Thank you to @Atria Books and @netgalley for the eARC of Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart in exchange for an honest review.

Everything We Didn't Say is a slow burn. This book felt like many stories wrapped up in one. If you like mystery, suspense, and family drama; this book is for you!

Juniper Baker has returned to her hometown of Jericho to help her friend take care of the local library. But, Juniper also is there to solve the mystery of her 2 neighbors who were killed years ago. Her brother has been accused of the murders; or so the town thinks,. But, he's never been convicted. Juniper left Jericho upon her high school graduation. When she returns to Jericho, she is determined to solve this mystery once and for all. As Juniper puts together all the missing pieces, she will relive her past and confront it!! Will Juniper put this mystery to rest?

Told in dual timelines, Everything We Didn't Say is one you won't want to miss!

Everything We Didn't Say is the story of a young woman, Juniper, returning to her hometown to try to figure out the truth about a crime that happened years earlier. Her brother, Jonathan, was accused of the murder, but never convicted. As the story unfolds in a "back and forth" through history format, we start to understand the issues surrounding the murder, and we get to see Juniper begin to solve this crime.

This story is a little slow in the beginning, and I wanted to abandon it, but I'm glad I stayed with it, because the last fourth of the book was quite compelling. It was a passionate "whodunit", and the ending was satisfying. I do believe that the book should be edited down substantially.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Everything We Didn't Say.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart.

Juniper (a name that I love BTW), is returning home to Jericho after being away for many years. Her teen daughter is there and June is desperate to reconnect, as well as face some old demons from her time in Jericho. Ever since their beloved neighbors, the Murphy's were murdered, June has been desperate to clear her brother's name of the crime.

But uncovering secrets in this small town turns into a rabbit hole that June never could have predicted. And the stakes are even higher now that she has a daughter...

I loved this small town mystery with it's creepy undertones. I love diving into deep laid feuds and long kept secrets. I loved residents that have lived there their entire lives and know everyone and everything, especially when they are tight, or loose lipped about it. Very fun read!

This mystery is set in small town Iowa in the present day and 14 years earlier. Juniper Baker returns home to Jericho to help out an old friend and also to finally find out what happened 14 years earlier when her neighbors were brutally murdered. The killings have gone unsolved all these years, though her brother has long been suspected of the crime.
I really enjoyed the dual timelines but the story moved slow at times. Although Jericho is a small Iowa town it is full of secrets and mystery.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

I have just finished reading Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart.

She is an Author that I have read from before and enjoyed.

This storyline is told between two timelines, about a young mother who left a baby behind with her mother, as she moved on.

There is a murder that takes place during her teenage years that was never closed.

Good writing, characters, and storyline.

#NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley, Author Nicole Baart and Atria Books. For my advanced copy to read and review

A haunting family saga about the dangers within uncovering the hard truths. Juniper Baker is driving back into her hometown of Jericho, Iowa for the first time in over a decade to help her friend Cora run the library. Does she have an alternative motive for doing so? hmm, I think so!
Many surprises that I did not see coming that kept this book exciting! It grabbed me from the first page to the last and I found it very difficult to put down.!!
Thank you NetGalley!

Juniper returns home to hell her child hood friend who is suffering from Brest cancer.
She hates that town , 15 years ago her brother was the prime suspect in a murder, and Cora would be the only reason she’s returned
She’s on a mission to solve the murder
Clear her brothers name
And connect with family
A great read.
Thank you NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC

bookstagrammer #booksofinstagram #bookish #bibliophile #readstagram #ilovebooks #bookstagramit #netgalley

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
This is my first book by this author, and I plan to read her other books. She is an author that includes a lot of action that kept me guessing until the end. This story is a family drama that involves a mystery, romance and a mother-daughter relationship. When Juniper Baker was newly graduated from high school, two of her neighbors were murdered. She left and planned to never come back. Now she has returned to help the town librarian, but to also solve the mystery of who murdered her neighbors and to re-connect with her teen-age daughter. Lots of ups and downs that kept me hooked right from the beginning. I enjoyed this book!

