Chris Whitaker

Tall Oaks

Denaiir

I think I just finished one of my favorite books of the year! I had it on my e-reader and it was on my phone in my “books to buy” list which means I probably found it on Booktube, but I cannot remember which channel I saw it on.

I have about 300 unread books on my e-reader, I was not looking for anything specific; I saw the cover and thought it looked like something I would enjoy reading on that day, so I started it. And boy, I was not disappointed!

I had no idea what it was about, I just saw the cover. It started with a little boy disappearing, so I figured there would be a thriller component, but it seemed more of a character study, the story of a town, not simply a traditional thriller. And that’s exactly what it was. It was better than anything I was expecting, because it was so much more than a quest to find a missing boy. It was a story of lost hope, of shattered dreams, of forgiveness, of hope, of friendship.

To quickly summarize, Harry is a three-year-old boy who went missing one night, abducted from his bedroom in the very quiet small town of Tall Oaks, where nothing like that has ever happened before. This event has an impact on many of the town’s inhabitants, from Harry’s family to the town cops, potential suspects, and people who might know more than they let on. As it says on the cover: small town, big secrets.

This book was particularly character-driven, and I loved all the characters with their quirks, their flaws, their personalities, and of course their secrets. Talking about the secrets, I read a lot of thrillers and sometimes I can tell what the big reveal is gonna be, but here I was completely taken by surprise. All my guesses proved completely wrong, the various secrets were superbly hidden beneath layers of false leads and I never saw any of it coming. I thoroughly enjoyed it, never knowing what was coming next, and discovering the dark things all those characters kept hidden. I also particularly enjoyed realizing that in most cases it would have unfolded so differently, and generally life would have been so much easier for the characters, if they had simply spilled their guts to the persons who love them, asked for help, or came clean.

Since I am often interrupted in my reading (I read mostly on public transportation) it was a bit difficult at first to remember who was who, so if you are having a tough time I urge you to continue reading! After a few chapters featuring the same characters you will find it easier, and it’s so worth it!!

I can’t recommend this book enough – it will probably end up on my top 5 of the year – and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Tall Oaks

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