4.5⭐

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for granting my wish! All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on March 7. 2023.


On November 12, 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin returned home from school to find her mother gone. Thirty-nine-year-old Jane Larkin was declared missing and her husband criminal defense attorney Dan Larkin, would remain the prime suspect in the eyes of lead investigator Detective Tom Glover but with no evidence or witnesses, Dan was never charged. His children remain divided on their opinions about their father’s role in their mother’s disappearance and needless to say this would complicate their relationships with their father and between themselves in the years to come.

In 2015 author Philip “Phil” Solomon is contacted by his school friend Jeff Larkin after a long gap of forty years and is encouraged by Jeff and his sister Miranda to base his next book on the Jane Larkin case. In the course of his research, Phil talks to different people who knew about the case, revisiting the events that followed the disappearance and the subsequent friction between the family members that has left its shadow even in the present day.

Will Jane’s children ever find out what happened to their mother? Was Dan truly responsible for his wife’s disappearance or was there more to the case than what everyone assumed? How will finally finding out what happened to Jane impact the already fractured Larkin family? Closure.. but at what cost?

Shared through multiple PoVs, <b>All That Is Mine I Carry With Me</b> by <b>William Landay</b> follows the members of Jane Larkin’s family through 1975 to the present day. The author captures the tension, heartbreak and conflict that follows in the aftermath of the events of 1975 perfectly – the emotions are real and the characters are distinctive in their voices and reactions. Among her children, the eldest, Alex, leaves for college soon after and we don’t get to know much about his inner thoughts barring the fact that he stands by his father while the younger children Jeff and Miranda are conflicted in how they feel about their father’s role in their mother’s disappearance. Alex is given a relatively minor role but the remaining characters are very well-written. We witness how the children navigate their way through Jane’s absence, their complicated relationship with their father and how they cope with Jane’s disappearance both as children and how the trauma follows them into their adult years. In contrast, we see Dan, Jane’s cunning, smug and self-assured husband who vehemently denies any involvement in Jane’s disappearance and remains seemingly unaffected by the accusations being thrown his way- from the investigators, Jane’s family and his children. I really liked how the plot is developed at a (relatively) slow yet steady pace, presenting us with different pieces to the puzzle while also allowing us to fill in the blanks as we see fit. Not all our questions are answered but that is all right because the author prepares us for that. As the narrative progresses we are compelled to presume (just like the characters in the story) and predict, but the author waits for you to turn the very last page to give us a finale that will stay with you.

With its crisp writing and fluid narrative, this is a novel that you will not want to put down. Overall, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay is a compelling read that I would not hesitate to recommend.

The plot points of this novel approaches numerous other thrillers -- such as the missing title character in Gone Girl -- but takes things just a bit further in telling the tale of a missing mom who is presumed killed by her husband. You hear from various family members in the first person, but again it is done to introduce some interesting plot twists that I don't want to spoil you with here. Initially I was a bit annoyed by the mixed narrator style but came to appreciate it about halfway through the novel. The narrative arc covers decades as we move way beyond the actual missing/murder conundrum and into the finer aspects of the children and other family members' personalities, relationships, and whether they think the dad did the deed or not. Having the dad as a criminal defense lawyer is also a nice touch too!. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is one of the best suspense/crime novels I've read this year. Young Miranda comes home from school one afternoon to find her mother missing. The story is set in the 1970's while kids were able to still walk home from school and a lot of times moms would be there waiting for them. The house is in order but Miranda waits for hours for her older brothers, Jeff and Alex, to arrive. The mystery continues to build when their father, Dan, comes home and calls the police. As expected, Dan is a suspect in his wife Jane's disappearance but the police aren't able to find anything to connect him and also feel that Jane may have left of her own accord. The book is written in for equal parts from four characters points of view. All that is Mine I Carry With Me is a gripping, unrelenting story and a must read.

You ae going to want to read this book. It's been 13 years since William Landay has written a book.


