I'm not sure exactly why I requested this book as it's a debut by an author that I never heard from. Honestly, maybe it was the cover. But that doesn't really matter. What matters is: I'm sure glad I DID request this novel and was granted an advance copy because this was GOOD. Like real good. Two timelines, gothic mystery, dysfunctional family dynamics. It's all here and it's all handled exceptionally well.

From Amazon:
Nine years ago, July Weaver’s little sister was one of the first victims of the Pacific Lake Killer, a serial killer in Georgia. When other girls began to disappear and were found dead, it was July’s testimony that put her own father into prison for the crimes. After the sentencing, she fled to Nashville to focus on her music career and to try to forget the horrible past. But when her brother tries to kill himself, July is forced to come back home and reunite with her four remaining siblings.

What she isn’t expecting is to uncover new evidence that makes her question everything that happened to her sister nine years ago. Is it possible that July blamed the wrong person? Is it possible that the Pacific Lake Killer is still out there? As the linchpin to the case against her father—and the reason the Pacific Lake Killer case is closed—July knows it isn’t long before the killer will set their eyes back on her.

If they’re really still out there.

More from me:
I love a good old family mystery and this one takes the cake. This family is the epitome of dysfunction. The plot is tight and evolves over two different timelines with the family, the present and the past. The dialogue, especially between the siblings, is extremely well done. The mystery at the heart of the book is solid. There's a lot of big emotion and a lot of heartache, especially with the character of July. Nothing feels overdone or maudlin, it all just worked for me.

I'm impressed that this is the author's debut and look forward to seeing what the future holds. I'll certainly be reading more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the digital advanced reader copy in exchange for a honest review. The novel will be published October 10, 2023 and is available for pre-order now.

The Weaver family had a lot of problems, even before young May was killed and June testified against their father. This is a story of a dysfunctional family, mental illness, resilience, and murder. Serial murder. What really happened to May? June tells the story, going back and forth in time after it becomes apparent that her father now in prison wasn't the one who did it because someone is out there killing again. Smith hits the small town atmospherics and the dark corners of life. She's a good storyteller and this will keep you turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, No spoilers from me.

Emily Smith's You Always Come Back is going on my list for 2023 top debuts. I was caught completely by surprise by how mesmerized I was with the Weaver family and their dysfunction. July Weaver left Pacific Lake after her father was convicted as the Pacific Lake Serial Killer, but she's forced to go back home to help her brother, and that's where the suspense really starts to build. Everyone is hiding something, and some long-buried secrets aren't staying in the past anymore. I loved every page, and I hope You Always Come Back gets lots of well-deserved attention.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of You Always Come Back by Emily Smith that I read and reviewed.
All I can say is WOW! This book blew my mind! I am usually not one on books told in the first person but this book blew my mind and I loved it from start to finish and it blew my mind.
I really don’t want to get into the book that much because I could go on forever about how great it is and I don’t want to accidentally give away any spoilers but I want to say this is a must read if you enjoy a book that is a true book that will keep you guessing and blow your mind at the end. I started reading it in the middle of the day and finished it in the middle of the night because I had to know what was going to happen.
READ THIS BOOK!
Needless to say You Always Come Back gets five out of five stars from me!

Sometimes I wish I had a tail to wiggle when I got excited.

That’s bizarre, right?

Well if I DID have a tail it would be wagging right now.

I went on a book binge for the past week and would put one book down and pick up the next without even so much as a pee break .

I was lost in the pages and I couldn’t not quench my insatiable lust for more and more thrillers. Deep down, subconsciously, I was searching for a book that would make me stop dead in my tracks.

Mission accomplished

You Always Come Back

Mesmerized by the cover, this was a book I just had to have. I wish I could whisper a warning in my naive little ear before I picked this one up as my day became completely consumed by Smith’s’ words. Yes, this book is THAT good.

My mind is blown…

I will be unable to pick up another book for a bit. I need to let this one settle in.

Here’s a bit of a teaser for you :

In the vein of Kathleen Barber and Julia Heaberlin comes an electrifying debut suspense that pits the inhabitants of a small town against each other.

Nine years ago, July Weaver’s little sister was one of the first victims of the Pacific Lake Killer, a serial killer in Georgia. When other girls began to disappear and were found dead, it was July’s testimony that put her own father into prison for the crimes. After the sentencing, she fled to Nashville to focus on her music career and to try to forget the horrible past. But when her brother tries to kill himself, July is forced to come back home and reunite with her four remaining siblings.

What she isn’t expecting is to uncover new evidence that makes her question everything that happened to her sister nine years ago. Is it possible that July blamed the wrong person? Is it possible that the Pacific Lake Killer is still out there? As the linchpin to the case against her father—and the reason the Pacific Lake Killer case is closed—July knows it isn’t long before the killer will set their eyes back on her.

If they’re really still out there.

This was an interesting read. The writing is beautiful and descriptive - you really get a picture of the Weaver family & their place in the world. I thought the characters were fully fleshed out & we got to see them in all their dysfunctional glory, the interactions between them showing us just what a powder keg of a family they are. There’s also something creepy in the background and it gave a real sense of unease through the whole story.

However, for as much as I liked these things, there’s also something about this book that I didn’t like and for the most part I can only put it down to vibes. I liked the back & forth in July’s perspective, but for a lot of the time it felt like a continuous stream of consciousness & I really struggled with that. It’s very much a case of its not the book, its me.

