Scan barcode
A review by bookishgoob
We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
We are all the same in the dark is told in 5 parts. The first part, short, from the character Wyatt’s perspective. The second part, in the same time line as Wyatt is told from Odette’s point of view; a cop in the town that the crime has taken place. and the last 3 parts are from the perspective of Angel, a young girl who was found by Wyatt & protected by Odette, 5 years later.
We are all the same in the dark: In 2005, the disappearance of a teenage girl rocks the town she is from. They have never let it go, promising themselves and her that they will find out what happened to her. Years later, Wyatt, the brother of the missing teenage girl (everyone suspects he is the reason she and their father are gone) finds a young girl on the road. She is missing an eye and will not talk for any one. Odette, still obsessed with the case from 2005, because she was dating Wyatt when it happened and lost her leg in an accident as a domino affect from the crime, comes to him and takes the young girl. Things are happening to Odette and there is no explanation to them. “gifts” left on her porch, phone calls from private numbers in the middle of the night, all these unexplained events are happening while she is getting closer to the truth. 5 years later, the young girl Wyatt and Odette saved comes back to the town to try and finish where Odette left off. Several mysteries in one, unreliable narrators, and many twists and turns make up the novel.
I completely enjoyed this slow/medium paced thriller. I didn’t know who to trust, and i felt like i was finding everything out with the characters. Things in the middle seemed to not make any sense but when it get tied up at the end, it makes absolute perfect sense and is such a great reveal. I like how it was slightly open ended in a way, and I didn’t like the reveal of what happened to Trumanell. I liked the relationship between the characters and how you never really knew who or what to trust. You can let your mind wander and try to figure it out. Once the reveal happens, it feels like “oooohhhh that makes a lot of sense” because of the foreshadowing that was used (so well, i might add) i’m really glad i picked this book up, knowing little to nothing about it. Even though it was slow paced, it kept me completely hooked all the way through.
Trigger warnings: Rape mention, murder, blood, amputation, child abuse, domestic abuse, mental illness, medical trauma, medical content, death, animal cruelty, infidelity, stalking.
We are all the same in the dark: In 2005, the disappearance of a teenage girl rocks the town she is from. They have never let it go, promising themselves and her that they will find out what happened to her. Years later, Wyatt, the brother of the missing teenage girl (everyone suspects he is the reason she and their father are gone) finds a young girl on the road. She is missing an eye and will not talk for any one. Odette, still obsessed with the case from 2005, because she was dating Wyatt when it happened and lost her leg in an accident as a domino affect from the crime, comes to him and takes the young girl. Things are happening to Odette and there is no explanation to them. “gifts” left on her porch, phone calls from private numbers in the middle of the night, all these unexplained events are happening while she is getting closer to the truth. 5 years later, the young girl Wyatt and Odette saved comes back to the town to try and finish where Odette left off. Several mysteries in one, unreliable narrators, and many twists and turns make up the novel.
I completely enjoyed this slow/medium paced thriller. I didn’t know who to trust, and i felt like i was finding everything out with the characters. Things in the middle seemed to not make any sense but when it get tied up at the end, it makes absolute perfect sense and is such a great reveal. I like how it was slightly open ended in a way, and I didn’t like the reveal of what happened to Trumanell. I liked the relationship between the characters and how you never really knew who or what to trust. You can let your mind wander and try to figure it out. Once the reveal happens, it feels like “oooohhhh that makes a lot of sense” because of the foreshadowing that was used (so well, i might add) i’m really glad i picked this book up, knowing little to nothing about it. Even though it was slow paced, it kept me completely hooked all the way through.
Trigger warnings: Rape mention, murder, blood, amputation, child abuse, domestic abuse, mental illness, medical trauma, medical content, death, animal cruelty, infidelity, stalking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Stalking, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Dementia, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence