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We Begin at the End

Audiobook
1 of 24 copies available
1 of 24 copies available

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
"
Heartbreaking, unexpected, and hopeful, this audiobook is a must-listen. Narrator George Newbern's nuanced delivery engages listeners and helps the layers of the story unfold." — AudioFile Magazine

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 11, 2021
      Set largely in 2005, this superb thriller from Whitaker (Tall Oaks) examines the repercussions of a fatal accident decades earlier on the residents of Cape Haven, a tourist town on the California coast. At 15, Vincent King was sent to a men’s prison for hitting and killing seven-year-old Sissy Radley while joyriding. Now, 30 years later, Vincent is being released. His childhood friend, Walker
      —Cape Haven’s police chief—hopes that Vincent, and the town, can finally begin healing. But soon after Vincent’s return, Star Radley—a single mother and Sissy’s older sister—is found murdered in her home. With Vincent as the prime suspect, Chief Walker and Duchess, Star’s 13-year-old daughter and self-proclaimed outlaw, each launch their respective quests for the truth. Powered by extraordinarily deep character development and an impressively intricate plot, this novel is simultaneously a murder mystery, a love story, and a heartbreaking tragedy. The existential agony is palpable throughout, but so, too, is the hope at the end. Whitaker has upped his game with this emotionally charged page-turner.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Heartbreaking, unexpected, and hopeful, this audiobook is a must-listen. Narrator George Newbern's nuanced delivery engages listeners and helps the layers of the story unfold. Duchess Day Radley, a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw, is fiercely protective of her brother. Walk, the chief of police, is trying to protect the siblings and their mother, Star, from their own self-destructive tendencies. When an act of violence occurs, everyone must try to survive the fallout. The story is told from multiple perspectives and includes flashbacks. It doesn't always have clear breaks between scenes, a weakness that sometimes makes it unclear which storyline is unfolding. Nonetheless, Newbern's delivery is smooth, and his portrayal of Duchess is particularly well done. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

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Languages

  • English

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