Every Moment Since

EVERY MOMENT SINCE by MARYBETH MAYHEW WHALEN is the tragic account of the disappearance of Davy Malchor and the effect it has on his family members and the community. It is a really well written book and the way the characters’ emotions are described draws one into the story. It is a very worthwhile read.
Tabby and Daniel Malchor live in Wynotte, North Carolina with their three children, Thaddeus or TJ as he is called, who is fifteen, Davy who is eleven and Kristin who is four. The parents go out to a party. TJ has plans with his friends and has to take his little brother with him, and Kristin is left with a baby sitter. TJ’s friend Philip brings beer and things go from bad to worse when TJ tells Davy to leave him alone……
The tragedy results in guilt, regret, accusations, anger and broken relationships. Thaddeus tries to assuage his guilt by writing a bestseller describing the horror of that night over twenty years ago, but leaving out his deepest feelings. His mother never gives up hope of finding her son and works hard on various committees dealing with similar cases. She comes to regret not being a better mother to her two remaining children and a better wife to Danny……
When the coat Davy was wearing when he disappeared is found the cold case is reopened……..
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this story and my only negative? I'd have liked for it to have been longer.

Davy went missing when he was 11, on a night when his brother TJ should have been watching him, but one moment changed everything...

The story then takes us through the lives of various people 20 years on and how Davy's disappearances has affected them since... from the older brother, mother and even a police officer, we get to see how their lives were impacted and how its shaped their characters.

I liked the way we got to see the various characters and thought they were well-crafted, I particularly liked the mum, she was very authentic.

I enjoyed reading it and didn't know what would happen.

If this was longer, it could go a bit more indepth which I think would have made it even better.

A novel of a missing child and the effects that his disappearance has on his family and the town that he is from. How each character could have changed what happened that night and how that could have changed the outcome of this missing child. A beautifully written story set in a small town in North Carolina; it will make the reader think how they would act if this happened to them. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

This is a book I think I will forever recommend to someone looking for a book to pull all the strings. Wow! I can’t say enough how beautiful this book was done. Highly recommend

When young Davy Malcor disappears one night, there are so many people who feel responsible in some small way - his parents for allowing him to be out playing past dark, his brother who should have been watching him better, his new little friend who lost track of him during a race, and even the young man who rented a house on the property where Davy disappeared, because he shooed him away.

This story is about so much more than a missing child. It’s about the different ways that grief can affect you, and what you do with that grief. I found the writing so powerful in that it made me too grieve for Davy and I kept hoping for some kind of closure for the family. The pace of the story is quite slow, which I imagine is exactly what life feels like when a member of your family has disappeared.

The torment and agony is palpable in these characters, which really brings this story to life. Though it is sad, it’s a wonderful book. I highly recommend it and happily rate it 5 big stars. Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

This book will pull at your heart in ways you never thought it could. The writing. The premise. Everything. Even during the midst of a writing slump I was able to make it all the way through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. A lot to unpack here with this book.
The beginning of the book was a little confusing with the different POV’s and also the different timelines. However all of it came together and you get to learn more about each character and the roll they played in Davey’s life and disappearance.
Phenomenal book though about family and friends and a town facing a tragic loss and coming together as one to solve what happened.
Some slight surprises at the end that you kind of expected but were unsure about. Really great book.

I’ve cried while reading books dozens of times. But I don’t know if I’ve ever cried at the end. When I turned the (digital) page and realized the book was over, I laid it down and cried.
Every Moment Since is one of the most poignant, heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. Centering on the disappearance of a child, this book highlights how small decisions can alter a life forever. It’s an amazing example of how many lives are affected and changed by one event.
As a mom of two boys, the story itself broke my heart. But it was also a beautiful reminder to love and enjoy every minute of life, because tomorrow is not promised.
I loved how this book flowed between past and present, changing character viewpoints. The characters were real and flawed. I found myself liking and hating them by turns. In the end, I could understand and empathize with each one.
I was not prepared for the ending. But it was perfectly fitting for the story.
Every Moment Since is going down as one of my favorite books of all time. It’s a must-read!
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

