4.5 rounded up
Worth the wait. Great characters and good story. I knew where this was heading at the end and enjoyed the way it was written. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thanks to Netgalley and Bantam for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story centers on what happened with the disappearance of a young mother, Jane Larkin, in 1975. The story opens with Phil, who grew up with Jane's kids, planning to write a book present day about the cold case. Dan, a criminal defense attorney and Jane's husband, was the prime suspect. But the investigators could not make the crime stick so Dan raised their 2 kids much to the disappointment of Kate, Jane's sister. Fast forward 20 years later and Jane's body is found. Did Dan do it? Will the kids side with him or take Kate's side that he killed her?

This is really a domestic drama about family loyalty. Did Dan really kill Jane? The characters are well developed and seemed to interact as one would expect. I liked how Kate's hatred and distrust of Dan provided more color as to the nature of their relationship. The writing style is different as the author doesn't put conversations in quotes but you get used to it.

Overall, this was an interesting read that I recommend.

In 2015, Jeff Larkin’s childhood friend and author Phil Solomon is looking for ideas for his next book, and an email from Jeff puts Phil on a path to telling the story of the Larkin family’s tragedy. On November 12, 1975, Jane Larkin simply vanished from her home in Boston, never to be heard from again by her husband and children in All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay, slated for March publication. Because “it’s always the spouse,” Dan Larkin is the primary suspect, even though absolutely no evidence points to him.

The three children -- Miranda, Jeff, and Alex -- are absolutely devastated by their missing mother, and they have mixed emotions about the possibility that their defense lawyer father could have killed her, especially when he quickly moves in his girlfriend and her daughter. The mystery of just what happened to Jane Larkin will remain unsolved even when her skeleton is found 20 years after her disappearance.

Miranda has already tried to tell the story from her mother’s point of view just to “get it out” as she is probably the most haunted of the three children. Worse, she’s in charge of taking care of her father who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Could the diagnosis finally “clear” him of any further attempts to prosecute him? While the children have finally been able to bury the skeleton of their mother, they are still troubled because they don’t know what happened that November day in 1975.

In a mystery that spans a lifetime, Miranda remains suspicious of her father yet she is his caretaker, Jeff absolutely hates his father and stays away in San Francisco, and only Alex believes it is possible that his father didn’t murder his mother. How can any of their doubts be satisfied, especially now that Dan’s health is impairing his memories?

William Landay is the author of the New York Times bestseller Defending Jacob, which was produced on film for Apple TV+ in 2020. His debut novel in 2003, Mission Flats, won the Dagger Award for best debut crime novel. The Strangler, a Los Angeles Times favorite crime novel, was nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award as best crime novel of 2007.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting December 7, 2022.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

The wait between the release of Defending Jacob and Mr. Landay's new novel has been interminable but, my God, the wait was worth it. An epic whodunnit that spans 4 decades and told from the perspectives of four different players, All That Is Mine...like Defending Jacob is so much more than a mystery. It is a heartwrenching portrait of grief and a searing tale of the way tragedy maims the survivors left behind. Every page drips with empathy for the characters and the ending is one you will never, ever see coming. I can't wait to place this book into the hands of every guest of my store who appreciates literary fiction. Welcome back, Mr. Landay, you have been so very missed.
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me is psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, wanting to get revenge by committing murder of the likely suspect. However, the novel proceeds and tension builds and then the twists at the satisfying end. Hallelujah! Thanks Net Galley for a great ARC.

One of the best “who done it” novels I’ve read this year. Landay does a great delving into the minds of the main characters and also keeping the reader in suspense. I’ve enjoyed reading a couple of this author’s previous books and this one did not disappoint.

Wow! William Landay keeps you guessing until the end! After a bit of a slow start in Book 1, the book picked up in Book 2 and onward! Loved the switch in narrative first person point of view. Sometimes the dialog was a bit hard to follow but overall another excellent, legal thriller from Landay!

So-a mystery, a thriller - or more appropriately a character study and family saga. The core of the story revolves around the disappearance of Jane Larkin and the presumption that her criminal defense attorney husband, whose true character is revealed in the course of the book, is her murderer. Encompassing 4 decades and told in “ books” by different characters, including one by Jane herself, the emotional damage done to her two younger children by this life changing event is a dominant and upsetting theme throughout. As in Landay’s other books, especially DEFENDING JACOB, there is a surprising and shocking conclusion.
The writing style was I felt unusual for a novel-at times almost conversational in nature rather than formally structured, particularly so in the exchanges between the two younger siblings.
A book that will leave you thinking- about marriage, raising children, revenge, character pathology, lust, and about the workings of the legal system.Landay hits another home run.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay
Publishing Date - 03/07/23
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with early access to this brilliant book! I loved his book , Defending Jacob , and was so excited to receive an advanced ebook copy of this one.

Brief synopsis - this is the story of the Larkin family. It’s 1975 and their mother Jane has disappeared. The father is the leading suspect , but there is no evidence, only suspicion. The children are Alex, Miranda, and Jeff. They all struggle to understand what happened to their mother. Span of several decades told by multiple narrators. This story is very fascinating! I was shocked 😳 by the twisted ending. Could not put this one down! Finished it in less than 24 hrs. Highly recommend this one when it comes out next year!

