We Begin at the End - Chris Whitaker
About the book
Thirty years ago, a teenage Vincent King became a killer.
Now he's been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California, where not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend and sister of the girl he killed.
Duchess Radley, Star's thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin - and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but for the whole town.
'Contender for Thriller of the Year' SUNDAY EXPRESS
About the author
Chris Whitaker is the award-winning author of Tall Oaks and All The Wicked Girls. Both books were published to widespread critical acclaim, with Tall Oaks going on to win the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award. Chris lives in Hertfordshire with his family. Follow Chris on Twitter @WhittyAuthor
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Read this book review about We Begin at the End.
Our Librarian’s Review
A story both tragic and redemptive, this atmospheric mystery is not a fast-paced crime novel but a powerful and immersive character-driven portrait of crimes and their aftermath, of actions and consequences.
Set in California and Montana, we follow the fraught lives of thirteen-year-old Duchess Radley and her younger brother Robin, and their intensely troubled mother Star, whose sister was killed when very young. There’s Vincent King, newly released from prison after thirty years, and his loyal childhood friend, police Chief ‘Walk’ Walker. Walk provides the steadying, optimistic backbone to the book, despite his own regrets, flaws and increasing ill-health, whilst Duchess is the self-proclaimed outlaw, tough, fiercely protective of Star and Robin, but in trying to conserve her family, her actions one fateful night change everything.
Chris Whitaker’s distinctive writing style slowly drew me in as the story progressed and it makes this novel stand out amongst the crime genre. His intriguing, memorable and complex characters and their damaged lives crept under my skin until the book became compulsive reading. I was rooting for both Walk and Duchess and utterly engaged in their stories. The convincing depiction in this story of the hold the past has on people, and the intense struggles they must grapple with, as well as the convincing evocation of the American landscape, make this an impressive and accomplished novel.