Wow! I need more than 5 stars for this story!

We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julie Heaberlin is such a well executed novel that I’m not sure anything I write can do this book justice.

My short review is this: buy the darn book!

This five part book takes you on an adventure, starting with Odette and ending in OMG!

Odette is the most recent cop in a long line of cops. And she is haunted by a terrible tragedy from her teenage years. When a somewhat routine call turns up a girl, Odette has a hard decision to make, all while still trying to solve this teenage tragedy.

What I loved most about this book is how each new “part” was a different characters POV, and it enhanced the story in such an unforeseen way.

The way the story unfolded truly blew my mind and when the “bad guy” is revealed I literally said “no way”. Like how did I miss that?! (If you read this book- I NEED to know if you figured it out before the big reveal 😬

I absolutely recommend this thriller, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

3.5/5

Wyatt Branson’s sister Trumanell and father, Frank, have been missing for a decade. The mystery surrounding their disappearance has become something of a legend in the small town. Frank was a cruel father but savvy with the ladies of the town and Trumanell was the town’s homecoming queen and sweetheart.

Odette Tucker is a young cop returned to her hometown and hell bent on solving the mystery. Trumanell was older than Odette, but always kind and as the sister of Odette’s first love, Odette feels a duty to let Trumanell Rest In Peace.

The town is divided on whether or not Trumanell disappeared of her own accord, was murdered by her father, or murdered by Wyatt. Wyatt is his own worst enemy. Mentally ill at best and a murderer at worst, he still speaks to Trumanell and about Trumanell as if she were alive.

When Wyatt finds a young girl on the side of the road and brings her back to his home, someone is quick to report him. Odette rushes to the scene first in the hopes its another false call just trying to get Wyatt in trouble. The caller’s tip proves true and finding the mute, one eyed girl, in obvious distress on Wyatt’s couch raises a multitude of red flags and concerns. Odette rushes to action and brings the young girl, dubbed Angel, to her cousin’s safe house while she comes up with a plan.

Told from three perspectives over five years, we are ensnared in several mysteries that may or may not be connected. This is a story where the good guys keep secrets, a town becomes the jury and the judge, and everyone is a suspect.

Overall I did enjoy this story but I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters and the storyline. I also wish that the story from Wyatt’s perspective was more comprehensive and the story about his perceived mental illness was further developed. Somehow, I guessed the mystery pretty early on but I think that was a fluke and can see how most people will be surprised. The writing was really well done and I liked the connection and history between Odette and Angel, and that they both had disabilities that they didn’t let hold them back.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of this novel.

This was a decent thriller about a cop trying to solve a new missing persons case and simultaneously one that has gone unsolved for quite some time. The writing style wasn't my favorite, but I still enjoyed the story.

Two days after finishing this one and I still cannot get over it! While the first 50% is a bit slow, once you get to the end of Part Two you will not want to put this one down.

10 years ago, this small Texas town is shattered by the disappearance and believed murder of Trumanell and her father. Most of the town believes her younger brother is guilty but no one can prove he did it for sure. Over the years, this town has slowly turned into a powder keg of hate.

Odette is a young cop who has ties to Wyatt and the Trumanell case so when another young girl is found along a highway she is determined to find out what has happened to both girls.

This novel is a true southern gothic novel which will make you want to fly through the pages. I highly recommend this one to anyone who is looking for an awesome story that will keep you guessing.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Julia Heaberlin and especially to Random House/Ballantine Books for granting my wish to read and review it! 5 stars for a beautifully written book!

The story is told from three character's points of view - Wyatt, a loner who has a bad reputation in town because his sister, Trumanell, disappeared years ago. Wyatt still talks to her and the townspeople are convinced he killed her. He's out one night when he sees an injured young girl at the side of the road that he takes home with him. Odette was Trumanell's best friend and is now a police officer in town and friends with Wyatt. On the night Trumanell disappeared, Odette was in an accident and lost her leg. She's driven to find out what happened to Trumanell and the mystery of Angel, the young girl that Wyatt found, who is the third point of view.

This is a slower moving mystery but the writing drew me in and I was glued to the pages to find out all of the twists and turns. The writer so beautifully told the stories of these people who all felt flawed (aren't we all?) but showed such resilience and courage in living their lives, no matter what their pasts did to them. You will feel the tense atmosphere throughout this book - I held my breath too many times to count! It's creepy and beautiful with characters you will love and cheer for.

Ten years ago, Trumanell Branson and her father, Frank, went missing. The same night, fleeing the Branson farm, where she’d gone to meet her boyfriend Wyatt, Trumanell’s younger brother, Odette Tucker suffered a life-altering car accident. Wyatt became the leading suspect, but the police never could amass enough evidence to arrest him.

Odette left her small Texas town for college in Chicago, but when her father, a detective, died, she was compelled to return and join the police force. A documentary about Trumanell with an FBI agent fingering Wyatt has renewed the town’s antagonism against him. Although married, Odette’s feelings for Wyatt remain complicated, and she can’t help but want to protect him, even though her partner, Rusty, wants nothing more than to find the smoking gun that will send him away.

