Fiction | Book Chatter

Tell Me Everything
By Elizabeth Strout
Random House, 9780593446096, September 10, 2024, 352 pp.

The Short of It:

This story is like coming home.

The Rest of It:

It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her ex-husband, William.

I never read the Olive Kitteridge books, but I did read and review My Name Is Lucy Barton. Tell Me Everything revisits all of those characters and I loved it. The added bonus of a murder investigation made it a little different and added a bit of depth to this pleasant story.

Lucy and Bob continue to explore their friendship. They are very close, and often read each other’s minds with just a look or sigh. Their walks gain importance and meaning and much is said and not said each time they meet. It’s a time for them to honestly share their feelings and regrets but to Bob, it’s almost an impossible friendship. Can it be more? Should it be more? Lucy is with William and he is with his wife. They begin to walk a very thin line.

Lucy, an accomplished writer finally meets Olive, who is residing in a retirement home and lives for the stories she tells, stories of her life, the interactions she’s had with people, and what she observes on a daily basis. At first, Olive isn’t all that impressed with Lucy but as their visits increase, Lucy and Olive look forward to their time together. Story telling is such a cozy way to get to know a person and both Lucy and Olive can tell a story. Olive can be a little grouchy and her internal thoughts, shared with us, can be a little snide or even cruel at times but mildly so. She is a character!

Then comes the murder investigation. A woman has died and her adult son is the main suspect. He’s pretty much lived in isolation his entire life. Caring for his mother and not much else. His sister asked for Bob’s help because it’s not looking good for him and she has nowhere else to turn. Bob takes the case and spends much of his days pondering this man’s life. How he’s suffered, quietly, staying to himself. No friends really. No social life at all. It gives Bob food for thought. How should a man live?

Tell Me Everything explores many things, but mostly what it means to be a true friend, even if it means possibly letting that person go. These are all good people, doing the best they can, exploring love and loyalty and how it impacts their future.

Highly recommend. Now that I’ve met Olive myself I need to read those other books.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

All the Colors of the Dark
By Chris Whitaker
Crown, 9780593798874, June 2024, 608 pp.

The Short of It:

A slow burn, page turner.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

In the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges–Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. ~ from the publisher

I was first introduced to Whitaker’s writing when I read We Begin at the End. Oh boy, I sure loved that book. I loved the characters, the story, all of it. So when I heard that Whitaker had another book out, I jumped at the chance to read it. All the Colors of the Dark is very similar in tone. A young feisty protagonist, an officer of the law, and a broken and flawed “do gooder” raised by a single mom battling addictions. When a wealthy local girl goes missing, Monta Clare’s very own Patch the Pirate comes to her aid. Pirate? Because Patch is missing an eye and oddly enough, the loss of an eye does not prevent him from seeing all that is around him. The danger, the sad reality of the hand he was dealt, and the ability to paint these girls, the missing girls.

As Patch becomes obsessed with these missing girls, because after the local girl, there are many others. He does his part by painting them and posting them in an attempt to bring awareness to the community but also as a means of closure because he, too, has a survival story to tell and it haunts him.

Saint, Patch’s good friend, sees in him someone she could absolutely love, but Patch has his own battles to fight. What he’s experienced will never leave him. As much as Saint and her loving Grandmother look out for him, he is a wayward soul, on his own path to redemption. You know how a feral cat is? Patch is like that. Lovable but doesn’t know how to receive love.

All the Colors of the Dark is a mystery at its heart. Who is the kidnapper? There are a lot of twists and surprises, which I loved. It DID remind me of a book I read recently, The Return of Ellie Black. If you liked Ellie Black then you will also enjoy All the Colors of the Dark.

Here’s the thing with Whitaker, his stories are so much more than what they first appear to be. This book can be considered a coming of age story, a small town gem of storytelling really. It will tug at your heart and you will find yourself reading late into the night. I pulled my reading light out so many times while reading this one. The best time to read it was in bed, in a dark room. I did not want to leave these characters.

Highly recommend. It will be on my list of faves at the end of the year.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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