Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart is more of a True Crime Fiction than a Thriller, in my opinion. The story opens up with Juniper Baker back in town to help an ill friend manage the local library. But really, Juniper has returned to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, Willa, who’s been raised by Juniper’s mother and stepfather since birth. Another reason Juniper is back is town is 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.

Juniper Baker had just graduated from high school and was into her summer romance with Sullivan Tate when her neighbors Cal and Beth Murphy were murdered. When her younger brother, Jonathan, 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 and left everyone she loved behind.

What I liked:
-The True Crime aspect of the book.
-Underlying environmental issues that farmers in Iowa, and I’m sure other parts of our country, face.
-The overall story was a good one. The ending tied up loose ends.

What I did not like:
-Very slow paced throughout portions of the novel.
-Pretty much figured out the “whodunit” part towards the middle of the book.
-Juniper never helps her friend who we are told is dying from breast cancer. (This is not a spoiler). She basically just uses her for the library and to help her with the case. In the end, her friend helps her more than Juniper ever did. This annoyed me!


Overall, Everything We Didn’t Say was a good read. The story was interesting and I enjoyed the back and forth time lines from present day to 14.5 years ago. The two timelines really helped set up the story and helped me to connect with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I would have read the book the back cover described. There's a clear disconnect between what the summary promised and what Everything We Didn't Say delivered. A 15-year old crime has come back to light; at the time fingers pointed toward one boy, but with the lack of evidence, no charges were brought against him. Now Juniper has come back to town after all these years, eager to make a connection with her estranged 14-year-old daughter and hopefully learn who's behind a podcast that's digging into that awful night (with the promise of closing the case once and for all - and placing the blame on her brother).

What I got was more family drama than murder mystery, which would have been okay, but I was really looking forward to an Adult Sadie or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. The podcast angle should never have been mentioned in the summary - it was literally two throwaway lines in the book, the first episode hadn't even dropped. Juniper was merely wondering who the host was. ...that's it. Never brought up again.

I did like the environmental aspect and honestly would have happily read a thriller focused solely on those crimes. But I went into this one expecting a MUCH different book and because of that was horribly disappointed. Also, if I had known so much page-time would be devoted to the dogs' deaths I would have never bothered with this one.

Duel timelines and a true-crime podcast bringing them together.

A murder in a small town - A woman returns to her hometown to help her sick friend. The hometown where she reunites with her teenage daughter who is being raised by her older parents. The hometown where - in her youth - a brutal murder took place and her brother was the only suspect. The murder that is the subject of the podcast.

This is a fast-paced book and it is a very interesting topic to explore - but I listen to true crime podcasts at least twice a week. Sometimes I don't want to hear the other side. Sometimes I want to hear the the secrets before the reveal. And I feel like this is kind of did that - it kind of spoiled part of that for me. While there is a "reveal' - it doesn't play out the way I would have laid it out in a storyline.

Still.....it's an interesting concept.

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

This is my first book by this author. I look forward to more. This book was totally great. Breathtakingly beautiful. Written to perfection. It was very heart touching. Heartbreaking. Full of love and pain. A bit of laughter along the way. It had it all.

Juniper comes back to town to help out her friend who has cancer and to see the daughter she deserted so many years ago. She did see her child through the years but left her no the less. There was a tragedy all those years ago and nothing was ever the same again for Juniper. Her life was turned upside down. As was her baby brother's life. Jonathan was only a few months younger than June. Almost twins. They were very close and could all but read each other's minds. So much changed that day. That summer. That fourth of July.

A family is killed. A husband and wife. Who could have done such a horrible thing? Could it have been Jonathan? Or Sullivan Tate? Or any of the Tates? Juniper was in love with Sullivan and could not imagine him doing such a heinous thing. But where had he been all day. Things went so wrong that day. But when June came back to help out her friend, Cora, a lot of things changed. She started remembering some things. The town seemed to honestly believe that it was Jonathan even though he loved Cal and Beth Murphy. They were his friends. He did a lot of work for them. What secrets could they be keeping. Why did the people in this town seem to hate them so much?

Every family has its secrets. The things that they don't want others to know about. But what could be lurking in the Baker's lives that they didn't want anyone to know? How many secrets did they have? A few too many perhaps.

This is a very well written book. A story that will keep you guessing. Keep you turning the pages. Have you on the edge of your seat in so many places and so many ways. There are a few secrets that will be revealed and some closures too. This book to me is honestly one of the best I've read. From the start to the very last words I was hooked. I didn't want it to end but couldn't stop reading. There are quite a fews twists and turns. A few friendships that are torn apart due to betrayals. A family who does not seem to want to stand together and another that definitely stands strong for each other. One that loses everything.

