All Good People Here, by Ashley Flowers

I’m a big fan and avid listener of the Crime Junkie podcast. When I found out the host, Ashley Flowers, wrote a thriller….well, I couldn’t put it on my TBR fast enough. All Good People Here was one of my most anticipated fall reads!

In a nutshell straight from the book blurb, “In the propulsive debut novel from the host of the #1 true crime podcast “Crime Junkie,” a journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later.“

Loved the strong start to this debut novel. Hooked me from the first chapter. The rest of the story was a slow burn, but kept me reading nonetheless. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is an original story…lots of themes and ideas that have been written before…but I personally enjoyed the way the story unfolded. Not a lot of twists and turns, but a few “WTF?!” moments sprinkled throughout.

I wasn’t expecting this story to read so much like the JonBenet Ramsey case. So many similarities! I wonder if maybe the author wrote this book as a way to express her theory about what really happened to JonBenet. The similarities between All Good People Here and the JonBenet Ramsey mystery were so striking that it almost took away from the novel. It was hard for the book to really stand out with so many parallels between the story and the actual cold case.

Overall, this was, in my opinion, a pretty solid true crime story mixed with a healthy dose of familial drama. An enjoyable read with a few predictable twists that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. However, if you’re not a fan of ambiguous, abrupt endings, steer clear because OMG. The ending was the biggest “WTF” moment of all. And while that would normally annoy the crap out of me, for some reason it worked for me here. Go figure.

3.9 out of 5 stars