How did "All That is Mine I Carry With Me" by William Landay end? Looking for an explanation for all those twists and turns because this thriller was super twisty! "All That Is Mine I Carry With Me" by William Landay had a really intriguing plot and such a great ending twist! Keep reading and remember, spoilers ahead!
William Landay
goodreads // amazon // library
One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle. Her mom’s pocketbook remains in the front hall, in its usual spot. So begins a mystery that will span a lifetime. What happened to Jane Larkin?Investigators suspect Jane’s husband. A criminal defense attorney, Dan Larkin would surely be an expert in outfoxing the police. But no evidence is found linking him to a crime, and the case fades from the public’s memory, a simmering, unresolved riddle. Jane’s three children—Alex, Jeff, and Miranda—are left to be raised by the man who may have murdered their mother.
Two decades later, the remains of Jane Larkin are found. The investigation is awakened. The children, now grown, are forced to choose sides. With their father or against him? Guilty or innocent? And what happens if they are wrong? A tale about family—family secrets and vengeance, but also family love—All That Is Mine I Carry With Me masterfully grapples with a primal question: When does loyalty reach its limit? ( from amazon.com)
How Did "All That is Mine I Carry With Me" by William Landay End?
What Are the Twists and Spoilers?
First things first, who murdered Jane?
Drumroll please, ..... it was the dad the whole time. But how do we find out?
During the last chapters of "All That Is Mine I Carry With Me", two of the children and Jane's sister decide to sue the father, Dan, in civil court. They hope to be able to prove there, with a lower burden, that he did commit the crime and hold him responsible in some way. However, he is found not guilty and so the daughter Miranda, begins to find peace with her father.
Fast forward and Dan is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and Miranda is his caretaker. When he first began to decline, Dan decided that he wanted to pursue "death with dignity" and decided to take a life-ending medicine to avoid a potentially slow and painful decline from Alzheimer's.
On the day that he is going to end his life, Dan and Miranda are in his room getting him ready. Miranda offers to get out some of Dan's nicer watches and other accessories to wear that day. While going through those things, Miranda finds her mother's wedding ring. It is at this moment that the reader, and Miranda, realize that Dan did murder Jane.
The added twist! Three cheers for Miranda!
There is one more twist, though! After Miranda finds the wedding ring, she takes Dan to a separate room in his home with an aide who will assist in the end-of-life procedure. Legally, Dan has to administer the drink to himself and Miranda must leave the room. While Dan is alone with the aide, it becomes clear that he is too advanced in Alzheimer's to be able to make the drink himself. The aide leaves the room to get Miranda, and the author describes Miranda coming into the room and the aide yelling her name. From this, the reader can assume that Miranda is making sure that Dan drinks the life ending medicine.
What I Liked About the Book
William Landay is absolutely a must-read author in my opinion. His books are unputdownable and have the perfect amount of literary fiction elements mixed into his exciting thrillers.
I absolutely love the literary tricks up his sleeve. For example, Landay opened the book as though he was writing an author's note, when in fact the book had already begun. Also, there is a chapter of the book that reads like it is from the deceased mother, but is actually a fictional story the daughter wrote. This kept what can be a repetitive genre feeling very fresh and exciting. Also much of the book explores the inner workings of the family and a great deal of character development, which can be missing in other books of this genre.
Reading "All That Is Mine" felt so much like watching the best episode of Dateline you have ever seen.
What I Struggled With
The ending is so satisfying but also a bit of a letdown. The whole novel I felt certain that it was the father, so getting that confirmation and knowing that there was some justice involved was great. However, I would love to know exactly how he did it and what happened. It is a small consolation that Landay gave us a peek at what he would've written in the fictional account written by Miranda.
And that's a wrap on "All That Is Mine I Carry With Me" by William Landay! Let me know below if I missed any twists! Did you figure out this thriller early or did it take you by surprise? Thanks for reading, readers!
what about the multi murderer at the lakewhen jane was there who was serving a life sentence i think in jail?
ReplyDeleteHow many people do you think bribed him to take their kill as his or even just asked him to? Just a thought. He was already on his way out and had definitely committed multiple murders, so why not claim a few extra when he obviously didn't care anyway? They didn't actually investigate his claim at all since the case was so cold.
DeleteI'm trying to figure out why you said Book 2 was a fictional story written by Miranda, but told as if the dead mother was speaking. Where did you get this information? I thought having Jane tell her story was a clever twist that the author used to inform the reader of what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteIt said in the following chapter that she had written a book from her mother’s perspective. She spoke about it with Jeff
DeleteMaybe I’m too dense, but I can’t figure out what the title of the book means. Please let me know. Really enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete