We Are All the Same in the Dark: A Novel

Love this Texas based <b>4 Star Thriller</b>.<b>SUMMARY</b>On an ominous night, ten years ago, Trumanell, a beloved small town legendary beautiful queen and her good-for-nothing father went missing. Trumanell is presumed dead and the town is still obsessed with finding out what happened to her. They are just fine with her father staying away, but the entire town has never let Trumanell go. Additionally, they blame her brother, Wyatt, for her disappearance. Although there has never been a single piece of evidence linking Wyatt to her disappearance, the whole town blames him and he becomes a social pariah, an outcast.Wyatt never got past that night. He, not only lives as a reclusive hermit due to the hate he receives from the town, but he actively <i>sees</i> and </i>speaks with</i> Trumanell. She keeps the house very clean and she weighs in on his life delicious. Did I mention that he's not exactly mentally stable?One day, Wyatt finds a barely alive, mute, one eyed girl on the side of the road laying in a circle of dandelions. Of course, he does what any unstable man would do and brings her home to Trumanell. Certainly Trumanell can take care of her. Right??Several people in town see him with the young girl in his truck and call the police. That's when Odette makes her appearance in the story. Odette is a police officer who has a long history with Trumanell and Wyatt. In fact, her life story is also linked to the night when Trumanell went missing. That night while fleeing Wyatt and Trumanell's house, she had a car accident and lost her leg. She has a soft spot for Wyatt and convinces him to let her take care of this girl.As Odette follows her obsession, finding out what happened to Trumanell, while simultaneously protecting this lost girl, she finds herself unable to trust anyone and fears for her life. Will she turn over the wrong stone and upset the wrong person? Is she wrong about Wyatt? Is he dangerous? Where did the mute dandelion girl come from? So many questions!!!!<b>WHAT I LOVED</b>This is a story based in Texas and I love those, particularly when authors do not make all Texans sound like hicks. Also, I did the immersion reading with both the Kindle and Audible versions and the narrator's Texas accent was spot on!! Not over done but definitely not Midwest. LOVED. IT. ALL. Plus, Julia Heaberlin named several Dallas landmarks and neighborhoods. But that's all pretty specific to me and may not be a big deal to everyone.I loved Odette as a character. She was so multidimensional, smart in so many ways, yet prone to making big mistakes. So much about her present life was tied closely to her past.As I was reading, I felt off balance the whole time. I had the feeling of being in a car skidding on ice; sometimes in control but mostly out of control, never knowing where I would end up. I was never sure which characters I could trust. It always felt like something was waiting around the corner but then the question was, who is it waiting for? Who was in danger - was it Odette? The mystery girl? Wyatt?The fact that Trumanell and her father were never found left a lot of possibilities open, I kept wondering if they were going to show up. Heaberlin was brave enough to make unexpected choices for her characters. some were a little sad but they added a lot to the overall story.There were some interesting themes in the book of you want to go deeper; dandelions, prosthetics, family dynamics, loss, disappointment etc. The writing style was lovely, Heaberlin's writing was way better than it needed to be for such an entertaining, suspenseful plot. Such vivid descriptions and spot on metaphors.<b>WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE</b>There were a few things that didn't make a lot of sense to me, and didn't seem likely. But that's true of almost all thrillers.The plot went off on a few unnecessary tangents. There were a few small story lines that could have been edited out which would have streamlined the story and made it a little more focused.<b>OVERALL</b>Another success by Julia Heaberlin! A suspenseful, intriguing plot with screwed up characters and a writing style above par. I highly recommend it to my GR friends who love thrillers and to anyone from Texas who is tired of reading books where we are reduced to stereotypes.