“All That I Carry With Me Is Mine,” written by William Landay is an excellent book. It is a family drama, a who done it novel. The story flows right along, and you want to know what really happened. It is a story about Jane, a missing wife and a mother of three children: Alex, Jeff and Miranda. Her husband Dan who is a criminal defense attorney is a suspect in his wife’s disappearance, as most husbands are. We are left to question. Who do we believe and what do we think happened?


Philip Solomon is the writer within the novel who hasn’t written anything in a long time, when he gets a call from his long-ago school classmate Jeff wanting to talk to him about his father and what happened all those years ago when his mother went missing. Jeff wants Philip to write a book about his family and tells him that Miranda would like to see him and talk about everything as well. The story is told mainly from four perspectives: Jeff, Miranda, Jane the mother and then Dan, the father.


Miranda is portrayed as a highly stressed individual who is prone to depression due to the loss of her mother at the age of 10. She is always wondering if her father did or did not have anything to do with her mother missing all these years.

Detective Tom Glover is the original detective in the disappearance of Jane, and he has always suspected Dan was involved in his wife’s disappearance. There are some wonderful moments between Tom and Miranda, that were engaging and even funny at times. I especially liked the courtroom drama that played out between the different individual’s.


The ending?
Well….I will let you decide.


I really like Defending Jacob, and at first gave it a 3 star rating but after having that book in my head all these years I had to come back and give it a 4 star rating. You can see my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/491095065


Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine-Bantam, and the author for the advanced copy of this wonderful book. Publication date: March 7, 2023.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book.

I have been a big fan of William Landay since Defending Jacob and this book did not disappoint. I found myself finishing the story with so many questions, many of which I'm sure I'll be pondering for days.

As always, Landay writes his characters with depth, complexity, emotion, and care. I found myself sympathizing with almost every character right up to the very last twisty paragraph. Almost every character. The villain is clearly the villain, and ,even when he's proven innocent and suffering, remains the villain. It's truly a story of victimization at every level and it's crushing until the end. The courtroom complexities were just as well written as the individual characters struggles, from the family to the neighbors to the detectives. This is a heartbreaking story on every level.

I truly hope Landay doesn't wait as long in the future to give us another amazing book of his. I never tire of his work.

The author does a great job hooking the reader in right from the beginning. I enjoyed the writing style as it allows you to get into the mind set of the characters. Not a fan of long chapters but it worked well here telling the many sides to this story and it propelled me to read further so I could get to the next section. Well written! #AllThatIsMineICarryWithMe #WilliamLanday #NetGalley

I’m not really sure how I felt about this book. It started off strong and then lost me. I didn’t quite finish it because I lost interest.

He does it again!
I was so super-psyched to read this one, and from the very beginning, I was hooked.
Bringing us another amazing emotional, enjoyable story.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay is one book I can't wait to talk about and share it with others.

Reading about the Larkin family really gripped me from the beginning.
Layered with brilliantly written characters; it's the kind of book that's nearly impossible to put down.
It was still well-written and engaging..
A true murder mystery/family drama story.
Intelligent and descriptive. Everything just fit so perfectly.
I felt the anxiety of this story.
Major kudos at painting a mental picture.
Filled with secerts and drama this book will hook you till the surprising ending.

Random House, Ballantine & Bantam,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

All That is Mine I Carry With Me was an unputdownable novel, written by William Landay.

Three siblings, Alex, Jeff and Miranda, had a difficult childhood. Their mother vanished one day, and their father was accused of taking part in her disappearance. Quickly after their mother’s disappearance, word gets out that their father has a girlfriend. Suspicious, right? What other secrets were their father hiding?

Told over a span of their lifetime, this book details how each sibling maneuvered the loss of their mother and subsequent complicated relationship with their father.

This book was fast pace, gripping, and engaging. I finished this book in less than 48 hours. Pair the captivating writing with the jaw dropping ending, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this ARC with me. This book hits the shelves on March 7, 2023.

Just finished reading / All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay. This is an ARC from NetGalley. I give this 4.5 as this is a story that sticks with you. The characters were so well written and came to life. After reading this book I had to read the first chapter again as it all dovetails back to the end. Exceptional character development.

