Cover Image: Everything We Didn't Say

Everything We Didn't Say

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Member Reviews

Such a great book! I had a difficult time putting this down for long. This was my first title by Nicole Baart, but will not be the last. I have already added her other titles to my to be read list.

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Sadly, this book just didn't really come together for me. It was marketed and described as a "race-to-the-finish family drama" so I was expecting it to be more of a thriller. I like the trope of the main character returning to their small hometown to face the ghosts of their past, but this one just did not gel for me. It isn't really made clear why Juniper returns or why she decides now is the time to solve the murder of her neighbors from 14 years before. The reasons given seem weak, and it's a case of telling instead of showing. I didn't find Juniper a sympathetic character, so I really didn't feel invested in learning about her past, and the murder mystery itself was such a slow burn that by the time we got to the climax I was just ready to be done. While there wasn't really anything to DISLIKE about the book, I also didn't really like much. It's solidly meh.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the gifted ARC.

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Great family drama! Chapters switch back & forth from 14 years ago to current day. The story follows Juniper Baker as she tries to figure out who murdered her neighbors 14 years ago. A couple twists at the end I didn’t see coming. This is my first book by Nicole Baart & I will definitely read more from her. Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this ARC.

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While I really enjoy Nicole Baart's writing style Everything We didn't Say wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
I expected more suspense, but really this is mostly a slowburn small town mystery full of side stories and family drama.
That doesn't make it a bad book, but I just expected a tighter story line and quicker pace.

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Nicole Bart’s “Everything We Didn’t Say” is set in a tiny Iowan town called Jericho. The protagonist, Juniper Baker, has been out of town for almost fifteen years. She left the summer after she graduated promising never to return.

Now, June has returned. Her friend, Cora, has cancer and needs help to run the local library. Unofficially, June has returned to repair her relationship with Willa, her teenage daughter, whom she left behind and who has been brought up by her mother and stepfather since birth.

At the same time she learns Jonathan, her younger brother, is once again a suspect in the double murder of their farm neighbours. A childless couple, Cal and Beth McMurphy, were killed outside their barn on 4th July. While she is in back in Jericho, a tragic accident befalls Jonathan. June feels she has to vindicate her brother and tell the town the truth about what really happened that summer night.

A local true crime podcaster is digging into the cold case murders, and the last thing June wants is for her family to be any part of an investigation.

The author uses dual timelines to move with ease between the past and present. The beginning of the novel is slow but don’t give up on it.

Bart’s prose is lyrical, for example, her arresting descriptions of the icy Iowan winter. She is great at creating family dramas, interpersonal relationships, detailed characters, and plot twists. By the end of “Everything We Didn’t Say”, everything comes together and effortlessly clicks into place.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @avidreaderpress for the ARC.

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I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

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Although this was a bit of a slow read for me, I found the dual timeline and the family drama compelling! I enjoyed the characters (although there were quite a few of them!) and the ending.

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This one took me a while to get through. The pace made it hard to focus. Lots going on with background and secrets, maybe it was how it unfolded. Slow reads are tough for me, and a difficult main character didn't help. Go into this one ready to focus.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC. Opinion is entirely my own.

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This book started strong with lots of good thriller elements, but the momentum seemed to melt away about midway through. It's as if the author decided 3/4 of the way through the book who did it and had to graft that into the story.

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Everything We Didn't Say is a solid new family drama about what happens with a true crime podcaster won't let the past stay buried. The small town is creepy and atmospheric. The plot is well-crafted. Baart is one to look out for in the future. If you're looking for a page-turning drama with a dash of crime mixed in, this is the one for you. Be sure to check out Everything We Didn't Say today!

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This book was sort of middle of the road to me. It's certainly a slow burn mystery, not as fast paced as I had hoped it would be. I had quite a tough time keeping all of the characters and their secrets straight. It did pick up a bit in the last 20% of the book and the ending was explosive, which tied everything together. If you like a slow burn family drama then this one will definitely be for you!

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Free copy received for an honest review-thank you publisher and Netgalley.

This book draws mixed feelings. It was a slow-burn mystery with a lot of character development and environmental commentary over thrills and chills. Dual timeline gave first person perspective of the MC as a teen leaving for college while present-day timeline came at us in third person, focusing mainly on the MC who has returned to her hometown to help out at the local library. The story and execution were in the same vein as Paula McLain's When the Stars Go Dark, only not as well done. The last 10% was actually thrilling and very scary, but I'm not sure how much that makes up for the rest of the book. Middle of the road book that actually stands out from the dime a dozen thrillers nowadays, but still, could have been better.

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I'm always thrilled to get to read another Nicole Baart book, and Everything We Didn't Say (Atria Books), was no exception.

Our main character Juniper left her small town after she graduated high school when her brother became the main suspect in her neighbor's murder. She comes back nearly 15 years later to help an ill friend, but also to repair her relationship with her daughter, and solve the murder case once and for all.

This is a dual time-line story with a lot of parallel and family drama. It's 4 stars instead of the usual 5 for me because the pace was slow at times making it difficult to stay fully engaged. However, Baart brilliantly hits you with the her signature plot twists right up until the end of the story. I can't wait to see what she does next.

I recommend for any domestic suspense fans.

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My thanks to Simon &Schuster and NetGalley for an e ARC of Everything We Didnt Say by Nicole Baart. This was my first time reading this author and I thought the family drama novel was a well- written, slow-burn mystery. For me, some of the characters caused strong emotional reaction. Yes, tears and deep sighs and remorse for what could have been. The novel focuses a lot on loss, the path not taken, and guilty feelings. There are so many secrets and lies in the small town of Jericho and Juniper returns to her hometown because someone is stirring up a 14 year old unsolved murder that deeply affected her family.
I typically can follow and enjoy stories with more than one timeline. In this novel, we flip from 14 years ago when Juniper had just graduated high school and a horrible stream of events were occurring over the summer months that lead to lies and tragedy; to present day Jericho where Juniper and others are trying to solve this brutal and emotion-based murder. What was difficult for me was the mix of tenses and the use of first person, then flipping to third person, depending on whether we were in the past or the present. It was distracting to me.
Clues were given throughout the last third of the story that really led to the murderer, so it was predictable but I did enjoy the twist involving a person Juiper trusted. Many storylineswere introduced that were not fully fleshed out and that was disappointing. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I think editing could have improved the storyline. #NetGalley

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"Everything We Didn't Say" had something for everyone. This book was filled with family drama, romance, and mystery. The mystery kept me guessing. I guessed wrong a few times. The author does a great job of throwing you off.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

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This was my first Nicole Baart book but definitely won't be my last. I loved the writing style and dual timeline.

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I have not read Little Broken Things but after reading this book it is definitely on my must read list.

After the Murphy's were murdered Juniper wasn't sure what to think. But, when her brother became a suspect her whole life changed and she left town, vowing never to return to the town that gave her such heartache.

When her friend calls for help, she struggles with the decision but knows that it is the right thing to do. To be honest, she has an ulterior motive - trying to repair the relationship she has with her teenage daughter who is being raised by her grandparents. While back she decides she is going to do her best to solve the murders that have haunted their family for almost 15 years.

This novel had lots of twists and turns and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I thought that I had it figured out but either I am getting worse at that or this author just did a really good job of hiding the clues that sometimes give these types of things away.

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This family drama takes place in a small town where everyone seems to have secrets. It's a dual time line story giving us Juniper's story in present time and 14 1/2 years ago.

In the earlier time line, Juniper is enjoying her last summer before she goes away to college. She is in the midst of a passionate summer romance with Sullivan. She's lost her best friend because Ashley was in love with Sullivan and he chose Juniper and not her. Life doesn't always work out the way we've planned and Juniper's certainly didn't When a couple at a neighboring farm are brutally murdered, her brother becomes the main suspect. She leaves her family, her boyfriend and her life in Jericho with plans to never return.

Fourteen years later, Juniper finds out that someone is doing an 'unsolved murder' blog about the murder in Jericho all those years ago and seem to be pointing the finger at her brother again. Officially she is going back to help an old friend who has cancer manage the library. But the main reason she's going back is to try to reconnect with her fourteen year old daughter who has been raised by her mother and step-father. Will finally finding out the truth uncover secrets that should have been brought to light after the murder? Will the truth keep her from re-igniting her life with her daughter, her brother and her parents?

The author does a fantastic job of weaving the narratives from the two timelines as she slowly unwraps clues to the surprise ending. At times, I wasn't sure who the murderer was...maybe it was her brother after all. Normally we refer to small towns as people knowing everyone else's business but in this book, many people in this small town are hiding major secrets.

This ending of this multi-layered family drama was a surprise and a perfect ending. The clues had all been there so it was a realistic ending. I have read several books by this author and need to get her books that I haven't read.

This book is a real page turner that you don't want to miss

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This is a well written, heart-pounding slow-burn mystery that will suck you in from the beginning.

Juniper Baker's life did not turn out as planned. Just graduated from high school, she is in love with Sullivan and is getting ready to head to college. She couldn't have been happier until things change when a double murder occurs at the farm next door and Juniper's brother becomes a suspect. If that wasn't enough, Juniper becomes pregnant. She leaves her child with her mother and vows never to return until she does.

Juniper returns to Jericho. On the face of it she is back to help her librarian friend but what she really wants to do is clear her brother's name and repair her relationship with her estranged teenage daughter.

I enjoyed the two voices in the past and present timelines. The book packed a punch and the end was action packed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC. This book features a narrative that goes back and forth between the present time and fourteen years ago. I don't mind that but I found the switching of the main character from first person to third person to be a bit confusing. I also felt there were so may characters that I found it hard to keep track. I want reading to be enjoyable, not taxing to keep track of everything. The story's location, set in a small town, with family drama makes for a good story but I found it slow and longer than it needed to be.

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