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We Are All the Same in the Dark: A Novel Hardcover – August 11, 2020

by Julia Heaberlin (Author)

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEOPLE PICK • OPTIONED BY SISTER PICTURES FOR TELEVISION • The discovery of a girl abandoned by the side of the road threatens to unearth the long-buried secrets of a Texas town’s legendary cold case in this superb, atmospheric novel from the internationally bestselling author of Black-Eyed Susans

“If you only read one thriller this year, let it be this one. Psychologically absorbing, original and atmospheric. I could not turn the pages fast enough.”—Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 28 Summers

It’s been a decade since Trumanell Branson disappeared, leaving only a bloody handprint behind. Her pretty face still hangs like a watchful queen on the posters on the walls of the town’s Baptist church, the police station, and in the high school. They all promise the same thing: We will find you. Meanwhile, Tru’s brother, Wyatt, lives as a pariah in the desolation of the old family house, cleared of wrongdoing by the police but tried and sentenced in the court of public opinion and in a new documentary about the crime.

When Wyatt finds a lost girl dumped in a field of dandelions, making silent wishes, he believes she is a sign. The town’s youngest cop, Odette Tucker, believes she is a catalyst that will ignite a seething town still waiting for its own missing girl to come home. But Odette can’t look away. She shares a wound that won’t close with the mute, one-eyed mystery girl. And she is haunted by her own history with the missing Tru.

Desperate to solve both cases, Odette fights to save the lost girl in the present and to dig up the shocking truth about a fateful night in the past—the night her friend disappeared, the night that inspired her to become a cop, the night that wrote them all a role in the town’s dark, violent mythology.

In this twisty psychological thriller, Julia Heaberlin paints unforgettable portraits of a woman and a girl who redefine perceptions of physical beauty and strength.

Praise for We Are All the Same in the Dark

“This chilling tale of buried sins is relentlessly unpredictable.”—The Times (South Africa)

“[Julia] Heaberlin knows how to build to a truly shocking twist, how to break a reader’s heart and then begin mending it. ‘What’s coming is always unimaginable,’ Odette’s one-time therapist tells her, ‘and by that, I mean just that. It cannot be imagined. What’s coming never acts or behaves the way we think it will.’ That’s true for this novel, too.”—The Dallas Morning News

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ballantine Books
Publication date

August 11, 2020
Dimensions

6.41 x 1.12 x 9.52 inches
ISBN-10

0525621679
ISBN-13

978-0525621676
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From the Publisher

thriller;suspense;psychological thriller;beach read;crime thriller;cold case;detective novel

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Tense, darkly atmospheric . . . Gracefully written, with characters that leap off the page and into your imagination, this takes your breath away with its sudden twists.”—Daily Mail

“We Are All the Same in the Dark succeeds because Heaberlin is working on three levels—offering a fast-paced thriller centered around Angel and a slow-burning mystery focused on Trumanell, while never losing sight of her characters’ humanity.”—Texas Monthly

“Elegant prose, headstrong heroines, and gorgeously wrought Texas atmosphere . . . a splendid ride with a jaw-dropper of a twist in the middle.”—NJ online

“The author of Black-Eyed Susans returns with an elegantly written tale, set in a world where women are vulnerable and men are dangerous, the finger of suspicion pointing at them all.”—Daily Express (UK)

“[Julia Heaberlin] once again brilliantly captures the atmosphere and rough beauty of a strange and divided state.”—CrimeReads

“Exceptional . . . After a devastating twist halfway through, the intense plot builds to an emotional finale. Heaberlin sensitively addresses issues of survival and vulnerability in this heart-wrenching gothic tale.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“One of my favorite reads of the year . . . [Heaberlin’s] beautiful prose propelled me through this spine-chilling novel. . . .The book is absolutely mesmerizing.”—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence

“I loved this book: gorgeous writing, interesting characters, a unique setting, and an unsettling, surprising mystery. Everyone needs to put this book on their to-be-read list right now!”—Amy Engel, bestselling author of The Familiar Dark

“A gripping, richly layered exploration of haunted souls in a haunted place . . . a story that keeps you guessing at every turn.”—Lou Berney, author of November Road

“One of the best standalone mysteries I’ve read in a while . . . thrilling and complex, with richly imagined characters who will break your heart even as they confront the monsters, real and imagined, that hide in the dark.”—Kathleen Kent, author of The Burn and the Edgar finalist The Dime

“Unsettling and atmospheric . . . tense and edgy . . . Julia Heaberlin holds you spellbound all the way to the emotional and devastating conclusion.”—Lesley Kara, internationally bestselling author of The Rumor

“An intense, intelligent thrill-ride of a book—undoubtedly the one I will be recommending all year.”—Elizabeth Haynes, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner

“Raw, stunning, both otherworldly and lapel-grabbing, this is the book to grab when you need something to grab you. Julia Heaberlin has written a tour de force.”—Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl

