This book was so atmospheric and I truly felt like I was in the story! Thank you so much to Julia Heaberlin, Netgalley, and Random House/Ballantine for this stunning ARC. The cover caught my attention right away and that was it for me! I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down until I finished.

The story was about a few different main characters. These characters included Wyatt, a mysterious man many people thought killed his sister and father, Odette, a fiery cop with one leg, and Angel, a one-eyed girl found in a circle of dandelions. Each character had their own part to play in this mystery and the more you read the book the more it unravels.

Thoughts: I really liked the setting and description of this book. It was immediately interesting and I thought it was very unique. The characters were all dynamic and had so many things that made me want to learn more about them. I never knew where this story was going for a second and that’s something I really enjoyed. Some of the writing was a bit confusing, especially when Wyatt was speaking to his dead sister. I also felt there were some moments that didn’t really mesh with the flow of the story that threw me off.

There were a few big twists and I definitely did not see the ending coming. I like when the unexpected happens, and this book had some of those moments that shocked me. This book was a solid mystery with great writing- 4-stars from me!

Wow, that a mystery/thriller this book was! It has been sitting on my netgalley shelf for a bit and I decided to finally give it a try last night... and finished it this morning. Told from three different point of views, I was worried this would be bothersome, but it in fact made this story even stronger. Wyatt begins the story, finding a young woman in a field, missing an eye. He is haunted by the death of his sister and his narration is dark and unsettling. Odette, a police officer who has returned the town of her childhood, still haunted by her past steps in to try and help "Angel". Angel is the third narrator and her story begins five years later as she fights find the truth about the disappearance of her savior. This was an excellent thriller and it was because of the way the author revealed information and crafted three very distinctive voices. The twists and turns in the story kept me guessing and I wanted to know what the truth was and how it would be revealed. Heaberlin is definitely an author I want to read more from! This read is fast paced and worth the time if you are looking to lose yourself in a great mystery!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview We are All The Same In the Dark by Juilia Heaberlin. This reminded me of a small town mystery with lots or rich characters that all have a back story that reveals itself slowly. This is a slower read that I usually like but if you take the time, this is a good story.
A small town deals with the death that remain unsolved and the power of perseverance, family and strength for justice.
Told in the POV of several characters, this is a good read with a strong plot.
3.5 stars.

We Are All the Same in the Dark is Julia Heaberlin's best work yet. Utterly engrossing and in-put-downable! She masterfully weaved a tale in multiple points of view, culminating in an ending I never saw coming.

I am going to be honest and say that this book was slow going in the beginning and took me awhile to get into. It has really good reviews, so I powered through knowing something was coming. I saw a few people call this a thriller. I wouldn’t use those words, at all. It is more of a slow-burn mystery. It started out with Wyatt’s POV, and I cared nothing about it. Then came Odette, and I enjoyed her more…but my attention was still not all there. Finally when we get Angel’s POV, I really started getting into it. There was definitely a twist at the end that I did not see coming!!! And maybe if I cared more about details in the beginning I would have picked up on it more? But who knows. So it has the surprise element going for it.

Bottom Line: If you have the patience for a slow burn mystery, this might be for you. I thought the writing itself was great, and it was definitely an interesting story.

**I received a copy of We Are All the Same in the Dark from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

A few years ago I read Black-eyed Susans and I liked it so much I was looking forward to reading more from this author. When I saw this one I decided to give it a try. The author did a great job of setting up the "small town with secrets" atmosphere of this book, and it surprised me a couple of times with twists I didn't see coming. But I did not end up liking it as much as I had hoped.

This story is narrated by three different characters. Wyatt, Odette, and Angel. All the characters are deeply flawed. I had sympathy for them, and I liked the way the author portrayed the character who was missing a leg, and the character who was missing an eye. I thought the author did a good job of getting into their heads and showing what they felt. I also thought the parts about the prosthetics and the ocularist were very interesting. Despite this, I just couldn't really like the characters as much as I wanted to, and this affected the way I felt about the book in general. I still have several other books by this author on my to-read list, so I will probably revisit her books again at some point. I just wish I had liked this one more.

I just loved the writing.

I loved the Black-Eyed Susans and liked this just as much. It was a bit of a slow burn though so be patient. Three narrators, each an interesting and distinct voice, make the story come alive.