All That is Mine I Carry with Me is an amalgam of domestic suspense, thriller, and mystery. I enjoyed navigating through the truly troubling family dynamics; they are a car crash, indeed. What I absolutely abhore is the ending. This ending gave me dreams/nightmares the night I finished it. It was a truly gripping book, but I feel some kind of way towards the author to create an ending that elicited such a reaction from me. I am in awe of and disgusted by it, all at once. It certainly made a mark on my soul.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

A woman disappears one afternoon and three children are without their mother - a husband without his wife. Where did she go?

Through multiple points of view, the reader learns what happens to the family in the ensuing years. Each child, of course, has a different theory. Could their father possibly be a cold-blooded murderer?

All of this takes its toll on the relationships among the family members. Can they ever know the truth and have closure?

I rarely give 5 star Reviews. Every now & then a Jodi Picoult novel, maybe Jennifer Weiner, Ruth Ware and now, William Landry! This book was phenomenal!! There’s suspense, family drama and it’s all written in such a wonderfully relatable voice (voices, actually). I’m one of the few who hasn’t read or watched Defending Jacob but I plan to rectify that soon. This is an excellent novel!

Thx, Netgalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from the publisher and I’m so glad I did. The book is terrific, told from several points of view: the three children left motherless when Mom disappears, the father who is suspected of killing her, the detective relentlessly pursuing the investigation, the writer commissioned to write the story, and the “lost” mother herself.

My summation hardly does the story justice, but this is one of the most compelling books I’ve read this year. The truth of what happened to Jane is so cleverly hidden that we don’t know that truth until the very end of the book.

And what a jaw-dropping ending that is. Totally unexpected, as is what happens in the last few chapters leading up to that final moment.

In between the first and last chapters, Landay skillfully plays with the theme of family loyalty, teasing the characters as much as the reader. Each of the children are perfect in their roles, and under the outward behaviors, one can see how damaged they are by the way they were raised. Dan Larkin is not a nurturing father and the not knowing about whether Mom just left them – how could she? – tears them apart at times.

The only problem with reading a book by an author who has taken such pains with every plot point, every character, every dramatic moment, every word of dialogue, is that the read ruins me for other books. Not that the others aren’t good. They most often are. Some are even excellent for their genre. But books like this that burst out of the “norms” of a genre are literary wonders.

I'm feeling divided on this one. I enjoyed the plot and enjoyed the authors cat-and-mouse game with the reader. However, the structure of the book made it feel very disjointed. The layout made the beginning of the book feel different from the end of the book. I liked the writing but the structure could use some work. I wanted more of the legal side of things and wish the courtroom drama had been longer. 3.5 stars.

Did he, didn’t he?
A well-written, neat thriller
Everything you want.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I write haiku reviews on Instagram but am happy to provide more details, if desired.

I was given a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for providing access to this engaging novel.

Having been a fan of Defending Jacob, I looked most forward to reading Landay's newest book and it did not disappoint. The story, deftly told by multiple narrators, moves swiftly as we watch this family that has been decimated by the disappearance of Jane, the mother of the Larkin family. The three Larkin children all carry her loss in different ways. Their father, a suspect in her disappearance, is an egotistical unlikeable character but do the Larkin children (even as they are adults) abandon him when there has been insufficient evidence to prove his guilt?

I am certain that this book, like Defending Jacob will go on to have many admiring readers.

Mom is gone, dad is blamed, the children are divided, and time marches on. But there is so much more to the story than that, and William Landay will keep you invested in this book from the first page to the last. I really loved this book, it is a mystery, but then again, it is not. It is a creative, inventive, rendering of a story of a family in crisis. This is one you don’t want to miss and an author that you’ll want to follow. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced readers copy of this title set to be released on March 7, 2023.

I was ecstatic when I was approved to read this ARC! I fell in love with Defending Jacob, so I was so excited to read this one!
**Unpopular opinion ahead**

It hurts me to say that this one just missed the mark for me. Based on the premise I was predicting a 5 star read. Unfortunately the highest I can rate this is a 3 star. Let me explain.

This book reads much like a slow burn, which I was not expecting. I thought there would be a lot more plot twists throughout the story. It was slow to get started, but once it did (about 75 percent through) it was wild!

Even though this was an easy read, I just could not connect to the characters. I felt they were very one dimensional and considering what they were going through, I did not feel the genuine fear or confusion from any of the characters.

Overall this book is good, just not for me. Do not be mistaken, I will definitely be signing up to read anything new from William Landay!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Unputdownable mystery that begs the question, ‘was it the husband?’ Jane Larkin, wife and mom of three, mysteriously vanishes in November 1975. The rest of the story is told from different perspectives of her family. Honestly, the less you know going in, the better. Definitely worth a read!

When Jane Larkin mysteriously disappears her family’s lives turn upside down. Although no body is found, her husband, Dan, is believed by most of the town (and the principal investigator) to be her murderer. Of course Dan claims total innocence. His children, however, are not so sure. And Jane’s sister, Kate is convinced that Dan killed her. Told in multiple voices the investigation spans over forty years with no evidence, no witnesses, no closure. Although the reader is told in part 2 what happened to Jane, her family is left in the dark. Thus we are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotion as Jane’s two youngest children, Jeff, and Miranda, are left to be raised by a man who just might have murdered their mother. Did he do it? Or is he an innocent victim himself? The novel is broken down into four “books,” each with a different narrator. While the first book was slow moving and did not immediately grab me, book two did and I was captivated all the way to the end of the story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.