About the Author

Julia Heaberlin is the author of the critically acclaimed Black-Eyed Susans, a USA Today and Times (U.K.) bestseller. Her psychological thrillers, which also include Paper Ghosts (finalist for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Novel), Playing Dead, and Lie Still, have been sold in more than twenty countries. Heaberlin is an award-winning journalist who has worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Detroit News, and The Dallas Morning News. She grew up in Texas and lives with her family near Dallas/Fort Worth, where she is at work on her next novel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books (August 11, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0525621679
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0525621676
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.29 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.41 x 1.12 x 9.52 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #480,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,150 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #9,471 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #26,513 in Suspense Thrillers

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Julia Heaberlin

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Julia Heaberlin is the internationally bestselling writer of six thrillers, including WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THE DARK, a #1 Audible bestseller and the winner of Best Novel by the Writers’ League of Texas. In her latest thriller, NIGHT WILL FIND YOU, an astrophysicist and reluctant psychic explores the controversial, conspiracy-laden case of a lost girl. Heaberlin first broke out with the psychologically dark BLACK-EYED SUSANS, which examines the Texas death penalty and the use of high-tech DNA to identify old bones. SUSANS was published in more than fifteen countries and a top five Times of London bestseller. Heaberlin followed that with the creepy Texas road trip, PAPER GHOSTS, a finalist for Best Hardcover Novel by the International Thriller Writers Awards that has also been optioned for television. Earlier in her career, Heaberlin was an award-winning editor at newspapers that include the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Detroit News, and The Dallas Morning News. She is currently at work on her seventh thriller and lives in Texas, where all her novels are set. She is published by Flatiron Books and represented by Kim Witherspoon at Inkwell Management.

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4.3 out of 5

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switterbug/Betsey Van Horn

A Texas tragedy, with levity

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2020

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I have lived in Austin, Texas for decades but I plead innocent to previous knowledge of Texas author, Julia Haeberlin. Now that I have read this latest novel of hers, I’ve ordered three more of her books! That is how impressed I am her latest psychological suspense thriller. If you’re hankering for a mystery studded in rural Texas grit with an urban savvy and snaky plot, you’ve come to the right book.

There’s desert and desert mythology, the wide and starry sky, Texas wildflowers, small town suspicions, and the unsolved ten year disappearance of a nineteen-year-old girl, Trumanell Branson, and her father. Her brother, Wyatt, is a Boo Radleyesque character who has always been the primary (but unproven) suspect. There’s a lot more in here to compel the reader; I was hooked from page one.

Haeberlin captured my interest with her palpable humanity and atmospheric writing. This may be a police procedural, but it is also a character-driven portrait of a community still in pain. Odette, a police officer, is the protagonist with a personal stake in finding Trumanell, as she was her friend, and Wyatt was her first and longterm boyfriend and lover. They grew up together. Odette’s father was the town’s top cop at the time, but he’s dead now for five years.

At the moment of Trumanell’s disappearance, Odette was trapped under her car after an accident, losing a leg in the process. Much is focused on the symbolism of her prosthesis and her missing leg becomes a kind of motif of loss, pain, and strength. Odette is married now to a successful Chicago attorney, but made a mistake by returning to Texas with him and falling backward into Wyatt again in a weak moment. Can you love two men? Finn, her husband, and a dead ringer for “Emily Blunt’s husband,” isn’t going to tolerate that.

There are several mysteries in this small town. Wyatt finds a young, mute girl with a missing eye outside on the baked ground in the hot sun, barefoot. He names her Angel. A runaway? Abandoned? Odette has a covert group with her cousin, Maggie, daughter of the town preacher. They help these unmoored children by arranging escape from whatever danger they are in. And she relates to Angel’s loss—Odette’s leg, Angel’s eye. It is reminiscent of some of John Irving’s themes (Haeberlin even includes a nod to Irving within the story)--abandoned children, missing body parts, and a touch of a dreamlike quality at times within the narrative.

Told in first person from various characters’ perspectives, the story advances with a thrum and well-paced rhythm, misted with levity and pop culture references. I was turning the pages with anticipation and suspense, but at intervals I enjoyed slowing down to enjoy interior moments, the characters’ imaginations and poetic observations. These emotionally tortured characters are relatable and sympathetic, often with a warm and mordant wit. Carefully mapped and executed, it would take a really sullen and cynical reader to not embrace this southern, tragic, and hopeful story. It may leave dust in your mouth but it’s also a breath of fresh air.

80 people found this helpful

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RSW Kindle Customer

4 Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2020

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Love this Texas based 4 Star Thriller.

SUMMARY
On an ominous night, ten years ago, Trumanell, a beloved small town legendary beautiful queen and her good-for-nothing father went missing. Trumanell is presumed dead and the town is still obsessed with finding out what happened to her. They are just fine with her father staying away, but the entire town has never let Trumanell go. Additionally, they blame her brother, Wyatt, for her disappearance. Although there has never been a single piece of evidence linking Wyatt to her disappearance, the whole town blames him and he becomes a social pariah, an outcast.

