Review – All That Is Mine I Carry With Me

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay
Published by Random House Publishing Group on March 7, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Psychological
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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A mother vanished. A father presumed guilty. There is no proof. There are no witnesses. For the children, there is only doubt. From the New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob. . . .
 
“Astonishing, powerful, and provocative, this book is worth the excruciating wait for another William Landay.”—Louise Penny, author of A World of Curiosities
 
One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle. Her mom’s pocketbook remains in the front hall, in its usual spot.
 
So begins a mystery that will span a lifetime. What happened to Jane Larkin?
 
Investigators suspect Jane’s husband. A criminal defense attorney, Dan Larkin would surely be an expert in outfoxing the police.
 
But no evidence is found linking him to a crime, and the case fades from the public’s memory, a simmering, unresolved riddle. Jane’s three children—Alex, Jeff, and Miranda—are left to be raised by the man who may have murdered their mother.
 
Two decades later, the remains of Jane Larkin are found. The investigation is awakened. The children, now grown, are forced to choose sides. With their father or against him? Guilty or innocent? And what happens if they are wrong?
 
A tale about family—family secrets and vengeance, but also family love—All That Is Mine I Carry With Me masterfully grapples with a primal question: When does loyalty reach its limit?

This was the first time that I have read any of William Landay’s work and I must say that really enjoyed this one. This is the story of a mother who vanished, leaving her 3 children clueless about what really happened. I found the very beginning of the story to be rather slow but once things picked up I had a hard time setting the book aside. I felt bad for the family members left behind when Jane vanished.

This book is told from several points of view at different points in time. The book opens with a writer telling this family’s story. Did Jane leave on her own or was she killed? Many people think that Jane was murdered by her husband, a well-known defense attorney, who maintains his innocence. Jane had three children and we get to see just how big of an impact the loss of their mother was on the youngest two, Jeff and Miranda. As the book moves forward in time, there are some pretty big developments and I really loved how the story kept me guessing until the very end.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a really compelling novel with enough surprises to keep the pages turning. I appreciated the fact that there were quite a few surprises worked into the story. I hope to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group.

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