Another excellent book by William Landay. It is definitely a well crafted murder mystery but it is also a well crafted about family and relationships. Wanting to find the answer to the mystery and the relationships kept me eagerly turning the pages to find out how it ended. Well done, William Landay.

I’m teetering on the edge of 3 and don’t know which way to fall. In the direction to 4 we’ve got the lead up. The who dunnit factor and the character build up and the anticipation and the internal screaming and clenching of WHAT THE EFFFF. In the direction if 2 it’s sooo many unanswered questions in the end. It felt incomplete which opens up the door for interpretations and discussions and debate and my anger. I wanted more where I was given less on characters and I was given too much on dialogue when it should have been pointing to action! Plot! Story! In the end I’ll stand the middle and go with the solid 3.

The creativity of the unfolding of it all is pretty cool. You get 4 books. Book one is Phil’s story. He’s a friend of Jeff, who lost his mother in 1975, and he’s a writer in a rut. It’s present time that Jeff suggests he writes a book about the case of his missing mother. This is a clenched book piece that gave that nice thrill crime feel. BOOK TWO is Jane, the missing mother. This is a sneaky little book so pay attention. BOOK THREE is Jeff and his struggle with accusing his dad of murdering his mom. There isn’t any evidence other than he’s a pretty big sleaze ball lawyer and this is where you love Jeff and his relationship with his sister Miranda. BOOK FOUR, the final book, is Dan. He’s the husband of missing wife who isn’t missing but now dug up and dead. He’s suffering from dementia and can’t really be the prick he once was. Here is where it ends and it all (well mostly) falls into place.

This was a really good suck you in read but I was just disappointed in the end with my but wait WHAT HAPPENED?!? I mean I get what happened but spell it out for me more please and thank you.

Thank you Ballantine and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Really glad I picked up this book. I’ve been super busy and was just waiting to flip through. You will not be disappointed!

I enjoyed "All That is Mine I Carry With Me" and was completely absorbed all the way through. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator is an author suffering from writer's block and initially I was uncertain if the book was fiction or non-fiction as I hadn’t recognized the author, William Landay, who wrote "Defending Jacob". The story focuses on the disappearance of Jane Larkin, a wife to Dan, mother to three children, and a close sister to Kate. While the police and some family members suspect the husband of foul play, no evidence is forthcoming and the disappearance remains unsolved. The family is challenged by never knowing what happened to Jane and book delves into the impact this has on each family member as the narrator alternates among the characters. William Landay is known for his surprise endings and this one leaves the reader thinking long after finishing the book. This book was well written with authentic characters. I found myself looking forward to reading more each night. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a thoughtful and suspenseful mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A family reunion for a funeral, a mother long gone but now the bones are found. All the memories and the deceits, the accusations and denials return with the children and center on the father. He must be the one. As the family sorts through its past, we become witnesses to the good, the bad, and the ugly. Who we believe and why as the story is remembered may reveal as much about us as it does the characters. This twisting tale is compelling and repelling and will leave the reader questioning themselves at the end.

Wow! I loved this book. I was a little confused at first as the beginning of the novel is authored by a writer who suffered from writer's block. I kept checking to see if this was fiction or non-fiction as I knew it had been awhile since William Landay's last novel. The story focuses on the disappearance of Jane Larkin - a mom to 3 children who devotes her life to them and her husband. Everyone suspects the husband, Dan - but did he do it? This book was so well written and I stayed up late finishing it. This one will stay with me for a long time.

An engrossing story of a family navigating hard times after an unexplained disappearance of a family member. The need for an explanation, a solution for the reason for the loss, and a relief for emotional suffering are all unanswered, making for a good page-turner. Highly recommended.

This was a slow burn BIG PAYOFF legal mystery book that I really enjoyed. Solid 4.5 stars (really GR when can we get half stars?!). It tells the story of the mystery from four different perspectives and just when you think you have the story figured out….some lingering doubt makes you keep turning the page. The end was chefs kiss, gasping, hand over mouth perfection.❤️
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for ARC!!!

A mother has disappeared. Her three children are wondering and yearning for her to come home and her husband, a successful, calculating criminal defense attorney is the likely suspect.
But with no evidence that a crime has been committed, the case goes cold for decades.
Author, William Landay takes the usual plot and story line to a gripping conclusion that you will remember long after the last page is turned.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House-Ballantine Books for an early copy of this amazing book. A definite recommendation for your enjoyment. The comments and review are my honest opinion.

We’ve all been there, the kids, the house, a job, it’s just too much. Mothers (and fathers) everywhere get to the breaking point and run away from all the responsibility. However, no one thinks that’s what happened to Jane Larkin. She adores her children, but now she’s definitely missing. The police and Jane’s sister think her husband killed her, and her children are caught in the middle.