There's a lot of potential and it starts with a bang. I found the rest of the story less gripping and exciting.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Years ago, July’s testimony put her father in prison for her friends murder. She goes to Nashville to try to forget and start a new life. Nine years later, things resurface and she vegans to question what really happened. Good book told from past and present POVs

You Always Come Back was overall pretty meh. I wasn't super impressed with the story or the build up. The characters weren't that interesting and I didn't find them to be fleshed out either. I really enjoyed the writing style though!

July Weaver has been running away from her past for years. One fateful summer, her sister, May, disappeared and was the first victim of the Pacific Lake Killer. Two teenage girls followed soon after. Because the Weavers were already looked at as the town pariah, it was not a huge surprise when the blame for the missing girls fell on them.

July (or Jules as she is now called) is called home because one of her bothers, Deck (December), has attempted suicide and Auggie (August) the older of the Weaver siblings needs help. July must come home and see if she can find out the truth of what happened that summer and if the Pacific Lake Killer is back.
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Emily Smith has written a compelling thriller with You Always Come Back. Instantly, I was drawn into the story with the opening chapter of July waiting on her dad to arrive from work. The rag-tag family in their run-down mansion was odd, but in a way that's approachable. You almost want to be one of those kids, named after their birth month.

While the back and forth timeline were a bit confusing at time, it all wraps up in the last few chapters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release.

First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC and allowing me to read this book. From the summary I knew that I was going to enjoy this book! The opening chapter describing July's earliest memory with her father paints a beautiful picture. From then on I was sucked in! I loved the characters and how all the siblings were named for the month that they were born in. I enjoyed the then and now perspective as it really helped to paint the picture. If you want a suspenseful mystery then this is the book for you. Once I started it I just couldn't put it down! I look forward to reading more from Emily Smith.

A pretty meh thriller. I'm sorry, I am particular when it comes to thrillers and this one just didn't hit any of the marks I am looking for. No real strong, fleshed out characters...no twists that I didn't see coming. By the end, I just didn't care what happened to anyone. The writing was relatively strong though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book. I really like the idea of this book; a girl helps to send her father to jail for serial murders. Did he really do it? Uh oh, maybe he didn't. The author does a good job of depicting the disfunction of this family, including the brashness of the main character, Liv (Livewire). Actually, the author does a great job of depicting each character's personality. I really enjoyed reading this book, although one could guess the true killer earlier in the book, but that's ok. It was still a fun ride getting there.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This book hooked me from the premise. I absolutely enjoyed it and loved how it was set in a small town. The book tells the story of July whose sister was a victim of a serial killer. Her testimony sent her father to prison and her on a path to stardom. This changes when her brother tries to kill himself and she has to confront the evidence she gathered that point otherwise to her father as a killer. What a jaw dropping read!

This book definitely had me intrigued from the summary; serial killers and small towns, sign me up. I was so pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up loving it! I was hooked from the start and found myself reading chunks in one sitting. I so did not want to put it down and found myself needing to know how it was all going to end. I really enjoyed the Then and Now timelines and seeing everything all connect together. If you like a dysfunctional family element then look no further because this is definitely one family with a crap ton of skeletons in all their closets. Also a fun little quirk that I loved was all the siblings being named after the months they were born in and then the nicknames they used. I did end up guessing who the killer was but it was such a rollercoaster to find out!

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves serial killers, small towns, and dysfunctional families.

Wow. Just wow. Gripping and jaw dropping story. A serial killer strikes and ends the life of a young girl. This tale is about her family and siblings, who are all suspects despite her father being charged with the crime. The characters are likeable and it was so unpredictable !!! Loved this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for the arc in exchange for my fair review!

I liked the storyline. It was suspenseful, Gripping, and imaginative. It was told through July's point of view which makes it more intense. I couldn't guess the killer till the end. Mental illness has devastating effects on the whole family. The tension in the end was good. Shocking.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this thriller. I really enjoyed this story!

July Weaver and her siblings grew up very untraditionally with an eccentric father and a mother who was often unmedicated and unstable from a mental illness. July is the oldest of six kids and even though she’s a child herself, she and her oldest brother August are really the caretakers. August takes to this role, but she resents it, along with the stigma attached to her family.

That stigma takes a turn when her father is found guilty of killing her eight year old sister, as well as two other women. July bails with her younger brother December, promising to care for him while Auggie cares for their youngest sister and their mother. But, when a family emergency calls all the siblings back to Pacific, GA, July must rethink what really happened that summer her father was found guilty. Especially when there are killings happening again, which can’t be her father since he is still jailed after her testimony put him away.

This story started a little slow, but then it really grabbed my attention. The story alternates between July’s current POV and her childhood, mostly of the summer everything changed. This is a story of family, redemption, love, and all the things that our youth and our family’s do that really form who we are. Definitely worth a read!

Twisted and dark psychological thriller with a family torn apart from losing the youngest daughter. Oh, and dad might be a serial killer. Love me a book where almost everyone is an unreliable narrator. The mystery is strong. The family dynamics very well done. This will be a good pick for mystery book clubs. A lot to unpack here. Thank You to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Wow! Absolutely loved this book and finished it in one sitting. What a ride!

July has escaped her hometown and she has no intention of returning. Now living in Nashville as a successful songwriter, she’s changed her name and managed to escape her family’s dark past. Almost.

Lies and the past will always catch up with you and July finds herself back in her hometown where it all started. Where her sister was murdered amongst many other women, and the place that put her father in prison for the rest of his life. What could go wrong?

A must read! This book literally did not bore me at any point, I was gripped!