EVERY MOMENT SINCE
BY: MARYBETH MAYHEW WHALEN

I had not been prepared for all of the emotions that would impact me to my very core while reading a brand new discovery of an empathetic Author named, MaryBeth Mayhew Whalen. She has written her newest literary fiction novel, called, Every Moment Since. This is the kind of storytelling that is so sophisticated and imbued with wisdom that it's evident she gained by maturity and life experience. The subject matter has been done before too often to give the impression that it wouldn't be of interest, but in this particular instance my intuition from reading her Author's Note it is written from the heart to pay tribute to all victims of the past and all those in the future who her characters represent. It's a common occurrence that could happen to anyone of us. My intuition is that this author's motive for writing such a story comes from the purest intentions to honor the lives of all the innocent children who have disappeared. It also is unique in the realism of the guilt that the families have suffered when it could happen to anyone of us. This heartbreaking story explores the overwhelming grief that the families that have lost a child suffer from blaming themselves when it's not their fault. Their lives are devastated living with so much unimaginable pain and regret as if they could have prevented it. This is special in that there's nothing sensationalizing what transpires. Having read her Author's Note my assumption of her reason to write this is not to entertain readers who are drawn to dark content. Just like keeping a diary or journal helps people gain clarity from reading their thoughts by the act of writing their feelings down. It's my belief that it's possible that published authors gain therapeutic benefits from their talents at crafting a narrative that they have witnessed. When I read this Author's Note it's clear that she was carrying a striking event that we both happened to have seen in a movie based on a famous true story that as both being mother's is the type of horror that is unforgettable. I'm not a mind reader and this is only my opinion, nothing more than that. My intuition that's a personal feeling could one of many reasons this story exists stems from a selfless desire to offer hope to families who have lived a similar fate and that by reading this helps them not feel less alone? Could she resemble the infinite number of people who write in their journals seeking to understand themselves utilizing transferring thoughts onto the page? Only she knows what drove her to have the idea to write this beautifully crafted story. Herself and those she shared her reasons know what insights she has mined that her brilliant character development that illuminates the depth of trauma that inhabit four specific people in this stunning portrait. If her goal was to make us remember all of those unfortunate to have been victimized by the events in this story. In my experience of how I felt while reading this will be that she achieved her objective with how authentic this felt to me. I had finished this with feeling nothing but empathy for all four characters portrayed that intersect in the final pages. As a mother with young adult sons, I related most to the mother with a deep seated visceral reaction that any mother would never forget. I can't begin to imagine how countless mothers, fathers and siblings have dealt with the loss of a child in their families. I know on some level it strikes your heart like a burning brand which will cause a memory that one carries forever. Just like this story will affect me forever leaving me grateful that I didn't endure it myself. I feel nothing but an unending supply of empathy towards every person by no fault of their own, having experienced the unthinkable of this firsthand.

In a small community twenty one years ago in 1985, Tabitha is trying to put on her make up to have a romantic evening with her husband with plans of getting together with good friends. I could feel how distracted she was when her oldest child who is fifteen years old named, Thaddeus is relentless to convince her to allow him and his friends to meet up to play what he called,"night games." She didn't seem comfortable and he explained it's the innocent games boys play during the day. At the same time her eleven year old son Davy pleads with her not to go out with her husband because he was scared that his parents were going out and leaving him home. She finally gave him permission with the stipulation that he take Davy and watch out for him. Thaddeus like a typical fifteen year old boy tells her what she needs to hear to allow him to get his way. Meanwhile the youngest child a little four year old girl named Kristyn is going to stay with the girl who lives next door.

Only Thaddeus doesn't want his eleven year old brother Davy hanging around him.

Davy disappears after losing track of a girl who is his age after they race back from spying on a man named Gordon Swift.

Twenty one years later.

Tabitha makes a list every week listing all of her regrets, the biggest one having never made it to her list. She's divorced which struck me as realistic but incredibly sad as most parents' grief is overwhelming. With each spouse if not turning towards each other for mutual support, their grief gets expressed in their own way. I wouldn't know but it's a well known statistic in the U.S., that most parents who lose a child get divorced. Tabitha gets notified by Anissa Weaver who was the young girl that last night with Davy is something she has kept to herself. She works for the sheriff as a Public Information Officer. The Sheriff sent her to notify Tabitha that Davy's jacket that his mother made for him which is what was unique that resembled what a character in his favorite movie wore.

A man who bought land found the jacket and turned it over to the authorities and the cold case gets reopened and with it a media storm ensues. Anissa's job is to comfort the family and try to shield them from the intrusive media.

Tabitha makes a phone call to Thaddeus telling him the news about t Davy's jacket being found and she tells her son that he must come home. Thaddeus doesn't want to come home. He tries to tell his mother that his bestselling memoir about their family's loss that he tours the Country at Author events won't permit it. He picks up a different female at every event, but he never develops a relationship since in my opinion his emotional development has been arrested since the age of fifteen when Davy disappeared. He has left out of the book the truth of what really happened. He never told his parents the truth either.