So much more than a missing person thriller, this novel explores the impact on the lives of family members, witnesses, police, and the primary suspect. Told from multiple perspectives in two different timelines, the characters were vividly drawn and the pacing kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for an advanced reader copy

Marybeth Whalen's novel about child loss is a heart-rending perspective on the people attached to the child. Davy Malcor, age 11, went missing from his small North Carolina town in 1985. Davy's parents were out, and his older brother TJ (Thaddeus) was supposed to watch out for him. Twenty-one years later, the story reveals the actions, thoughts, and feelings of each person connected to Davy and to the event of his disappearance.

Whalen's writing is wonderful. The story's flow kept me riveted from beginning to end. I recommend this thoughtful piece about love and grief.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book, which will be published on October 1, 2024.

Every Moment Since will tug at your heart and soul. Characters and settings are beautifully developed to the point I felt I was living in the community with the family of the long-missing child. The sad story swirls around several family members as they grapple with loss, lingering doubts, and love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is a goldmine! What I expected from the blurb was more of a mystery thriller and police procedural on a decades old cold case... But the book is not about the missing child. It's about the family that is lost... Not literally but figuratively.

The plot is about a 11 year old child, Davy Malcor, who is lost one night... Never to be found again. After twenty one years, someone finds his jacket, reopening the decades old cold case. The book follows the family and closed ones of Davy as they deal with the revelations, how they've tried to move on but failed. There is a constant back and forth in timelines, excerpts from a book written by Davy's brother about his disappearance, which might be a little confusing in the initial few chapters.

I sobbed with Tabitha (Davy's mum) and I was shocked at the little plot twists. It's a unique book in the sense that there is no clear villain to hate... It's a giant wheel of consequences which is still haunting everyone involved. Ab absolutely gut wrenching book, which will make you cry for a child you don't know.

This is a wonderfully written, heartbreaking story about a sudden disappearance of a little boy named Davy.
Davy;s vanishing took place one night, twenty years passed and he was never found.
Where could he have gone? Was this an abduction?
How this changes the family, friends and all living in this small town comes to light once more when his "McFly" jacket Davy always wore was found after all these years and the search is reopened!

This is truly a book that is emotional and intense at times. It is every parents nightmare and I could feel the pain of Davy's mom and siblings. The guilt of being a brother who wishes that he had done things different on that fateful evening is displayed and felt to the core.
If you enjoy family, suspense, drama and emotional stories then have a seat and open this incredible story!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @HarperMuse for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

Always love this author’s books. Definitely a book for library purchase. Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This is a poignant tale of what happens after an 11 year old boy disappears. Davy's family, friends, the suspect, and the police involved with the case all have a say as the novels moves back and forth in time after his jacket is discovered all these years later. The wounds are still raw, the secrets still deep, and the guilt immense. This doesn't go the way I expected- no spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. Good storytelling makes for a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Muse and Harper Collins Focus for gifting me both a digital and ARC of the new novel by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, with the audio narrated by a wonderful cast. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 5 stars!

Meet the Malcor family – dad Danny, mom Tabitha, TJ the older brother, and Davy the younger brother. This book begins on a summer night in 1985 – the parents anxious for a night away, TJ anxious to go out with his friends, and Davy wanting to tag along. But nothing will ever be the same after that night because Davy doesn’t come home.

This book slowly draws you in and makes you feel like part of this family going through decades of trauma. Told from multiple POV in different timelines, the reader gets to feel what a tragedy like this does to a family and community. It’s beautifully written, and my heart was in my throat so much of the time. The small-town setting was perfect, because families and lives were intertwined. It’s a wonderful family drama on dealing with grief, as well as a taut mystery to find out what happened with Davy. Highly recommended – the audiobook was done by a full cast and was perfection!

