A bizarre plot.

This book started off very well, Trumanell Branson has been missing for ten years from a small American town in the middle of nowhere. Her brother, Wyatt, is the main suspect but nothing has ever been proven. Odette has lived in the same place for most of her life, Wyatt was her teenage sweetheart, she is now a policewoman and cannot believe that Wyatt is guilty.

The book begins when a young girl is found dumped on some waste ground and rescued by Wyatt. She refuses to speak about how and why she was left there. Odette takes her from Wyatt and tries to help her. At the same time, Odette’s husband, Finn, has just left her and she stupidly has a one night stand with Wyatt.

Odette then makes it her mission in life to discover who Angel is and to solve the mystery of Trumanell’s disappearance.

The story is told by Wyatt, Odette and finally Angel and I must admit I found all three of them quite annoying in their own way. The actual revelation of the culprit was quite sudden and not very interesting, and I ended the book with more questions than answers.

As this book was set in the USA, I also found some difficulty in the vocabulary used. I imagine that this book would appeal more to the author’s American readers but not unfortunately to me.

Dexter

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

I found it hard to get my head around the book in the beginning. There were quite a lot of characters so I found it hard to become immersed straight away as I needed to figure out what was going on. 

The writing was incredible - atmospheric, beautiful and a brilliant use and showing us what was happening. It pulled me right into the story - sucking me into this tragic yet beautiful world with all these characters who felt like they were sitting right beside me. 

The major characters all had complex, real personalities, and I cared about what happened to them. Angel, Wyatt and Odette had interesting backstories, believable traits, and I connected with them in different ways. I loved that Odette and Angel had one thing in common - Odette had lost a leg and Angel had lost an eye, and I think that interlocked them, and I loved seeing the theme of how Odette rescued Angel, and then Angel finished the story. It was beautiful. 

I loved the time jump. I loved getting into the heads of both Odette and Angel - and it was so interesting to piece together their stories. Half the story is told in Odette’s perspective and the other half Angel. The writer developed the characters so well that I knew whose perspective I was reading - their voices were unique. 

I honestly had no idea how the book would end. It kept me guessing until the very end. Some parts did drag, but the writing kept it going, and by the time the ending came around I was excited to find out how it would all end. The ending was incredibly sad, but also hopeful and beautiful.

Another strong outing from this author.

Odette, a young police officer, is obsessed by the disappearance of her then boyfriend's sister. Presumed dead, all efforts to locate the body and find the killer have been frustrated for years. Then the appearance of a teenage girl adds another level of uncertainty to the case.

The story is told chronologically, but from a number of different viewpoints. Each narrator is damaged in some way, physically or emotionally (or both). Characters act convincingly and there are no unlikely heroics, although most characters do have a propensity for poor choices. The story is well told and the conclusion satisfying.

Dark, Brooding Psychological Suspense.....
Dark, brooding psychological suspense with a slow burn narrative, constantly changing pace and laced with dramatic and often unexpected twists. Precisely written, often emotional and with credible characterisation. An engaging read.

Atmospheric, slow burner - but tension builds all the time. An autocratic single parent father who terrifies and brutalises his children until one day after a vilent altercation, his daughter goes missing with just a bloodstain remianing. His son, Wyatt is a main suspect, but he's saying nothing about that night.
Odette the local police detective has a past with him - they were childhood sweethearts - but isn't sure whether to trusts her instincts that he is innocent. Then a one eyed'mystery girl' who's found by Wyatt at the roadside - he won't turn her over to the authorities but for the best of reasons (or are they?). What happened to her? She's not talking either.
Intricate tales and realtionships are built up and revealed layer by layer. I enjoyed this book but felt some of the slow burning stuff could have moved a bit quicker!

"We Are All the Same in the Dark" is a creepy mystery that takes us through three perspectives over a five year period: Wyatt, Odette, and Angel. As someone invested in representations of disability in literature, Heaberlin's book interested me. There's a one-eyed mute girl, a protagonist who has lost a leg, and representations of mental illness. As far as disability rep is concerned, there were some points that didn't make sense, such as Odette's functionality with minimal sleep and support - though these could be seen as perhaps more unrealistic personality traits rather than to do with her disability. I would have liked more development of Wyatt as a protagonist struggling with mental illness. I felt like the author could have done more justice to the discourse by further exploring the nuances of his struggle and the impact of this.

