Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
For some people, trouble just finds them . . .
A crime thriller that will break your heart and a literary novel with a mystery at its core, We Begin at the End unforgettably examines how the choices we make can nudge us into the dangerous ground between good and evil.
Thirty years ago, a teenage Vincent King was sent to prison. But he's served his sentence and is returning to his hometown. His childhood best friend, Walk, is now the chief of police. His childhood sweetheart, Star Radley, still lives there. The same Star Radley whose sister he killed.
Thirteen-year-old Duchess is a self-proclaimed outlaw. She needs to be. Who else is going to take care of her and her five-year-old brother? Certainly not her mother, Star. But when Duchess exacts her own vigilante revenge, she will set into motion a series of events that threatens not only her own family but everyone she's ever cared about.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Synopsis
A crime thriller that will break your heart and a literary novel with a mystery at its core, Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End unforgettably examines how the choices we make can nudge us into the dangerous ground between good and evil.
For some people, trouble just finds them . . .
Thirty years ago, a teenage Vincent King was sent to prison. But he's served his sentence and is returning to his hometown. His childhood best friend, Walk, is now the chief of police. His childhood sweetheart, Star Radley, still lives there. The same Star Radley whose sister he killed.
Thirteen-year-old Duchess is a self-proclaimed outlaw. She needs to be. Who else is going to take care of her and her five-year-old brother? Certainly not her mother, Star. But when Duchess exacts her own vigilante revenge, she will set into motion a series of events that threatens not only her own family but everyone she's ever cared about.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Synopsis
Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End looks at families--the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
Right. Wrong. Life is lived somewhere in between.
Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. At school the other kids make fun of her--her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she'll throw stones. Duchess might be a badass, but she's really just trying to survive. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin. She is the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids.
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He's the chief of police, trying to keep Cape Haven, with its beautiful bluffs overlooking the sea, not only safe, but safe from becoming a cookie-cutter tourist destination for the rich. But he's still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother as their mother slides deeper into self-destruction.
Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. As soon as he steps one foot back into his childhood town, trouble arrives. It shows up on Walk's and Duchess's doorsteps, and they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.
Duchess and Walk--and everyone they love and whose hearts they break, who deserve so much more than life serves them--will sear your heart in this extraordinary novel.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Synopsis
There are two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he's still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.
Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess--her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she'll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She's just trying to survive and keep her family together.
A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.
Chris Whitaker has written an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love--in all its different guises--wins.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Synopsis
With We Begin at the End, Chris Whitaker has written an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love--in all its different guises--wins.
There are two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he's still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.
Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess--her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she'll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She's just trying to survive and keep her family together.
A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Synopsis
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
"A vibrant, engrossing, unputdownable thriller that packs a serious emotional punch. One of those rare books that surprise you along the way and then linger in your mind long after you have finished it."
--Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds
Right. Wrong. Life is lived somewhere in between.
Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids.
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he's still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.
Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. And Duchess and Walk must face the trouble that comes with his return. We Begin at the End is an extraordinary novel about two kinds of families--the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company