"It was to be the perfect wedding—until the bride disappeared. Or was it?"

Only Ever Her, is the first book I have read by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. However from previous experiences of reading small town mysteries by various different authors, I half suspected that the formula for the book’s success, was going to be pretty predictable

I wasn’t to be disappointed … This was definitely a very character driven story, with a slow burning plot, which never really came to the boil with any high impact drama!


Nonetheless, it was expertly crafted and beautifully written!

In any small town you will find one or two characters who stand out from the crowd, however the majority of the main cast of characters, were very ‘beige’, apathetic and lifeless individuals, not particularly likeable, who appeared to simply exist from day to day; creatures of habit, without any real sense of purpose or urgency, even in a time of crisis. It seemed that every single one of them had secrets to hide, relationships to disguise or guilt to assuage.

It seemed as though they were all simply drifting through life, sublimely unaware of their failings, or if they were, definitely not in a hurry to do anything about them. They certainly didn’t seem to worry too much about the consequences of their actions, or the impact they had on their fellow townsfolk.

The plot itself could have had real potential to be a little more dramatic than it was, however what had once held promise, fizzled out into something of a non-event if the dialogue and narrative were to be believed, albeit a very sad and tragic affair. The storyline instead, became dominated by events of the past, which did take a rather surprising turn towards the end of the book, especially when it transpired that Annie was already in possession of certain information just before her disappearance, leaving me to wonder exactly how much this had influenced the state of her mind and her logical decision making capabilities.

The burning question of the moment – “what happened to the bride-to-be?”, whilst it was answered per se; was I felt, dealt with very superficially and left me facing several random explanations of my own choosing, on which to base my conclusions, without any final closure by the author:

Was Annie jealous of her best friend’s relationship with her soon-to-be husband?

Was Annie ashamed of her own feelings for someone other than her husband to-be?

Had Annie discovered enough about childhood events which made her feel remorse and guilt for the way she had treated another person and the terrible consequences those actions had heaped upon their life?

Or was Annie Taft’s death simply nothing more than a tragic accident?

I left this small town with a sense of relief that I wasn’t being forced to live there and that I would never hopefully need to return, although I can be fairly certain that if I were to revisit in the future, nothing much will have changed.

By now you might well be asking yourself exactly why I rated this book quite so highly. Well, the storyline met most of my pre-reading expectations of a small town mystery and I certainly enjoyed Marybeth’s writing style and characterizations

A seductive, engaging and emotional thriller. Full of twists and turns. Would recommend to all my friends!

I finished reading this book a few days back. Though it is advertised as a thriller, I personally don't think it belongs to the thriller genre. It was a good read, but not thrilling. The book is told from various perspectives which I particularly find hard to read. Nonetheless, the book kept me engaged to find out the mystery behind Annie's disappearance. I was also left with mixed emotions about the twist and the ending. Overall, 3 stars.

Thank you NetGally and the Publisher for my free copy in exchange foran honest review.

This was a good southern thriller for an easy summer read. Entertaining, if not groundbreaking or revolutionary for the genre.

Annie Taft, who "witnessed" her mother's murder when she was barely 3 years old, was the town's sweet heart. Naturally, her marriage was the biggest social events. Every one loved the "girl who survived the trauma". But the bride to be went missing 4 days before the wedding.
As the search for her went on, we got to know and understand the various people in her life, especially those who loved her.

I found the story nice, not exactly what i expected but it was still a good one. At times, especially halfway through it, the story dragged a bit. The various characters were however interesting, and easy to sympathize with.
I didn't expect that ending. Not that it was exactly a huge surprise, at least not all of it, but it was sad in a depressing way.
Anyway, it was an nice book and i would be interested in reading more by this author.

Annie Tafts is going to have the wedding of the year in the small town where she was born and brought up. She is looked upon with much fondness amongst the inhabitants of this town, mainly because of her mother who was found brutally murdered and whose killer was put away mainly by the evidence given by Annie a three year old at the time.



Now four days before the wedding Annie has gone missing. It is also no small coincidence that after 23 years the man convicted of killing her mother is released from prison. Could the two events be connected but it seems too pat, too contrived to be that. The list of suspects grow and the tension in her Aunt's house mounts as there seem to be so many secrets hidden for decades that are all going to burst upon the unsuspecting.



