From a bounce to a pout…

The last book made me bounce, this one made me pout. The last book was a concerto, this one is chopsticks. Okay, okay, I’ll stop trying to be cute. Let me say that this book isn’t a terrible read, it’s just meh, and the complaints way outweigh the joy.

The story is about a boy and girl who are blown away when their mom disappears. Soon afterward, their dad brings a girlfriend, along with a daughter, into the home. Many years of anguish. Is mom alive or dead? Did dad kill her? The kids grow up. Dad goes on trial. Dad gets Alzheimer's. The end.

Joy Jar

-There are several points of view: life according to the boy, girl, mom, dad. This mostly works; I liked the different perspectives. I especially liked the missing mom’s viewpoint. (See below for a complaint about the dad’s POV.)

-I liked the occasional foreshadowing aside from a character, like this one from the mom: “Oh my, this is a sad story, isn’t it? I’m afraid I must be tormenting you. And things are about to get much worse, I’m afraid. But there were happy moments.”

-As the story moved along, it got a little more psychological, which I liked.

-Liked the trial scene. It was intense, and I felt like I was in the courtroom.

-The characters are mostly believable and not one-dimensional.

-Was mildly interested in how the book would wrap up. Was dad guilty or not?

Complaint Board

-All That I Read Annoys Me. The title and the story don’t match! Come on, doesn’t the title, “All That Is Mine I Carry with Me” sound intriguing? I thought I’d be getting something poetic and heavy, something full of deep sighs and a bit of wise. Nope! This is a simple family drama with simple language. Nothing to chomp down on.

-My biggest beef has to do with the dad and his Alzheimer's. Dad himself describes his decline. Wait a minute. If you’re demented, there is no way you can talk about how demented you are! That’s not how it works. Well, maybe at the very beginning you can describe what’s happening, but eventually you’ll be too out of it to describe anything real. I’ve run across this in books before, and every time I growl. This guy is very articulate as he explains how he’s losing it. Nope, not believable!

- Family drama masquerading as a crime drama.

-Where did the writer go who starts off the story? He disappears for an eternity, making a cameo appearance at the end. Hm…. Funny thing is, I didn’t even miss him! (I wonder if Landay is inserting himself into the story. The absentee writer in the story had had writer’s block; it had been many years since he had written a book. Landay had a long dry spell himself. Just wonderin’.)

-No tension. A crime drama without thrills is a drag.

-The ending was predictable. It was not supposed to be; you could tell the author was going for a wow moment.

-To use quote marks or to not use quote marks, that is the question. Okay, make up your mind and choose one or the other. I can live with naked dialogue, really I can. But here, there were quote marks used in the first half of the book, then they disappeared. Did two editors with different ideas divvy up the pages? Really sloppy; maybe this was fixed by pub date.

-Missed opportunity for a romance. It was weird, because there was a tease of a love story but it fizzled. Aren’t teases supposed to turn into romances? It’s disappointing to miss the chance for some huggy-face.

-One of my most scathing comments on a Complaint Board: the book was Hallmark-y. Not sap, here, luckily, but plenty of simple and predictable.

Bottom line: This one didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed Landay’s Defending Jacob but was disappointed in this one. It was an okay read but I ended up wishing I hadn’t wasted my time. Like I said, my biggest problem was the last section, where the demented man describes his dement. Drove me nuts.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I really enjoyed this study of characters and their interactions after Jane, a mother of three, went missing in 1975. Having read Landay’s previous impressive work “Defending Jacob,” I had to read this one as soon as possible.

Phil Solomon can’t get his friend Jeff’s mother who went missing out of his head. He decides to write a piece about the suspected killer - her husband and Jeff’s father - 40 years after the incident.

The novel is divided into different “books,” and in each section we hear from a different character - some going back in time (like a plausible imagining of Jane’s story from sister Mimi and sister Miranda) and some in real time (Jeff and the father Dan). I wonder how much thought Landay put into ordering these sections. In this novel, we think we learn early on what happened to Jeff’s mother from her perspective, but then we learn it’s a novel from one of her daughter’s perspectives. I really liked how Landay chose to order them.

I really loved all the layers to this, and it was a very compelling and fast read. In some ways, I would have liked it to be a little longer to learn even more about the characters.

I feel this is a slower-paced, more character-driven novel than “Defending Jacob,” but equally compelling. I’d say this one is more comparable to “Notes on an Execution,” given the multiple perspectives that rotate in sections as more of a mini deep dive on one perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. Absolutely terrifying and thrilling at the same time. One of my favorite books!!