I really enjoyed this book by Marybeth Maybew Whalen. I read three of her books a few years back and loved them, so I was excited for the opportunity to review this one. I love how she uses multiple points of view to show how a singular event affects so many different people. She does a great job giving each narrator a distinct voice (both literally with the audio and figuratively with the writing) and really brings the characters to life.

I’d say this is half women’s fiction, half mystery. It’s definitely worth a read!

What a book! This is my first exposure to this author, and I’ll definitely look for more of her writing.

This one is the story of what happens to a family and a neighborhood after a little boy goes missing. We learn the story of that night, more than 20 years ago, and how Davy Malcom went out to play “night games” with his older brother and some of the other boys. But the older ones were more occupied with drinking beers supplied by Phillip’s uncle than they were with playing games. And the older brother, TJ, lost track of where Davy was. The awful truth was, Davy never came home that night, and not the next, nor the next. He was never found.

Davy’s entire family has so many scars. His parents divorced, as so often happens after these tragedies. And TJ, now known as Thaddeus James, has written a bestselling memoir which includes many of the events (although not all of them) from Davy’s disappearance and its effects on him and his family. There’s a man who was suspected of abducting Danny, but the police never found any evidence.

And then—-Danny’s jacket from that night is found.

The family gathers as the investigation begins anew, and the subsequent findings and all that happens with this family are so moving that I dreaded putting this book down. Although this is a grim tale with heartbreaking details of a horrible incident, I really loved the writing.

I both read and listened to the audiobook. The narration was spectacularly done with a multi-person cast.

Five stars! Highly recommend!

Southern storyteller and favorite author Marybeth Mayhew Whalen returns with EVERY MOMENT SINCE —a heart-rendering, gripping, character-driven story of mystery, grief, and loss.

The author brilliantly explores the aftermath of a tragedy when a boy goes missing that profoundly affects the family members, friends, and the entire community.

About...

1985 Wynotte, North Carolina

More than twenty years earlier, on a Saturday evening in a small Southern NC town, a little boy named Davy Malcor goes missing.

He wore a jacket his mom made for his birthday. Davy was never found, leaving behind a grief-stricken family and a town with a mystery and no answers.

When the jacket is discovered, the cold case reopens, and Davy's family is back amid another media sensation.

Four lives are forever changed by this single night when Davy disappears.
~Thaddeus is Davy's older brother, who wrote a bestselling memoir about the experience, although he is not forthcoming with the entire story.
~Tabitha: The mother. She is divorced and lives alone, advocating for victims' rights and journaling her regrets (maybe not all of them).
~Anissa Weaver: She was a young girl when Davy went missing. She also does not reveal all. She serves as the Malcor family's Public Information Officer.
~Gordon Swift: He was the artist living in the woods near Davy's disappearance. When the boy came to his house, he sent him away. Then what. Regrets. Is he responsible?

Everyone is front and center, and the suspects are lining up. What happened the night Davy went missing, and where is he now? There are many suspects.

My thoughts...

EVERY MOMENT SINCE is a hauntingly beautiful story of the aftermath of a loss, a traumatic event, and those connected with inner turmoil, grief, and guilt to healing. There is an ongoing mystery, and everyone has hidden secrets about that night. What if they could change the events leading up to that night?

The author brilliantly explores this small rural Southern community and its dark secrets in this slow-burn mystery from past to present. Vivid in place, high in emotion, and strong in character, infused with tension and lovely prose, EVERY MOMENT SINCE is my favorite of Marybeth's. I am also a Charlotte, NC native, and I love and support NC authors!

It's an emotionally gripping family drama—heartbreaking, compelling, and suspenseful, with unexpected twists. The characters will remain with you long after the book ends. EVERY MOMENT SINCE is an ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions.

Audiobook...

I had the privilege of reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook, which was superior. The audio features a full cast of superstars (some of my favorite narrators): Cassandra Campbell, George Newbern, Kirby Heyborne, Jane Oppenheimer, Macleod Andrews, and Renata Friedman. The audio was exceptional, and the characters came alive. I highly recommend the audiobook!

