We Begin at the End
Thursday, April 29th, 2021

By Chris Whitaker
The Short Take:
A nimble plot and incredible characters make this novel shine. It’s surprisingly noir for a book set in a California coastal resort town and sunny Montana, it combines elements of thrillers, westerns, and Dicken’s style tragedy. I could not put it down.
Why?
The two central characters couldn’t be more different–or more intriguing. Walk, the sheriff, has never left his small town and exudes loneliness. Thirteen-your-old Duchess is a self-described outlaw; a tough as nails spitfire who fiercely protects her five-year-old brother. The siblings need protection: Oliver Twist didn’t experience the constant danger these two endure and adults continually fail them.
Whitaker has a different way of describing his settings, more reflective of the emotions of the observers than a physical description. It can take a bit to sink into it but then you appreciate the texture it adds to the characters and plot.
And it is some plot. Even though you get a solid feeling “something isn’t right,” the author still manages to delivers surprise after surprise as the mystery begins to untangle.
A Little Plot:
A long ago death and a fresh murder seem to be linked to the same man, a newly released convict who was Walk’s best friend. The convict was also the boyfriend of Duchess’ mother, now an unstable substance abuser with abundant beauty and equally abundant bad life choices.
There’s also a dark and dangerous real estate developer bent on revenge. Whitaker gives you a lot to work with.
For a bit more about the author and this book, click here.