me in tears.

Have no fear though this isn't entirely bleak and depressing. Duchess and Robin do meet some caring people, even though Duchess trusts no one, she slowly begins to let down her guard. The ending is phenomenal when hope is finally seen on the horizon. EVERY. SINGLE. STAR!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for my digital ARC.

I literally couldn’t put this book down. Powerful, suspenseful, heart wrenching and so well written. Thirteen year old Duchess Radley will be one of those characters who will stay with me forever.

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
Rating: Starred review

Summary: A multi layered story of a small town family that struggles to make it through each day. When the mother of a loner daughter is murdered a sick police chief has to come to terms with his past and present to find who killed her all the while the surviving daughter, a self described outlaw looks to revenge her mother’s killing.

Comments: Whitaker’s debut novel is a stunning read. Not many books this year will compete for best book of the year but this could be it. A must read character novel so deep you won’t forget a few characters that root into your core. Outlaw Duchess is the best character I’ve read in sometime. Walk is not far behind. Highly recommended. Riveting achievement.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Duchess, a self-proclaimed outlaw, is a thirteen year old who has had to grow up well before she should have.

A captivating story. I could see this turned into a movie.

3.75☆

This is a deeply emotional story of an outlaw, Duchess Radley, a 13 year old young woman who life has forced to be older and wiser than she should have to be. Duchess is fierce, she has a five year old brother who she protects against the world, including her mother, Star. Star is an enigma, a good woman who does not have the strength to take care of her children.
Walk is the police chief in Cape Haven, California, the town where he grew up and plans to never leave. As teenagers, Walk, Star and their friends Vincent and Martha were inseparable. Their futures were tied together in this small town where everyone knew everyone else's business. Then one night, 15 yr old Vincent accidentally runs over Star's little sister earning himself a prison term. This is the backstory to a picture of lives grounded in the misery that is only possible when you cannot escape the past and have so little to look forward to.
The story up to this point could be one of any thousands that you've read before, but Chris Whitaker's tale of one girl's life and how it has been impacted by the actions of so many others is anything but usual. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. So many things happen around Duchess, you just want to hug her and protect her but that is not what life has planned for her. There are so many richly defined characters in this story, you'll find yourself talking to them. On my goodness, this is a great read.

This novel was so beautiful and the characters were so complicated. There were a bunch of mysteries and heartbreaks surrounding the main story and it all tied together beautifully at the end. But it will definitely keep you guessing.

*Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.*

This is a haunting book, so beautifully written, the prose so vivid it literally transports you into the lives and experiences of these characters. To be able to write and tell a story as Chris Whitaker does is an enviable talent.

This is a thriller of the first order that covers all the bases with murder, blackmail, small town politics and cover ups taking center stage. It’s also an “against all odds” love story. Told primarily through the voices of Duchess, the tough 13 year old who fiercely protects her young brother and takes care of her alcoholic mother, and Chief of Police Walker injustices past and present collide to deliver surprises that will leave you breathless. This is a book you won’t want to end.

Duchess Ray Radley is a 13 year old outlaw, not a regular girl. She loves only one thing in the world: her little brother Robin, and she'll do anything for him. Anything at all. For him, she scrounges food out of pennies; she locks his bedroom door at night and stands guard against the cruel men there to take advantage of their mother; she escorts him to school in the morning and sits outside his fence at recess, watching over him every minute.

They've had a hard life, their family. Their mother Star never really recovered from the death of her little sister, killed by Star's boyfriend Vincent King in a tragic accident when they were kids. Truth be told, no one from back then ever recovered from that accident: not Vincent, still in jail decades later; not Walk, Vincent's best friend, now police chief with a terrible secret; not Martha, Walk's old girlfriend long fled the scene but soon to return; and certainly not Star, whose life since then has been a string of awful men and addiction. Walk does his best to look after Star, and Duchess and Robin, but it's a losing battle.

And it's about to get worse, because Vincent King is coming home...and there's a few people out there with scores to settle.

Early reviews have compared this to True Grit or Harper Lee; I think more of early Dennis Lehane, the Mystic River years. This book is DARK, y'all. And as I read along, hoping for some sort of a happy ending, it just kept getting darker.

There's a tragedy. Then a bit of hope arrives, the promise of peace. Then another devastating tragedy. And another. And another.

You root so hard for Duchess to find some form of peace; and there are glimpses of it. A loving grandfather; a schoolmate; a kindly older woman who sees herself in Duchess; always Walk, on their side. You hope for a happy ending to be scrapped out of something, for someone.

You can hope... but these characters are living in a tough world, and it's not going to give them any breaks.