How well people know the persons they live with is reiterated in this story. It is amazing that very often we hardly know the people whom we are most intimate with, people whom we have spent our entire life with. In this case is the discovery of Annie going to be too late.



An interesting story of thrills and secrets.

Due to my very low rating, no review will be posted to goodreads, amazon, or my youtube channel.
Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery!

A bride who went missing just before her wedding and the whole town is thrown back in time when she was involved in another tragedy.
I felt that though this was a very well crafted book, that there was something missing. I realised that even if the characters and the plot were good enough, the pace of the book left me wanting. Somehow, the investigation itself seems to be disjointed. There were snatches of it here and there.
Nonetheless, I did enjoy the book.

Favorite Quotes:

Louise is one of the richest women in town but not one of the smartest. She was once quite the beauty, but that ship has sailed. She spends most of her time standing on the dock waving a hanky, begging it to come back to her. Which means she spends a lot of time in Faye’s salon.

She has always respected and feared lawyers, as if they possess something she never could, some special insight into truth and justice, a gift bestowed on them at birth, like a pitching arm or a brilliant mind.

She is standing by Faye’s elbow, annoyingly close. Faye can smell the determination on her like alcohol on a barfly.

Faye has already grown to hate that word, missing, the snakelike quality of it, the way people’s tongues get stuck on the S’s. It makes her unfairly angry at Millicent for saying it just like that, a hiss instead of a word… She is already anticipating tragedy, tasting it on her tongue like the ham that comes with funerals.

He’s heard you don’t have to let cops in unless they have a warrant, so he has no intention of throwing open his door, of saying, Come on in, fellas. Cops are like vampires; they have to be invited in, but once you invite them in, they have the power.


My Review:

I waffled a bit in how to rate this tautly written, absorbing, and well-crafted book. Yet, when looking at my marked quotes, my indecision promptly evaporated as the sublime quality of Ms. Whalen’s writing removed all doubt. The evolution of the story was incrementally slow and told with a multiple POV, yet all the pieces proved to be necessary and an increasing level of tension and additional layers of intrigue steadily inched forward with each compelling chapter. I feared many loose ends – silly me! This cunning and cleverly perceptive wordsmith wrapped them all up rather neatly, and for the most part, unexpectedly. Lesson learned, I unswervingly pledge I will never second-guess her extraordinarily nimble skill for subterfuge again.

This was a solid 3.5 star read for me, but something was just missing for me to completely love it. This was my 7th book by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and it was good, but When We Were Worthy is definitely my favorite. The story line was promising, but I think we were missing key information so at times I felt confused. For instance, nobody knew that Kenny and Annie were friends and couldn't be together, but they didn't explain why. There were also characters that she developed a story line for, but I just never felt like it went anywhere. We spend the whole book trying to find Annie and then connecting to the people still present, but I don't feel any closure for those characters. There were just some holes in the plot. I do have to say that her writing flows so well and it's easy to read quickly. She keeps me engrossed in the story and I love a good family mystery that doesn't have to have a unbelievable twist. As many others have said, don't go into this one expecting a major thriller, because you will be disappointed. For the most part, I could see where this was going and I don't mind that at all.

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Thank you to Lakeview Publishing and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book!

This is a womens fiction book reminding me of the old "Peyton Place" novel with small town secrets and gossip and prejudices especially if a character was not born or raised in the town.

Annie is getting married in a few days and is quite overwhelmed with all the preparations and emotions that go hand in hand with a big wedding and also is carrying some secrets that have her majorly stressed and she feels she must not share them with anyone since she feels noone will understand and will judge her harshly.
Lo and behold, the bride seems to have disappeared four days before her big day! Is Annie a runaway bride? Did something happen to Annie or is she the victim of foul play?

I'm sorry to say this book just didn't work for me. It seemed to promise some mystery but the suspense seemed to be missing. The story was so character driven that it weighed the story down for me. There was too much information on some of the characters and not enough on others. There was a nice little twist towards the end of the book but for myself it was "too little too late". Many readers may enjoy this book so I still recommend it for those who enjoy a lot of drama.

