A mystery told on two time lines.: present day and 14 years ago.

A woman was living in a small town as an 18 year old girl when her neighbors are murdered and her brother is the main suspect. She comes back to try to solve the crime and make peace with her sudden departure which involves getting to know the daughter she had and left with her parents.

This was free on net galley and significantly better than I thought it would be.

DNF. I really wanted to like this book, but something about it just didn’t work for me. I’m going to blame the reading slump I’ve been in & I hope to eventually come back to this one and give it another try.

I feel like this more of a YA novel rather than a thriller. I wasn’t a huge fan for that reason. The characters seemed to lack to depth and it was an overall boring read. 2.5/5

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3980990024
Everything We Didn’t Say is categorized as Women’s Fiction, but it reads as YA. For this reason, I was not interested in finishing it and quit after 60%. Three stars.

Whoa! I've loved previous books from Baart, and this one did not disappoint. It was a solid and somewhat intense family drama, and it captivated my attention right from the beginning.

The characters were complex, uniquely and strongly connected, and curious. I found myself suspecting how this murder mystery would be resolved from the beginning, and I kept guessing until the end. I definitely didn't see the ending coming- just how any good domstic suspense read should be. For anyone seeking an engaging murder mystery with an intense family saga underneath, I highly suggest this read!

Thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy.

Juniper Baker is 18 and a new world is at her fingertips. She is headed to college in the big city in a few months, but she is going to enjoy one last summer at home in Juniper with her brother, Jonathan, and her best friend, Ashley. As the summer progresses, June finds summer love, and a whole lot of secrets. Everything changes in Juniper's world when her two neighbors are brutally murdered. June leaves her life in Jericho behind after that summer. 14 years later she comes back to reclaim her teenage daughter, that her parents have been raising, and to figure out who killed the Murphy's once and for all.
The story alternates between that summer 14 years ago, and present day. The author does a fantastic job of weaving in the two timelines and leaving tidbits of clues throughout the story. You can feel the hurt and the pain of June's story as she slowly unravels her past and determines that it is time to fight for her story. This is a story about pain, loss, secrets and family ties. I enjoyed this book.

The murders took place in the summer. I love the main character and the name juniper. I loved the details and descriptions. Juniper is coming back to Jericho. Her friend Cora is dieing of cancer.jonathan,junipers brother, was a suspect in the Murphy's murder. I liked that Willa,junipers daughter, was taken care of by junipers p parents but juniper wanted to be a good mom. I hated that Willa pushed her away so much

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

Everything We Didn’t Say is an emotional family drama and mystery about a mother trying to figure out what happened the summer her life changed forever. Juniper Baker returns to her hometown for the first time since she was a teen and her brother was accused of murdering their neighbors. When a podcast threatens to dredge up the past, Juniper decides to find out exactly what role her family played in the tragedy, as well as try to repair the fractured relationship with her daughter.

This is my first book by Nicole Baart and I really enjoyed her mixture of family, motherhood, love, and mystery. All of the characters were full formed and their relationships with one another were very complex. Juniper is a sympathetic main character and the two timelines really helped you understand her issues and motivations. I feel fans of the show, Mare of Easttown, will really enjoy this story of a small town with strong ties and a underlying darkness.

Overall, Everything We Didn’t Say is a poignant, intense, and dark slow burn mystery.

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

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

Nicole Baart is a solid author and I always enjoy her books and her latest is no exception. She writes a complicated family with secrets very well and I was certainly surprised by some of the things the reader learns about this family. I enjoyed June as a characters and her desire for the truth to be found while still protecting her family. It is a good read!

Wow! This story will definitely keep you on your toes until the very last page!
It is a mystery, thriller, and a crime story that after almost fifteen years has never been solved.
Oh- -There are suspects, but there has not been a conviction----yet!
When Juniper comes back to her hometown in Iowa to help her friend after many years at the local library, she becomes determined to help solve the murder of her dear friends from long time gone, but not forgotten.
I had not a clue truly, of how this novel would end, but I sure was shocked and surprised!
Amazing, intense, and intriguing!

Atria Books and NetGalley I can't thank y'all enough for amazing ebook copy!
And giving me the chance to read and review!

I tried waiting as long as I could but I couldn't wait any longer!
I wad like a kid on Christmas when I seen I was approved for the arc!
So thank you!

Nicole Baart you now have a new fan! Because this book was outta this world! I knew it would be!
I could not stop reading Everything We Didn't Say. Once I read the description I knew I had to try and get it!
The story it self is thrilling and awesome! It grabs you and you're so invested you can't stop! That's how no was anyway!
The characters I was deeply interested in. They will grab your feelings, your attention.
And the writing wow what can I say.. Simply amazing and intriguing.

Thank you again.
And I will post to my Goodreads and bookstagram account closer to pub date!

Juniper and Jonathan Baker are 'almost twins' being born less than a year apart. Their parents Rebecca & Lawrence's marriage is one of convenience. The summer that Juniper (June) graduates high school their close neighbors Cal & Beth Murphy are murdered. Add a romance with the youngest Tate son and June finds herself in the middle of an a feud. Fifteen years later, June returns to Jericho to temporarily fill-in for the town Librarian, Cora. while hoping to bond with her 13 year old daughter Willa.

Unravelling the past while figuring out the present and trying to plan a future made for many emotional scenes.

The plot moved quickly and easily between Summer 14 1/2 yrs ago and Winter now.

A very engrossing novel with characters you can connect with.

