We Begin At The End

 We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker   367 pages  I read a galley

The blurbs on this book make it sound like it can't possibly live up to the hype. "Two of the most unforgettable characters to charge across the written page."  "We Begin at the End will be a defining work of the forthcoming decade....[it] is the work of a master writer."

But it does. It is just as fantastic as these blurbs say it is. 

This is the summary from Goodreads: "Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.
Now, he's been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. 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 also the whole town.

Murder, revenge, retribution.

How far can we run from the past when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?"

This is what the summary doesn't tell you: Duchess Day Radley will break your heart. This story will open your heart and then break it, and break it again. Will that happen for all readers? No, no story has that much power. But I think a lot of readers will react this way and I think this story will resonate with them, like it did for me, long after the book is closed and life moves forward. 

This is the story of Duchess Radley, whose mother Star is on a tragic course that she seems determined to follow. It's the story of Walk, the chief of police who grew up in the town and never left, and who tries to protect Star and Duchess while also grappling with his own demons. It's also the story of Vincent King, sent to prison as a young person, partly due to the testimony given by his friend Walk. Now, Vincent is out of prison and trying to make a life again --- but as soon as he comes back to town, trouble follows. Throughout the story are some overarching themes: How can you help people who don't want to help themselves? Is there ever enough space to run far enough to escape your past? Or your inevitable future? What is the high price of just surviving?