All That is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay

Miranda Larson returns home from school one day to an empty house. Her Mother is missing. This mysterious disappearance is the underlying theme of the story. We are introduced to Miranda's family. Dan, her father, Alex and Jeff her siblings and Jane, their missing Mother.
Why is Jane missing? Did she leave her family or was she murdered. Of course, husband Dan is the main suspect. This story takes place over many years and is told from multiple points of view. There is suspense, family drama and mystery.
I found myself gobbling up the first half of this book and then it seemed to slow down for me. Overall, a good story with interesting characters and one i would recommend to others.

Thank you to Net-Galley for this electronic arc. Publication date- March 7, 2023

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I was so excited when I saw William Landay had a new novel coming out after so many years. I absolutely loved Defending Jacob!!

All That is Mine I Carry With Me is the story of the "disappearance" of Jane Larkin. Jane goes missing in November 1975. Her daughter, Miranda, returns home from school and mom isn't home. She's never seen nor heard from again. Her husband, Dan Larkin, is of course a suspect. He's also a criminal defense attorney. And he has a lot of holes in what seems to have happened.

Miranda and her two brothers go through years of never knowing what happened to their mother. One day she's there then she's not. Twenty years later, her body is found. How do these children who are now adults process this now?

In 2015 author Philip Solomon is contacted by his childhood friend Jeff Larkin after forty years and is encouraged by Jeff and his sister Miranda to write a book about their mother's murder. Phil then researches a lot about the case and talks to a lot of people familiar with the case. This is a piece of what you will read. The story is told in multiple voices.

The writing of this book is unlike anything I think I've read. It's a slow burn but also you need to pay attention as you try to unravel what is happening. And try as I might, I do not understand the ending. Is that what Landay wanted? Are you supposed to draw your own conclusions? Will definitely make for good book club discussion on what everyone thought happened!

While I wasn't a huge fan of this one. I did enjoy the story material as well as the author's writing style. I do like that the author does his research before he writes his books. They are indeed well researched.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me
by William Landy - 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available March 7th

My thoughts:
Mysteries lovers will not want to miss reading this intense book. I was immediately taken by the plot. It is a brilliant thriller that feels real. It reached out and grabbed my heart.

Synopsis:
After homemaker Jane Larkin's disappearance was reported in 1975, her husband quickly became the prime suspect. It took eighteen years for Jane's body to be found, so the case remained cold. The plot follows Jane's missing person's case over the course of 40 years through four different narrators. Readers feel the ripple effects of Jane's disappearance. This pain is especially prevalent in her two younger children, Jeff and Mi, who are at the center of the book. Prepare yourself for some exciting plot twists.

Thank you @NetGalley, and @Random House - Ballantine, A Bantam Mystery Box, #storiesandsuspects and William Landy for my complimentary copy of this incredible book.

#AllThatIsMineICarryWithMe #WilliamLandy #RandomHouse

If you've read Defending Jacob, you know that it would be an incredibly hard act to follow. I can see why it took William Landay so long to offer something new to this world.

All That is Mine Carry With Me certainly has the emotion and suspense of its predecessor. While the ending wasn't as jaw dropping, I still felt its punch to my gut, so I'd say Landay did quite well with his return to the novel writing scene.

Yes, that vibe is quite similar to Defending Jacob, but this book is very different.

Although I know this story will not haunt me indelibly like Defending Jacob has, largely because I could see something coming, did find it to be a worthy read that kept me invested from start to finish. If the storyline appeals to you, I do recommend picking this one up when it hits the shelves in March!

I am immensely grateful to Bantam Books and NetGalley for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

The changing narrators could be confusing at times but I really enjoyed this novel. It's so good. Though the ending was ambiguous, it was a lot clearer than Defending Jacob. I highly recommend this.

It's been a long wait since Defending Jacob, but this brilliant work is worth it. Jane Larkin disappears, leaving behind her three children and her husband who is suspected of foul play. Twenty years pass and her remains are finally discovered. I really enjoyed that shifts if viewpoints and the leisurely unfolding of the story and getting into the different character's heads.

A mother vanishes and is later found dead. The husband is a suspect . Police can never prove his guilt. Three young children grow up motherless and with a cloud of doubt hanging over their father's head. Did he do it?

Years later one of the sons gets in contact with an old friend who is now a journalist looking to write his latest book. Maybe now the mystery of how their mother died will be solved.

I first learned about this author by reading Saving Jacob. This book does not quite reach that pinnacle but it comes close. If you like Saving Jacob you will enjoy this mystery thriller.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview copy

Also reviewed on GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61058004-all-that-is-mine-i-carry-with-me

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me is a unique book. It is a mystery at the core, but it is so much more. It is about individuals and families and the pain of losing someone you love and not knowing what happened to them. It is also about not knowing if you can believe and trust someone in your family. William Landay tells the story from multiple perspectives, one at a time, including, interestingly, the dead woman. When their mother disappeared, Miranda was almost 11, her brother Jeff, 12, and Alex,17. Suspicion landed on their father, but with no body there was no proof. Twenty years later, Jane's remains were found, and the investigation was revived. The now-grown children needed to choose sides, for or against the father who raised them. The three children are very different in thought, temperament, and lifestyle. Another prominent character is Jane's sister who has a vitriolic hatred of her sister's husband. The main time covered in the book is after Jane disappeared and after her remains were found, with some filling in of the time between the two as well as some background of the marriage of Jane and Dan. Author Landay is accomplished at character development, and the reader will develop empathy with some or all of the characters, depending on the story believed by the reader. There are some surprises and twists, keeping this well-written novel interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for the ARC of this book.

I loved Defending Jacob, so I was so excited to receive this eArc by William Landay. I devoured this book in less than a day. The character development was incredible. All the characters were flawed and interesting. This book was told through different points of view. I loved it!

Part razor sharp legal thriller, part carefully drawn character study, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me is one of William Landay’s best works. This novel is a slow burn, taking on multiple points of view and spanning decades. At the hands of a less skillful author, it would be confusing, but Landay masterfully weaves together all of the pieces of the puzzle. I enjoyed the development of the Larkin family in the novel, and no one writes a taut court scene like William Landay. I can’t wait for my fellow readers to purchase this excellent book upon its March release. I will be widely recommending it, because it is enthralling,, and because I need to talk about some of the questions that remain ambiguous! Thank you, NetGalley, for granting my wish!

This is the most captivating novel of the year. What a great way to end the year. William Landay style of writing is fluid. He changed the character's POV from chapter to chapter, and sometime within the chapter, there would be two different POVs. However, I was never once confused about who was speaking. There is a particular essential human connection to all of his characters. Dan is the protagonist; yet, I feel for him on multiple levels. There is a certain depth to all of the characters especially Miranda. However, I think all of his kids are a little type cast. As in Alex is the oldest and he's strong and stubborn. Jeff is the middle child, who is lost. Miranda is the baby of the family. Even through her ups and down relationship with Dan, she's still there for him in the end..

Or is she?

The ending to the story is open ending. It leaves me with wanting more, and yet satisfying. It's a must read book of the year.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

William Landay is back at it again with All That is Mine I Carry With Me. Defending Jacob by Landay is one of my all time favorite books and I was really looking forward to reading this one.
The central question of this novel is: what happened to Jane Larkin? Her daughter, Miranda Larkin, comes home one day to find that her mother was not at home. Jeff and Alex Larkin, Jane's sons, are likewise unaware of what happened to their mother. When Dan Larkin, a notorious local attorney, comes home to find his wife is missing, he immediately calls the police to start an investigation. However, the primary suspect has always been Dan (because you always point the finger at the husband, right?). Jane's sister, Kate, is convinced immediately that Dan is involved in the disappearance of her sister.
What plays out is part the immediate after effects of the investigation of the missing woman, part trial, part the investigation of the Larkins' friend's investigation for a book about the case, part glimpse into a piece of Dan Larkin's life when he is close to the end. Where does everyone's loyalties lie?
Landay's writing presents such a strong sense of place. While reading, I can picture exactly where in the Boston suburbs this takes place. It makes me nostalgic for a place I once lived. Landay also writes the legal aspect of a legal thriller brilliantly. I couldn't stop turning the pages to see how this played out for the Larkin family. While this was fast paced, it was also a master course in writing a character story. The reader will understand exactly where each member of the Larkin family stand and what motivates their actions.
I highly recommend this for readers who love legal thrillers, a fractured family story, or a story that focuses on how far you will go in the name of familial love. Happy Reading!

