We Are all the Same in the Dark was a dark and mysterious book set in an atmospheric rural small Texas town with a history of unrest within the Branson and Tucker families. It's been 10 years since teenager Trumanell Branson disappeared and the case has gone cold. Not only did Odette Tucker lose her best friend 10 years ago, but she also lost her leg on the night that Trumanell and her abusive father disappeared. Now she is back in town as the youngest cop, taking after her late father who was an officer until his death. Odette is determined to solve the mystery of Tru Branson, and now there is another girl in the mix. A girl with one eye who doesn't speak, which Odette feels is her duty to serve and protect. Are the two cases related? Is Tru's brother, Wyatt, responsible for her disappearance like so many in the town believe? Odette was once in love with Wyatt Branson, but now he is a shell of the man he once was. Will Odette solve the mystery of Tru's disappearance or will she end up one of the lost girls herself? This is a wonderfully written and suspenseful novel that you won't be able to put down. Odette is a strong female character with both flaws and fierce determination in abundance. Highly recommend!

I need more thrillers set in my state of Texas in my life. Holy HECK this one was incredible. I didn't see the twist coming at all. I need to get this physical copy for my library ASAP.

He sat in a garden of tidy red and white inpatients, every blade of grass poisoned to be a beautiful green instead of in the wild brown field where we belong.

The story follows Odetta, a young cop in Texas who is haunted by the disappearance of her friend a decade earlier, who only left a bloody handprint behind. The small town that she lives in has turned this tragic event into a legend.

Tender, resilient, strong, resourceful, kind, empathetic

Julia Heaberlin delivers another fantastic thriller/crime novel. This story draws you in. Once I started I couldn’t put it down, I would have read in one setting if life wasn’t a priority.

I have been trying to get into this book for a while. I love the atmospheric nature of the story, but I am having a hard time getting into the book itself. It's not that I don't like what I am reading so far, I just don't feel a real tug to keep going. I am going to put this on pause and come back in a bit with a clear head!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the free e-book in exchange for an unbiased review!

Ten years ago, Trumanell Branson disappeared, leaving behind only a bloody handprint and her younger brother, Wyatt. Also missing is her father, Frank. A decade later, Odette Tucker is brought back into the mystery of what happened to Trumanell, this time as a cop and not as Wyatt’s high school girlfriend, when Wyatt finds a young girl on the side of the highway. Is Wyatt responsible for his sister’s disappearance? Why did he take this young girl home with him? What really happened on the Branson farm in June 2005?

Julia Heaberlin’s newest novel, We Are All The Same In The Dark is a nonstop thrill ride through a small town in Texas. I loved this book. It was interesting to have the book told from the point of view of two different female protagonists, who, while telling their stories five years apart from each other, and 10 and 15 years away from the original crime, were coming from very similar backgrounds and experiences. The mysteries of the book were great as well; they were expertly woven together to create a cohesive storyline, and while I was pretty sure I knew who was responsible early on, it was still a fun and fascinating ride to the ultimate conclusion.

5/5 stars, and I will definitely be checking out Julia Heaberlin’s other novels!

"Tender, resilient, strong, resourceful, kind, empathetic..."

I don't think I've ever read a book similar to this one. Told from 3 different perspectives, it's an atmospheric mystery thriller with such unique characters that I am still trying to fully appreciate the whole scope of the story with admiration for the author.

It's best to go into this book without reading too many reviews as you want to allow the narrative to pull you in before revealing any of its secrets. The main plot involves a girl, Trumanell Branson, who went missing along with her father, Frank, one hot Texas night a decade ago. Neither she nor her father were ever found but foul play is suspected. Flash forward years later as Odette Tucker, now a cop in her hometown, ex-girlfriend of Trumanell's brother, Wyatt, still hasn't given up finding them or their killer. Some townspeople believe that Wyatt killed both his sister and his father, he definitely isn't completely normal, and yet Odette can't make the pieces fit. She suffered her own huge loss the night that Trumanell disappeared. And then Wyatt finds a one-eyed girl alongside the highway near his farm. Separated into three main parts each narrated by a different character, the story comes to life as the truth finally comes out. NO SPOILERS.

Very well-written, this incredible tale will linger long after you've turned the last page. Those 6 words quoted earlier describe the two female characters perfectly. This is the third book I've read by this author and will keep an eye out for more titles. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend.