As a mystery, there is enough suspense to keep you interested. There's a slight 'gothic' element to the narrative which does the job of creating tension. The repetitiveness of the narrative is a little tiresome, however I read it in smaller chunks and so I found it quite nice to have reminders every now and then of what happened.

I loved this book. The complexity of the stories and the trauma of mental health and family dynamics had me gripped. Thanks netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This an absorbing and atmospheric crime thriller set in Texas. The main characters are strong and well developed each interwoven with one another through the past murder of a girl from their town.
I loved the intensity of this novel and the exploration of us all being the same in the dark is carried throughout.
An enjoyable and chilling read!

A murder mystery. This book seemed to be very slow and rambling. At times confusing as it jumped between happening and time periods. The author was clearly trying to build suspense and present all the clues, but I thought this was rather loosely done. I did not guess the murderer, so that was good, but this also left a huge part of the story that could have been explored too.

A well written book but I couldn’t connect with it. I read it to the end but struggled with it. not really for me.

An extremely enjoyable and absorbing book by Julia Heaberlin, We Are All The Same In The Dark had me hooked from the start.

You can tell from the very beginning that this is going to be a great book. The writing is really good. The scenes, locations, town and community are described really well and easily imagined. There are some fantastic characters in this book too. Their interactions with each other are realistic and gripping as you look for clues in what is said and what is not, and try to figure out who is responsible. I found myself so absorbed I was hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a number of characters as I liked them all! The two main female leads are brilliant. Odette is brilliantly relentless; she has her demons, her mistakes and owns up to them. She has never let the mystery of Trumanell's disappearance stop her search for answers. Angie is strong, determined and driven by Odette. Always on the lookout for danger and watching her back, she has her own fears and nightmares but she fights for answers, getting herself into situations where she's less than comfortable but unable to give up.

I'd highly recommend We Are All The Same In The Dark. A brilliantly well-written and developed book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Heaberline and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The disappearance of a girl ten years before continues to haunt a small Texan town. Cop Odette Tucker grew up there and is obsessed with solving the mystery. Meantime, a teenager is found lying at the side of the highway by a suspect in the missing girl case.
We Are All the Same in the Dark is a compelling, atmospheric thriller. A cold beer can to cool a hot cheek affirms the bright, unrelenting heat, but it feels like dark, thick night here, even when it’s day. Odette and Angel, the teenager, are gritty, damaged characters, sparring with the suspects, both dead and alive, near and far, forgetting about risk. The emphasis on colours, also reflected in the beautiful cover, from the handprint on the door frame, covered by Chantilly Lace White paint, to the all-seeing peacock on the vase is stunning. But the description of the eyes, from pools of emerald to muddy brown is a lasting image.
This is my first Julia Heaberlin read and despite some inconsistency in pace, it’s a keep on reading to the end one, and has whetted my appetite for more.
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK

I Ten years after the disappearance of his sister and father, Wyatt Branson finds a young girl lost in a field. She doesn’t speak, even when police officer Odette Tucker helps her find a safe haven. But can ‘Angel’ help unlock the secrets of the Branson family?

We Are All the Same in the Dark is an interesting story that kept me intrigued right to the end. Told from different viewpoints as the tale progresses, there are several strands to the plot which develop and gradually tie together in the final denouncement. The culprit wasn’t obvious, to me anyway, but at the same time it made sense and the ending left me without any loose ends to ponder on.

A real page turner, which will hold your interest and keep you guessing. Very enjoyable book.

We Are All The Same In The Dark is an atmospheric novel which definitely builds tension, but I’m not quite sure whether I enjoyed it or not. It feels like a fresh novel, and i told in two distinct parts. It follows various characters in a Texas town as a young girl with only one eye is discovered by the side of the road: Wyatt, the local man who found her; Odette, a troubled police officer who has been romantically linked with Wyatt in the past; and the young girl herself.

There are parts in the first half which really gripped me, and others that I felt dragged on a bit. Then about half way through things suddenly change, and this twist – which I don’t want to give too much away – changes the dynamic of the book.

I really enjoyed Heaberlin’s previous books Black Eyed Susans and Paper Ghosts, and although I struggled to connect with the characters in We Are All The Same In The Dark, I do think this is a really well crafted book. I think if some parts were a little faster paced I would have enjoyed it even more.

