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allisonboydcrane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because it was a fun read and I don't want to be a downer.
Plot:
Set in Monte Clare, Missouri, and spanning from 1975 to 2001, the book is told from the perspective of two childhood best friends, Patch and Saint. As teenagers, Patch is abducted while saving the life of a local girl, and Saint dedicates the next year to finding him—and eventually does. Over the following decades, Saint becomes a homicide investigator, while Patch dedicates his life to finding one specific lost girl, using his artwork to bring awareness to many kidnapped girls. While definitely a crime/thriller, this story is more about love, friendship, art, and how trauma shapes you but doesn’t define you.
Pros:
- Great characters: I loved all the characters and thought Whitaker did an amazing job bringing them to life. While I didn’t always love their decisions, I understood their behavior and was rooting for their happiness and peace the entire time. The character development really set this book apart from other crime/thrillers, and for that reason, I was okay with the length!
- Page-turner: It was fun to read, and I was always excited to find out what would happen next.
Neutral:
- Kinda unbelievable: Major plot points I was like....this doesn't make sense. & some of the dialogue from the kid's POV was aggressive.....I was okay with this because it was a good story. To avoid spoilers, I’m not going to write here, but if you’ve read—let’s talk!
Cons:
- Writing style: Too many chapters. I’m usually fine with this—it often indicates a POV change or a shift in the storyline—but there were often 3-page chapters, and the next chapter would be a continuation of the same storyline. Why weren’t these just one chapter? It was confusing. Whitaker also used pronouns excessively, leaving me unsure of who was speaking. In a book with so many plot lines and characters, there needs to be clearer delineation. I felt like I was searching for clues about who was talking when I wanted to be cataloging clues for the mystery itself.
- Predictable: I found the major moments quite predictable. While there were many small twists that were compelling, some felt like they came out of left field and didn’t add much to the overall story.
Themes:
- Love and friendship: While many of the families and relationships were dysfunctional, it does not take away from the love and commitment the characters have for one another. It’s a persistent thread that motivates all actions—a lot of heart!
- Art: Patch’s evolution as an artist is one of the most compelling aspects of the book. His motivations, the subjects of his work, and how his art plays a pivotal role in solving the crime add rich layers to the story. It brings to mind the quote from Martyr!: “Art is where what we survive survives.” The novel illustrates art’s power in personal recovery, storytelling, and shaping how we comprehend history.
- Loss, fear & trauma — This novel is commentary on the many ways people deal with loss, how they harness the associated anger, and how it drives their relationships and decisions.
(https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/203019740)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Blood, and Murder
readreadruby's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Slow to start, sometimes made me work hard to recall who was who (names of characters who’d be spoken of pages ago) but all in all an amazing story. Broke me in all the good ways only a book can.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Blood
vicrine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
2/10 my God why was this so long and complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Classism
reckenreiter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A thriller/ mystery that isn’t formulaic! A unique story with lots of detail and heart.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
So, I read 340 pages in under 24 hours to finish this. It’s that good.
What a beautiful, moving book. Expertly plotted. I ADORED the characters and already know I’ll be thinking of them often. They’re so vivid. This is a masterpiece. Please read it!
Read for Book Huddle book club
What a beautiful, moving book. Expertly plotted. I ADORED the characters and already know I’ll be thinking of them often. They’re so vivid. This is a masterpiece. Please read it!
Read for Book Huddle book club
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Blood, and Abortion
mitchelldavis1997's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
All I can say is, I wish Goodreads had a vocal option to talk about a book. I absolutely loved this book. I don’t really have words to describe how much this book meant to me. There was love, action, killing, the most importantly, the power of friendship and hope This book has not received the hypo that deserves. I think that this book went onto so many levels that people need to explore you’re gonna laugh they’re gonna cry. They’re gonna do everything and I certainly hope that this gets added to everyone’s 2025 Book books to read. I am so excited to share this book with my friends because I think that everyone will learn to love this book so much. This is a great book for people that maybe don’t literary fiction but love murder mystery true crime, coming of age everything in so I just think it’s a great book. This is why you need voice reviews! I can’t say enough good things about this. I would say this is probably in my top 10 favorite books of all times at this moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
memusings's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder
This is not for the HSP reader. For all the content warnings and they are legion, this is such a well told story that weaves so many threads and brings them to a fulfilling conclusion.smkelly1997's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Saint is determined to save Patch. Patch is determined to save her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kay_chan's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Split rating, rounded up:
Formatting & Storyline Execution: ⭐️
Characterization & development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style & theme elements: ⭐️⭐️
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. The storyline could have been decent had the execution been delivered accordingly. This did not need to be over 200 mini chapters with varying povs and no sense of a timeline. I was annoyed from the get-go. I feel like this book took me so much longer than it should have just to get through. Honestly could have been summed up in under 80 chapters.
Besides getting to know the characters very well, there's a lot of alluding and plot holes that never get explained-I'm assuming all for the sake of characters being mysterious. Serious plot points are only mentioned incredibly briefly, so if you're not paying attention amongst the monotony, you end up having to go back a lot.
I'm honestly happy that in the end, Patch did not get caught and put back in jail. I was confused for a bit of the book about who and why exactly he was back in jail for because they had alluded to him murdering a zookeeper and I was so confused. And I at least cannot remember a conversation between Patch and Saint about the relationship between Saint and her veterinarian ex-husband, the abusive POS. I was also surprised that Saint took on "raising" Charlotte in Patch's absence. I would have liked to hear more about the relationship between Patch and the correctional officer. It's also quite curious that both Patch and the Doctor ended up at the same jail. And at least for the audiobook, I had a difficult time remembering minor characters and how they were involved in the storyline. At first I didn't even recognize Grace's father's name and how he was connected to the murders and with the doctor. And it goes against the storyline having his conclusion so far away from the storyline conclusion because by the end of it I didn't even remember what had happened to him- was he murdered? Did he go to jail? I don't know , I assume so. But that would have been a good placement near the end chapter for a reminder of what had happened in his case.
Formatting & Storyline Execution: ⭐️
Characterization & development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style & theme elements: ⭐️⭐️
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. The storyline could have been decent had the execution been delivered accordingly. This did not need to be over 200 mini chapters with varying povs and no sense of a timeline. I was annoyed from the get-go. I feel like this book took me so much longer than it should have just to get through. Honestly could have been summed up in under 80 chapters.
Besides getting to know the characters very well, there's a lot of alluding and plot holes that never get explained-I'm assuming all for the sake of characters being mysterious. Serious plot points are only mentioned incredibly briefly, so if you're not paying attention amongst the monotony, you end up having to go back a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, and Murder
faithemt's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
highly disappointing. Much preferred We Begin at the End by same author.
this dragged on, was redundant in spots and took forever to resolve. LOTS of editing errors and even geographical ones (palmetto trees do NOt grow in mountains!! they're a seaside tree hahah).
this dragged on, was redundant in spots and took forever to resolve. LOTS of editing errors and even geographical ones (palmetto trees do NOt grow in mountains!! they're a seaside tree hahah).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Abortion