Wyatt Branson’s sister Trumanell and father Frank disappeared 10 years ago. Everyone assumes that they are dead and that either Wyatt killed them both or Frank killed his daughter and then ran away. Wyatt still imagines that Trumanell is with him and has frequently had problems with law enforcement. Also haunted by these events is Odette who was Wyatt’s girlfriend in those days and has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a cop. Wyatt is pretty much the last person you would want to take in a runaway girl, who is dubbed Angel, after he finds her collapsed in a field. The story is told in parts, first by Wyatt, then by Odette and finally (5 years later) by Angel. Wyatt’s was my favorite voice but unfortunately his part of the book was the shortest. He wasn’t fleshed out enough. If he had been, the conclusion of the book would have been more understandable. The author was more focused on a realistic presentation of prosthetics and those who wear them than she was on coming up with plausible motivations. I wasn’t crazy about the ending, but the book did hold my interest.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

My favorite book this month! When I first started reading it, the voice of Wyatt was hard to read, I felt like I was missing something and I was kind of disoriented. That was probably the point, however I almost didn't keep reading. I'm glad I did though.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I've heard alot about author Julia Heaberlin and the books that she has written so I was very excited to request and be given an ARC copy of her latest book, We Are All The Same In The Dark.
I loved this book.
I thought it was original, interesting, fascinating, addictive and suspenseful.
It had great characters, an interesting location and an amazing ending that I never saw coming.
It made me want to sit down on the couch all weekend and forget everything else and just read it
until I had all the answers.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

Odette and Wyatt have a childhood connection that even murder cannot interfere with. When Odette saves Angel from what appears to be a deadly situation, little does she know it may be Angel that saves her in the end.

I have read a plethora of suspenseful thrillers over the last several months. I liked this one, but it wasn't among my favorites. I struggled to connect with the characters. Just as Angel couldn't trust them, I couldn't as a reader either. Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this suspenseful read in exchange for my honest review.

I've had a great reading year so far. This book is one of the highs. I went in blind and I am so glad I did because this book was so good. It's a slow burn mystery which is equally creepy and intriguing.
It's about two girls. One is missing for a decade and the other one is found but we don’t know who she is, her secret past and why she is found in the middle of the road.

Odette Tucker and Wyatt Branson share a history beyond that of high school sweethearts. One night when Odette was walking to Wyatt's house he comes out of his house and tells her to run. The same night she has a car crash where she loses a leg.
Wyatt's sister Trumanell and his Dad disappeared the same night and although Wyatt who was treated as a suspect is let go the town believes him to be a killer.

Fast forward ten years later when Wyatt finds a one-eyed girl in the middle of the road and Odette is the investigating officer is when things become more complicated and intriguing.

I really enjoyed the story build-up, the pacing and the plotting and the characters. Almost everyone in this story seems to be hiding something or they are confessing to things that might not even be true which leads to a gripping story.

This book had the potential to be so much more than it was. It was told through multiple viewpoints and while I generally like books like this, it slouched along and lost my interest pretty early on. It made me so sad too because the opening was so intriguing. Also the words paint a descriptive picture, and maybe that was part of the problem... it was too flowery. Yes it's twisty and yes a little disturbing. But I just couldn't get into it enough to make a difference.

A dark, gritty crime thriller perfect for true crime fans! I always love a good small town thriller, and I enjoyed the different POVs in this book from the characters affected by the missing girl. Loved the ending as well.

Mystery Lurks in a Small Western Town

Life hasn’t been kind to Wyatt Branson in the last decade, but there’s always his older sister, Trumanell, former homecoming queen and once the prettiest girl in the small Texas town where they live, who is always there for him.

So when Wyatt brings home an abandoned young girl he found lying out in the hot sun alongside a road, Trumanell understands his need to keep her safe.

But there’s a problem here, and it’s not the young girl who Wyatt calls Angel, as she refuses to talk, not even to give her name. The big trouble is that Trumanell disappeared 10 years ago on the same evening their abusive father also vanished. That was also the night Wyatt’s girlfriend Odette was in a car accident and lost her leg.

So begins Julia Heaberlin’s newest mystery thriller “They’re All the Same in the Dark.” Heaberlin, who worked for two decades as a journalist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Detroit News, started reading thrillers when very young. Her favorite authors include Stephen King, Tana French, Thomas Harris, Daphne du Maurier, Edgar Allan Poe and Patricia Highsmith.

Writing a novel was always her dream but it never seemed to happen.

“My husband encouraged me to take a chance,” Heaberlin said. And so she did.

“I was very lucky,” she said, noting that she had struggled with how to write fiction, often getting stuck when outlining. “Then I read Stephen King’s book on writing. He says go with the character, and so I did to the point that sometimes I don’t know what’s going to happen next when I’m writing.”

Her novels include “Black-Eyed Susans” and “Playing Dead,” each, as she describes them, an ode to Texas, her beloved home state.

Heaberlin likes writing about strong, resilient female characters, women like Odette, who hasn’t let the loss of a limb slow her down, and is now the youngest police detective in town.

