Review of "All That Is Mine I Carry With Me: A Novel of Suspense" by William Landay

Whenever I hear a news story about a man who's suspected or convicted of killing his wife, I wonder about the couple's children. What do they think about their father? How do they interact with their dad going forward? Landay tackles that situation in this novel.

In 1975, 39-year-old Jane Larkin vanishes from her home in Newton, Massachusetts.....



.....leaving her children, Miranda (almost 11), Jeff (13), and Alex (a high school senior) bewildered and bereft.







Jane's husband Dan - a cocky criminal defense attorney - puts on a good show of being baffled and worried, but his reaction seems phony from the get-go.



When Jane doesn't return in short order, the lead police detective Tom Glover must entertain two possibilities: Either Jane ran away or her absence is due to foul play.



Jane's sister Kate insists Jane would NEVER leave her children, and since Kate always thought something was 'off' about Dan, she's sure he murdered Jane.



This feeling is intensified when Dan's extramarital girlfriend, a lithe beautiful blonde named Sarah, shows up unexpectedly.



Dan appears unembarrassed by the revelation of his infidelity, and rather offhand about how it might affect his children.

The authorities agree with Kate that Dan killed his wife, but they can't put together enough evidence to charge him. However, the suspicion seeps out to residents of Newton, who make it clear they dislike and fear Dan.



As things play out, the Larkins' oldest son Alex is the least affected by his mother's disappearance. Alex is a popular high school athlete who's soon off to college, and he's willing to move forward and give his father the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, Miranda and Jeff are irreparably damaged. Both kids think their father is responsible for their mother vanishing, but they still have to live with him, and to hear him reviled by relatives and neighbors.

As the siblings get older, Miranda falls into depression and Jeff loses all ambition and drinks too much. Both children have little or nothing to do with their father, who seems to happily go on with his life.



After almost twenty years, new evidence seems to point more firmly to Dan's guilt, but the district attorney is still reluctant to charge Dan, feeling the case can't be won.

There are measures the relatives can take, but they might break the family apart. Aunt Kate is pushing to go forward, Miranda and Jeff are torn about what to do, and Alex wants to let things lie.



We eventually learn what happened to Jane, but (for me) the story's resolution isn't wholly satisfying. Still, the book is more about the family than the mystery, and I was drawn into the novel and enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley, William Landay, and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 3.5 stars