Courtesy of Goodreads.com

Book Title: Everything We Keep
Author: Kerry Lonsdale
Series: None
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery
Goodreads

Date Read: 08/03/16
Pub Date: 08/01/16

5 STARS

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keep explores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

I’m absolutely floored that this was a debut novel. Kerry Lonsdale writes with the confidence and precision of a seasoned author, and its quite clear I’m not the only one who thinks so. After numerous glowing reviews prepublication, in addition to publishing 2 more books in the upcoming year, I think it’s safe to say that Kerry is here to stay. I can state without a second thought that I’ll be chasing down anything she publishes in the future and will not be able to get my hands on her work fast enough. Just for the record, I didn’t include this one in the genre of “Women’s Fiction”; although I think it fits nicely in that category, I fear it would scare off a number of guys who would enjoy this one as well.

The characters are what makes this read a 5 star experience. Sure, the story is intriguing and suspenseful, the cover art is pretty, and the book wasn’t too long nor too short, but these characters and their development over a period of many years are what sealed the deal for my ride alongside. I felt a wide range of emotions for and with Aimee; I began with feelings of sorrow and horror for her immeasurable loss. As Aimee progressed in her grief cycle, she and I started to disagree a bit. Why was she so bent on not moving on from James? She continues to push away everyone who cares for her, to the point where I almost disowned her during the Mexico escapades. Don’t worry, I hung in there because I cared for Aimee and wanted the best for her, but it wasn’t easy. I finally felt relieved in the end, even after that plot twist in the epilogue.

This story was a nice break from the dark thrillers and disturbing mysteries I tend to gravitate toward. I really enjoyed how it had all the thrilling elements of those former books I mentioned without feeling as heavy. Sure the pages were flying and the content wasn’t exactly fluffy, but it still felt lighter than most mysteries and crime fiction dealing with the same type of story. I would highly recommend giving this one a try; Kerry shows tremendous potential to grow in her future work, although I’m not sure how that’s possible based on Everything We Keep. She knows how to weave together a suspenseful story with deep characters in meaningful relationships, romantic and platonic. I’ll be remembering this story for awhile and cannot wait to get my hands on her next novel!

*I received my copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you Lake Union!