The beginning seemed like the author's preamble and I was going to skim it but then, realized the story began. In 1975 Jane Larkin simply disappears, leaving her criminal defense attorney husband and three children with zero trace of her whereabouts. Her car is found at a train station but no trace of Jane. Was she murdered, did she run away or was there an accident? In the beginning you'll hear the different perspectives from her ten year old daughter, an older brother, her husband Dan and the police ...you will ponder so many possibilities about what could have happened to Jane Larkin.

The story develops over an 18 year period and is both ordinary, from the missing person/criminal investigation viewpoints, yet fascinating to watch the family as they hope and suspect. Highly recommended.

This was a complimentary copy from NetGalley. All opinions are mine and I was not compensated fro the review. This will be published March 7, 2023 by Random House Books (Ballantine). Genre: General Fiction (adult) and Literary Fiction.

Miranda Larkin comes home from school one day and can’t find her mother. For the next few years the family is left to wonder what’s happened to her and her husband Dan’s the prime suspect. But nothing can be proved and less than a year later Dan’s girlfriend moves in. The story is told from multiple viewpoints, Miranda, her brother Jeff, her mom. And her moms sister Kate. We learn from the mom who killed her, and we learn how big a sleaze Dan actually is. Miranda, Jeff and Kate believe Dan to be the killer and although there is never enough evidence for him to be arrested they decide to sue him in civil court, but lose.
There’s a few things I don’t understand, but can’t mention them without revealing the plot. But the title is one of them, as I don’t think it fits the book at all. I didn’t like the fact that Miranda forgave her father and took care of him with dementia. I found the book to feel hopeless and very dark.

This is a fascinating story of the Larkin family, mainly taking place after the disappearance of Jane Larkin, the wife of Dan, and mother to Alex, Jeff and Miranda. It is written in an interesting format, divided into Book 1, 2, 3 and 4, all narrated by a different character and in a different span of time. Book 1, is in the present time, then book 2 and 3 tell the story over a span of many years, beginning on November 12, 1975, the day Jane Larkin disappeared.

Miranda, not quite 11 years old, arrives home from school is surprised there is nobody home. There was always someone at home, mostly her mother. Eventually when other family arrives, and it becomes apparent Jane is missing, the police are called.

Dan Larkin, an arrogant, somewhat self-absorbed criminal defense attorney is the first suspect being Jane’s husband. Dan, however, has a perfect alibi for the day. Many years go by, and the case is never solved or closed. One detective doesn’t forget about it, however, and continues searching on his own time for an answer to what happened to Jane. The three kids grow up and have differing opinions on what happened to their mother and who might play a role in her disappearance.

I was hooked from the very beginning and could barely put this book down. There are many unexpected twists and turns, as well as surprising situations. The characters are well-developed and soon I felt like I knew them and was totally enthralled in their stories. When the last page is turned it isn’t a book you soon forget. I’ll be thinking about this for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine-Bantam for the advance copy of this book. All comments and opinions are mine.

I read the book Defending Jacob by this author which was very good. This book was not as clever and thought provoking.

However, this book is both very readable and engrossing. The parts of the book that deal with the effects of the disappearance of Jane Larkin on her children were well done.

However, what reduced the quality of the book was the disappointing characterization of Don Larkin. He is not at all a likable person. The problem is that in a lot of real-life mysteries, where there is a question of whether than man killed his wife, the husband has his good points. The fact that the husband has some good points is what keeps the mystery going makes the husband harder to prosecute. I felt there would be some pressure to prosecute Don Larkin from the public even though the evidence is not conclusive. The book does not deal with the MeToo movement and changing views about violence against women. There is less toleration about violence against women.

However, on the whole I enjoyed this book it could have been much better book.