WE BEGIN AT THE END is beautifully written; there's a whole cast of well written characters, including of course Duchess, who follows in the footsteps of True Grit's Mattie Ross, another outlaw carrying too much weight on her shoulders; Walk, a good man in a hard world; Vincent, who carries a darkness within him that maybe not even friendship can save; Dolly, a woman with scars who finds a kindred spirit in Duchess; and Robin, the little boy everyone wants to save, the only one who still has a sense of innocence inside him. There are many people who love Duchess, who want to save her. But the world is not with them.

I'm giving this five stars for writing, for sense of place, and for a really good mystery (which I haven't even named because SPOILERS) that has a lot of twists, all earned, most surprising. I would dock it for being DEPRESSING, but consider yourself warned.

4.5 stars

There are families we are born into and families we create. For Duchess Day Radley, life isn’t easy, but for a thirteen-year-old outlaw (as she proclaims to be), she is quite resilient. Her mother, Star, can barely take care of herself, so Duchess is left with the responsibility of raising her five-year-old brother, Robin.

The chief of police, Walk, does what he can to keep the kids and the town of Cape Haven safe, but when his best friend, Vincent, is released from prison, trouble seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Tragedy strikes and while Vincent once again looks guilty, Walk is determined to make amends by proving his innocence. As a result of the chaos surrounding the tragedy, Duchess’s and Robin’s lives are turned upside down and they fight to survive in a now uncertain world.

This was a really great story, and Duchess was by far the shining star in this book. Her strength and tenacity were admirable, and she truly rolled with the punches when they were thrown her way. Her main priority was protecting her brother and ensuring he had some semblance of a normal life, and for a thirteen-year-old girl coming into her own, that’s was lot of responsibility. It was the moments when she showed vulnerability that really tugged at my heartstrings because she always tried to be the tough “outlaw” who could handle anything that came her way, but ultimately she was still a child and needed help, guidance and love, whether she wanted to accept it or not.

Highly recommend this one!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3688673013

How good is this book?! I was expecting a light thriller, but this is so much more.

We Begin at the End is truly an unexpected gem for me. It's a character-driven novel which deals with human nature, guilt, and just what people are capable of doing to protect the people they love.

30 years ago, fifteen-year-old Thomas King was responsible for the death of Star's sister and became incarcerated as a result. Upon his release, his best friend and police chief Walk is still standing by his side. Next, Star used to be his girlfriend and now she has two children, the older of whom, a thirteen-year-old Dutchess, basically has to parent her mother. She is very smart and protective of her family, but her mistakes cause a ripple effect which brings down a storm on the whole family.

I've never read a thriller that made me so emotional. It's a wise, exploratory book about family relationships, crime and human instincts. Such well-developed setting and characters fully pulled me into the story. Excellent.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a prime example of excellent writing. It has all the features that make a successful mystery: well-drawn, relatable characters, an intriguing plot, a well-described setting and lots of movement and suspense. I fell in love with these characters and found myself to be invested in their outcome. The story was complex but not overly so and the ending was so, so good. 5 well-deserved stars!

I received an ALC for We Begin at the End - thank you so much for my advanced audio copy. The narrators were good, but made it a bit tougher to connect to. The inflections and tone were on the slower side and it made this book a bit longer for a normal read for me. I enjoyed this but would likely not recommend to many others. Thanks so much.

She's 13 years old, and the Outlaw Duchess Day Radley speaks her mind but hides her heart. Those who recognize her worth are never rewarded in conventional ways. Her strongest connection, that with her fiec year old brother, is best expressed by "She ... knew without doubt he was the color to her shade." This is the kind of book that makes me glad I love to read, totally immersive and original in concept and style. I won't reiterate the plot -- the less a reader knows going in, the better. Yes, there is a mystery, several heartbreaking murders, and characters that breathe into life off the page. The best recommendation I can give a book is that I wish its fictional characters a happy afterlife when story ends. Such is the case here. First thing I did on completion was to order Chris Whitaker's first book.

This was a gut punch of a book. Following Duchess' tragedies, getting to know her fierce love and protection of her brother, discovering her flaws--a thrilling and sometimes heartbreaking journey. This book has a bit of everything, and in perfect harmony--family drama, mystery, crime fiction, and beautiful literary prose. But be prepared, you will be wrecked, emotionally, before the book is over. You will be devastated for Robin, Duchess' little brother, as he seeks desperately for love and parental figures. You will pull your hair in frustration over some of the characters' choices. You will root for Walk to uncover all the secrets and truths surrounding the death of his childhood friend. And you will be torn over your feelings for Vincent, recently released from prison for accidentally killing a little girl with his car as a 15 year old. I had a hard time putting this down, and ended up reading it over the course of one night and one day. I fear I will have to take a little time before I can pick up another book. These characters demand to settle a little first, they will linger a while.
I am happy to have received this advance copy from Netgalley.