CHRIS. WHITAKER

WE BEGIN AT THE END.

Chris Whitaker

Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed “outlaw.” Rules are for other people, the cowards. At school, she is the distant one, the child the other kids make fun of—her clothes are torn, her hair never properly fixed. 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 Robin as Star slip 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. With resonances readers will feel in their bones, We Begin at the End looks at family—the ones we are born into and the ones we create. It shows how revenge and justice are often two very different things. It reveals how doing right can easily be wrong. Chris Whitaker’s characters—Duchess, Walk, and everyone they love and whose hearts they break, who deserve so much more than life serves them—will sear your own heart. This novel is a modern-day masterpiece.

We Begin at the End

Chris Whitaker has a knack for creating compelling characters.

Frederik De Bosschere

A well-written murder mystery. And Chris Whitaker has a knack for creating compelling characters.

Faith Ho 

the ending actually devastating how dare they use kids !!!! to provoke the feels !!!!! imo didn't feel like a crime thriller but so good regardless~ buildup was long but worth it. good recc wld tear but no more energy for emotion

Siya S

You know what? Life's too short to read books you find uninteresting. I don't think this book is for me, period. 

I just have to say this: first of all, Duchess is probably the most insufferable character I have ever come across in a long while - her voices were all weird. I know I should be impressed with all the smart-sounding things this 13-year-old said, but those things didn't make her sound smart beyond her years - they made her sound confusing as hell. The elements didn't fit. I couldn't envision Duchess in my head. Duchess was like, a concept. I could not imagine her as a real person in my mind. It's mostly the age thing, I think - for example, if Duchess was a 21-year-old Xanax-addicted highschool-dropout? Hell, a lot of things would make so much sense now. 

Next, it's Walk. Well, Walk was....here's what I imagine him to look like (based on the description): 



Just...just can't take him seriously, I'm sorry. Actually, I just can't take any of the characters seriously. I don't feel invested or care about any of them to do so. 

Finally, the writing style is very off-putting to me. Is this a literary fiction aiming for a Booker Prize? Or is this a crime/thriller novel? It's very pretentious. Some of the sentences didn't even make much sense, and I had to reread them a couple of times just to come to a conclusion that, I was right, they didn't really make a lot of sense indeed. 

Maybe it's my fault I read Kanae Minato's Penance prior to this one, so I kind of have a certain expectation in mind what a good crime/thriller novel should feel like....

Nereye varacak, ne olacak diye diye zor  yarıladığım, kalan yarısını ise bir oturuşta okuyacak kadar sürükleyici ve duygusal bulduğum bu kitabın sonunda gözlerim doldu. Hem bu kadar dramatik hem de bu kadar şaşırtıcı nasıl olabilir?

Hazal Özlem

i enjoy whitaker's writing style, however found myself struggling to finish this book, especially from the beginning to middle. i simply couldn't deal with the second-hand embarrassment at the way duchess spoke despite understanding that she obviously had it very rough growing up. just a personal opinion as i know many others have enjoyed this novel.

casey

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is hyped and has been reviewed a lot for a reason. The writing was powerful, and Duchess is perhaps my favorite character since Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. The novel broke my heart and mended it again.

Celeste Richardson

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Begin at the End has been on my radar since my co-blogger Emma read it and loved it last year. Petrik and TS decided to pick it up as well, even though it’s not something within their usual genre wheelhouses. Again, they loved it. But they warned me that it was heartbreaking and, since I had been going through a particularly rough patch in my life, I held off until I felt like I was emotionally strong enough to handle it. I’m so glad I did, because I can say without a single qualm that it will be only my list of favorite books read in 2021, but the heart-wrenching emotion of it would have kept it from the same list last year. It really pays to wait until the right moment to read this type of book, and I’m glad I had friends to caution me in that regard.
“Better and worse. Bad and good. None of us are any one thing. We’re just a collection of the best and worst things we’ve done.”
This book is one of the most devastating things I’ve ever read. It was beautiful, and the characters were incredibly real, but it made my chest physically ache as I was reading. I actually had to put it down and walk away a couple of times because I had reached my emotional threshold. I cared so much about this stories and every single character populating it. The plot was also deeply compelling and surprisingly unpredictable. I didn’t solve the mystery elements before the characters in the book did so themselves, and that’s something at which I generally excel. It was refreshing to be kept guessing, but without the author throwing in wild twists that were literally impossible to predict. After all was revealed, I could see where the narrative had always been pointing in that direction.
“Is there a difference between a prayer and a wish?”
“You wish for what you want, and pray for what you need.”
There were two main perspective characters in this story: Duchess, a thirteen-year-old girl with the world on her shoulders who identifies as an outlaw and just wants to take care of her brother; and Walk, the sheriff of Duchess’s small town who tries his best to care for his people while fighting hard against change. While the supporting cast was absolutely wonderful, and Walk was a great character, Duchess was undoubtedly the star of the show. Her rage was always at war with her kindness except for when it came to her little brother. She’s young and fierce and broken and so strong in the face of all of it that it made my heart ache. I’ve never in my life wanted to reach into a book and save a child as much as I wanted to save her. For her creation alone, I would have called Whitaker a master of his craft, but every single character in this book was heartbreakingly multifaceted. I’m truly in awe.
“Hope is secular. And life is fragile. And sometimes we hold on too tight, even though we know it’ll break.”
I received an audio copy of this book through NetGalley and, though I tandem-read the digital copy, I’m incredibly glad I experienced this via audio. This is only the second book I’ve heard narrated by George Newbern, the first being A Man Called Ove. With both narrations, Newbern did an absolutely brilliant job. Every character’s voice was unique and easily identifiable, and not a single one of those voices felt cheesy or stereotypical. Emotion dripped from every sentence. While I have no doubt I would have still loved this book had I strictly read it with my eyes, having Newbern narrate the story for me as I read added a resonance to the experience that was truly something special.
“If the good stand by idle, are they still good?”
We Begin at the End wrecked me. It upset my faith in people, but it also managed to restore that same faith. I met characters who I don’t think I will ever be able to forget. While I’m not sure this is a book I can reread, because it hurt so much the first time, reading it was an experience that mattered. It impacted me deeply. I’m thankful to my friends for recommending it, and stand in awe of Whitaker for writing it. He had something to say, and he said it incredibly well.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

