Every Moment Since

Dark. Dreary. Dismal. Oppressive. And Then The Candle Flickers To Life. This is one of those books that takes the hyper-dark and hyper-oppressive feel of the singular worst book I've *EVER* read - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - and does what McCarthy never could: Provide just that flicker of a spark of a candle lighting. *Just* enough to provide *some* level of hope. Even when most everyone in this book is so broken by the central issue - a child going missing decades ago - and their secrets about that night that none of them *really* *want* that hope, the reader *needs* that smallest flicker... and Whalen provides it in particularly dramatic form.

For those who are not fans of multi-perspective books... this one isn't going to change that, sorry. There are a lot of perspectives going on here, and a lot of sudden switching that can get a touch confusing at times, particularly as we switch between "then" and "now".

But really, that was the only *potential* flaw here, and not everyone has that particular hangup. (I don't, I actually thought the multi-perspectives made the story work much *better* in this particular case, as we get so many views on what happened here and how different people are reacting differently.)

The tie in to Richard Jewel of the Centennial Park Bombing during the 1996 Olympic Park Bombings in Atlanta was interesting, even if Whalen actually meant that particular character to be a more general representation. (And to be clear, it is only my own mind that made the connection at all, though perhaps others who were living in the Atlanta region during that time also might make it. The actual characterization is far more generic and could represent any number of people in similar situations.)

Overall a strong, if extremely dark and depressing, tale extremely well told. Very much recommended.

Every moment since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

This book is basically about a family who has to move forward after a cold goes missing. The parents split and the eldest son feels like he is to blame. Thaddeus the older brother writes a memoir about it and when new evidence comes to life, Thaddeus must return home and wonder if they will ever discover what happened to his little brother.

It was a bit chilling. The characters weren't great. I am not going to lie. It took me ages to warm up to them but the story was super sonic interesting and I was really invested in what happened to Davy and whether he was kidnapped, murdered, or something equally as heinous or whether he got into an accident and no one found him.

The ending was great and I did have a bit of a cry so grab the kleenex.

4 stars