“Nicole Baart dazzles once more in this haunting family saga about the danger of uncovering hard truths … Expertly plotted.” — Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of How To Save a Life
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“Suspenseful, beautifully rendered. Everything We Didn’t Say is Baart at her best.” — Heather Gudenkauf, NYT bestselling author
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When June arrives in her hometown, the “Welcome to Jericho” sign, riddled with bullet holes, does not provide an auspicious introduction. She has come to help out her friend dying of breast cancer. But her true motives are much deeper and more complex — she has unfinished business.
Nicole Baart’s Everything We Didn’t Say (Atria) revolves around one fateful night on July fourth, 15 years ago, when their close neighbors, Cal and Beth, were shot at gunpoint. June’s brother found them and called 9-1-1, but he’s also the prime suspect. Still, no one was arrested, and there is no lack of suspects. Was it due to a land feud between neighbors? Was it a cover-up of a pesticide poisoning scandal? True crime-style blogs and podcasts dissect the crime, but June has spent the last 15 years obsessed and ruled by it.
Shuttling between the past and present, we see two very different Junes. One has just graduated high school and is on the cusp of independence, leaving behind a small town with its worn friendships and claustrophobic family life for college. The other returns 15 years later with her tail between her legs, weighed down by guilt and corrosive secrets. Ironically, the years have tethered her to this small town, instead of freed her of it.
Baart imbues the past with a dual sense of innocence and foreboding. The sweet thrill of teenage love mixes with doubt and betrayal. The Iowa sunset is both stunning and smothering. Graduation beer blasts reveal secret enemies and allies.
Spinning between the past and present, June must confront her broken relationships — her best friend who hates her and her estranged family — including her daughter. She must confront her part in the terrible act that has defined them all. As secrets unspool, we learn about the ties that bind them, the mistakes that haunt them all, up until the final shocking revelation.
June has regrets about her past, but she learns from them and makes peace with them.
In the end, the story is not about ugliness or regrets but hope and second chances.
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