Publisher's Weekly Review
Multilayered characters lift this elegantly plotted crime novel from Whalen (The Things We Wish Were True). Annie Taft is preparing to get married, an event many of the citizens of the little town of Ludlow, S.C., are billing as "the wedding of the year... maybe even the decade," when she receives a letter from Tyson Barnes, an attorney. Barnes tells her of the imminent release from prison of Cordell Lewis, who in his view was unfairly sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of the murder of Lydia Taft, Annie's mother. Annie was three years old at the time of the crime, and it was her testimony that drew the police's attention to Lewis. Annie writes back to Barnes in support of Lewis's release. When Annie goes missing shortly after Lewis leaves prison, long-kept secrets and convenient lies come to light in Ludlow. Whalen builds suspense by shifting among the main players in the drama, including Annie and reporter Laurel Haines, who went to high school with Annie and is keen to write a book about Lydia's murder. Loads of hidden love stories and small-town gossip will keep readers turning the pages. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A small-town bride goes missing three days before her wedding.Annie Taft has been the beloved child of Ludlow, South Carolina, ever since her mother was killed and 3-year-old Annie was the primary witness in the murder. Now Annie is getting ready for her wedding when it's announced that the man in jail for her mother's murder is getting out due to problems with his trial. Dealing with the weight of perhaps having sent an innocent man to jail as a child while trying to make everything perfect for her social-event-of-the-season wedding is too much for Annie, and she disappears for a while, as she is wont to do. But then she doesn't come back. The story switches focus in every chapter, rotating among Annie herself; her Aunt Faye and cousin Clary, who have been the only family she's ever known; Kenny, Annie's secret best friend and maybe more; and Laurel, a rich girl who didn't make it in the wider world and now is back in her hometown, writing for the local paper and embarrassed by her perceived failure. Each character's voice is distinct and lived in as the reader gradually connects the threads tying everyone in this small town together. Whalen (When We Were Worthy, 2017, etc.) creates an atmosphere in which everyone has a deep, dark secret, but whether they are tied to Annie or not is uncertain. There are a lot of characters to untangle, and it does get a little confusing at times, but not a single one is uninteresting, and all are more integral to the plot than it might at first appear. Some characters, even if they don't have a lot of room, beg to be remembered, like Travis, Clary's megachurch-preacher ex-boyfriend. There's a lot here.An intriguing mystery filled with hearty characters. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
The date is set, the church and pastor are booked, everything is in order. But in sleepy, small-town, Ludlow, SC, bride-to-be -Annie Taft has disappeared four days before the wedding. That same day, the man convicted of the murder of her mother is released from jail after a DNA test calls his guilt into question. It's the man that as a toddler she identified. Did Cordell Lewis seek revenge, or did Annie play runaway bride? As the search for her continues, many are forced to confront long-held secrets, including her Aunt Faye, a much-respected salon owner, transplanted to Ludlow to care for orphaned Annie after her mother's brutal murder. Were her motives selfless, or was she running from something darker? Did Kenny, the loner who has adored Annie since high school, decide he couldn't bear to see her in the arms of another? Even Annie has her secrets. If Cordell didn't kill Lydia, who did? And where is Annie? VERDICT Whalen (When We Were Worthy) writes about the secrets that cement and destroy small Southern towns. While not quite a nail-biter, this will satisfy those who enjoy watching a community's underbelly exposed.-Susan Santa, Shelter Rock P. L., Albertson, NY © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