I have given this book a rating of 2 1/2 🌟🌟✴

3.5 stars for me.
This is a book of secrets, wrapped around a mystery that takes place in a small town in South Carolina. Annie's mother, a single parent, was killed while they were camping and when Annie was three years old. Her testimony (not sure how believable it was that a three year old would testify) contributed to the conviction of a local man for her mother's murder. Her Aunt Faye and cousin Clary move to Annie's home to care for her after the murder and that's where the girls grow up and Annie remains the darling of the town. The three women lived together for 20+ years, but as is slowly revealed in the book - how well do they really know each other? Why are there so many secrets between them (and some are pretty big, and unpredictable secrets).
The story begins two weeks before Annie's wedding and continues to unfold against a backdrop of scheduled wedding events.
Most of the characters were nicely developed, the storyline was interesting (predictable in some parts), and it did keep my interest. This is the first book I've read by the author and I will definitely check out her backlist.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read Only Ever Her in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of Only Ever Her for review.
I really liked the alternating POVs. When a bride goes missing days before her wedding, the family is left behind to piece together secrets and it’s interesting to read from all viewpoints. Nobody keeps secrets from each other like family members! I did find that the mystery quickly took a back seat to the family drama. Also, the ending left a little to be desired. A unique mix of drama, character study and mystery.

I’m very sorry but I just can’t seem to get into this book. I don’t like the way it’s laid out or the way it is jumping all over the place. I usually love books that have different people for each chapter but this one is just to much. I keep getting lost. If I can’t follow it then I can’t relate to any of the characters. It’s just not for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Lake Union Publishers for this copy

Only a 2.5 stars from me.

What is it about small southern towns that appeals to me so greatly?! Throw in a light mystery and a whole bunch of secrets and I’m all in!

The characters are the driving force in this, much as was the case in her previous book, When We Were Worthy, and there’s just something about a character driven tale that speaks to me in a deep way. This one focuses a lot on community and how people come together and support each other during hard times and there are several perspectives that offer you a birds eye POV of what’s really going on in the town, and there is an awful going on. My favorite two characters were Annie’s aunt Faye and her cousin Clary, Faye was larger than life and so loving and Clary was quirky and wildly unique.

This starts out on the slower side but if you look at it like a slow unraveling of both the book itself and the mystery, I think you’ll be satisfied in the end because I sure was. Recommended to fans of character driven stories about life during hard times told with plenty of heart.

Only Ever Her in three words: Heartfelt, Endearing and SubtleYes

Just days before her wedding, Annie disappears. The news travels quickly through her small South Carolina town as Annie was somewhat the town’s “darling.” Following the murder of her mother more than 20 years earlier, Annie was raised by her aunt and had a special place in the heart of her community.

Although <i>Only Ever Her</i> is a mystery, it is far from an action-packed, page-turning thriller. Quite the opposite, it is character-driven with a slow pace. The story is told from alternating views of family, friends, and a few community members – all with a secret of some kind. Some of the characters were less developed and believable than others. Several really resonated with me while others left me puzzled.

Overall, even though I finished the book, I did not feel I really connected with this one. After an interesting and promising start, the pace slowed and my interest lagged. The ending was a mixed bag – lukewarm in one regard but a nice twist in another.


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Only Ever Her follows the disappearance of Annie Taft days before her wedding. I found the characters difficult to connect with, the resolution somewhat obvious. A good story that could have been crafted more skillfully.

I liked the concept of the story but this was quite poorly written like not even the author knew what was going on as they were writing it. You could feel the uncertainty behind their words. Not a good thing. Very disappointing.

I struggled with the author's voice(s) for the different characters from the beginning. Jumping and introducing 4-5 different voices all at once was difficult to follow and no one character seemed likeable.

It was to be the perfect wedding—until the bride disappeared.
In Marybeth Mayhew Whalen's new novel, ONLY EVER HER (LakeUnionPublishing), Annie Taft’s wedding is four days away, and it will be one of the grandest anyone can remember in her small South Carolina town. Preparations are in order. Friends and family are gathering in anticipation. Everything is going according to plan. Except that Annie herself has vanished. Did she have second thoughts?

Or has something much worse happened to the bride-to-be?

As the days pass, the list of suspects in her disappearance grows. Could it be the recently released man a young Annie misidentified as her mother’s killer? Could it be someone even closer to her?

While her loved ones frantically try to track her down, they’re forced to grapple with their own secrets—secrets with the power to reframe entire relationships, leaving each to wonder how well they really knew Annie and how well they know themselves.

I liked the premise of ONLY EVER HER, but I felt like the book couldn't decide what it was. It can be placed in several categories, but I felt it didn't have a focus. I love MMW's novels. I guess I was kind of let down by this one.