On a November day in 1975, young Miranda Larkin comes home from school to an empty house. Where could her mother be? As the hours pass and Jane is nowhere to be found, she is declared missing. Her flamboyant husband, Dan, an attorney, is a prime suspect in her disappearance, but with no evidence he’s only guilty in the eyes of others. He has maintained his innocence throughout the years, but there are those that don’t believe him. Even his own children are divided. The book takes us on a journey from that fateful day until 2017 when Jeff Larkin meets an old friend that’s been suffering with writers block. A friend that he hasn’t seen for 40 years. Phil agrees to write about the disappearance of Jane. Dan is now in the throws of Alzheimer’s and can remember little of his past. As the story slowly unfolds the reader is caught up in the drama that reads like a true crime case. Will Jeff and Miranda ever get the closure they so desperately want or is it too much to ask after so many years? Told in several points of view, this book unravels slowly, but is perfectly paced. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Mr. Landay, but he’s back! Thank you to National Geographic Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The three Larkin children, Miranda, Jeff, and Alex, are trying to live their life in the wake of their mother Jane’s disappearance. Told in alternating viewpoints, including that of Jane, we watch the disappearance and the decades afterward. While the story does leisurely unfold, it is an absolutely gripping novel. When I got comfortable with one point of view and entirely invested in that story, we jumped perspectives, and it started again. Landay has you relating to everyone, from Detective Glover to young Miranda.

I lost my parents as a teen, but the difference was that I knew they were gone. I cannot imagine growing up without answers. I cannot imagine the absolute pain of not knowing, which is especially hard for Miranda. My heart hurt that she suffered so. I think it is interesting that we don’t get Alex’s perspective. As the oldest sibling, he’s kind of just there, a staunch supporter of their father, Dan, his only ally, really. I don’t feel like we need his point of view, but I would love to know why Dan’s only supporter does not get a say.

This was a fun read and a fabulous introduction to this author. I’m excited to go back and read some of his previous work. Thank you, Random House/Ballantine, for sending over an advanced copy of the novel.

Told through multiple points of view, this story of a husband who may have murdered his wife will keep you guessing long after you've finished the book.

I thought that this was good. I loved the authors other book and felt like this was a fist 2nd. I hope it also gets the TV treatment.

Author William Landay is known for Defending Jacob which I absolutely loved.
All That is Mine I Carry With Me is Wiliam Landay new novel. It tells the story in multiple POV's, of Jane Larkin, a mother of three and her 1975 disappearance. Her husband Dan a criminal defense attorney was the prime suspect at the time however with no other suspects, body or hard evidence, the case went cold.

When Jane’s body is found two-decades later, it reopens the case and the siblings choose sides in determining their father's guilt or innocence. Family secrets are revealed, and the reader is left guessing until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and look forward to William Landays next book!

Finally another book by William Landay, author of Defending Jacob. The world has waited a long time for this. All That is Mine I Carry With Me is Landay’s newest book and it will be out soon, March 7, 2023. 3.5 stars

The book got better and better as I continued to read. For me it started off slow. As each section progressed I enjoyed it more and more and the ending was my favorite part.

Jane Larkin, mother of Alex, Jeff and Miranda disappears. Did she just leave her three children behind or was she murdered? The story is told over decades, in four parts. Phil tells the first part, he is a friend of the Larkin family and a writer who wants to tell their story. Jane Larkin, the missing or murdered mom narrates part two, Jeff Larkin, her son narrates part three and Dan Larkin, her husband narrates the final section. I feel that the way the story was told made the book more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

While I enjoyed the writing, and I read it fast, I found something missing, the lack of suspense. This would make an excellent book club read, so much to discuss! If you doubted whether or not your father killed your mother could you still love him? If the only way to prove him guilty or innocent was to take him to court, would you?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Larkin appeared happy in her life in 1975. So when she disappears, everyone suspects her husband had something to do with it. Did he kill her? Or did he make her life miserable behind closed doors so as to force her to leave her life behind and never look back?
As the case grows cold, we see the lives of her three children; Jeff, Miranda and Alex as hey grow up without their mother and each have their own theories as to what could have happened. Their father is growing old and is suffering from dementia. Can they prove what happened to her finally before it’s too late? Their family friend decides ti write a book about the case in order to break his writers block, which opens up the family divide all over again.
This book is one that will stick with me for a while. It is broken down into three separate books to tell the stories from various points of view that are filled with complex family drama.
The investigation had run its course and had been considered a cold case but one investigator never gave up and wanted to make sure that justice was served, no matter what the outcome was, and I liked him. There was a couple of twists to the story that left me wondering what was real and what wasn’t which is always a good thing!
Thanks to Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Jane Larkin and Dan have three lovely children. When she goes missing in November 1975, the family is frantic.

The police start an investigation into the disappearance and are unable to find anything regarding Jane’s whereabouts. The case lingers with the first suspect being Dan, but there is no evidence to connect him with the crime. Surely she would not have abandoned her children.

This novel is very well structured and developed with a number of twists and turns. I developed a real empathy for the characters and their sudden loss of a very beloved mother.