Miranda is the one to discover that her mother is missing when she arrives home after school to an empty house. At age 10, she’s heavily impacted by the loss of her mother. Her aunt Katie comes to stay and help out the family. I loved the relationship Miranda built with the lead investigator on the case, Tom Glover.

And the husband, Dan, is a defense attorney. He knows some nefarious characters and knows how to hide a crime, but he insists he’s innocent. Without a body, witnesses, or evidence, the police can’t do much.

The other siblings – Alex and Jeff – are on opposite sides. Alex firmly believes in their dad’s innocence and Jeff isn’t quite sure, but he thinks his dad might be behind things. As the years go by, the investigation dies down and it remains a mystery what really happened to Jane. Evidence turns up and the siblings have to choose how to proceed. As the family is torn apart again, would the truth come out this time?

This one is told in an interesting manner, broken up into four parts. It starts with a friend of the family who is writing the Larkin family story. Then we get other points of view. I did like that the other points of view moved the story forward rather than repeating earlier parts of the book from another perspective. I thought it was a clever way to tell the story, but it took me a while to piece it together. I thought the ending was stunning.

This one would make for an excellent book club choice and lead to a lot of discussion. I found it to be a bit of a slow burn, but I’m so glad I stayed with it and finished it.

This story really drew me in, and while parts of it were slow, I still couldn’t stop turning the pages. I loved the different perspectives presented as well. I’m a huge fan of this author and really got a lot out of this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I read "Defending Jacob" when it first came out and really enjoyed it. That story was really good, but the ending was what really made the whole story for me. I was expecting the same from Landay's new book - and was not disappointed. Jane Larkin disappears one day while her young children are at school. As is often the case, her husband is the first (and really only) suspect. He was an awful, pretentious man, who didn't make any secret of his unhappiness with his wife. There are 3 children, a mistress and her daughter, and a very involved (and sympathetic) detective. The book is divided into four parts, each from a different point of view. This was an effective way to tell the story, but it often took me a while to figure out who was speaking each time I started a new part. The one part I didn't enjoy was a civil trial that takes place after the halfway point of the book. The father was so despicable, I couldn't read what he was saying, and I skimmed a lot of it. The part leading up to the end of the book was a surprise, as was the end itself. I can't wait until my friends read this book, so we can discuss the ending. Many thanks to NetGalley, Bantam, and Mr. Landay for the ARC of this title.

2. 5 stars: While I loved Defending Jacob, this new book was not a huge hit for me, tho I am sure others will like it. The premise (mom disappears, dad is blamed, years later the body is found) was solid. The problem for me was that it just dragged on too long, the son and daughter weren’t particularly likeable or believable, and the ending did not completely satisfy me, leaving me still with questions.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for granting my wish and allowing me the chance to read this great book! All That Is Mine I Carry With Me is a murder mystery. It was my first time reading William Landay and I was quite impressed. It’s the story of the Larkin family. Mrs. Larkin is a housewife, her husband who comes from a very affluent family is a lawyer and they have 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter. One day just out of nowhere Mrs. Larkin disappears and she never returns. Her daughter Miranda finds this strange because her purse is right where she always keeps it. There is no sign of anything being out of the ordinary. The police and local detectives all have the feeling that Mr. Larkin is to blame but they can never find any evidence. This story portrays the impact that this tragedy has on this family. There are secrets and lies and it causes a division in the family. Many years later, Mr. Larkin suffers from Alzheimer’s and the question is, is it a blessing or a curse? In the end, I feel that justice was served or at least maybe a little! I really enjoyed reading this and it’s a book I would recommend. I’m happy to have found a new author to enjoy and I’m hoping to be able to go back and read some of his backlist. I’m giving this a 5 star rating!

Great read! From the beginning I was drawn in and I had no idea how it would end. The writing is so good and the story flows well. Enjoyable read for fans of mystery!

I thoroughly enjoyed Defending Jacob by the same author, but felt this novel was not as tightly structured. An unsolved-for-years murder of a wife and mother torments her children, especially when their father is a suspect. The story is told through a "Rashomon" structure in which there is a "book" telling the story of each major character and how s/he viewed the traumatic events; that can be a very interesting approach in a novel, but it was a bit too lengthy for me and perhaps for other readers. I still would recommend it, especially for fans of William Landay.

This book was so good! I had no idea how it would end, how the mystery would play out. I was hooked until the very very end. The writing is so good and reels you in, right from the beginning!

In a great follow-up to Defending Jacob, William Landay gives the reader rich characters and interesting story told from different points of view. Definite for mystery lovers but would recommend to all patrons that enjoy a family saga as well.