This book is emotionally complex in how this family has grown apart. What I felt was a powerful story that demonstrates how grief, regret and guilt has torn apart an intact family. How the four characters' lives intersect and the complex trauma are masterfully handled by this author. It manages to be an exploration of a family's way of not having processed the gamut of the psychological toll which they have to face now. Literary fiction rarely offers a character study combined with a suspenseful plot. It deeply affected me. This novel deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible with this heartfelt written story.


"She hadn't appreciated how rare and fleeting it would all be,
that the simplest moments were actually remarkable. She'd
looked right past them, her eyes always scanning the horizon
for something else. She'd had it all, and then it was all gone.
She would regret those oversights for the rest of her life,
no matter how many times she wrote that she regretted
nothing."

Publication Date: October 1, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and Harper Muse for providing me with my Amazing ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#EveryMomentSicnce #MarybethMayhewWhalen #HarperMuse #NetGalley

As a mother, I did not love the idea behind the story, but the story was written very well. I was hopeful for some sort of happy ending. The ending surprised me, as I did not see that coming. A lot of the characters held a lot of guilt, and it was a very heavy read.

It was a well written book.. I am not "in love" with the book because of the storyline, but it was a good book. I appreciated the recognition given to all the unsolved missing children cases (so tragic).

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advance read in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a good book.
I have never read anything by Whalen, but I absolutely will read her again.
This book was about a missing boy, but I feel like it clung so closely to the emotions of the characters involved that I was more focused on them and less on what happen to Davy the night of his disappearance.
Don’t get me wrong, I was curious what happened, but I was so swept up by the people mourning him, I forgot to try and figure out who could have made him disappear.
This book is devastating, but also beautiful in ways.
I enjoyed listening. 4⭐️
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this story about the case of a missing boy reopened after more than 20 years when the jacket he was wearing is discovered. The story goes back and forth between the present and the time of the disappearance, and the author does a great job of describing the impact of the disappearance on those who live in the small town. Particularly poignant is the story of the man who was suspected of involvement in the boy's disappearance and has been shunned by townspeople ever since. Several unexpected twists and turns plus great character development make this a must read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given both the book and audio book. I listened to the audio book. I really liked that there was different narrators for all the different characters. I really felt for the four main characters though I would have liked to have gotten the father and sister`s feelings too. There was a lot of lying going on in this book and even still in the end people did not come clean to everyone. I felt like the murderer was kind of anti-calmatic at least for me. Overall I felt for the family and their loss of their son from the moment he went missing so the writing was good.

I’ve cried while reading books dozens of times. But I don’t know if I’ve ever cried at the end. When I turned the (digital) page and realized the book was over, I laid it down and cried.
Every Moment Since is one of the most poignant, heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. Centering on the disappearance of a child, this book highlights how small decisions can alter a life forever. It’s an amazing example of how many lives are affected and changed by one event.
As a mom of two boys, the story itself broke my heart. But it was also a beautiful reminder to love and enjoy every minute of life, because tomorrow is not promised.
I loved how this book flowed between past and present, changing character viewpoints. The characters were real and flawed. I found myself liking and hating them by turns. In the end, I could understand and empathize with each one.
I was not prepared for the ending. But it was perfectly fitting for the story.
Every Moment Since is going down as one of my favorite books of all time. It’s a must-read!
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. A lot to unpack here with this book.
The beginning of the book was a little confusing with the different POV’s and also the different timelines. However all of it came together and you get to learn more about each character and the roll they played in Davey’s life and disappearance.
Phenomenal book though about family and friends and a town facing a tragic loss and coming together as one to solve what happened.
Some slight surprises at the end that you kind of expected but were unsure about. Really great book.

This book had everything I could ever hope for. I love a book that involves a missing person, a cold case, and makes me feel emotional. I highly recommend you read this; you won't be disappointed. Outstanding.

This is a story, told about how a young boy, Davy Malcor, goes missing. He goes missing from North Carolina and the story is told over a 20 year period through multiple POVs. It shows how many peoples lives are touched, and changed by his disappearance.
We see his parents grieve and and how it effects their marriage. The brother's life is never the same as he, along with everyone else, is plagued by guilt. From the disappearance of Davy to finding his jacket to the conclusion the story is pulls us in.
The many POVs made the story difficult to follow at times. This could have been cleaner however I appreciated the richness it brought to the story.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Muse for an advance copy of this book. These opinions are my own

I was thrilled with a chance to review “Every Moment Since” by Marybeth Whalen.

Davy goes missing and twenty years later, there are still not any leads until his jacket is found. The discovery leads his family to return. The reader gets to see how Davy’s disappearance has shaped their lives (as well as other individuals) for the past two decades.