William Landay has written a very interesting novel about a family torn apart by the disappearance of the wife and mother and subsequent turmoil of ongoing suspicion. I found the novel engaging, disturbing, and sad. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

In the fall of 1975 a mother Jane Larkin disappears. Years later her second son gets his friend to write a book about the disappearance, We get different viewpoints, the daughter, the father and the mother's.
I changed my opinion with each person's account This is a very intriguing book.
Thanks to NetGallley for the ARC and to the publisher Bantam Books.

This is a great suspense novel - it handles a family saga of suspense and anguish. You never know what will happen and it truly kept me on my toes throughout the entirety of the novel. While it is long, it really does not feel like it!

3.5 stars. I was a big fan of Defending Jacob, but unfortunately this one fell a bit flat. Broken into four "books," the story felt a bit disjointed and long. I also predicted elements of the ending fairly early on, which left me a bit underwhelmed. That said, Miranda (Mimi) was the star of this story. The way Landay portrayed her character, particularly her grief/depression, was really well done.

This book is divided into four sections told by different narrators. The first part begins years after the disappearance of Jane Larkin. An author and family friend wants to write the story and set the facts straight. In the mid-70s, Jane Larkin went missing from her suburban home in MA. No note, no indication of violence, no warning. She left a big hole in the life of her young daughter, vague suspicions in her son Jeff, and a distanced memory for her oldest son, Alex. Of course, the police are suspicious of the husband, an egotistical, cold and arrogant defense lawyer, Dan. It doesn’t help that Dan has difficult relationships with Miranda and Jeff, as well as his sister-in-law.

The author reconstructs the family dynamics through different viewpoints. Reader’s beliefs as to innocence and culpability may shift during the narrative. Most interesting is how the family is shaped because Jane continues to be missing over so many years. This is a slow burn of a mystery…more of a character study, than a thriller. Not sure why the character of Alex was even given page time, other than as a self-interested supporter of his father. When the book picks up, so does the pacing of the dialog. By that time the book becomes more of a legal thriller. Then it returns to the aftermath and an ending where more is revealed.

Well-written but at a slower pace than necessary/ appreciated...rounding up to 4 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me begins with a young girl, Miranda, coming home from school and finding her house empty. Her mother is not home and nowhere to be found. No one knows whether she left voluntarily for whether foul play was involved. When she doesn't return, her husband is the prime suspect in her disappearance, but there is no evidence of any wrongdoing. The book is broken into four sections which are told from a different person's perspective. I was so excited to read this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I would still recommend it though, especially for those who read Defending Jacob. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Landay’s Defending Jacob is one of the best courtro9m dramas I've read so I anticipated another character-driven suspense drama. In 1975, young Miranda came home from school to an empty house. Her mother was still missing when her older brothers arrived. Time passed and everyone including the detective assigned to the case thought their father, an egotistical defense attorney, had killed her. After their mother’s body was found in 1993, the siblings and their mother’s sister were divided, with older brother Alex thinking their father innocent and the younger siblings and their aunt certain their
father had killed their mother. The novel is narrated in separate sections set in distinct times and told by different characters including their dead mother. The concept is intriguing, but it isn’t cohesive or compelling.

My favorite part of this story was the alternating between narrators...seeing the different perspectives. The character development was excellent.
What I did not enjoy was the language. The story has alot, alot of language! Also, if you have issues with triggers, this book may not be for you.
Excellently paced plot that will keep you reading. Give your family peanut butter and jelly for dinner kind of tale.
Four star book, that I knocked an additional star off of for content issues. But I had to add that star back on with the finale of the story. The ending packed a punch. Wow.

Thank you so to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ahead of publication date in exchange for an honest review.

The author sets the stage for a completely absorbing novel and then carefully adds details that make this a totally unforgettable book. From the moment Jane disappears, her family's lives are never the same. Many of the family members are positive her husband, Dan murdered her, but without a body, no one can be sure she is even dead.

Dan doesn't have good relationships with two of his children, Miranda and Jeff. Both of them feel that he was behind her disappearance, and as the years go by, that has a negative effect on their relationship with him and even in their personal lives. The oldest son, Alex just wants to move on and give his father the benefit of the doubt.

When Jane's bones are found near where the family once stayed, many years later her children and sister are looking for the truth.

This was so well written it was easy to get caught up in the story.

I really enjoyed this combination of mystery, family drama, and legal case. The book is broken up into four parts and each one examines the disappearance of Jane Larkin from a different point of view. I was fascinated to hear how each character experienced the mystery and the suspicion surrounding her husband over the years it took to uncover her remains. This reads more as a character study and tale of human experience than a true mystery but I think fans of both types of novel will be invested. I couldn't wait to see how the story wrapped up and if the author would leave the reader shocked like he did in his other work, Defending Jacob. I highly recommend this book and I'm sure it will be a bestseller. Thanks to William Landay, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.