All That is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay @WilliamLanday #DaviddeVries #JoyceBean @PLawlorAudio #ScottMerriman @BrilliancePub

the setup…
In late 1975, ten-year old Miranda Larkin returns home from school as she normally does but this time is different. The house is empty, her mother who typically greets her is nowhere to be found. Her purse is there and everything else seems to be in place. As the day progresses, it become clear that Jane Larkin is missing and from this moment on, life changes dramatically for every member of the family. The police believe her husband Dan, a criminal defense attorney, killed her as does the rest of the community but there’s no solid evidence to support the theory of the lead detective. Her oldest son Alex supports his father, her middle son Jeff is convinced he did it and Miranda is torn.

the heart of the story…
Throughout the story, I vacillated between whether Jane left on her own or if something had happened to her. We get the points of view of all of her children and Phil, Jeff’s childhood friend who returns decades later to write a book about the tragedy. But mostly, we get Jeff’s perspective, the child who had the most difficult relationship with his father and the one who had the most insight into Dan’s character. It was Jeff who helped shape my own belief about what happened to Jane but it was Miranda who gave voice to the heartbreak they experienced being raised by a man who might have murdered their mother. When she, Jeff and their Aunt Kate decide to initiate a civil suit against Dan, the courtroom drama was riveting and we get to see other sides of him. But it was the ending that took my breath away.

the narration…
Multiple narrators were used for the story, which I found immensely helpful in distinguishing the points of view. All had exceptional storytelling skills and voiced their characters in such a way that they became vivid images in my mind.

the bottom line…
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting when I decided to listen to this story but it turned out to be an outstanding listening experience. There’s a mystery, a study of a family tragedy and courtroom drama, spanning decades. The dynamics between the siblings, them and their father (collectively and individually) and the reaction of the community give this story heft and weight. The characters are solidly developed, coming across so authentically that I always felt their behaviors were true to their natures. The ending was stunning but also true to the story. If you have a choice, listen to the book as I believe it elevated an excellent story to even greater heights.

Book Info

• Release Date: March 7, 2023
• Narrators: David de Vries, Joyce Bean, Patrick Lawlor & Scott Merriman
• Audio Length: 11 hours
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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(Thanks to Brilliance Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)