I can certainly see why this was a Book of the Month choice- I absolutely couldn't put this one down! I stayed up way too late to finish it in practically one sitting! It's my first experience with this author, but I am definitely eager to read more from Baart in the future!

Juniper returns to her small Iowa hometown - ostensibly to use her library degree to help out an old friend who works there who is ill. But she has two other more personal and pressing reasons to return - to reconnect with her daughter and to put a stop to a podcast threatening to examine a cold case from nearly 15 years earlier. Juniper's neighbors were brutally murdered - and her brother, though never convicted, remains the sole suspect. Baart weaves together the past and present in this compulsively thrilling read. There are some real surprises here along the way, too!

The characters all come to life and Baart does a great job especially of capturing Juniper as a teenager and contrasting it with her adult self. I really didn't want this book to end at all - always a sign of how much I enjoyed it. The ending, though, is satisfying and I appreciated the way the pieces all fit together. I really enjoyed this! The farming community and the small town life feel well-portrayed (although maybe some will feel that the environmental issues touched upon here paint the majority of the town in too unflattering of a light). Iowa isn't that common of a setting in fiction and I also appreciated the way the podcast plot came together as well. Overall, I think that this would make for a great discussion starter - especially for those groups that mix together people from a wide variety of backgrounds. If this is ever nominated for my book club to read, it has my vote (even though I usually vote for something new over something that I have read before!).

Juniper Baker was happy, in love with a local boy and had just graduated from highschool when something terrible happened. Her neighbours, a friendly childless couple were brutally murdered and her brother was the number one suspect. She left Jericho, Iowa and promised never to return. Now she is back. She has returned to help her sick friend run the local library, but she is also back to try and forge a relationship with her teenage daughter, Willa, and to finally figure out who killed Cal and Beth Murphy. Shortly after arriving in town, her brother, Jonathan, falls through the ice on Jericho Lake and is in critical condition. Throw in someone doing a podcast, insistent that Jonathan is guilty and there is a lot happening in this sleepy little town.

This is the first book I have read by Nicole Baart, but I will be checking out her backlist. This book grabbed me from the start and I quickly devoured the pages to see how things would turn out. I loved Juniper's character and was rooting for her in all areas. Jonathan was broken, the suspicions following him all his life, some thinking the fall was an attempt at suicide. The story was told in the present with flashbacks to 14 years ago. We learned more about the crime, the relationships and the family dynamics that way. The town was a typical small town with a rich family that seems to run things and those who work for them or dislike them immensely. There are some undertones that might imply some involvement in the crime in the past. Also in the story is an environmental storyline about the water being contaminated by this family's business and causing cancer in several residents. All story lines are pulled together in the end and I was left very satisfied. I did not have the suspect on my radar at all and the contamination story was very interesting in the way it wraps up. I do not want to give this story away, so will just say that it is well-developed with great characters (both those I like and those I didn't). It was a puzzle with many pieces that the author moved deftly around the table before slotting them in. It is a family drama, slow burn mystery and has some suspense and edge of your seat moments, that will keep you turning the pages. I definitely recommend this one.

I have seen mixed reviews for this book and I think the problem is that when people are expecting a “thriller”, most of what is out there isn’t really the best writing, but the story rolls out quickly. This was a slow burn and I thought it was fantastically written. I enjoyed the character development and the story. So good.

YES. I loved this. I would recommend this to my book club, friends, and family. Quite suspenseful. I definitely preferred reading this in book/real pages form.

This book got me out of a reading slump, it was captivating right from the start. This is the second book I've read by this author. Thank-you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to more books written by #NicoleBaart. I enjoyed the back and forth with the 2 time lines with the main character June remembering her past and how it relates to her here and now. An exciting psychological thriller.

Nicole Baart is the master of the multilayered mystery/suspense. Just when you think you know the outcome, she throws a twist and has you guessing again. The characters in Everything We Didn't Say are complex and real. They could be your neighbors or your friends, and that's what makes them so compelling. Juniper Baker is just an average small-town girl caught up in a situation beyond her control, but her secrets are only going to stay buried for so long, and the unraveling is completely binge-worthy.

Book set in Iowa?! Yes please!

This is a dual timeline story around the main character Juniper Baker. The summer she graduated from high school, a couple at a neighboring farm was brutally murdered. There were suspects, but never any conviction. Juniper returns home to help care for a sick friend. She finds herself wrapped back up in the mystery of the murders.

There are plenty of suspects and plenty of secrets to go around!

4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

June Baker left the small town of Jericho, Illinois behind fifteen years ago and hasn’t looked back, despite leaving her infant daughter to be raised by her mom and stepdad. Now she is back to help an ill friend run the town library, connect with her now teenage daughter, and solve the Murphy murders that chased her away that summer years ago.