Great premise, fantastic writing and such a great vibe made this one extremely entertaining. Look forward to the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Ballantine Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

I can honestly say that I’ve never read anything like this before. With beautiful writing, multiple POVs, two murders, and a few suspects, 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 is a dark (pun intended) and twisty thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. ⁣⁣⠀
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Synopsis ⁣⁣⠀
It’s been a decade since Trumanell Branson disappeared, leaving only a bloody handprint behind. Her brother, Wyatt, lives as a pariah in the desolation of the old family house, cleared of wrongdoing by the police but tried and sentenced in the court of public opinion and in a new documentary about the crime. ⁣⁣⠀
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When Wyatt finds a lost girl dumped in a field of dandelions, making silent wishes, he believes she is a sign. The town’s youngest cop, Odette Tucker, believes she is a catalyst that will ignite a seething town still waiting for its own missing girl to come home. But Odette can’t look away. She shares a wound that won’t close with the mute, one-eyed mystery girl. And she is haunted by her own history with the missing Tru. ⁣⁣⠀
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Desperate to solve both cases, Odette fights to save the lost girl in the present and to dig up the shocking truth about a fateful night in the past—the night her friend disappeared, the night that inspired her to become a cop, the night that wrote them all a role in the town’s dark, violent mythology. ⁣⁣⠀
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With a lot of characters and plot lines, I found this one hard to follow at times. I had to reread some chapters to make sure I understood what was happening. I really like how the two leading ladies are fearless and brilliant. While one has only one leg, and the other only one eye, they don’t let these circumstances define them. Heaberlin’s writing is outstanding and vivid, truly beautiful. The “murder within a murder” plot is unique. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile. ⁣⁣⠀

Wow, wow, wow! This is one of those intense stories that will definitely not be leaving my mind for a while! Intense, creepy, chilling, and unputdownable! The writing is done so well, you cannot help but connect to the characters and needs to know more! It’s a bit intense, chilling, and even scary at times, but I love that! Very well written, characters developed in s manner that really connects the reader and makes it impossible not to find out everything!! Thrills, chills, and shocks are sure to be found when reading this book! Highly, highly recommend to my fellow thriller addicts! Clear your schedule though!
Will make sure to buzz around platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

I think the downfall of this novel was the writing. It was very difficult to get through. Very choppy and awkward dialogue. It's a shame because I loved Julia Heaberlin's previous novel, "Playing Dead". I also didn't like the multiple points-of-view. I felt like the story should've stayed focused on Wyatt's narrative. He was so creepy, he made this book somewhat bearable, sans the writing style. I'm a little shocked with all the glowing reviews, but I found the whole story a little hard to believe. It was trying to hard to be provocative and gothic, instead it felt very static and repetitive. It's a mixed bag for me.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

Release date: August 11, 2020

This mystery is set in a small Texas town and is told from 3 points of view. It was dark and a little creepy. For readers who like different perspectives during the storytelling, this is the book for you. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased point of view.

Holy cow what did I just read? This book is FANTASTIC!!! 10 years ago, Trumanell Branson and her father Frank disappeared. Odette's father was the police officer on her case and it is still open. Now 10 years later, Odette is a police officer still trying to find out what happened to her friend Trumanell. Wyatt is Trumanell's brother and the town assumed Wyatt killed his sister and his father. Odette and Wyatt dated in high school. When Wyatt finds a lost little girl in a field., Odette takes care of her and tries to figure out who she is. This story is first told by Odette then by Angel the lost little girl Wyatt found. . This story has so many twists and turns, secrets, and mystery it makes for the absolute best of thrillers! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I liked this book, any story with strong female characters and I AM THERE FOR IT. It kept me guessing till the end and was hard to put down. Great beach read!!!

This #mysterynovel was an enjoyable read and kept me guessing until the end. A small town in #Texas deals with the #murdermystery of the Homecoming Queen, whose body was never found and her family are the prime suspects. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book to add to your #summerreadinglist when it’s published next month. 📚📚📚 #netgalley #weareallthesameinthedark #bookreview #bookrecommendation

4.5 stars, rounded up!!! We Are All the Same in the Dark is a wild ride. I read the majority of this book with no idea who committed the crimes and ending was out of left field leaving me totally blindsided. Trumanell Branson was a small town hero who up and disappeared over a decade ago on the same night that now cop, Odette Tucker lost her leg in an automobile accident. Odette now doggedly pursues the case even though everyone in town believes her old beau and Trumanell's brother Wyatt committed murder. Even though, she is not a hundred percent sure Wyatt is innocent, Odette cannot seem to stay away. When Wyatt brings home a one-eyed girl found in a field of dandelions, Odette steps in to save the girl, Angel. Just when Odette seems to have figured everything out, the perspective in the book changes to Angel telling the story. Heart pounding and a little heart breaking, the story twists and turns enough to keep your head spinning and a little breathless. What another great book from Julia Heaberlin with strong and complicated female protagonists. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

I read the author's previous book Black Eyed Susans and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book details a young girl's body being discovered. Her brother Wyatt is a suspect. A decade later Wyatt finds another girl and the detective has two mysteries to solve.
I just could not get into this book which was a shame because I was looking forward to reading it. I had to re-read the beginning twice and for me it got confusing as it was written through 3 different people. I do thank the publishers and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review.

We Are All the Same in the Dark gives us a story from three perspectives. First we see things through the eyes of twenty six year old Wyatt, when he finds a one eyed girl on the side of the road. Wyatt has an extremely troubled and violent background and he knows that his world will explode worse than it already has, if he is found with this girl. During Wyatt's, too short for me, section of the book, we also meet Trumanell, his beloved older sister, who he talks to while tending to the girl.