After leaving her hometown of Jericho, Iowa. Juniper comes back to help her friend Cora who is suffering from breast cancer. A terrible murder occurred here 15 years ago and her brother Jonathan was the prime suspect. Now back in Jericho, Juniper is on a mission to solve the murder from years ago. She also plans to reconcile with her family and her estranged daughter that she left behind as a baby. Will she finally discover the truth about what happened all those years ago?

An engaging read from beginning to end, you won’t want to pass on this great mystery. Nicole Baart is a truly talented story teller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) close to the publication date.

Everything We Didn't Say is an excellent book. I loved the main character, Juniper, and found her likeable and relatable. This story is a murder mystery...who killed the Murphy's all those years ago? The story goes back and forth between modern times and 14 years ago when Juniper's beloved neighbors were murdered on the 4th of July. While Jonathan, Juniper's brother, is the prime suspect, there are plenty of other suspects to consider. What I loved about the story was that the author gives the reader just enough clues to recognize that the guilty party may not be the most obvious choice.

Nicole Baart is an excellent writer. Everything We Didn't Say is beautifully written and hard to put down. This story has excellent character development and the storyline itself flows easily and propels the story forward. I loved it!

I would recommend this book to lovers of mysteries and crime stories, and because of the strong female characters in this book, I recommend it to female readers of any kind. As a high school business teacher, I will recommend this book to my Business Law students.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Baart, and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This is the first Nicole Baart novel I have read and will definitely not be the last .

After a horrible murder rocks her small town, Juniper leaves & starts a new life away from everything she grew up knowing. Strained relationships with her family, an even more estranged relationship with the daughter she left behind as a baby, and of course small town gossip that never stopped. When she comes back to town to help a dear friend in need, she has to face everything she left behind and finally see the full truth. What a crazy story, I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Everything We Didn't Say.

Juniper Baker has returned to her small hometown of Jericho to assist a beloved family friend in her hour of need.

At the same time, she needs to reconcile long standing issues with her estranged family, brother and daughter, who she gave up and left with her mother and stepfather.

When the unsolved murder of Cal and Beth Murphy, Juniper's neighbors from her youth, is brought back into the spotlight, June must face the secrets of her past in order to save herself and clear her brother's name.

I've never read this author before but I was pleased when my request was approved.

The writing is good, but the narrative dragged.

I was hoping for more of a mystery/thriller but this is more of a family drama. The narrative flips back and forth to the past, when Juniper was in the heady throes of a summer romance, and the present, when she must deal with the simmering, unresolved issues within her family and teenage daughter.

There was too much exposition on June's youthful romance, touching briefly on the issues Cal was having with June's boyfriend's family.

There are no real clues to follow or make connections with the case. The reader doesn't solve the case so much as get buried deep in the exposition of Juniper's complicated family life, past and present.

There is a lack of urgency and suspense, and most of the drama is centered around June's moony love for her boyfriend.

When the identity of the perp is revealed, it was anti-climatic since there was no lead up, no clues to indicate it was all leading here.

I didn't like Juniper; I'm not a fan of any parent abandoning their child. I did sort of like Juniper's brother, but he's not the present narrative for the most part.

I did enjoy the author's writing and her style but this is less of a mystery and more of a family drama.

If ever a book should be made into a movie: This.Is.It. Baart does a fabulous job of creating in-depth characters the reader instantly relates to and bonds with. I could not put this book down. Sleep? What is sleep when a book has one completely engrossed? I truly hope someone picks this up and makes it into a movie.

Nicole Baart has been one of my favorite authors for years. This newest story is quite different from her previous offerings but wow. After a gruesome murder rocks her small town, Juniper leaves and rarely looks back. Until she realizes it’s time to reverse some decisions she made as a teenager. Strained relationships with her family, an estranged relationship with the daughter she left behind, small town gossip that never stopped, it’s all there. But as she discovers, all of those things didn’t stop just because she moved away. And now it seems that someone is intent on digging up the past with dangerous consequences. More mystery than sweet romance for sure but I couldn’t put it down.

I am a huge fan of this author and her work. This book did not disappoint in the least. This book is about young dreams we have and then life gets in the way. Sometimes we can go back and sometimes sadly we can not. She told each story well.

A sneaky true crime podcast threatening fifteen years old silence of a family as their elder daughter Juniper finally comes back to her hometown to confront the demons of her past!

Oh boy! I always adore the Nicola Baart’s entire works and as fan girl I honestly read anything comes out of her brilliant mind! This book is also unputdownable journey, riveting mystery you read in one sit and then piss off yourself for reading it too fast kind of remarkable novel!

Juniper leaves her hometown Jericho, Iowa as I told at the beginning and she comes back to take care of her friend Cora who suffers from stage 4 breast cancer. She also plans to help her job at Jericho library. Of course she has ulterior motives: before she left the town: her brother became prime suspect of double murder and her best friend Ashley’s big crush Sullivan impregnated her so she leaves her baby girl with her family and heads to the college for starting fresh. But now she hears somebody already threats to talk about Murphys’ murders on true crime podcast for proving her brother Jonathan is the perpetrator: her family reputation will be dragged through the mud for more time.

She already made her research but her mind is still full with unanswered questions which can only be answered by her brother Jonathan who are still presumed murderer in town and they think he got away with murder!

But as soon as she comes back she finds out some prank calls were already made and somebody tries to threat the family.

And her brother’s unexpected accident attracts the attention of the authorities! Is somebody out for revenge of the murders or the real murderer is out there to finish what he’s started!

It was so well written, heart pounding, smart story make me keep guessing till the end. The conclusion is well played and satisfying.

It deserves my full five small town murders, family ties, secrets, teenage motherhood, lies and addictive reading stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.