Alice Larkin disappears in 1975. Gone, but is she dead or has she runoff? Her 10-year-old daughter, Miranda, is the first to realize she is gone when returning home from school. Nothing is amiss, Alice is just gone. Slowly the police, Alice’s sister, and her middle child Jeff come to believe her husband has killed her. Alice’s older son, Alex believes his father’s claims of innocence. The family is torn apart by emotions and allegiances unfathomable to most. Then, 20 years later Alice’s body is found…still later a dying serial killer claims to have killed her…but still no definitive proof. Great narrative devices employed to tell this story in four books; first a first person point of view from an author plotting a book about the events, the second a narrative POV by Miranda of what she imagines happened, the third is Jeff’s POV through his belief of guilt and a civil case, then finally from the husband’s early onset senility POV (very interesting). Great writing and character development as well as the unusual and driving plotting.

In November 1975, young girl returns home after school to find her mother is not there, Miranda never sees her mother again. Police are called, searches are made, but no Jane, and then the case goes cold.
This story is told from several points of view, even Janes, so now we know, but her family does not.
You need to keep turning the pages, and they go fast, you need the answers, and they came, but with surprises, right to the end!
This is a different mystery, and one I did enjoy, just know that this is not your typical thriller, but it is good!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Random House, Ballantine, and was not required to give a positive review.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a psychological thriller with a legal underpinning as crafty and convincing as this one. Probably not since I read Defending Jacob. Landay employs multiple characters to tell the story of Jane Larkin’s disappearance and the aftermath. But what could be a pedestrian plot device in less capable hands is instead a clever use of points of view, shifting timeframes, and unreliable narrators. The book compulsively bobs and weaves in and out of Jane’s life and those of her children. Highly recommend for mystery fans. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks to Bantam and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I was thrilled to hear that William Landay had a new novel coming out, as I still remember reading Defending Jacob years ago and enjoying that book. This is another family mystery and legal drama, where the mother disappears without a trace and the mystery begins. I liked the creative storytelling, with each section of the book from a different POV, and the bookended sections told by a family friend writing a book about the disappearance. I think the structure of the book was my favorite part. I did not want to put this one down and read it over two days. With themes of family secrets and loyalty, fans of Landay should enjoy this new one.

I became a fan of William Landay after reading "Defending Jacob", despite the moderate ambiguity of the ending (did he REALLY do it??), and this book gave me a similar feeling. It's told in parts, from the perspective of several different characters, but rather than jumping back and forth between narrators, they make up continuous sections of the book, and then we don't hear from that particular voice again. I had several opinions about "whodunnit" throughout the reading of the book, and though the final reveal wasn't astonishing, it still kept me guessing until the very end.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the ARC of this book. Current pub date is set for March 7th, 2023.

Great suspense novel that follows a missing persons case over a period of 40 years. When Jane Larkin goes missing in 1975, her husband quickly becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. However, the case goes cold because her Jane's body isn't found until eighteen years later.

The story is artfully told by four different narrators at different points in time, allowing the reader to see the effects of Jane's disappearance and her husband's possible involvement in it on all of the characters, especially her two younger children, Jeff and Miranda.

Highly recommended.

William Landy's first book Defending Jacob is one I still think about from time to time. The way he was able to create such a compelling story of a family torn apart by an accusation. And then, there were literally all the twists up until the very last pages. This book has the same vibe, and it's another one that will get you talking and thinking, then talking and thinking more - If you need a book club read, I'd add this one to your list to consider for 2023 for this very reason.

The story focuses on a family torn apart by an unsolved case, as well as assumptions made about what happened. In the mid 70's Jane Larkin disappears. She is a beloved mother, and her three children are devastated by the loss. The prime suspect is the husband, but there is no evidence, and he goes on with his life, including remarrying. Years later, Jane's remains are finally discovered, the questions of what really happened all those years ago is awakened. The three siblings don't agree on what might have occurred creating even more complex dynamics as a trial ensues. This has twists and emotional dilemmas until the end, and it was such a well-done thriller. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the early look at this March 2023 release!