BOOKS: Mystery lurks in small Texas town

Hearing that there’s a young girl at Wyatt’s house, she stops by to see what’s happening. Resistant at first, Odette starts the bonding process after noticing Angel is missing an eye and immediately shows she’s missing a leg.

That starts their friendship, one where Odette, like Wyatt, wants to protect Angel and is afraid a state agency might send her back to her abusive father.

Because she is strong, Odette has found the courage to go on with her life despite losing her leg. But Wyatt has not. Suspicion has always surrounded him because of his missing family, and it only increases when a pseudo-documentary mixes facts and fiction to make it look like he’s murdered them.

For Odette, saving Angel again involves her in the mystery of what happened the night Trumanell disappeared. Unfortunately, as she begins digging deeper into the past, someone is working equally hard to keep her from learning the truth.

4.5 ⭐️‘S
Heaberlin knows how to hold her cards close giving us few clues to follow in this hard to put down thriller. It’s been 10 years since the towns Home Coming Queen and her father disappeared one night leaving a bloody handprint and little else to follow. The obvious suspect is the son and brother, Wyatt, at least as far as the town is concerned, but there just isn’t enough evidence to take the case any further. Odette, Wyatt’s girlfriend at the time was severely injured that same night in a car accident. She is now following in her fathers’ footsteps and is a police officer gung ho to solve the case. When Wyatt finds a young girl who appears to be mute and only has one eye, Odette is already knee deep in trying to solve the cold case, but intrigued by this mute young girl she takes on the mystery of trying to discover who “Angel” is and where she came from? At this point the book takes a turn I didn’t see coming and anything more would give too much away! An absorbing and multi layered psychological thriller with a cast of complex characters, this deftly told atmospheric story will keep you guessing until the very end!

Wow! This book had me pulled in from the start! So many twists and turns at the end. I didn’t want to put it down!

The twisty plot and unexpected revelations pulled me through this exciting novel with an unsettling, surprising mystery. As a lover of mystery/thriller books I can truly say this is one of the best mysteries I’ve read in a while

Set in Texas, this book has a Southern mystery feel. It reminds me of some of Joshilyn Jackson’s books, where there’s a lot of family secrets and buried history.

The book starts off with Wyatt, who picks up a one-eyed girl on his trucking route. He sort of insinuates that he’s a creep - or, that’s what my paranoid brain took away from that. He also talks to his sister Trumanell.

Next is Odette, a 4th generation cop in this little town. She gets a report about Wyatt having a young girl in his house. The whole town believes that Wyatt murdered his abusive father, Frank, and his sister, Trumanell, as they are missing and have never been found.

Finally, the girl by many names, Angel. Odette has been missing for years, and Angel is determined to find out what happened, as Odette helped her out of a tough spot. Has Odette been murdered, and by who? Wyatt, the suspected murderer and town pariah? Her ex-husband, Finn? Did the same person make Trumanell and Frank disappear?

I did not see the ending coming and I was practically biting my nails off during that last little bit.

It’s more town and family drama than thriller, more mysterious and a little slower paced. It’s not a Gone Girl type of novel by any means. But it is still SO GOOD. It would get a poor rating as a thriller, but as a drama/mystery, I think it really deserves 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trumanell Branson disappeared a decade ago, leaving behind a town that never forgot and people who never stopped trying to find her. Odette Tucker, the town's youngest cop and one with personal ties to Trumanell and her family, is sliding down a slippery slope as she tries to solve this mystery and the one of the missing girl who showed up in a field with only one eye.

No description I give this book could do it justice. I'm heartbroken. This was one of those books that grabbed a hold of my nerves and my heart and just didn't let go. The powerful imagery, complex plot, and atmospheric writing made for one of the most interesting books this year. The middle of this book made me gasp out loud, the change halfway through something you couldn't have guessed.

This was a slow read that I definitely took my time with, but I didn't ever lose my patience with it. grabbed my attention and wouldn't give it back until I finished it. This story had so many layers built into it, it was a masterpiece of a "who-done-it" and makes the reader suspicious of every character at least once. Sip this one slowly like a fine wine and enjoy.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Julia Heaberlin, and NetGalley for this arc.

This was a rather strange book - confusing and slow moving. It's told from three different points of view and to me, none of the three characters telling the story were especially likable or reliable narrators. It was all sort of the same story told over and over with a little more added with each subsequent narrator. I was most shocked about Odette - didn't see that coming.

There seemed to be so many loose ends and facts thrown in that didn't really have much relation to anything else. The final reveal was a surprise to me but by that time, I was just glad to pin it all on anybody, no matter who it might be!

It was just an ok book for me. Not bad, not great - but ok.