Mary Baldwin

When I first started this book, I was uncertain. The style felt new, I didn’t feel comfortable that what I had picked up was a crime thriller.

I quickly realised that the reason it felt new, and uncomfortable is because this book stands head and shoulders above so many others in its genre.

I often find that whilst thrillers are, well, thrilling, they can lack in “quality writing” and the depth of emotions and relationships that most great stories are built on.

“We Begin at the End” achieves it all. I found the writing style, or at least how it made me feel; to have similarities to Harper Lee - the ability to put you into a place and time, to feel the weather and the tension.

This story is about murder, justice, revenge and emotions - big ones. Duchess and her younger brother Robin lead much of the narrative and the story evolving through their characters is extremely powerful. Duchess is a fantastic character; and at just 13 has seen so much, her fierce love and protection for her younger brother really held everything together for me.

The relationship they have with one another and the wider cast of characters is what brings the setting to life. 

Duchess sets events in motion that bring a murky past into the present, and from there, a chain of events that impact far and wide across her town and family. She’s funny, bold and wise. She’s an outlaw.

The writing is beautiful, the characters are believable and loveable. The book managed to make me feel a lot of things I didn’t expect it to, and it was draining in the way watching an intense film can be. 

For a while I was worried the ending would be a disappointment, and in some ways it was; but for the right reasons. 

Lauren Attaway

We Begin at the End was the devastating neo western I didn't know I needed. I couldn't finish this book fast enough. Duchess is the kind of character who can manage to make you smile just as easily as she breaks your heart. It's nice when a book absolutely delivers on the hype. A 2021 favorite, for sure.

Amy Bremner 

This book blew me away. I knew before I even got half way that it was going to be 5 stars.

This isn't just a crime thriller, it is about family, grief, friendship and survival. I loved it, it is easily my favourite read so far this year. I didn't want to put it down but I also didnt want it to end. Amazing.

Jan Talkington

Wow! A somewhat confusing beginning to me, but shortly I got into the rhythm of the story and was sucked in. Sad, but very believable, great characters and well written. I fell in love with the Outlaw Duchess Radley and would love to know her as a grown woman.

Emily Christensen

Half quoting Kacey Musgraves here (um is anyone else as obsessed with her as I am?!), half letting you know how I feel about this book because: “I’m alright with a slow burn”. 

Yes yes yes! This book was the exact definition of a “slow burn” - for a hot second I considered putting it down in favor of a faster paced book but so glad I didn’t. The reward of a beautifully written slow burn ends in all the feels. 

Quick synopsis: Thirty years after being sentenced to prison for the murder of Sissy Radley, Vincent King is set to be released. This story mostly follows Duchess Radley, self proclaimed outlaw and niece to deceased Sissy. It also follows Walk, a police officer and childhood friend to both Duchess’ mom, Star, and Vincent King. It follows their lives, their regrets, their past and how it’s crept into their present, and so much more. 

Mis-marketed as a thriller or mystery, this book is a character-driven, literary introspective work about the flaws of humanity, redemption, and seeing the beauty through the ugliest parts of life. 

Bring your tissues, bring your heart. Expect unlikeable characters to turn into lovable ones, expect to cry, expect to laugh out loud. This book is going to stick with me for a very long time. 

The title “we begin at the end” carries throughout the book so beautifully and really shows power of redemption and how we are not defined by one action, but we can always change our trajectory. All of these characters are flawed (except Thomas because he is so pure 🥺) but that is part of the beauty. 

Thank you, HENRY HOLT for the #gifted copy, this will be one of my top books of the year, I can guarantee that.

WE BEGIN AT THE END.

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