In this tempestuous atmosphere, Odette receives a call that Wyatt was seen in his truck with a young girl. Defying protocol, she rushed to his house, alone, and finds a mute, one-eyed girl. Feeling a sense of kinship with the girl Wyatt named Angel, Odette keeps her out of the system while trying to uncover her past. At the same time, she continues her off-record investigation into Trumanell’s disappearance. Angel might be prism through which Odette finds the answers or the spark that incites the roiling town.

I loved We Are All the Same in The Dark because of the strong female characters, the familiar Texas-Oklahoma landscape, and the magnificent writing. This is the type of literary thriller that has not only a gripping plot, but also well-drawn characters and relevant and important themes about identity, belonging, and belief. At one point, I was so shocked, I surprised my husband with the noise I made. Other moments, I was terrified. Additionally, I was delighted to see my hometown mentioned!

For fans of Long Bright River, Please See Us, and These Women, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a creepy, crawly, slow-burning, tension building novel of an old cold murder case and the uncertainty is still on the minds of everyone in the town. Especially Odette and Wyatt, Finn, Maggie and Rusty. Told from 3 points of view, with plenty of suspense building and twists and turns, this one will keep you guessing until the end. Since I also live in North Texas, I was thrilled to read this since it is set here as well.

I just finished this book. It was a great display of what you expect in the genre of thrilers. It has good character development which was so important with all this twists and turns. I never came close to figuring out the plot so I was anxious to find out what happened.
The story takes place in a Texas town with an unsolved disappearance of a beloved girl. her brother,Wyatt had an alabi accepted by police but not by the town's people. Oddette does Believe him and she becomes a
Policewoman. Much more to come with a surprise ending which is the hallmark of a great novel. Loved it! Thanks to @netgalley for the Advanced copy! #weareallthesameinthedark #juliaheaberlin

This slow-burn of a thriller is perfect for a slow August afternoon. 3 points of view, a man, a woman, a child. A missing girl, a girl with one eye, a woman with one leg. A small town hell-bent on one man being a monster.

Julia Heaberlin has a masterpiece on her hands.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Let’s start by taking a moment to appreciate that gorgeous cover! We Are All The Same In The Dark is set in a small town in Texas where everyone knows your secrets (at least they pretend that they do). Two members of the same family disappear and the town is quick to point fingers at an “obvious” suspect. But without any solid evidence, the person is set free and struggles with his own demons. When another person the town loves disappears ten years later, the town takes this as the last straw and goes after the original suspect. An unlikely hero steps in and is determined to find the truth and proves just how far the impact of a stranger’s kindness can go. This book is the definition of a slow burn but it is definitely worth sticking it out. The author does a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere of suspense and keeps you turning page after page to figure out who the killer is. The book is told through multiple points of view and each story is woven beautifully into the next one. A little confusing at first but overall comes to a satisfying conclusion.



***Review will be posted 8/8/20

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This thriller is told from 3 points of view: Wyatt, Odette, and Angel. Wyatt finds an injured girl at the side of the road. The town has long suspected that Wyatt was in some way responsible for the long-ago disappearance of his sister. Odette, a police officer and a friend of the sister, was also involved in the case and continues to believe that he is innocent.

Odette, who has a prosthetic leg, is drawn to and helps Angel, who is missing an eye. Kudos to the author for her research into the process of making a realistic artificial eye and helping people who have this need.

Despite their handicaps, these characters are still humans with all the feelings and capabilities of others - hence the title.

Julia Heaberlin's newest book, We Are All the Same In the Dark, transports you deep into a small Texas town. The first sentence of the book grabs you and doesn't let you up for air until the very last word. It is slow burning mystery about what happened to two family members and who was responsible for their death or disappearance. The search for answers putsnumerous others in danger before all the clues are assembled and the mystery is solved.

Heabetlin 's characterization and keeping to the details of the setting are beyond reproach. You will definitely wish you were able to sit down and finish this book in one sitting!

This was a really great slow burn atmospheric mystery. The beginning at first was a little slow and a little confusing for me but once I got towards the end of part two the story really starts to snap into place and pick up the pace. This was a very atmospheric slow burn of a read. I really enjoyed the characters and their stories and I liked that we followed from a few of the characters point of views. There was one or two twists thrown into the story but not really for shock value but more to move the story forward which I appreciated. I wasn't surprised by the the ending really but I enjoyed the the story overall. I thought that the title played into the story beautifully and I love that the cover also made perfect sense to the story. I would recommend the read.

“What’s coming is always unimaginable, and by that, I mean just that. It cannot be imagined. What’s coming never acts or behaves the way we think it will.”

I LOVED this book. This had me hooked from the very beginning, the characters were so intricately developed, and the writing was beautiful. The atmosphere created by Julia Heaberlin in this slow burning psychological thriller is unlike any I have experienced in a long time. Easy 5 stars from me.