The next part of the book is seen through the eyes of twenty six year old Odette, daughter of a late police officer, now a police officer herself, in the same small town where her dad ruled and where Wyatt lives. Odette and Wyatt grew up together and loved each other, maybe still do, but they were torn apart by events when they were sixteen. There was a night of violence when Odette lost her leg after crashing her truck, after Wyatt told her to flee his house, Trumanell and her abusive father disappeared, and later, Wyatt was found in a maddened state at a nearby lake. After time in a mental institution, Wyatt came back to live in the family home, forever a pariah, being blamed for the death of missing Trumanell. Odette is strong and resourceful and filled with guilt and suspicion about that night and the fact that her friend Trumanell has never been found. She even wonders if her father did something bad to Trumanell and knows she can't trust any of the men in this town. I had such hopes for Odette, hopes that she would reunite with her estranged husband, that she would be able to help the one eyed girl after Wyatt reached out to her for help, that she might be able to break the ten year old case of what happened to Trumanell. But Odette's searching for answers upsets the wrong person and she too goes missing. 

Five years later we see the story from the eyes of Angel, the one eyed girl whose life was changed by the help and attention that Odette gave to her in the few days that they knew each other. Angel is eighteen now, ready to start college on a full scholarship but first, she wants to find out what happened to Odette. Her outlook on life has been colored in a good way by what Odette left her, six strong words that describe them both, and she will use what she knows and her resourcefulness to find Odette and who made her disappear. Angel is the only thing that makes the darkness in the book bearable for me but she's walking right into that darkness, riling it up, and the bleakness of this land, people, and story make it very likely that Angel might be a third woman to go missing in this sad, violent tale. 

Almost everyone in this story seems to be hiding something or they are confessing to things that might not even be true. Odette shows Angel her value and despite Angel's devastating past, Angel takes what she gets from Odette and makes something of her life. With this story, we can only hope that Angel's curiosity and desire to set things right, doesn't cause her to fall into the same violent hole that swallowed Trumanell and Odette. 

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC.

We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin is a dark read. It takes place in Texas. Wyatt, a man with a disturbing past and mental illness, finds a girl in a field surrounded by dandelions. He takes her home. His sister, Trumanell, went missing years earlier and is presumed dead. He still sees her and talks to her as if she is still there. The other main character, Odette, is a policewoman and former girlfriend of Wyatt. She gets a call about Wyatt finding the girl and goes to his house to investigate. I don't want to get too far into detail with the plot. It is complicated and at times confusing. I found the way the story was told hard to follow. I had to re-read some parts of it to make sense of what was going on. The story was an interesting one once I got to the end but I had a difficult time getting there. I know some people would enjoy this style of writing but I prefer more straight forward storytelling. All in all, this was a good read and a dark mystery. I think alot of mystery lovers would like this. Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I am a Julia Heaberlin fan and this one did not disappoint. The only con I have with her writing is she has so much going on, much more than meets the eye, especially if you are listening to the book via Kindle VoiceView, you will have to go back and go back or just actually “read” her books to get the whole picture and oh my, what a picture she paints. She puts the word “read” back into reading books. Some books are not meant to be listened to.
In this story we cover three different women/girls, Trumanelle, Odette and Angel with other characters intertwined, Odette’s father, Trumanelle’s father and brother Wyatt, along with a host of others. I would suggest you just slow down, pay attention, enjoy the ride and remember why you enjoy reading. Great storyline and murder/mystery, I did not have this one figured out at all. Great ending!!
Another winner as far as I am concerned. Black-Eyed Susans, Paper Ghosts, now One Eyed-Dandelions, what’s next Julia? I’m ready…..
I want to thank Random House Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. Loved this book, the high 5 stars!!!

Like a Texas drawl this story develops slowly with tiny drops of suspense ...

Shortest Summary Ever: Small town Texas cop Odette Tucker has never been able to escape what happened 10 yrs ago - the disappearance of Trumanell Branson (that name is soooo Texas), the most popular girl-next-door-best-thing-since-sliced-white-bread. Posters still scream for the return of the town’s princess. All eyes (and gossip) have pointed at Wyatt, Trumanell’s brother. And he’s just discovered a strange one-eyed girl sitting in a field, alone. What does he know? What does Odette know? Secrets... secrets... everywhere.

My Thoughts: Don’t expect a fast-paced thriller. This is a book to be sipped slowly like sweet tea with lingering melting ice cubes. But this tea IS served with a side of intrigue and some darn good writing. For me, it unfolded a tad TOO slowly, but the characters were vivid and the writing downright prosaic at times - not what I’m used to in the mystery genre but a writing style I immensely enjoyed. This is why I try not to put too much stock in descriptions- better with no expectations!

All my reviews available at scrappymags.com

Genre: Mystery/Contemporary fiction

Recommend to: If you’re in the mood for a slow moving mystery, Texas style with a contemporary fiction edge.

Not recommended to: if you’re in the mood for fast and gripping.

Thank you to the author Julia Heaberlin, Random House Ballantine, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review.