Wyatt never got past that night. He, not only lives as a reclusive hermit due to the hate he receives from the town, but he actively sees and speaks with Trumanell. She keeps the house very clean and she weighs in on his life delicious. Did I mention that he's not exactly mentally stable?

One day, Wyatt finds a barely alive, mute, one eyed girl on the side of the road laying in a circle of dandelions. Of course, he does what any unstable man would do and brings her home to Trumanell. Certainly Trumanell can take care of her. Right??

Several people in town see him with the young girl in his truck and call the police. That's when Odette makes her appearance in the story. Odette is a police officer who has a long history with Trumanell and Wyatt. In fact, her life story is also linked to the night when Trumanell went missing. That night while fleeing Wyatt and Trumanell's house, she had a car accident and lost her leg. She has a soft spot for Wyatt and convinces him to let her take care of this girl.

As Odette follows her obsession, finding out what happened to Trumanell, while simultaneously protecting this lost girl, she finds herself unable to trust anyone and fears for her life. Will she turn over the wrong stone and upset the wrong person? Is she wrong about Wyatt? Is he dangerous? Where did the mute dandelion girl come from? So many questions!!!!

WHAT I LOVED
This is a story based in Texas and I love those, particularly when authors do not make all Texans sound like hicks. Also, I did the immersion reading with both the Kindle and Audible versions and the narrator's Texas accent was spot on!! Not over done but definitely not Midwest. LOVED. IT. ALL. Plus, Julia Heaberlin named several Dallas landmarks and neighborhoods. But that's all pretty specific to me and may not be a big deal to everyone.

I loved Odette as a character. She was so multidimensional, smart in so many ways, yet prone to making big mistakes. So much about her present life was tied closely to her past.

As I was reading, I felt off balance the whole time. I had the feeling of being in a car skidding on ice; sometimes in control but mostly out of control, never knowing where I would end up. I was never sure which characters I could trust. It always felt like something was waiting around the corner but then the question was, who is it waiting for? Who was in danger - was it Odette? The mystery girl? Wyatt?

The fact that Trumanell and her father were never found left a lot of possibilities open, I kept wondering if they were going to show up. Heaberlin was brave enough to make unexpected choices for her characters. some were a little sad but they added a lot to the overall story.

There were some interesting themes in the book of you want to go deeper; dandelions, prosthetics, family dynamics, loss, disappointment etc. The writing style was lovely, Heaberlin's writing was way better than it needed to be for such an entertaining, suspenseful plot. Such vivid descriptions and spot on metaphors.

WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
There were a few things that didn't make a lot of sense to me, and didn't seem likely. But that's true of almost all thrillers.

The plot went off on a few unnecessary tangents. There were a few small story lines that could have been edited out which would have streamlined the story and made it a little more focused.

OVERALL
Another success by Julia Heaberlin! A suspenseful, intriguing plot with screwed up characters and a writing style above par. I highly recommend it to my GR friends who love thrillers and to anyone from Texas who is tired of reading books where we are reduced to stereotypes.

17 people found this helpful

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Eden Barlow

A wonderfully intricate storyline!

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023

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I really enjoyed this book. I had to make myself stop reading it so that I wouldn’t finish it in one sitting. It’s suspenseful, interesting, and very well-written. There are twists and turns at every corner and a shocking cliff hanger in the middle of the story that only feeds curiosity. I never got suspicious of any character for a second! 10/10 highly recommend (Planning to read Black-Eyed Susans next!)

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Christina McDonald

Lyrically beautiful and emotionally astute

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2021

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Lyrically beautiful and emotionally astute, We Are All The Same In The Dark is raw, stunning, and darkly twisted. Rather than being a frenetic page turner, it is one of those books you want to sip rather than gulp; you want to enjoy curled up with your cat while relaxing with a cup of tea at your side.

We have three POVs, all of which are equally wonderful, and a midpoint that genuinely shocked me. The story is at once a slow-burn mystery and a mystery wound so incredibly taut you won’t be able to put the book down.

Absorbingly atmospheric with a brooding presence, I highly recommend.

2 people found this helpful

husband

book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2020

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husband read it said it was alright

One person found this helpful

Tianna

Didn't Finish

Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2023

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I hate to say it but I didn't read this book. I bought it as a thriller novel reader and I felt it was quite boring. I got about half way through and gave up to move onto something I would enjoy.

Judy Samuels

Meandering Storyline

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022

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The story never reached it's climax. It seemed to meander from one character to the next and none of them were explored in enough depth to feel any connection to them. I didn't care at all what had happened to Trumanell, and in fact, the repeated use of her name was irritating. The story didn't let us get to know her, or understand her and her brother's intense relationship. Odette's obsession with Trumanell was inexplicable and the whole story was confused and lacking pace. Disappointing read.

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