“Every Moment Since” is told in the various POVs of those affected by this event. I thought the author did a great job weaving the different voices while building suspense, but it was hard to keep track of so many people. I did like the concept--how a single event can completely change a person, even if you are impacted by that event indirectly. Overall, this is a thrilling read.

Four stars.

Thanks to the author, Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read this captivating novel.

This book will pull at your heart in ways you never thought it could. The writing. The premise. Everything. Even during the midst of a writing slump I was able to make it all the way through.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced reader copy.

This was a slow burn mystery, in terms of finding out what happened to Davy, with more of a focus on the different people connected to the night he disappeared (family and other townspeople). I enjoyed the mixing up of having multiple pov characters plus excerpts from Thaddeus' memoir about Davy. When the final reveal came about who was responsible, it was surprising but felt realistic and not like it came totally out of nowhere. I'd read another book from this author.

When young Davy Malcor disappears one night, there are so many people who feel responsible in some small way - his parents for allowing him to be out playing past dark, his brother who should have been watching him better, his new little friend who lost track of him during a race, and even the young man who rented a house on the property where Davy disappeared, because he shooed him away.

This story is about so much more than a missing child. It’s about the different ways that grief can affect you, and what you do with that grief. I found the writing so powerful in that it made me too grieve for Davy and I kept hoping for some kind of closure for the family. The pace of the story is quite slow, which I imagine is exactly what life feels like when a member of your family has disappeared.

The torment and agony is palpable in these characters, which really brings this story to life. Though it is sad, it’s a wonderful book. I highly recommend it and happily rate it 5 big stars. Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

Every Moment Since by Marybeth Whalen jumps between the past when a little boy, Davy, goes missing to the present (20 years later) when his jacket is found, opening up his cold case. This discovery leads to all of his family returning to Wynotte to see if this is the time when Davy is actually found.

There were a lot of POVs in this book (too many in my opinion). I didn't think Gordon's story added much to the plot and probably could have been left out. The short chapters made this book a little disjointed, but a quick read. The thing I appreciated most was seeing how Davy's disappearance affected Davy's family, especially his mom and older brother.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for sending an ARC for consideration. All opinions are my own.

For years the Malcors haven’t known what happened to little Davy Malcor the night he disappeared. Twenty years later, a piece of evidence is uncovered. The police finally have a lead on this cold case.

Having a child go missing is impossible to come back from, and impossible to recover from. This character driven novel does a good job showing the devastation of such a loss, and the long-lasting impacts it can have. The small decisions made by Davy’s parents, his brother, other adults and children ultimately led to the tragic event. If at any point things had played out in a slightly different way, the tragedy would never have happened. The book explores the inner lives of the characters who feel regret and guilt over how they failed to protect Davy. What exactly happened to him is a mystery that has haunted the community.

This was a tough topic. I felt the portrayal of how the different people reacted to the situation was realistic. There were several different POVs introduced in the beginning of the story, but it was easy to keep track of everyone. I quickly adjusted to the style and flow of the story. The story has a full cast of well-rounded characters who were easy to picture and understand. They felt like real people. The mystery of what really happened to the boy kept me reading. The novel felt a little slow, with a melancholy tone.

It seemed a departure from her previous work.

The question of what happened to Davy was answered satisfactorily in the conclusion. By the end, the characters grew and moved toward healing.

This book is intended for the general market.
Possible issues of concern with content:
missing child, mild profanity, mention of casual sex, alcohol use.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This is a book I think I will forever recommend to someone looking for a book to pull all the strings. Wow! I can’t say enough how beautiful this book was done. Highly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Twelve year old Davy goes missing on a typical Saturday night in the 1980's. His parents leave him in the care of his older brother, while his younger sister stays with the teenaged daughter of their close neighbor. The impact of Davy's disappearance on his family takes its toll over time and changes the course of life for everyone involved. Ms. Whalen's writing is a slower-paced style, which is perfect for a story of this nature. This is not a suspense/thriller - its the story of the fallout of a child's disappearance and the aftershocks for family and a community. As far as subject matter, its one of the best fiction pieces of a lost child that I've read.

A novel of a missing child and the effects that his disappearance has on his family and the town that he is from. How each character could have changed what happened that night and how that could have changed the outcome of this missing child. A beautifully written story set in a small town in North Carolina; it will make the reader think how they would act if this happened to them. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

I really enjoyed this story and my only negative? I'd have liked for it to have been longer.

Davy went missing when he was 11, on a night when his brother TJ should have been watching him, but one moment changed everything...

The story then takes us through the lives of various people 20 years on and how Davy's disappearances has affected them since... from the older brother, mother and even a police officer, we get to see how their lives were impacted and how its shaped their characters.

I liked the way we got to see the various characters and thought they were well-crafted, I particularly liked the mum, she was very authentic.

I enjoyed reading it and didn't know what would happen.

If this was longer, it could go a bit more indepth which I think would have made it even better.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't expect the ending at all!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!