What's Left Unsaid: A Novel
An enthralling novel of secrets, second chances, and confronting the past by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of When I'm Gone.
After a series of devastating losses, Chicago journalist Hannah Williamson has landed in Senatobia, Mississippi, to care for her bedridden grandmother and endure grunt work at a small newspaper. But in cleaning out its archives, Hannah discovers a compelling distraction from her life: a series of rejected articles from the 1930s that illuminate a long-hidden mystery.
The articles, penned by a young woman named Evelyn, are haunting accounts of first love, trauma, and surviving a mysterious shooting that left Evelyn paralyzed at the age of fourteen. The articles stir up more questions than answers, and Hannah becomes consumed by what's left unsaid. Encouraged by Guy Franklin, a local middle school teacher, Hannah's investigation into Evelyn's past becomes more personal with each new reveal. For Hannah, as both a journalist and a woman bearing her own emotional wounds, this is a chance to move forward and bring closure to the story of the girl whose secrets are buried in Senatobia.
What Hannah's about to discover next is that, even after nearly a century, the truth she's been looking for still has the power to change lives. Especially her own.
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Community Reviews
Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted advance copy.
Hannah left Chicago for rural Mississippi after a disastrous six months. A bad breakup, the death of her father, loss of her job and ultimately a time committed have her looking for an escape. After finding hidden letters in the basement filing cabinets of a southern newspaper that disclose an eighty year old secret. She becomes obsessed.
Overall - I enjoyed this book. I liked how the characters tied together slowly in non-obvious ways. I liked the drama and the mystery plus the sleuthing. I thought the story came together very well. The ending was good.
I wasn't a huge fan of the main character - she seemed self absorbed and reckless - but perhaps that added to the storyline.
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