Recs...

For fans of the author and those who enjoy stories by Jessica Strawser, Eileen Goudge, Susan Redfearn, Rochelle Weinstein, Jen Craven, and Emma Robinson.

Thanks to Harper Muse and Harper Audio for an ARC and ALC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 1, 2024
Oct 2024 Must-Read Books
October Newsletter

A gripping novel about the case of a missing boy and the ripple effect his disappearance had on his family twenty years later.

I simply could not put this one down! The multiple POV made every page turn more exciting than the last! I was blown away at the beauty of each characters story and the heart breaking but hopeful ending. BRAVA MARYBETH!!

Everyone in a fictional, NC town feels the absence of a the little boy who disappeared twenty years ago. When his jacket is unexpectedly uncovered, the cold case reopens, and Davy's family is thrust into yet another media storm. Striking a similar sad tone as Ethan Joella's "A Quiet Life", this is about the gaping hole left by the absence of a loved one.

Every parent's worst nightmare is to have their child disappear. This beautifully written novel dissects that experience for a family over a 20 years period. Everyone in the small North Carolina town knows the name Davy Malcor. He disappeared in a field in 1985 while playing with his brother and friends. He wandered off from the group and vanished into thin air. When his jacket is found 20 years after his disappearance in an old shed near where he was last seen, the cold case is opened again and the media descends on the small town and Davy's family.

This story is told in two timelines - the night that Davy disappeared and 20 years later when the cold case is re-opened. Davy was 11 years old when he went with his brother Thaddeus to hang out in a local field after dark. Their parents were on their way to a party and agreed that they could go out for a short period of time. When the older brother gets with his friends, he send Davy away. Davy is an embarrassment to him in his Marty McFly jacket that their mother made for him. Davy goes wandering around with a new friend and then he's alone and then he's gone. The police and the whole town searched for him but never found any clues. Twenty years after he went missing, his distinctive jacket was found in an abandoned building near where he was last seen. The police start a search in the area and the media who has followed the case for 20 years descends on the town. So much has changed in the family that Davy disappeared from. His parents are divorced but are still friends. His brother has become a famous author for a memoir that he wrote about his lost brother. But did he tell the whole truth or is he holding back on some important information.

This beautifully written novel looks at not only the family and how the disappearance of a child affected them but also looks at the effect on the small community as they pick up the pieces that remain and try to find hope and healing.

I already gave a review on the audiobook.

Very good story with interested characters and a satisfactory conclusion. I love the mix of genres.

Dark. Dreary. Dismal. Oppressive. And Then The Candle Flickers To Life. This is one of those books that takes the hyper-dark and hyper-oppressive feel of the singular worst book I've *EVER* read - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - and does what McCarthy never could: Provide just that flicker of a spark of a candle lighting. *Just* enough to provide *some* level of hope. Even when most everyone in this book is so broken by the central issue - a child going missing decades ago - and their secrets about that night that none of them *really* *want* that hope, the reader *needs* that smallest flicker... and Whalen provides it in particularly dramatic form.

For those who are not fans of multi-perspective books... this one isn't going to change that, sorry. There are a lot of perspectives going on here, and a lot of sudden switching that can get a touch confusing at times, particularly as we switch between "then" and "now".

But really, that was the only *potential* flaw here, and not everyone has that particular hangup. (I don't, I actually thought the multi-perspectives made the story work much *better* in this particular case, as we get so many views on what happened here and how different people are reacting differently.)

The tie in to Richard Jewel of the Centennial Park Bombing during the 1996 Olympic Park Bombings in Atlanta was interesting, even if Whalen actually meant that particular character to be a more general representation. (And to be clear, it is only my own mind that made the connection at all, though perhaps others who were living in the Atlanta region during that time also might make it. The actual characterization is far more generic and could represent any number of people in similar situations.)

Overall a strong, if extremely dark and depressing, tale extremely well told. Very much recommended.