Full of family drama, lost love, and suspense, Everything We Didn’t Say was a terrific read that kept me turning pages late at night. Most of the characters were broken and in need of healing, calling for my empathy and hope for their growth and development. Every time I thought I had the story all figured out, another twist would disprove all my theories. And I loved the satisfying, wondrous ending!

Juniper Baker graduates from high school when her brother becomes the prime suspect of a double murder. Now, she returns to find the true killer, and to patch things up with her teenage daughter.
This is my first read by Nicole Baart. It was interesting, but I did not really think the characters were all that interesting.
Thanks Atria Books and NetGalley.

Everything We Didn’t Say is a detailed and slow burning mystery behind an event that altered the lives of many in a small town. Juniper “June” Baker is back in her hometown, a place she never wanted to return to help her friend at the library and reconnect with her daughter. The event that altered June’s, her brother’s, and their hometown was the murder of their neighbors; a crime her brother was accused of. June knows everyone is hiding something and she’s ready for the truth to finally come out.

This is a very detailed heavy story with complex characters. I enjoyed the dual timelines as it was a good way to tie the past to the current events happening as June pieces things together. Everything We Didn’t Say is a decent mystery book full of unresolved family and small town drama.


Thank you @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a great family drama with secrets from the past finally coming to light. Definitely a page turner, even though the story alternates between events of 14 1/2 years ago, and the present. Life hasn't quite gone the way that Juniper had imagined, and she finds herself returning home and wanting to confront the past, and take her rightful place as mother to her thirteen year old daughter. A well-written.novel.

What a great family drama! This book is told with a duel timeline perspective of Juniper, one as a forty year old women returning to her hometown and the other from the summer after she finished high school. When her closest neighbors get murdered and her brother is the main suspect Junipers live is quickly turned upside-down.. The book takes you on an adventure where Juniper tries to find who committed the murder while also reliving the details she has tried to forget as a younger version of herself.

Overall I enjoyed this book but felt it was a bit slow in the beginning. The second half took off as the story gave you twists and turns I was not expecting. The ending was also something I predicted but didn't know for sure until the very end. It is a great story to show just how complex a family can be and even though you may be living with them all day everyday, you never truly know everything about them.

Everything We Didn't Say had a very promising premise, but did not deliver for me. The characters and story line didn't hold my interest and ultimately I finished this to say I did, but was not one I'd recommend

Fantastic book! A thriller with a strong relationship tie-in. Never having read anything by Nicole Baart before, I had no idea what to expect and was surprised to find a gem in this book.

There were many things I enjoyed in this book, but chief among them was the ease of read. Moving chapter to chapter, back and forth fourteen years in June’s life made it an easy fast-paced book.

The characters were true to life with realistic problems, but what a bunch of closed up and off people. They didn’t talk and ostracized members of the community who challenged the status quo. That’s small town life.

I thought it was particularly well-written holding onto the truth until nearly the end. I love a book that does this.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC and chance to offer my opinion.

This book will have you grasping at the edge of your seat as you race to know who killed the Murphys. Juniper Baker has returned home after many years away. When strange things start to happen she knows that she has to find out who killed the Murphys those many years ago. This is a great quick paced read that will have you breathless.

3.5 stars for this thriller that kept me guessing.
Juniper is back in town after 14 years of being away. She is back to help an ill friend at the local library but also to see her family. She left them after a series of events caused the whole town to question everything they knew.
The book goes back and forth from then and now and we are left trying to solve the murders of Cal and Beth Murphy. We know that Juniper's brother was a suspect, but nothing ever came of it. That doesn't stop the whole town from talking though. The family dynamic is strained even still, 14 years later.
When her brother suffers an accident, Juniper knows she has to delve deep into the past to find out what happened and clear her brother's name. Juniper also left her daughter to be raised by her mother and step father, so she is also trying to repair the relationship between her and her daughter.
While there were parts of this book I loved and didn't see coming, there were parts that dragged on and could have been shortened. This was a family drama as much as it was a thriller. I also liked Juniper, but had some issues with her actions and while I realize she was young, I am shocked that it took 14 years to clear some of the secrets. If you are looking for a family drama with a lot of back and forth, this is the book for you. The ending did shock me and I really enjoyed the twist and turn of events.
Thank you to Netgalley, Atria and Nicole Baart for an early copy.

FIVE STAR BOOK!! A lot of women's literature novels start to blend together and it's difficult to stand out in this genre. Nicole Baart is an autobuy author for me! Her books always have such depth, while not being too heavy of a read. Everything about this book was so well done!

Highly recommend this book! This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish the book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

One of my favorite books of 2021! This book flashes back and forth between one fateful summer that ended in murder to present day where June is working to piece together who perpetrated the crime. June holds the key to solving the cold case and she must find the answer before history repeats itself. Masterfully told, this story will grab your attention from the beginning and not let go.