All the Broken People – Leah Konen

I spent my whole Saturday on my couch (with plenty of frisbee breaks for the dogs) flying through this one!

Thanks to Putnam for the free early copy in exchange for my honest review

ALL THE BROKEN PEOPLE – Leah Konen (Releasing June 30th, 2020)

Book Description: 

A woman in search of a fresh start is about to get more than she bargained for in this twisty and addictive domestic thriller for fans of The Couple Next Door.

Fleeing Brooklyn with little more than a suitcase and her trusty dog, Lucy King heads to rustic Woodstock , New York, eager to lose herself in a quiet life where her past can never find her. But when she meets Vera and John, the alluring couple next door, their friendship proves impossible to resist. Just as Lucy starts to think the worst is behind her, the couple delivers a staggering bombshell: they, too, need to escape their troubles–and the only way they can begin their new life is if Lucy helps them fake John’s death.

Afraid to lose her newfound support system, Lucy reluctantly conspires with them to stage an “accidental” death on a hike nearby. It’s just one little lie to the police, after all, and she knows a thing or two about the importance of fresh starts. But what begins as an elaborate ruse turns all too real when John turns up dead in the woods the morning after their hike. Now, Lucy must figure out who she can trust and who’s pulling the strings of her tenuous new life . . . before she takes the fall for murder.

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

This was my introduction to Leah Konen and I absolutely loved it! I sat down with ALL THE BROKEN PEOPLE this morning around 10:30am and finished it that evening. The writing style, the characters, the suspense, and plenty to keep my on my toes made for a really quick read. I went into this one blind so I had no idea what to expect – if you’re looking for a solid domestic thriller/suspense, then this will be perfect for you.

Lucy is trying to start over. She takes her dog Dusty and leaves her home in Brooklyn for a small town to run away from her abusive ex-boyfriend. New phone, new place, and now some new friends. Her neighbors, Vera and John, are the perfect couple and they welcome her in with open arms. One night, they reveal a plan to fake John’s death and Lucy decides she’s going to help them. Of course, no matter how perfectly thought out it is, things like this never go according to plan. When John actually turns up dead, Lucy’s world is completely upended and she has no idea who she can trust.

Everyone has something to hide and Konen throws a couple red herrings at us as the investigation progresses. Who killed John? Why would they want to kill him? Is Lucy going to be able to stay ahead of her past or will it come back to haunt her? So many questions and the author pulls you along as you dig for the answers. While it may not have been a huge shocking twist at the end (I wasn’t expecting it after what I thought was the final reveal), I still loved how she tied it all up for us.

Overall, I would highly recommend this to fans of domestic thrillers and suspense books. We see just from Lucy’s perspective and you just feel for her. She’s trying to escape her past and is just clinging to any kind of friends or family she can. This was my introduction to Konen and I definitely plan on picking up more from her in the future!