A story that will break your heart. A story that will make you weep. But in it's way it also gives you some hope. Hope that lives can be built back. Families can move on. People can find some kind of closure.

Do not read this book if you know anyone who has had a child go missing. Or even have lost a child to violence. It's a sad one. It will bring on the tears.

A man writes a best selling novel. It's about his life. His life after a loss that he blames himself for. Thaddeus was only fifteen years old when his eleven year old brother went missing. His parents had made him take Davy with him to play games in the dark with friends. But TJ, as he was know, made his little brother go away and leave him alone. He wanted to drink beer for the first time. He wanted to be with his friends and enjoy the time he had to be out. Little did he know that would be the night his life changed forever. The night his brother would go missing. The night his mother would, in her way, blame him. He was just a fifteen your old child.

This book takes you inside a family's loss. A family's destruction. A story that will stay with you for a while. For a good long while. It's so well written that you can feel the air. The anger. The sadness. You can feel the effects that this missing child has on the whole town. The man who was accused's feelings. How he had to live with the things said about him and to him. How one night can change lives.

This book was a very dark one. It was so sad and so filled with loss. When Davy's jacket is found they know that it won't be long before his body is found also. It's been twenty-0ne years. Any hope that he is alive is gone. Who could have done this. Who would have done this. I have to admit that I suspected the who from early one. I didn't know or have any idea how though and it didn't take away from this story in any way. The last parts made me weep big tears. The grief of this family was told in such a realistic way. Then the way they will finally move on. Possibly rebuild theirs lives. Together.

Thank you #NetGalley, #HarperMuse, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars.

Everyone has a story or two from their younger years where they remember a tragic story about a child. This depicts the inner conflicts of each family member going through the grief of a missing child. The town of Wynoette, North Carolina, is the setting. Twenty years after Davy Malcor goes missing, a distinct and valuable piece of clothing is found on a property and reopens this cold case. Each member of the family and surrounding community members each have their own resounding deep sorrow that is once again resurfaced due to this new information, including the solitary man who was accused but never sentenced for Davy's death.
How does this affect the interpersonal relationships of each family member and other townspeople who experienced this horrific event? This is a story that will leave you thinking about the characters for a long time. It is a deeply, emotional read that makes you feel connected to this family.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse, for the advanced reader's copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
#EveryMomentSince #MaryBethMayhewWhalen #WomensFiction #GeneralFictionAdult #Mystery #MissingChild #Thriller #Suspense

EVERY MOMENT SINCE
BY: MARYBETH MAYHEW WHALEN

I had not been prepared for all of the emotions that would impact me to my very core while reading a brand new discovery of an empathetic Author named, MaryBeth Mayhew Whalen. She has written her newest literary fiction novel, called, Every Moment Since. This is the kind of storytelling that is so sophisticated and imbued with wisdom that it's evident she gained by maturity and life experience. The subject matter has been done before too often to give the impression that it wouldn't be of interest, but in this particular instance my intuition from reading her Author's Note it is written from the heart to pay tribute to all victims of the past and all those in the future who her characters represent. It's a common occurrence that could happen to anyone of us. My intuition is that this author's motive for writing such a story comes from the purest intentions to honor the lives of all the innocent children who have disappeared. It also is unique in the realism of the guilt that the families have suffered when it could happen to anyone of us. This heartbreaking story explores the overwhelming grief that the families that have lost a child suffer from blaming themselves when it's not their fault. Their lives are devastated living with so much unimaginable pain and regret as if they could have prevented it. This is special in that there's nothing sensationalizing what transpires. Having read her Author's Note my assumption of her reason to write this is not to entertain readers who are drawn to dark content. Just like keeping a diary or journal helps people gain clarity from reading their thoughts by the act of writing their feelings down. It's my belief that it's possible that published authors gain therapeutic benefits from their talents at crafting a narrative that they have witnessed. When I read this Author's Note it's clear that she was carrying a striking event that we both happened to have seen in a movie based on a famous true story that as both being mother's is the type of horror that is unforgettable. I'm not a mind reader and this is only my opinion, nothing more than that. My intuition that's a personal feeling could one of many reasons this story exists stems from a selfless desire to offer hope to families who have lived a similar fate and that by reading this helps them not feel less alone? Could she resemble the infinite number of people who write in their journals seeking to understand themselves utilizing transferring thoughts onto the page? Only she knows what drove her to have the idea to write this beautifully crafted story. Herself and those she shared her reasons know what insights she has mined that her brilliant character development that illuminates the depth of trauma that inhabit four specific people in this stunning portrait. If her goal was to make us remember all of those unfortunate to have been victimized by the events in this story. In my experience of how I felt while reading this will be that she achieved her objective with how authentic this felt to me. I had finished this with feeling nothing but empathy for all four characters portrayed that intersect in the final pages. As a mother with young adult sons, I related most to the mother with a deep seated visceral reaction that any mother would never forget. I can't begin to imagine how countless mothers, fathers and siblings have dealt with the loss of a child in their families. I know on some level it strikes your heart like a burning brand which will cause a memory that one carries forever. Just like this story will affect me forever leaving me grateful that I didn't endure it myself. I feel nothing but an unending supply of empathy towards every person by no fault of their own, having experienced the unthinkable of this firsthand.