Thank you #NetGalley, #NicloeBaart, #Atria for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book. It's truly so good. A must read.

5/5 huge stars and the highest recommendation. Read it. Grab some tissues and be ready for a page turning time.

I actually started this book a couple weeks ago, but I was reading 2 books at the same time and getting the plots mixed up, so I had to set this one aside for a few days. Once I picked it back up, however, I finished it rather quickly. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Juniper is returning to her small, Iowa, home town. She hasn't truly been home in 14 years. Not since the summer after she graduated high school. That summer her friends/neighbors were murdered, her brother was accused of the murder, Juniper fell in love, and life changed drastically. The murders were never solved, but someone thinks they are going to solve them now.

I really enjoyed this book and will be looking at reading more books by Nicole Baart.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the first book I’ve read by Nicole Baart and I cannot believe I have not read anything by her before. As soon as I read the synopsis of this one, I knew I had to read it and I ended up loving it!

I love a slow-burn mystery and this one totally delivers. I was pulled into this story and found myself completely captivated by the complex characters and interesting family dynamics. I love when there is even the hint of dysfunction going on and you definitely get that feeling here. With the story moving back and forth in time, we slowly find out just what happened all those years ago to send Juniper running away and what has really caused her to finally come back.

This is the type of book that really keeps you guessing. There were so many instances where I wasn’t sure just who I could trust as Juniper desperately tries to uncover an unsolved murder. And the small town setting works so well here – it’s makes for an incredibly atmospheric setting, and as someone who has lived in small towns, I appreciated all the intricacies that the author worked in – everyone knowing everything as soon as it happens or everyone knowing everything about you whether you want them to know or not.

There is such an emotional pull to this book as much as there is a thriller aspect and I loved that. This is the type of book that really gets under your skin and even though it starts off on the slower side, the last third of it picks up in pace and we have quite the conclusion. I loved the writing and the character development and while that ending took me by surprise, I loved every second of it.

Everything We Didn't Say
by: Nicole Baart
Atria Books

Juniper Baker's story is powerfully suspenseful yet slow building, as skillfully delivered by author Nicole Baart. I was immediately immersed into small-town mystery and family drama in Jericho, Iowa as Juniper arrives back to her hometown on a dark night. Her plans include helping a sick friend with her library job and confronting the truth of a life-altering summer from years past.
Baart meticulously adds layer upon layer of details in a dual timeline of then and now, revealing events surrounding an unsolved murder and its impact on Juniper, her family, and the town. Juniper has lots at stake personally, so she is fully invested in finding the truth. This book is very plot-driven, leading to rising tension and anticipation throughout. The roles of townspeople and Jupiter's family in the mystery are meticouslly laid out, and I couldn't stop reading.
I'm a new fan of Nicole Baart, who can really tell a story through smart writing that is rich in atmosphere.
Thank you to Net Galley, Nicole Baart, and Atria Books for the advance reader's copy and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #everythingwedidntsay

Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart is a highly recommended novel of suspense and a family drama.

Juniper (June) Baker is returning to Jericho, Iowa, the small town where she grew up. Currently she is a special collections and archives librarian for a college in Colorado. She has taken a leave of absence and is returning to help Cora, the librarian in Jericho, who has stage 4 breast cancer, but she has other more complicated reasons for returning. Fifteen years ago Cal and Beth Murphy, who lived on a neighboring farm, were murdered on the night of July 4th. Fourteen years ago she left her infant daughter, Willa, in the care of her mother and stepfather. Now Juniper is hoping to bring thirteen-year-old Willa home with her to Colorado. She also plans to finally look for the truth behind the murder of the Murphys. Her brother, Jonathan, was the prime suspect, but never charged. Juniper has a secret about that night that she has never shared and now may be the time to reveal what she knows.

The writing is excellent and the plot unfolds in alternating narratives set in the past and present. In the present day someone has taken a new interest in the Murphy case and is seemingly determined to get Jonathan charged for the murders. Juniper knows he is not guilty and wants to find out who is behind the push to charge him. The narrative set in the past occurs during the summer of the murders, right after Juniper graduated from high school, and follows events leading up to the crime. The difference between a teenager experiencing the events and an adult reexamining them is the crux of the plot. When present day events begin to point to someone taking action against Jonathan, Juniper feels like Willa's life may be in danger. While readers won't know Juniper's secret until the end of the book, the suspense is still palpable in Everything We Didn't Say due to the duel timelines.