Everything We Didn't Say is full of suspense.
Juniper has come home to help a friend and hopefully get to know her daughter better.
But things are about to bad taking June back to her younger days growing up and the long ago unsolved murders of two people. The town always blamed her brother.
This is a now and then story between those times.

This book really had a lot going on and at times i found it hard to follow.

Overall a decent mystery thriller.

Everything we didn’t say by Nicole Baart is a psychological thriller. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for a honest review. Cal and Beth her murdered in cold blood, but who did it?
I’ll admit I found this one to be somewhat slow, but still yet I kept reading and trying to figure out The Who done it! Many twists and turns and in the end a real shocker. I did not see that coming! Great read and now I have to check out some more of her books!

This is my third from the author and it had more of a YA feel to it. The chapters switch timelines from 14 years ago when a murder took place to the present. Juniper returns to her hometown to delve into the unsolved murder.

I had a hard time focusing on the many secrets and backgrounds of suspects ( a lot going on here). Juniper's past romance with a teenage love interest kind of lost me and gave it that YA feel. Many small town secrets are slowly revealed along the way. A lot of the characters have vendettas.

The pace picks up quite a bit around 80% and everything resolves in an explosive conclusion that ties it all together nicely. Although this wasn't my favorite from Baart, I'll still be looking forward to her next.

Those who enjoy family drama with a slower pace may enjoy this one.

Thanks to NG and the publisher for my early copy/ OUT November 2, 2021

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.
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Wooooo. That was dark and atmospheric in the very best way. Think Ruth Ware.
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I have not read Nicole Baart before....I can tell you right now...that will change. I adored everything about this novel.
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Let's talk specifics shall we?

Family drama...check
Compulsive readability....check
Dark mystery...check
Dual timelines well done...check
Secrets that stay just out of grasp...check

Overall. This one was a huge hit for me.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary of EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY BY Nicole Baart in exchange for my honest review.***

Juniper returns to the small home town she left to help out hoping to reconnect with the teenage daughter she left behind amid the backdrop of an unsolved murder,

EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY isn’t the first book with a podcast sparking interest in a murder, which has become ubiquitous in fiction and real life, sometimes causing investigations to be reopened and cases solved. I’ve probably read at least five books with this premise. This isn’t Nicole Baart’s fault, she probably finished writing EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY before any of these books was written. The downside for Baart is EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY doesn’t offer anything new to me.

I was glad EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY focused on family and small town drama rather than podcasts that can feel like info dumps. The slow pace had me starting and stopping the book, though I had set aside time to read straight through if it had held my interest.

Although I enjoyed the story well enough, I don’t think it’s particularly memorable or that it’ll stay with me. EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY is a worthwhile read for entertainment, but not something you need to drop everything to read.

#EverythingWeDidntSay #NetGalley
Wow. Terrific novel.
Juniper Baker had just graduated from high school and was deep in the throes of a summer romance when Cal and Beth Murphy, a childless couple who lived on a neighboring farm, were brutally murdered. When her younger brother became the prime suspect, June’s world collapsed and everything she loved that summer fell away. She left, promising never to return to tiny Jericho, Iowa. Until now. Officially, she’s back in town to help an ill friend manage the local library. But really, she’s returned to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, who’s been raised by Juniper’s mother and stepfather since birth—and to solve the infamous Murphy murders once and for all. She knows the key to both lies in the darkest secret of that long-ago summer night, one that’s haunted her for nearly fifteen years.
As history begins to repeat itself and a dogged local true crime podcaster starts delving into the murders, the race to the truth puts past and present on a dangerous collision course. Juniper lands back in an all-too-familiar place with the answers to everything finally in her sights, but this time it’s her daughter’s life that hangs in the balance. Will revealing what really happened mean a fresh start?
Probably the best book for me if any other book won't come this year.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me an advanced copy.

Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Lynn Baart is a beautifully written suspense of a night where things go terribly wrong and breaks a family and stirs a community in turmoil for fourteen years. Will a mother's love triumph? Absolutely loved this story!

I have complicated feelings about this book. It's about a 3.5 star read for me: the plot was good and I was really into the mystery but I did not like the characters, particularly the main character, Juniper. She was not my cup of tea at all. But more on that later.