I’ve not read Landay until now because I had always thought of him as a writer of court dramas, and I don’t especially like those. But then again, I heard good things, so I kind of meant to. When the ARC for his latest came to Netgalley, I downloaded it, and then, upon a strongly impassionate recommendation of a good friend moved it up on my reading queue.
Well, what can In say. I was missing out. That much was blatantly obvious from the first page.
There’s this elusive, difficult to describe quality some writers have, like they were born to tell stories. The way their narrative just envelops you, the profound immersiveness of their books.
Landay has that. Loads of it.
The man can just take a deceptively simple tale that can be in theory summed up as A Man May or May Not Have Killed His Wife Forty Years Ago and make it sing. Make it wow.
So how does he do it? Well, his writing is just that good. But also, he’s so clever about the narrative structure, about the subtleties of characters, about maintaining plausible deniability and suspense.
The case is this: in 1975 a well-to-do lawyer’s wife and mother of their three children disappears without a trace. The suspicion inevitably falls on the man, because that’s just how it goes and because he’s kind of scummy, and with a girlfriend on the side.
And yet no one can prove his guilt and so for decades him and his children and the wife’s sister are submerged in a sea of suspicion and mistrust.

The following paragraphs may give away some of the plot turns, though I’ll take great care not to. Read at your discretion. You’ve been warned.

The novel starts with a man writing a book about the case. The man has family connections and uses them, and of course not everyone in the family is happy about it. The eldest son maintains his father’s innocence or at least the right to be left alone. The youngest daughter is struggling with it all.
Next up, a chapter from the dead wife herself. Just how that’s possible (and this is so freaking clever) you don’t find out until the next chapter wherein the family at last decides to get some form of justice and sues the father. Yes, now there’s a court drama and yes, it was my least favorite part of the book, but a. it was still compelling and b. it didn’t take very long.
And then the last chapter, that sees the father as an old man with the youngest daughter as his devoted caretaker. And what did you expect really from an adult woman who never stopped calling his Daddy?
Old age had mellowed the scum off the man and now he’s practically a decent if senile person, preparing to take his own life to avoid further degradation.
Apparently, bygones have been relegated to bygone-specific places and some peace was found. And then, a bombshell of a revelation at the last moment. An ending twist that cuts like knife. Oh so good.

Yes, that’s how you do did-he-or-didn’t-he novel. That’s how you do a novel period. What an awesome book. What an emotional powerhouse. One of the best reading experiences in a long while, and given the amount of books this reader/reviewer goes through, that’s no small praise. Great read. Recommended. I mean, read this book. Go. Do it. Thanks Netgalley.

Couldn’t put it down! Absolutely fantastic from beginning to end. I cannot wait to hand sell this to my customers!

I very much enjoyed this story. Well-written, with plenty of twists and turns. Ultimately it is a sad story but one that hold the interest. Here’s hoping it’s not such a long wait for his next book.

I was thrilled to receive this book before its publication date. I stayed home all day to finish it in one marathon sitting . My poor husband had to fend for himself for meals and conversations. I was sure of how the wife disappeared, then changed my mind and changed it again. I was both surprised and satisfied with the ending

In November 1975 Jane Larkin disappears without a trace, leaving behind her three children, husband and her older sister. What starts as a story about a missing person soon turns to heartbreak and the trauma it brings to the family.

What I love about this author is his ability to expertly craft a story from beginning to end while creating a mystery that really stays with you after finishing. This is a solid mystery/drama being told in such a genius way. It starts off towards the end, then brings you back to the beginning while telling the story from each person in the family including a childhood friend and the detective leading the case. I can't even pick a favorite part because each person's perspective is just as enthralling as the next. For fans of Defending Jacob, you will devour and love this. Five Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for this wonderful ARC.

Could. Not. Put. It. Down. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish. I was hooked from the start and read this very quickly. Brilliant!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of All That Is Mine I Carry With Me. The star of this book was the trial and I wish it had been longer. The mystery kind of got lost in the long narratives of Miranda and Jane because they both meandered along with so much background, and Phil’s musing on why he wrote a book about the case. I never felt like I got to know the characters well enough to care about them. It was a good attempt, but this book wasn't for me.