Adult Juniper is a complex, relatable character. She is trying to figure out exactly what happened that summer night while knowing that Jonathan was not responsible for the murders. Teenage "June" is, well, a teenager who as a group are usually more self-centered and aren't normally known for always exhibiting good judgment or being observant about what is going on around them. As an adult it is easy to see what Juniper may have been missing as a teen so it is satisfying to follow her investigation into present day actions while knowing information about the past. When Jonathan is suddenly incapacitated and Juniper is unable to talk with him about the past, it makes current events even more fraught with peril at every turn.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

Happy belated pub day to Everything We Didn't Say! Thank you to Atria Books for my ARC.

Pub date: November 2, BOTM early release in October

In one sentence: After her brother was accused of murder, June left her small town and vowed never to return; can she figure out the truth 14 years later?

I love small town mysteries and family dramas, so I was really excited to read this book. I loved the dual timelines of past and present - there's so much more drama in June's backstory than just the murder. The small town of Jericho is like a character in itself, and I enjoyed becoming familiar with this setting.

Keep in mind that this is definitely a slower burn mystery/thriller (this seems to be a trend in the genre recently!) - it's not a nonstop thrill ride, but a character study plus a mystery. The action does ratchet up a bit at the end to a satisfying conclusion. I definitely did not guess the ending!

Read this if you liked books like What Comes After, The Night She Disappeared, and False Witness.

This was an intense read, and I was not prepared for the revelations that followed this suspenseful tale.

A brutal murder turns the lives of Juniper and her brother, Jonathon, upside down in the small town of Jericho, Iowa. When their neighbors, Cal and Beth Murphy are found dead, Jonathon is the number one suspect, but he is never convicted of the crime. That doesn’t keep the residents of Jericho from holding a grudge, though. Fifteen years later, Juniper returns to Jericho to help an ailing friend and repair her relationship with her daughter Willa, but while she’s there, she determined to solve the mystery of what happened to the Murphys and clear her brothers name. And it seems the local law enforcement has been looking into to case as well.

I love that this book switched back and forth from present to past and reexamined the chain of events from Juniper’s POV as a teenager because there was so much more to the story, and I wanted so badly to know what really happened. I thought the writing was very well paced, and I’m glad the truth wasn’t revealed too early on. I will say I had a hunch that ended up being true, but it was still so surprising when it was finally spoken out loud by those involved.

Overall, this was a great read, and I definitely recommend it!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4300398156

Wow—what an amazing page turner!  Nicole Baart’s Everything We Didn’t Say is a mystery, a thriller, and a family drama all in one.  Set in a small town in Iowa, where everyone knows everyone’s business, one would think that it would be hard to commit a crime, let alone a murder, and keep it a secret.  However, someone does for 14 long years.

Juniper returns to her home town to help a friend and fellow librarian. She might have an ulterior motive in finding the real murderer of her beloved neighbors. The story is told in dual timelines, toggling between the present and 14 years in the past in the fateful summer that changed so many lives.  There is solid tension from start to finish.  Emotions are raw and every turn reveals a little something new. </p>

The plot is well paced and the story is well written.  There are no throw-a-ways; every character offers something to the storyline.  While I guessed the cold-case murderer, I enjoyed every step of the journey.  After the slow build to the climax, the end is highly satisfying.  A #MustRead2021novel.

Juniper comes back to her hometown of Jericho, Iowa to help a friend. She gets pulled into a 15year old murder she’s been trying to forget.

I loved this book was set in Iowa. As an Iowa native I could relate so much to the locations, towns, roads that were mentioned as well as the small town feeling. The book changed from present to 15 year ago and I love those types of stories.

Everything We Didn't Say has gotten really great buzz in our area, and our library has received many requests for this book, making it an automatic purchase. Happy Release Day!

Living in a small town can be murder! Enjoyable, fast paced read. I love stories that are written in dual timelines, and this story flows seamlessly between the past, where an unsolved murder in a small town is blamed on a young man to the present, where the now older man is being harassed and targeted and his sister returns to town to find the truth all these years later.

I enjoyed the characters, so flawed and real. My opinion of some of the characters changed as the storyline unfolds. While I did figure out some of what was going on, the story had so many layers to it that I found it hard to put down. I would love to read a sequel to see what happens to this group now that the truth of the murder has been solved. While murder is at the center of this story, there are other issues going on…young love, complicated friendships, environmental pollution, feuds, long-held grudges and family secrets.

Thanks to Ms. Baart, Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

This is the story of young love disrupted when the neighbors are murdered. The girl's brother is accused. The girl goes away. Many years later, the woman returns. So much has happened since she went away. Can she figure things out.

Ive never read Nicole Baart before but after reading EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY, I quickly made a list of all of her previous books to read! This is a dual time line story, told in the time of summer, fourteen years ago and the present. The present involves Juniper, returning to Jericho, Iowa. The summer story fourteen years ago, is about a double murder that involves Junior’s younger brother. A page turning slow burn mystery that really messes with the reader’s mind. Fascinating to say the least.

While Juniper is back in Jericho to help her friend who has been diagnosed with cancer, she is determined to solve the murders of the Murphys. Her brother was a suspect but has never been charged. Once you start reading EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY be prepared not to do anything else until you finish. Ms. Baart pulls the reader in from the very first page as the story consumes them. I found myself afraid to turn the page for fear of what was going to be revealed next. I can’t believe I’ve never read this author before and Nicole Baart is going on my auto buy author list right now!

I finished EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY in two days, but it will live in my heart much longer. I find myself thinking of the characters and the story often, and feel privileged to have been able to read it. If you enjoy intense stories of mystery and trying to solve who did the crime, you will love EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY. The characters are all relatable and their journeys were at times, heartbreaking. The sibling bond between Juniper and Jonathan is very strong, but the bond with Juniper and her daughter, Willa is extremely fragile. When the story ended I was thinking that with their personal revelations, many of the characters’ stories were just beginning.

Juniper and the rest of the characters grew with each passing page, until I loved each and every one of them and their stories. EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY had me holding my breath more than once. A suspenseful story like none I’ve read before. It’s filled with family, mystery, small town drama and tragedy. You aren’t going to believe some of the twists and turns! I strongly strongly recommend EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Author, Nicole Baart, is no stranger to me. I have read and reviewed two other of her novels. You can check out my review on "Little Broken Things" and my review on "You Were Always Mine" on my blog.

"Everything We Didn't Say" is a very slow read. Alternating between past and present we are taken through a horrific event that happened 15 years ago and the aftermath it has left on present day. Right from the start I was bombarded with characters and had a really hard time trying to follow along and make sense of who everyone was and how they fit into the plot.

Secrets and vendettas are never ending in this small town. As the mystery of the past starts to reveal itself, it then seems to start to repeat itself in the present and very small twists and turns appear. The storyline from the past seemed to give off a YA feel to it that just didn't quite mesh with the present day timeline. The main character in present day was simply unrelatable. It was so hard for me to finish this book.

It took me almost 2 full weeks to read this novel and I only sped up my reading at the end because the publishing date was upon me. I was hoping that we would get a third perspective on the murders via the podcast, after all that is what fueled Juniper's return to her hometown. The podcast is simply a mention in the novel, an afterthought. I was also confused about how her "good friend", Cora, fit into her life. She returned to help her out at the library, but her help didn't seem that needed and we don't know how or why the two remained so close over the years.

This novel does pick up around the 80% mark and the story resolves in a whirlwind. Everything was tied up nicely.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review.

"Everything We Didn't Say" is being released today, November 2, 2021 here in the U.S. so you can purchase wherever you buy your books.

This was a 2.5 star read for me but I do look forward to future releases from the author.

Happy Reading!

Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart is a wonderfully mysterious book that will keep you guessing until the very end. It is a consuming book that deals with family drama, secrets and murder. It is told in dual time lines from past to present. The storyline is well written and has well developed characters. The story will keep you guessing right up to the unexpected ending. I highly recommend this intriguing story……you will not be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy of this riveting novel in exchange for my honest review!
#netgalley. # everythingwedidntsay. #arc
#simonandsxhuster. #nicolebaart

Thanks to Atria for the free book.
This was a slow burn, which can be a hit or miss for me. There was enough intrigue in each chapter to keep me wanting to to know what was happening in this small Iowa town. A part of the book I could relate to was the small town feel. Growing up in a similar town right south of the Iowa border, I could relate to the outsider feeling Juniper had both as a teenager and as an adult coming back for a visit. The judgement and atmosphere was captured perfectly. The delve into a cold case was also interesting, and I did figure out the ending before the end, but the hints are so well placed. The prose was beautiful, and she captured a cold midwestern winter so well. If you like a slow building suspense told through dual timelines, check this one out.

After almost 15 years, Juniper returns to Jericho, her childhood hometown in rural Iowa, to investigate a cold case. The double murder of her neighbors forever changed Juniper, her family, and the entire town. Her brother remains the prime suspect, and Juniper wants to solve this case.

There was much I enjoyed about Everything We Didn't Say. This suspenseful family drama with a whodunit mystery kept me guessing until the end. I appreciated how well developed and relatable the characters were.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into the story at the beginning. For me, the back and forth between the past and present (alternating chapters throughout the book) disrupted the book's flow. However, once I got used to it, I began to enjoy it.

This compelling, slow burn story will leave you considering the impact of secrets. Do we help or hurt a loved one by withholding information from them?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the early copy of this book.