I have lived in Austin, Texas for decades but I plead innocent to previous knowledge of Texas author, Julia Haeberlin. Now that I have read this latest novel of hers, I’ve ordered three more of her books! That is how impressed I am her latest psychological suspense thriller. If you’re hankering for a mystery studded in rural Texas grit with an urban savvy and snaky plot, you’ve come to the right book.There’s desert and desert mythology, the wide and starry sky, Texas wildflowers, small town suspicions, and the unsolved ten year disappearance of a nineteen-year-old girl, Trumanell Branson, and her father. Her brother, Wyatt, is a Boo Radleyesque character who has always been the primary (but unproven) suspect. There’s a lot more in here to compel the reader; I was hooked from page one.Haeberlin captured my interest with her palpable humanity and atmospheric writing. This may be a police procedural, but it is also a character-driven portrait of a community still in pain. Odette, a police officer, is the protagonist with a personal stake in finding Trumanell, as she was her friend, and Wyatt was her first and longterm boyfriend and lover. They grew up together. Odette’s father was the town’s top cop at the time, but he’s dead now for five years.At the moment of Trumanell’s disappearance, Odette was trapped under her car after an accident, losing a leg in the process. Much is focused on the symbolism of her prosthesis and her missing leg becomes a kind of motif of loss, pain, and strength. Odette is married now to a successful Chicago attorney, but made a mistake by returning to Texas with him and falling backward into Wyatt again in a weak moment. Can you love two men? Finn, her husband, and a dead ringer for “Emily Blunt’s husband,” isn’t going to tolerate that.There are several mysteries in this small town. Wyatt finds a young, mute girl with a missing eye outside on the baked ground in the hot sun, barefoot. He names her Angel. A runaway? Abandoned? Odette has a covert group with her cousin, Maggie, daughter of the town preacher. They help these unmoored children by arranging escape from whatever danger they are in. And she relates to Angel’s loss—Odette’s leg, Angel’s eye. It is reminiscent of some of John Irving’s themes (Haeberlin even includes a nod to Irving within the story)--abandoned children, missing body parts, and a touch of a dreamlike quality at times within the narrative.Told in first person from various characters’ perspectives, the story advances with a thrum and well-paced rhythm, misted with levity and pop culture references. I was turning the pages with anticipation and suspense, but at intervals I enjoyed slowing down to enjoy interior moments, the characters’ imaginations and poetic observations. These emotionally tortured characters are relatable and sympathetic, often with a warm and mordant wit. Carefully mapped and executed, it would take a really sullen and cynical reader to not embrace this southern, tragic, and hopeful story. It may leave dust in your mouth but it’s also a breath of fresh air.

I enjoyed this book. That twist got me though lol

This was a good quick read for me. The plot was interesting as was the twist halfway through the book. The ending, while almost predictable, was still good.

This was my first time reading something by this author and I’m impressed. Overall I would give this book a 7/10. It was a smooth read with an unexpected twist. It kept me engaged and I can’t wait to read more from her

It's hard to follow in a dew places, and drags a bit in a few chapters. Absolutely hated the narrator. I switched from reading to whisper sync on my Kindle and could barely stand her voice.

I really enjoyed this one. I didn’t expect the twist and I absolutely devoured it. I look forward to reading more by this author.

This book was a neutral read for me. Didn't love it but didn't hate it. Parts of it were confusing- the way they brought up Trumanells character was interesting, but the ending left me disappointed. I feel like we didn't get much of Angel either as far as really getting to know more of her story other than in the ending which was also disappointing, because it still didn't give much to her character. I did start to dislike Odette because while I admired her determination to try and find out what happened to Trumanell, the lack of clues and overall evidence was just annoying as it kept leading you back to wondering what happened with no closure over and over. Some chapters felt like this- a repeating pattern of mourning Trumanell when we can't know for sure that she's dead... this made me feel like the story was a broken record in some parts which made it hard to keep reading.

I hate to say it but I didn't read this book. I bought it as a thriller novel reader and I felt it was quite boring. I got about half way through and gave up to move onto something I would enjoy.

The story never reached it's climax. It seemed to meander from one character to the next and none of them were explored in enough depth to feel any connection to them. I didn't care at all what had happened to Trumanell, and in fact, the repeated use of her name was irritating. The story didn't let us get to know her, or understand her and her brother's intense relationship. Odette's obsession with Trumanell was inexplicable and the whole story was confused and lacking pace. Disappointing read.

Lyrically beautiful and emotionally astute, We Are All The Same In The Dark is raw, stunning, and darkly twisted. Rather than being a frenetic page turner, it is one of those books you want to sip rather than gulp; you want to enjoy curled up with your cat while relaxing with a cup of tea at your side.We have three POVs, all of which are equally wonderful, and a midpoint that genuinely shocked me. The story is at once a slow-burn mystery and a mystery wound so incredibly taut you won’t be able to put the book down.Absorbingly atmospheric with a brooding presence, I highly recommend.

husband read it said it was alright