Siblings struggle with the unexplained disappearance of their mother for decades. When her remains are finally found, they must each decide for themselves whether they believe public opinion—that their father killed their mother—or whether they’ll trust their father’s repeated assertions that he’s innocent. Author William Landay returns with a book that is less about the murder and more about the interiority of the characters in the middling release All That Is Mine I Carry With Me.

In Boston in 1975, Miranda Larkin comes home from school one day and discovers that her mother isn’t home. At first Miranda isn’t worried, but as the day goes on and her mother, Jane, doesn’t return, Miranda knows that something is terribly wrong. When the police arrive on their doorstep, Miranda realizes, without even being able to verbalize it at that moment, that her life will never be the same.

Suspicion is rife that her father, Dan Larkin, is responsible for Jane’s disappearance. Dan is a flashy defense attorney for some of the biggest criminals in the area. If anyone would know how to evade police detection, it would be him. And, of course, there’s always the assumption that “the husband did it.” Yet Dan manages to poke holes in all of the theories the police present, and in the end they don’t have enough to charge him.

Dan doesn’t seem to have much trouble moving on; a year after Jane’s disappearance, he’s on vacation with his new girlfriend. Yet Miranda and her older brothers, Jeff and Alex, still struggle with whether their father is capable of murder. Eventually, Alex decides that their father is innocent. Jeff is convinced their father is guilty. Miranda waffles. One thing is sure: they’ll never be able to escape the shadow that their mother’s disappearance has caused, because it colors the trajectories of their lives.

Eventually the case fades from public view…until decades later when Jane’s remains are found. Once again, questions begin to pop up. Once again, Miranda and Jeff must assert their belief that their father murdered their mother. Once again, Alex stands up as their father’s main supporter.

The younger Larkin siblings are bolstered their Aunt Kate, Jane’s older sister. Kate is convinced that Dan was a horrible person even before Jane disappeared, and in her mind it’s only logical that Dan now be charged with the crime. Even with the advances in technology, however, Dan is insistent that he had nothing to do with Jane’s murder. Once again, the Larkin family must relive that awful day when Jane disappeared and their lives changed forever.

Author William Landay relies on a familiar tactic—circumstantial evidence and the blind spots that arise in criminal cases—to present the plot. Rather than go for a straightforward account, however, the book is divided into four “books” of their own and each “book” features a different point-of-view character. The plot isn’t presented chronologically, however, which works to the story’s disadvantage.

By spending so much time with each character and less time on the actual mystery at the heart of their family, Landay exposes weaknesses in his main premise: In a cold case, where absolutely no new leads are forthcoming for years, there’s not much in the case to keep anyone—like readers—engaged for long periods of time. Without any real evidence or information to name their father the killer, the Larkin children only have a suspicion about him.

Landay tries to offer a twist on the “did he/didn’t he” angle by showing Dan Larkin suffering from dementia later in life. As horrible as the murder of Jane Larkin might be for her family, the plot device of giving Dan dementia actually decreases interest in the case overall. Even if Dan is guilty, given the cruel nature of the disease, what is there for Miranda, Jeff, and Kate to gain, ultimately, by knowing the truth?

The last pages of the book try to infuse a thriller-like quality to the entire novel, but they can’t do enough to rescue the rest of the book and the overly contemplative mood it sets. Fans of books where circumstantial evidence plays a major role might like this one. Others looking for a straightforward thriller might want to give it a miss.

Questions, loss, and Doubt

Ten-year-old Miranda Larkin came home one day in November 1975 to an empty house. Her mother was not there. Her mother was always there to greet her after school. The house was quiet, nothing was missing, nothing was out of place and yet, her mother is nowhere to be seen.

Where is Jane Larkin?

That is a question that will haunt Jane's sister, Kate and her three children, Alex, Jeff and Miranda. The police believe her father killed their mother and disposed of her body. The children have doubts. Their father, an experienced criminal defense attorney has stated his innocence time and time again. But is he innocent? The majority people in his life and community believe he is a killer. But there is no evidence, no proof, and no witnesses. Now the children must live with a man who may have killed their mother.

Twenty years later their mother's remains are found, and the children now grown can bury their mother. They know she is truly gone but the question remains, did their father kill her? Now they are faced with a dilemma, what to do and how to move forward.

This book is told through various POV's and comprised of books. Readers see how the children's lives were affected by the loss of their mother; not only when they were children, but also when they are adults. They have had to grow up and experience life without her love, support and guidance. What is it like to live with doubt? To believe one parent killed the other? How does that affect relationships?

Once again, William Landay has crafted a well written, well thought out, thought provoking and emotional read. I was glued to the pages and wanted to learn the truth, although I too believed I knew who killed Jane.

Gripping, dramatic, and thought provoking.