In a small community twenty one years ago in 1985, Tabitha is trying to put on her make up to have a romantic evening with her husband with plans of getting together with good friends. I could feel how distracted she was when her oldest child who is fifteen years old named, Thaddeus is relentless to convince her to allow him and his friends to meet up to play what he called,"night games." She didn't seem comfortable and he explained it's the innocent games boys play during the day. At the same time her eleven year old son Davy pleads with her not to go out with her husband because he was scared that his parents were going out and leaving him home. She finally gave him permission with the stipulation that he take Davy and watch out for him. Thaddeus like a typical fifteen year old boy tells her what she needs to hear to allow him to get his way. Meanwhile the youngest child a little four year old girl named Kristyn is going to stay with the girl who lives next door.

Only Thaddeus doesn't want his eleven year old brother Davy hanging around him.

Davy disappears after losing track of a girl who is his age after they race back from spying on a man named Gordon Swift.

Twenty one years later.

Tabitha makes a list every week listing all of her regrets, the biggest one having never made it to her list. She's divorced which struck me as realistic but incredibly sad as most parents' grief is overwhelming. With each spouse if not turning towards each other for mutual support, their grief gets expressed in their own way. I wouldn't know but it's a well known statistic in the U.S., that most parents who lose a child get divorced. Tabitha gets notified by Anissa Weaver who was the young girl that last night with Davy is something she has kept to herself. She works for the sheriff as a Public Information Officer. The Sheriff sent her to notify Tabitha that Davy's jacket that his mother made for him which is what was unique that resembled what a character in his favorite movie wore.

A man who bought land found the jacket and turned it over to the authorities and the cold case gets reopened and with it a media storm ensues. Anissa's job is to comfort the family and try to shield them from the intrusive media.

Tabitha makes a phone call to Thaddeus telling him the news about t Davy's jacket being found and she tells her son that he must come home. Thaddeus doesn't want to come home. He tries to tell his mother that his bestselling memoir about their family's loss that he tours the Country at Author events won't permit it. He picks up a different female at every event, but he never develops a relationship since in my opinion his emotional development has been arrested since the age of fifteen when Davy disappeared. He has left out of the book the truth of what really happened. He never told his parents the truth either.

This book is emotionally complex in how this family has grown apart. What I felt was a powerful story that demonstrates how grief, regret and guilt has torn apart an intact family. How the four characters' lives intersect and the complex trauma are masterfully handled by this author. It manages to be an exploration of a family's way of not having processed the gamut of the psychological toll which they have to face now. Literary fiction rarely offers a character study combined with a suspenseful plot. It deeply affected me. This novel deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible with this heartfelt written story.