OK, so the plot, as I said, was really good. It's a classic dual timeline story with a unsolved mystery from 15 years ago, which started with seemingly harmless pranks and culminating in the murder of a local couple, and Juniper's brother was the main suspect, though no charges ever stuck. Shortly after, Juniper gave birth to a daughter and ran away from Jericho, the small Iowa town she grew up in.

There's a lot of moving parts in the mystery and it makes it really interesting. There's plenty of suspects and leads to follow, so things don't go stale. And both timelines have action relating to the case in them, so things are pretty "hot" with this cold case, making it interesting. I didn't guess the ending, and it was quite a doozy, with several twists. I enjoyed it.

But, yeah, Juniper. She was essentially a whiny, woe-is-me type, who ran away for 15 years and then wanted to now why everyone didn't just didn't welcome her back with open arms and let her do whatever she wanted. Like how she wanted to take her daughter with her back to Denver after dumping her on her parents for 13 years. Or how she was OK with just potentially breaking up a marriage. You, know, like you do. It really made me dislike her. Her melodrama made certain parts of the book read like a soap opera rather than a mystery/thriller.

So yeah, If you can get past rage-reading the main character, and some of the secondary characters as well, to be fair, this is a pretty good thriller. A solid 3.5 stars, to be sure.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of Everything We Didn't Say. This is NOT my first book by this author. This book did not disappoint. I found myself drawn to the story of Juniper who is returning to Jericho IA after a many year absence. She is returning to solve a murder and to reclaim the daughter that she left as an infant. Juniper returns to help a friend, the local librarian who has cancer. However, her real motive is to clear her brother who is suspected of murdering the neighbors. The novel alternates from present to the past--readers are swept up in the action of the past as well as the hardship of the present. Juniper's brother is in the hospital, her tires are slashed, she must build a relationship with a daughter who seemingly rejects her and face the past that broke friendships. The story does drop clues toward the end as to the real murderer. However, it is still somewhat of a surprise. The story has layers for anyone who has grown up in a small town. Everything is not as it appears. Lots to discuss after reading this novel--the role of big agriculture, can you every go home again, secrets hidden that destroy. Definitely enjoyed this one!

The Baker family has secrets upon secrets that crush their bonds. One summer everything that’s been hidden culminates into a tragic event that changes everyone’s lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this story filled with great characters - Juniper who is on the cusp of adulthood and in love; Jonathan her younger brother who is known to do the right thing; their parents - one who married for love and the other for security; and the Tate’s - a wealthy influential family; and the Murphy’s who are murdered. A great read!

I requested to read “Everything We Didn’t Say” as I am a fan of Nicole Baart’s work.

The novel’s focus is on Juniper. When she was a high school graduate and deeply in love, a neighboring couple is murdered with her brother the main suspect. At the same time, Juniper discovered she’s pregnant and made the decision to have her mother and stepfather raise her baby so that she could attend college.

Years later, she returns to help a dear friend who has cancer, but she is also determined to solve the fifteen year old murder case and absolve her brother. Juniper also wants to connect with her now teenaged daughter. The novel weaves Juniper’s past with her present in an engaging way.

The novel moves at a fast pace, but there is still time for plenty of character development . I really thought the author did an excellent job in creating the dynamics between family members and balancing it with the more suspenseful aspects of the story. In a small town, there are plenty of secrets and Nicole Baart is skillfully in weaving them together into a satisfying ending.

Thank you the author, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

Juniper comes back to her small Iowa town after almost 15 years away to help her friend Cora who is dying of cancer, which also leads her to confront all the demons that forced her to leave. The story jumps back and forth between present day and Summer 14 1/2 years ago right before Juniper left.

I felt like the author did a great job developing the characters, especially Juniper. Her relationships in the past with Sullivan, as well as her Irish twin, Jonathan, really make you sympathize with everything she goes through. There is a lot of small town drama and pretty much everyone knows everyone else's business, but there are also a lot of secrets that no one wants to talk about.

This is a really heartfelt mystery. I felt like the mystery of who killed the Murphys almost took a backseat to the family and relationship drama going on. I never considered the actual killer, although now I can see how the author dropped in clues throughout the book.