In this tale filled with twists and turns Julia Heaberlin gives us several murders, three points of view, and lots of blind alleys before she unravels the stories for us and ties them together, perhaps a little too neatly. Unlike some other readers, I had no trouble getting into the book or staying with it until the end. Heaberlin's writing propelled me while giving me insight in an array of characters. Several details distracted me, though, such as the enormous, near inhuman, stamina that Odette and Angel display on more than one occasion. Heaberlin also misses the mark slightly when describing elements of the setting, which often seemed unreal or of no consequence when I rather think that it is a critically important element of the story. Finally, kudos to Heaberlin for making readers aware of prosthetics and their ability to distract from or even erase potential disabilities. We Are All the Same in the Dark is definitely worth a read.

This story with a small town vibe drew me in from the start. A dark twisty theme in which Heaberlin’s characters shine. I was intrigued by Wyatt, the man who continues to converse with his missing sister Trumanell. Angel, the one-eyed girl found next to the road who refuses to speak is both intriguing and mysterious. Odette, the tirelessly committed amputee cop working Angel’s case simultaneously with a revived cold case of a friend who disappeared a decade ago and trying to conquer her own demons. Angel and Odette are the stars; tough women who make difficult choices. Well done.

I had a tough time getting into this book. It is a bit slow paced and obsessive in the beginning. It would have been easy to give up on it, but I persevered, reading it in small bits at a time rather than devouring it. I ended up engaging with it, but it certainly wasn’t one of my more favored reads.

When we first meet “Angel,” I thought she was dead. And I don’t think I’m giving anything away because that could really be cleared up in the description of the book. Still, she is embraced and protected by first Wyatt, then Odette, while they all try to figure out where she came from.

And that’s not even the most interesting part of the story. See, there’s this whole backstory of the night that Wyatt’s sister Trumanell went missing, his father died, and Odette, his girlfriend, lost her leg in a rollover crash. Small towns are good at keeping secrets, and there is not exception here.

This one took me a while to get into. I think at first glance I thought it was one of those thrillers I could finish in one sitting. It’s not. And that’s not a bad thing. But it is a book that you start reading in a much different place than you started.

There’s secrets. And lies. And betrayal. And bad memories. And lives that could have amounted to so much, or could they? Because in a small town, sometimes those who are so golden in high school, fizzle quickly immediately following. So it’s hard to say.

But Heaberlin has written some strong female characters who are running from something but still have strength to stand up for what is important no matter the cost, and no matter what anyone thinks. We Are All the Same in the Dark is an extremely compelling read. One not to miss.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance e-galley in exchange for my honest review. My review will post to my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on August 11.

Beautifully written suspense novel, much more lyrical and atmospheric than many of today's thrillers. This book has three narrators and contains three main (and many smaller) mysteries. First: who is the one-eyed woman that Wyatt, a suspected murderer, finds mute and injured on the side of the road? Two, who killed or kidnapped Trumanell, the town's beauty queen/Laura Palmer type who disappeared years before? And number three I can't tell you because it shockingly unfolds about 2/3 of the way through the story.

The story is told by three narrators. My very favorite of the three was Odette, police officer and daughter of another police officer, who lost a leg in a horrible accident the same night of Trumanell's disappearance. I loved that though Odette had a disability she was never treated as any less of a cop, a runner, or a fighter. Her disability was a natural part of the story and was handled with sensitivity but never any kind of stereotype or weirdness. Odette is a hero I could identify with and fight with through a whole series of books.

I also really loved Angel, the girl found by the side of the road who Odette eventually helped and cared for for several days, changing her life. These characters were really well-drawn and stayed with me. The suspense never let up and I went to bed dying to know who the killer was. Even now that I know, I would love to read more books about these characters, perhaps from before the killer was found.

This is a 4.5 star book for me. Would have given it a full five stars but for the ending, which I did not love as much as some of the other ways the book could have gone. But aside from that this is a beautiful, well-told, scary suspense story about a small town that I loved. My first book by Julia Heaberlin and it definitely won't be my last. She is an exceptional writer and this suspense/mystery/thriller novel really stood out in a crowded field as thoughtful, lyrical, and smart.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Julia Heaberlin for the ARC of this fantastic book. My review is honest and my own.

I've read almost all of Heaberlin's books and greatly enjoyed them, so I was excited to dive into her newest one! It's a layered story that surrounds a small Texas town - one that has had its share of violence, and disappearances. The book opens with Wyatt, the brother of one of the town's missing - and suspected by many to have had a hand in either his sister's or his father's demise. Wyatt finds a young girl on the side of the highway which brings him back into contact with his old high school sweetheart, and current cop returned to follow her father's footsteps, Odette. Odette's obsession with past - plus the new mystery of this mute girl, all combine to make his genuinely unputdownable!

I really enjoyed this one - the plot definitely holds some real shocks! And while there are a few things that may not be as surprising, I still really enjoyed the characters. And I really liked the special attention paid on prosthetic limbs and eyes. It adds a lot to the story. I really enjoyed this fast paced and engaging thriller - all of the characters really shine here and I can't wait to see what Heaberlin will write next!