"She hadn't appreciated how rare and fleeting it would all be,
that the simplest moments were actually remarkable. She'd
looked right past them, her eyes always scanning the horizon
for something else. She'd had it all, and then it was all gone.
She would regret those oversights for the rest of her life,
no matter how many times she wrote that she regretted
nothing."

Publication Date: October 1, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and Harper Muse for providing me with my Amazing ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#EveryMomentSicnce #MarybethMayhewWhalen #HarperMuse #NetGalley

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is at her best in this atmospheric mystery that will keep you turning pages from cover to cover! Marybeth is able to peel back the layers of small town life and get to the core of the people who live there like no other author I've read!

I started the #audiobook of Every Moment Since today and the cast of narrators is wonderful! (audio book not gifted)

Marrybeth also has an impressive backlist so once you finish Every Moment Since - start with #ThisSecretThing - one of my personal favorites - and work your way back. #TBR

Thank you to Marybeth and @harpermusebooks for this gifted digital early readers copy of Every Moment Since!

This was an emotionally dense and melancholic read. While there’s an intriguing mystery element to it; the core of this book is the exploration of how a family and a small town grapple with the aftermath of 11 year old Davy’s disappearance. Themes of grief, loss, guilt and regret are prominent in this work.

Davy vanishes on a fateful night in 1985, after tagging along with his brother to night games with the neighborhood kids. 21 years later, a new piece of evidence surfaces, bringing his family and their painful memories, back into the public eye.

We meet Thaddeus, Davy’s older brother who has gone on to write a bestselling memoir of his brother’s disappearance; Tabitha, their mother, who clings to a weekly list of regrets that never quite seems to capture her biggest regret; Anissa, a public information officer who has her own secrets to keep about that night; and Gordon, a sculptor who was once a suspect in the case and has never been able to salvage his reputation.

Through each of these characters’ POVs, we get an intimate look into how the events of 12 October 1985 affected the trajectory of their lives and the inner turmoil and the guilt that they have been left to deal with, as the spotlight descends on them again.

The book masterfully blends a well executed plot and deep character exploration. Perfectly paced and well-written, it kept me turning the pages.
The ending was also a good surprise- I like to think I’m good at solving mysteries before they’re revealed but this one was satisfyingly unpredictable. I also appreciated the fact that we get to find out what happened to Davy. It gave me closure as a reader.

If you’re a mystery lover who appreciates a deep character study, this book is for you. It also saved me from an impending reading slump, so if you’re stuck in one, this might be the perfect book to bring you back.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from @harpermusebooks and @netgalley (thank you!). Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Davy Malcor goes missing while out playing with the other neighborhood kids. Twenty years later, the jacket he was wearing is found. He was never found. This book has two timelines. Davy's disappearance, the hours before and immediately following are interspersed between the present finding of the jacket. The book is narrated by different persons, mainly the family of Davy. The book switches easily between persons and time with the appropriate headings. This book is about sorrow and regrets in the aftermath of the disappearance. In following the story of his mom, father, brother, sister, friends and the community I definitely shed some tears. Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the privilege of receiving a complimentary digital ARC. This review is my own opinion. Since I sat and read without changing it up for another book, not putting it down until I had to, and finishing it so quickly--how can I give it anything but 5 stars?

Another excellent mystery book from this author. I really enjoyed this one. The pacing was great. The different points of view and types of writing kept the story fresh and moving. I highly recommend this one!

This was such a heart rendering story. A mystery that devastated a family. Each family member dealt with lost and tragedy in different and unique ways. All the emotions and with twists that keep you turning the page!

One of the best books I’ve read all year. I loved the storytelling in the dual timelines and from the different perspectives. Seeing how this tragedy affected so many people in the community and how that shaped them throughout the years was very realistic and heartbreaking. The ending was a great twist that I didn’t see coming. I also appreciate how you can still feel sorry Phillip, even though he was involved in such an awful thing and kept it a secret for so many years. This novel was so well written and told the story well.