We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

 We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin was our book club pick this month.

Years ago Trumanell Branson disappeared, along with her father. Her brother, Wyatt, was found wandering around the property in a daze after they left. He still lives in town and everyone treats him with suspicion. Meanwhile, one of Trumanell's friends is a local police officer and she's still searching for Trumanell. 

This is the tale of two parts, as far as I'm concerned. The first part was just a plain police procedural. The cop is a woman, which is a tiny bit different, but not different enough to make me think it was anything other than a glorification of the police. It wasn't even a particularly riveting or action-packed police procedural. But then the point of view switches about halfway through and the pacing and mood changed and I enjoyed the second half much more than I did the first half. 

Most of book club peeps thought this was a deeply sad read, but compelling. I don't know. I don't feel like thrillers are good book club fodder because they are so plot driven and not really character heavy. There's nothing here except how utterly sad the whole mess is. 

3.5/5 stars

Lines of note:

On all sides, the land is a pressing black tide, ravenous and ready to drown us. (page 146)

This is actually very bad writing, if you ask me. Tides don't come in from every side. Ravenous like a monster? Ugh. 

I say that strangers are powerful. They can mark you in twenty seconds. They can rob you at gunpoint so you never feel safe again. They can mention you're pretty at a party when no one else ever has, and then you don't kill yourself that day or maybe any other day. It's like a diamond tossed out a car window you were lucky enough to catch. (page 186)

I don't understand the diamond metaphor here, either. Maybe I'm just not a metaphor girl or do you also agree with me that these metaphors are extraordinarily twisted?

"Life is never yours. You are just renting it out while the landlord in the sky ups the price until you can't pay anymore. But what are you going to do? Like Charles Manson said, we're all living with the death penalty." (page 194)

I am taking this piece of wisdom with me. Free or in jail, we all have a death sentence. Cheery thought, that.

Hat mentions:

A cop in jeans, a badge, sunglasses and a cowboy hat has taken the stage. (page 190)

A picture that ran with Trudette's crime blog showed her in a pink pussy hat that she knit herself. (page 243)

...I remember Leonardo loved diagramming the human body, a good autopsy, wearing pink hats, and saving animals...(page 258)