Layered, chilling, atmospheric and intense. We Are All The Same In The Dark is THE perfect execution of a small town crime thriller and I absolutely loved it!
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Right from the start, this is an unnerving story, where the disappearance of local beauty, Trumanell, has almost celebrity status. It simmers with manipulation and fear of corrupt religion and police. The isolated, eerie settings of a small Texas town are so evocative you can feel the dry heat, smell the dust and hear the broken, creaking gate posts
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Local outcast, Wyatt, is the perfect blend of creepy and unhinged to send shivers down your spine and I never knew if I felt terrified or sorry for him. There's a fantastic cast of characters and the feeling of not knowing who to trust is equal parts unsettling and gripping. But it's lead character Odette who I really enjoyed - a rookie cop, determined to finally solve the mystery of her best friends disappearance, she's tough and complex - exactly the type of lead character I want from my crime thriller
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This book doesn't take the path you expect. It caught me out many times and I had no idea where it would lead. I was gripped by this book, it definitely finds a place on my top thriller list and I'll be looking out for Julia Heaberlin's previous novels ASAP. This one is not to be missed!!
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A small town in Texas, murders and mystery. A slow but revealing book delving into the characters in an unusual, but interesting way. I found the book compelling, but also rather strange. When the focus changes mid book it took me time to adjust to this. Certainly a book of two separate halves with an interlinking story.

A complex and chilling thriller. It was a bit bleak for me and I found the characters hard to connect with but it was very visual and I did admire the way it was put together

I’ve been sitting on this review for 11 days now as I’m always disappointed when I didn’t like a book. I really liked the sound of this one when I requested it but unfortunately it didn’t wow me at all.

Set in a town in Texas the story is told in three parts from three different perspectives.

1. Wyatt Branson whose dad Frank and sister Trumanell disappeared 10 years ago without a trace. Wyatt was the prime suspect and still is for the majority of the town, but was cleared of all charges by the police.

2. Odette Tucker, ex-girlfriend of Wyatt, now a police officer who is determined to get to the bottom of the Branson disappearance.

3. ‘Angel’ a one eyed girl Wyatt finds in a field surrounded by a ring of dandelion wishes. She doesn’t speak and nobody knows where she came from.

The story didn’t flow well, it was a bit disjointed. Everything that was supposed to be mysterious turned out to be just a bit silly when you found out the answer.

Part 1 and 2 were a bit tedious as nothing really happened that moved the story forward. Part 3 it started to get more interesting. I much preferred Angels character and things actually started happening.

I really didn’t care for any of the characters in this book apart from Angel in part 3, honestly I wasn’t bothered what happened to any of them.

The author spent a lot of time talking about Odette’s prosthetic leg and Angel’s false eye. I wasn’t really sure what it was bringing to the story.

I disliked the ending because it came out of nowhere. You would never have been able to work it out yourself. I’m pretty sure there were no clues. I feel it’s much more satisfying when an author leaves you clues throughout that you don’t really notice until you get to the end and then you go “OOOOOOHH YESS”.

Overall a distinctly average, slow paced read that wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Michael Joseph UK and the author for letting me read and review an advance copy of this book.

Both thought-provoking and complex 'whodunit' read by Julia Heaberlin. This is a book that weaves together different perspectives and time frames to explore a cold case, of what happened to a teenager, Trumanell Branson, who disappeared one night leaving a bloody handprint. This is the mystery hook, what happened that night, and where is he? It's all very intriguing, and the reader certainly gets a brain workout trying to piece everything together.
This is a dark book, intensely character driven and complexly drawn. It takes some time to adjust to the narrative style, and the pacing is drawn out, but I didn't mind; it allows the reader time to reflex on the psychological elements at play.
Recommended for readers who are looking for more depth and artistry in their crime fiction.

This is 1 of those books I find difficult to review. I'm still undecided on how much or not I liked it.
What I found quite different and refreshing is the fact that it's kind of 2 different halves with different main characters. It's not often that the character that is portrayed as the lead is only present for the 1st half.
It's a story about the disappearance of a girl and her father; although he takes a bit of a backseat. A disappearance that divided a town. Is the girl's brother involved or not?
It's also a story about a detective who was friends with the family and who wants to find out what happened all those years ago on a night that changed her life forever. Lastly, it's the story about a young girl found next to the road. A girl with only 1 eye. A girl who is not talking. How will this affect the outcome of the story and how will all these storylines come together.

"We are all the same in the dark. My mother said that to me when she kissed me goodnight. She meant that in the dark, all that's left is our souls."

It's a story that I will definitely remember.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion